BOSTON — The idea of the Boston Celtics having four true centers in this era of positionless basketball didn’t make a ton of sense to many who felt it was a waste of a perfectly good roster spot.
But having that kind of depth at a position with so much uncertainty at the start of the season is coming in real handy right about now for the Celtics with a pair of centers — Robert Williams III and Vincent Poirier — being sidelined for three and six weeks, respectively.
Williams was emerging as a fringe rotation player for Boston before being hampered in recent weeks by a hip injury that team officials said on Monday would keep him sidelined for at least another three weeks.
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Poirier has not played much, but had been showing flashes of being someone who could come in and provide spot-duty work especially with Williams being out.
“It’s too bad. He (Poirier) was really doing well,” said Celtics head coach Brad Stevens. “I think, with Rob out, he was going to get a chance here.”
And that's the silver lining that comes with having lots of depth. It affords an opportunity to those who might not otherwise get a chance to get on the floor.
And that’s also what makes these two injuries especially tough to swallow.
Both Williams and Poirier have been working towards earning more minutes behind Daniel Theis and Enes Kanter, both of whom have missed games this season with injuries as well.
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Despite their back-of-the-pack status in terms of playing time, the Celtics are going to feel the absence of Williams and Poirier in some form or another.
Simple things like practice become more complicated, particularly when the Celtics are preparing for a team that likes to play two bigs at the same time akin to Philadelphia and Indiana.
As far as their impact on games, not having Williams or Poirier puts the Celtics painfully thin at the center position with only Theis, Kanter and Grant Williams available to defend centers.
But there are few options for the Celtics at this point besides getting creative with their roster as its currently constructed.
Stevens said the team is mulling over the idea of calling up 7-foot-5 Tacko Fall from the Maine Red Claws to provide some added depth at the center position.
If the Celtics feel they need additional big man help beyond bringing up Tacko, they may consider waiving Javonte Green, whose contract doesn’t become fully guaranteed until next month.
Working around a lack of big men once again puts a spotlight on what was a major concern surrounding this team when training camp began.
In the offseason, Aron Baynes was traded to Phoenix and Al Horford opted out of the final year of his deal to sign with Philadelphia, robbing the Celtics of arguably the best 1-2 defensive frontcourt punch in the NBA with no clear successors in place.
Theis has been one of the biggest surprises this season with the way he was able to come in and take the starting center job for his own due to his defensive versatility and solid rebounding.
Opponents are shooting 44 percent against Theis this season, which ranks seventh among NBA centers who have played in as many games (21) and defended as many shots (11.9) as he has this season.
Balancing out Theis’ defense has been the play of Enes Kanter at the other end of the floor.
He’s averaging 7.9 points and 6.0 rebounds in 16.3 minutes per game this season. Kanter has been at his best on the offensive glass, where he’s averaging a team-best 2.5 offensive rebounds per game.
The Theis-Kanter tandem has been good for the Celtics this season, and these injuries aren’t going to impact that in any way.
But not having a big who can guard centers with good size (Grant Williams is just 6-7) coming off the bench is a potential problem for the Celtics.
And it is a problem that once again highlights what has been — and for now will continue to be — a big (man) concern for this team going forward.
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