If there were a Tacko signal, it’d be all over the Boston skyline tonight.
This is of course because of the fact that the Hospital Celtics are back in full effect with big men Robert Williams III and Vincent Poirier expected to miss several weeks to injury.
With guard Marcus Smart and forward Jayson Tatum also likely out for shorter stints as well due to eye and sinus infections respectively, the overall rotation will be stressed in the coming weeks-
So, calling up rookie center Tacko Fall from his two way assignment with the Maine Red Claws is less a matter of if, and more a matter of when, according to head coach Brad Stevens, relates team reporter Marc D’Amico.
Brad Stevens says there has already been discussion about calling up Tacko Fall, now that Rob Williams and Vincent Poirier are both out for at least a few weeks.
— Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) December 17, 2019
Fall, only recently returned from injury himself, is perhaps the Celtics best healthy option against the brawnier bigs less common in today’s NBA, but common enough to require having a player on the roster who can’t be easily pushed off of the post, and only Fall and Turkish big man Enes Kanter fit the bill in that regard.
It’s unclear whether his already-busy schedule will allow the 7-foot-5 to make the game against the Dallas Mavericks (who have their own 7-footer in Boban Marjanovic), but Tacko’s services may well be needed much in the coming weeks.
With the Detroit Pistons starting Andre Drummond, the Toronto Raptors Marc Gasol, and several other clubs the team faces before mid-January fielding similar giants in their frontcourt, having the Senegalian available will help the Celtics cope while the rest of their frontcourt rotation heals up.
The team will likely experiment with a variety of small ball lineups with a comparatively weaker slate of games ahead, but one small wrinkle from the return of the Hospital Celtics is the dose of Tackomania it may bring Boston fans.
Kanter will see plenty of time behind starting center Daniel Theis, but anticipates more time for rookie Grant Williams as a five. He’s also as excited as most of us are to see a potential Boban-Tacko face off, per NBC Boston’s Chris Forsberg.
“If Tacko goes against Boban, I’ll pay to watch that matchup,” offered the Zurich native.
So will we, Enes — so will we.