After nine seasons in the Association, Niang returns to his hometown for his first season with the Celtics. As the veteran forward has joked on summer podcasts, he knows Boston is going from the Unicorn to the Minivan, and fans are understandably concerned. The good news for Niang is, with the departure of Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday via trades and the one-year absence of star Jayson Tatum (Achilles), there are plenty of minutes available in Boston. Also, Niang might have found the ideal home for his love of jacking threes. The Celtics led the NBA last season in attempted three pointers. Niang launched a career-high 5.2 shots per game from behind the arc last year. The bad news is Coach Joe Mazzulla quickly grows intolerant of poor defense, and no one has accused Niang of being fleet of foot. The Celtics are particularly thin at the power forward and center positions. In fact, the starting power forward spot is probably a fight between career reserves Sam Hauser and Niang. Hauser's four years in Boston probably gives him the edge to start. But expect lineups to constantly change in this year of development for the Celtics. Niang has a solid opportunity to improve on the 21.5 minutes per contest he played last season, especially if he can maintain his career average of 40 percent shooting from three-point land.
