On The Court
By Adam Spinella
the offense when he comes off the
Brad Stevens, Danny Ainge and
company are hoping that the whole is bench.
greater than the sum of its parts.
Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley
lead a ferocious defensive tandem
The roster is still improving
in the backcourt. Smart had his
in small and subtle ways, perhaps
rookie ups-and-downs last year and
most notably with the acquisitions
of David Lee and Amir Johnson.
Bradley’s shot selection has been
under scrutiny all summer. If they
Lee brings a selfless attitude, strong
can each improve their consistency,
scoring and rebounding, as well as
the two of them will join arguably the
an ability to make plays as a passer.
team’s best player in Isaiah Thomas
He’s an ideal fit into Coach Stevens’
to form a nice three-headed group in
spread offense despite his relative
inability t o shoot 3-pointers. Johnson the backcourt.
provides some much-need rim
The question for the Celtics’
protection, a quality rim-runner, and
rotation revolves around the wings,
some spacing in the frontcourt.
where Jae Crowder, Jonas Jerebko and
Evan Turner have been solid as role
Both are slotted into a crowded
frontcourt with Kelly Olynyk, Jared
players; with Evans getting a good
dose of playmaking responsibilities
Sullinger, and Tyler Zeller, all of
whom are strong enough to play 20- on a team lacking in them. Boston
simply lacks a playmaker worthy
28 minutes a night.
of heavy minutes at that spot, and
Isaiah Thomas remains the only
it is the most difficult piece of the
quality playmaker and shot creator
coaching puzzle for Brad Stevens.
on the team, and carries the bulk of
Speaking of Stevens, he has
quickly jumped toward the top of
the coaching ranks in the league.
A fantastic motivator who gets the
most out of his players, the X’s and
O’s are certainly a strength of their
third-year head coach. It did not pay
dividends this summer, but with cap
space still a luxury in Boston, the
Celtics are counting on Stevens to be
their main free agent draw. Stevens
must tighten a mediocre Celtics
defense, keep developing the young
players on the roster and find a way
to propel the Celtics back to the
postseason and towards an Atlantic
Division crown.
The team rode a brilliant run into
the playoffs after acquiring Thomas,
gaining intrigue as a Hawks-like
sleeper in the Eastern Conference.
Though they lack similar stars, they
similarly get the most out of their
roster, which on most nights gives
them a chance to compete.
BBALLBREAKDOWN.COM | 11