Photo: USA TODAY Sports - Mark Baer
The Boston Celtics’ Franchise Player
By Joshua Riddell
Generally speaking, before a team
can win a championship it must first
land a superstar. In the absence of
an elite player, teams can either tear
down to bui ld through the draft,
or put together as solid a team as
possible while remaining flexible
enough to take advantage of unseen
opportunities.
needs to ping around the court to
find the open player. They were
merely average at getting open
shots, attempting the 12th fewest
per NBAsavant.com; which is still
remarkable, given the lack of reliable
playmakers beyond Thomas.
Entering his third NBA season,
Brad Stevens has proven to be a great
basketball mind with an ability to
And while it’s certainly possible
to compete without a pantheon-level design schemes suited to the talent
on hand. For the team to succeed,
player, the margin for error is razor
Stevens requires 100 percent buy-in
thin; as the Atlanta Hawks proved
from each player to work within their
last season.
clearly defined roles. New acquisition
The Boston Celtics will walk that
same line this season, hoping to build Amir Johnson is a junkyard dog,
Thomas a scorer, and Avery Bradley a
on a post All-Star break run to the
defensive stalwart with 3-point range.
seventh seed after acquiring Isaiah
Without elite talent, it’s on Stevens
Thomas. Though they boast no stars,
to mix and match skillsets to recreate
the Celtics’ rotation is replete with
the effect of a franchise player. With
average-to-above average talent.
newcomers Johnson, David Lee, and
A crucial aspect of success
rookies Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter,
for no-star teams is on-court
the front office and Stevenson have
chemistry. Without a player who
some hard decisions to make. There’s
can consistently take over, the ball
a lot of talent that needs nurturing
and a limited number of minutes in
which to do it.
For any other team, the purgatory
between a top five lottery selection
and contender is an undesirable place
to be.
These Celtics are in a different
situation. With Brooklyn’s
unprotected first round pick in
their back pocket, they’re rightfully
pursuing a lower rung playoff seed,
essentially playing with house money.
Everything needs to go right for
the Celtics to win a playoff series
with this roster, which seems to be
their ceiling as currently constructed.
Fortunately, Stevens is quite adept
at coaxing his talent within the
necessary margin of error. With a
stockade of picks, rotation players,
and good contracts in the bank,
the Celtics have plenty of assets to
find that superstar—they’re just not
waiting around until they do.
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