My Ideal Boston Celtics Starting Five
Just a few years ago, the Boston Celtics possessed a very sound rotation in which the daily starters were never a question. Each game, us fans could confidently expect to see the likes of Rondo, Ray, Pierce, KG, and Perkins take the floor at the opening tip; and the Boston Celtics starting five was never brought into question.
Nowadays, with all these former C’s playing elsewhere (or a free agent in Ray Allen’s case), and the team officially in full rebuild, Coach Stevens often goes with a variety of lineups throughout the game. With Boston’s current roster, I take my stance on who Stevens should be starting each night.
Point Guard- Marcus Smart
We have seen some highs and lows from the rookie point guard out of Oklahoma State this season. Despite struggling with injuries early on in his career, Smart has had some impressive performances, most notably on December 8th against the Wizards, in which Smart posted 23 points in a double overtime loss.
The main reason to start Smart though is for the future. The fact is that the moment Smart was drafted to the Boston Celtics signaled the beginning of a full rebuild without Rajon Rondo. Smart is the future at point guard for the Boston Celtics and from a coach’s perspective, what better way to prepare for the future than giving young talent valuable experience?
Shooting Guard- Avery Bradley
You know what, I really wanted to say the Boston Celtics should start one of the younger guys like Phil Pressey or James Young when he’s on the active roster; however, at the end of the day, there is nobody on the team better suited for the starting shooting guard role than Avery Bradley.
Bradley has been a constant in the starting lineup for the last few years and without him on the court, the Celtics would greatly miss a tough defender. Nevertheless, while Bradley may be best suited for the role until a guy like Young is ready to takeover in a season or two, I don’t see the Celtics winning any time soon when neither their starting point guard nor shooting guard are really lockdown shooters.
Small Forward- Jeff Green
Probably the most obvious start on the current roster. Green has been the best player (besides probably Rondo when he was in Boston) on the court so far this season for the C’s. He is averaging by far the most points for Boston at 18.9 per game and has started every game for the Celtics so far this season as he did last season as well. He is a glue in the starting lineup and fills the role of the veteran presence during the rebuild.
Power Forward- Jared Sullinger
I was tempted to leave Sullinger out of the starting lineup in favor of the likes of Tyler Zeller or Brandon Bass. Still, after much deliberation, it remained clear that the best way for a guy like Sullinger to grow is through court time, similar to Smart. In his third season already, its time for Sully to grow into the player the Celtics expected out of him when he was drafted out of Ohio State. He is probably the best pure big man on the Celtics roster, and he is by far the most dangerous in terms of rebounding.
Center- Kelly Olynyk
Alright, I know KO has thrived in a backup role as of late. In fact, he’s averaged double digits in every game so far in the month of December. So why breakup something that works?
Well, as much as Tyler Zeller has succeeded in the starting lineup, if I’m Coach Stevens, I want KO and Sully growing together. The two bigs appear at the moment to be the future at the position for Boston, and I want them to succeed together and learn to build off each other.
Well thats my opinion, feel free to say your ideal Celtics starting five in the comments!