Who can’t the Celtics afford to lose?
By C.J Maffris
Is there really anyone on the Boston Celtics that the team can not afford to lose any time from? Does Brad Stevens have a catalyst-type of player who would hurt the team if he was traded or injured? This is the question some Celtics fans should be asking after Dante Exum tore his ACL during a FIBA basketball game. While Utah can survive without Exum, this injury certainly hinders his development and the team’s possibilityy become a “sneaky-good” team according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe. So due to this injury it’s good to look at the Celtics’ roster to see if anyone would hinder the Celtics’ rebuild if they were gone.
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The first name that comes to mind is Isaiah Thomas. He was an integral part of the Celtics making the postseason last year. Many experts scratched their heads about the Celtics acquiring Thomas, due to the fact that he made them too good too fast. There’s no way a team can win a title if Thomas is the best player on the team. That’s not to say that he is expendable, but the Celtics need to do more to build a contender.
However, Thomas is important to the team’s offense due to his efficient pick-and-roll ability and scoring touch. Not many players on this roster (if any) can score like Thomas, especially when a basket is desperately needed. Not to mention that he looks to be used a lot by Stevens in this upcoming season. Whether it be from the bench or starting, Thomas’ number will be called.
So is he that player that nothing can happen to? I wouldn’t go that far. It would certainly suck is Thomas injured himself. He’s “balls-to-the-wall” mentally has already got him injured with Boston. He drives to the hoop a lot to initiate contact and get to the free throw line. That could in turn cause his body more harm than good, and shorten his career. Plus with the Celtics banking on Marcus Smart to develop into a star, he might be looked at as more vital than Thomas in the long run. So Thomas might not be the one player the team cannot afford to lose.
Could it be any of the prospects on the Celtics? I do think losing Smart would devastate the team. He needs to develop, especially his outside shot. His three-point shooting has greatly improved since college, but he needs more exposure to shoot more effectively. Still if Smart lost time, it could give way for Terry Roizer to prove his worth. Also, that would give Thomas more time to start, which could benefit Boston. James Young looks to be an after thought with the team, and R.J Hunter might be “two years away, from being two years away”. I honestly hope that isn’t the case, but we won’t know for a while.
Now when looking at the active roster after all the prospects, there really isn’t a name that jumps out to me that fans should be worry about losing. In my eyes, the team looks more like a collective group that’s stronger as a whole than as individuals. I certainly like a lineup of Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, Evan Turner, Tyler Zeller, and Jae Crowder as a unit than one by one. It shows how well Brad Stevens coaches the team. We see Evan Turner contributing better than he has with any other franchise thanks to Stevens. Zeller looks fantastic in transition with Stevens at the helm. Maybe that means that it’s the head coach that the team cannot afford to lose most. Sadly, that won’t exactly translate to success. However, this team could be the first to do it. After all the Golden State Warriors were the first team since 1974 to win an NBA Championship without an All-Star forward/center. So all I’m saying is there’s a chance.