Who Should Boston Start at Small Forward?

The loss of Jae Crowder leaves a big hole to be filled, who should be that guy?

The Boston Celtics are just 2-3 since the loss of starting small forward Jae Crowder. Both wins came against two of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference, the Philadelphia 76ers and Orlando Magic. Over the past five games, Marcus Smart and Evan Turner have both started multiple games, however, it seems that Brad Stevens has decided to roll with Turner for the time being.

The Celtics went 0-2 with Smart in the starting lineup, including a 21-point blowout loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Boston didn’t look that much better with Turner in the lineup as they fell to the Toronto Raptors by 14 before their two straight wins.

The question remains, should Evan Turner continue to get the starting nod at small forward?

Turner is set to be a free-agent this off-season and his increased production over his couple of starts could start to open some eyes around the league. The New York Knicks have already expressed interest in the soon to be free-agent, and many more teams should follow suit. With that being said, right now Turner has shown that he could be a key player in the Celtics starting lineup with Crowder out.

Turner is known as one of the best all-around players on the team, as he can affect the game in nearly every way. One thing we don’t see a lot from Turner is his scoring ability. Over the past couple of games, Turner’s aggressiveness has skyrocketed as the usual nine shots per game has gone up to 11.7 shot attempts per game since taking over the starting role.

Despite the extra shots, Turner has continued to be an efficient scorer. This season, Turner owns a 44.8 field goal percentage, however, over the past three games he has shot lights out from the field. Following a 44.4 percent night against Toronto in his first start, he shot 53.3 percent from the field against the Sixers and then was on fire with a 63.6 field goal percentage against the Magic.

There is no question that scoring has been harder to come by with Crowder out. Over the past six games, the Celtics have failed to reach 100 points three times, they only failed to reach 100 points one other time since break. Turner’s ability to shoot at an efficient rate, and give the Celtics an extra scorer, helps the team a lot.

Not to mention his ability to set up teammates, rebound the ball, and be a scrappy defender.

Mar 9, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics guard Evan Turner (11) shoots against Memphis Grizzlies forward P.J. Hairston (19) in the second half at TD Garden. The Celtics defeated Memphis 116-96. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports /

Before Turner, Brad Stevens elected to run with a small-ball lineup to start the game and started Marcus Smart. In his two starts, Smart struggled. Despite not being a great shooter, his shooting over his two starts reached a new level of bad. A combined 5-22 (22.7 percent) from the field and 1-12 (8.3 percent) from behind the arc proves how bad it was. He couldn’t hit anything and he was becoming a liability on offense, despite the defensive intensity he brings.

Over his career, Smart has been more efficient when coming off the bench. He averages almost six more minutes per game when starting (30.2 to 24.7 MPG), but only averages 0.4 points more (8.8 to 8.4 PPG), 0.6 rebounds more (4.1 to 3.5 RPG), and the same amount of assists per contest (3 APG). His offensive rating is also much higher when coming off the bench (106 to 94).

Smart has averaged around 27 minutes per game over his two seasons and it’s obvious he’s more comfortable playing with the second unit. For as good of a defensive player as he is, it really hurt Boston not to have another scorer to compliment Isaiah Thomas in the starting lineup. They also gave up 130 points to the Thunder, which doesn’t bode well for the defense Smart was supposed to bring to the starting lineup.

Smart is also a little short to play small forward as well. At 6’4″ it was clear the Celtics had even more of a size disadvantage. While Evan Turner is technically listed as a shooting guard, he is an inch taller than Jae Crowder and has played small forward mostly throughout his career. During his six-year career, Turner has played small forward 70 percent of the time when on the floor. Not only does he bring a little more height, to an otherwise small starting lineup, he gives Boston another natural small forward.

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The way Turner plays, and how effective he has been this season, there was little doubt the impact he would make with the first unit. However, how would his absence affect the reserves?

The Celtics are deep enough that they can have someone else step up, even with Jonas Jerebko missing a couple of games. Although, there is still a clear starting and reserve lineup on Boston.

The starting lineup of Thomas/Bradley/Crowder/Sullinger/Johnson has played 654 minutes together (the most used lineup), while Bradley/Smart/Turner/Jerebko/Olynyk has played 125 minutes together (the second most used lineup). Bradley is the only starter in the second lineup and it clearly shows the difference between starters and reserve usage under Brad Stevens this season.

That’s why starting a younger player to give them significant minutes, and not mess up the rotation too much, could have been a good idea. Terry Rozier, R.J. Hunter, and James Young have all seen a significant increase in minutes since Crowder went down as they have all been waiting for their chance this season.

Rozier has seen at least 10 minutes in each of the past six games, making a decent impact on each game. R.J. Hunter saw 25 total minutes in the losses to the Thunder and Raptors, while Young played 22 minutes against Oklahoma City.

Terry Rozier at 6’2″ is a little small, especially when seeing how the Smart experiment went. However, it would have been interesting to see how he would have fit into the lineup while keeping the reserves the same, especially with Olynyk returning from injury. Rozier also rebounds better than most guards and creates well for his teammates.

Starting Hunter or Young could have been an option as well. Giving Hunter or Young valuable time to show what they could do could have been huge for Boston. James Young didn’t show much in his 22 minutes against Oklahoma City, but R.J. Hunter played well in 14 minutes against the Raptors, shooting 3-3 for eight points. Both also have the size to play small forward in the NBA.

The truth is, the Celtics won’t be able to replace Crowder, no matter how well Turner plays. While Turner is clearly the best player, giving minutes early in the game to a younger player to prove themselves could be useful as well. With a big off-season approaching, knowing what you have in young players is important. Just because someone is starting doesn’t mean they need to get starter minutes, or play at the end of the game.

Next: Three Reasons Behind the Celtics Recent Struggles

Turner has shined over the past two games, but remember who the Celtics were facing. If the reserves look weaker, especially with Olynyk and Jerebko coming off injuries, then Turner could move back to the bench to aid them, or Hunter or Rozier could step up. Either way, the Celtics have the Raptors and Clippers within the next week and that’s when we’ll get to see if this rotation truly works.

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