Boston’s depth has been the key to their success this season, but also the down fall for the future?
Since the 2014 draft, five out six of the Celtics selections have been guards – the lone big man being Jordan Mickey. The Boston Celtics also traded for all-star Isaiah Thomas at the deadline last season, giving them their sixth new guard. While depth has been the key to success for Boston this season, will having all these guards cause problems in the future?
With all the guards they have selected it seems ridiculous to think that they could be targeting another one in the first round this season. However, with the lack of a spot-up shooter, drafting their fifth guard in the first round since 2014 seems likely.
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James Young and Marcus Thornton – team’s second round pick last year – aren’t expected to be in the Celtics’ rotation in the future. Although, that still leaves four more guards that have been newly added over the past couple of seasons, and Avery Bradley.
Isaiah Thomas has cemented himself as the team’s point guard of the future. He became an all-star this season and many people are pegging him as the Most Improved Player in the NBA this season. Besides the smallest guy on the court, the Celtics are faced with a lot of decisions involving their backcourt.
While having a deep frontcourt has been a key to Boston’s success, it has also slowed the development of their rookies. Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter have had a hard time finding any playing time this season, and when they did it was usually garbage time. Rozier has recently been seeing valuable playing time over the past month, however, Hunter continues to warm the bench and be a good teammate. And the only reason Rozier saw meaningful time on the court was because of injuries to Jae Crowder and Evan Turner.
It has led to a lot of doubt surrounding the future of Hunter. Many people – myself included – no longer believe he is this team’s three-point specialist of the future. Drafting someone like Jamal Murray out of Kentucky has now become more of a possibility, meaning Hunter’s time in Boston could be nearing its end without any real chance to show what he can do.
Drafting someone for the sole purpose of shooting would quickly push Hunter to the curb and possibly force him to spend all his time in the D-League. It would show that they have already moved on from the late-first round pick because Hunter was selected based off his shooting ability.
Rozier has shown a lot in the little time he has played this season. He’s shown he can be one of the better rebounding guards in the NBA, isn’t careless with the ball, and isn’t afraid to attack the basket. Although, his shot needs work, but so does Smart’s.
While Hunter’s future relies on this upcoming draft, Rozier’s future depends on a lot more. Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley have become key players in Brad Stevens‘s rotation this season and are the reason Rozier isn’t an everyday player. Bradley has become a dependable 3-and-D player, while Smart is arguably the best defender on the team. They are key clogs to the team, although, they have very similar games.
Despite Smart not being a great three-point shooter, he attempts 4.1 threes per game. Smart is a better passer and drives to the basket more efficiently than Bradley, but both player’s games are very similar, making one of them expendable and leaves other holes in the front court such as a true shooter – something Hunter was supposed to bring.
That could lead to a blockbuster trade – not something unfamiliar with Boston – this off-season. The Celtics have as many young, quality guards as any team in the NBA and teams are always trying to find their backcourt of the future. Having Bradley or Smart as part of a trade would open minutes for the young Terry Rozier and most likely land them a solid rotational player, as well.
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Having the defense that Smart and Bradley bring has been an asset that few teams around the league have been able to match. But, it has also caused Rozier to take a backseat the entire year and keeping them would force coach Stevens to pick between a potential rookie, veteran, and Rozier for playing time behind them and Thomas.
The Celtics have faced this problem with their frontcourt this season and the backcourt’s turn is coming up if nothing happens this off-season. It forced the Celtics’ hand to waive David Lee and bench Tyler Zeller. Boston has finally found a rotation that works, although, it has meant benching one of your lone seven-footers in Tyler Zeller and giving less minutes to Kelly Olynyk.
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Boston has surprised everyone this season and Danny Ainge didn’t think he would face this problem this fast. Boston wants to be active this off-season in every aspect, however, unless they’re able to unload a guard or two, Rozier and Hunter will continue to sit on the bench. Having a lot of quality guards behind an all-star is nice but useless when they all bring the same thing to the table. This is the off-season that will show who Boston sees as their future front court.