Boston Celtics Could be Faster This Season

Don’t rule out the Boston Celtics playing even faster than they did last year

The Boston Celtics were extremely successful pushing the pace last year, and it was vital to their offensive success. Isaiah Thomas was relentless pushing the pace and that allowed them to overcome much of the poor shooting. The Celtics had the third highest pace at 101.2 last season and there is one big reason why that could go up this upcoming season, Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart.

Evan Turner was an extremely effective and important ball handler for the second unit. He found out how he needed to attack and was the only true distributor on the second unit. With Turner gone and Rozier expected to take over that role, the approach could change. Rozier is not the passer that Turner is and his offensive game is much less defined. Rozier does, however, get an edge when it comes to aggression and attacking. Rozier will need to find a way to manufacture offense and the trio of him Smart and Jaylen Brown should be living in transition while making sure they get the increased volume they need to make up for the loss of Turner’s efficiency.

Last season, the pace was the key to overcoming much of their offensive struggles, and that will be amplified on the second unit. Offensively, Rozier was disastrous with the Celtics last year. He shot poorly and did not have an impact as a distributor. He did, however, find a way to fit in and have positive contributions with his aggressiveness.

There was not a single moment where Rozier was not in attack mode and do not expect that to change with his increased role. Smart takes a similar approach. He takes a lot of shots that people believe he should not be taking but the most important thing has been the aggression. Shots early in the shot clock is never a concern for the Celtics and both Smart and Rozier have embraced that mentality as much as anyone else on the team.

Last year the Celtics gave us a glimpse into the potential of Stevens’ offensive system. To be the fifth highest scoring team while boasting 24th ranked shooting percentage is difficult to reconcile. Pace and volume of opportunities was the key to overcoming poor shooting and the real excitement comes if the Celtics can combine that pace with top shooting. The Warriors managed to find an ideal balance between pace and shooting and the Celtics should be able to get closer to that kind of success this season.

The starting unit will be much better finishing wise and they have a great opportunity to propel this offense. The second unit, who are still lacking good shooting, will be depending entirely on maintaining the pace and volume of opportunities.

Rozier and Smart are the exact kind of players that will relentlessly push the pace no matter what. It is unrealistic to expect their shooting to get much better without Turner, but their overall production could be in line for a big increase. They now have the responsibility and pushing the pace is exactly how they want to play. Smart and Rozier will both be comfortable pushing the pace and even if it will inevitably get really ugly, they have an opportunity to maintain offensive success, despite their offensive instigators being poor shooters.

The Celtics are also going to be a much more stable team this year. Especially in the front court, the rotation was all over the place last year and that made it more difficult for players to get comfortable in Stevens’ system. It is a great sign that Smart and Rozier have already proven their ability to advance that system, and now the team as a whole will also be in a better position to embrace the pace.

Given his improvement last year, it cannot be ruled out that Thomas will get even better. The Celtics can use a more stable rotation to allow players to find out what they need to do to optimize their game in Stevens’ system. Thomas was already a proven scorer, but he knew the key to being successful in that system was quick and intelligent decision making. Thomas found an ideal balance between scoring distributing and limiting turnovers and now more players will get an opportunity to find the kind of comfort that these guards have embraced.

Stevens came in and immediately established an offensive system that brilliantly accommodated awful shooting, and with how young the Celtics are and with the opportunity the players have had to grow in his system, they should continue to improve.

The Celtics know that they need to improve their shooting in order to reach their offensive potential, but that potential is so high because of that incredible pace. The Celtics have drafted guards that fluorish in the pace and that will be the key to replacing the offense that will be lost without Turner on the second unit.

Next: Kelly Olynyk is More Valuable Off the Bench

Rozier and Smart increasing the pace will not be enough to improve the offense, but it is the best way for them to make up for the unique offensive impact that Turner was able to bring as a ball handler.