Boston Celtics Get a Glimpse of the Future in Eastern Conference Finals

The young players on the Boston Celtics made their presence felt in the Eastern Conference Finals

The Boston Celtics ended their remarkable season with a bitter taste in their mouth. A gentleman’s sweep at the hand of the Cleveland Cavaliers was far from their aspirations, but that feeling of disappointment takes nothing away from the immense progress this team made these playoffs.

The Celtics did a lot of things that most people would have said was not possible. They proved to be the biggest threat to the Cavaliers, even though they went into the playoffs being bombarded with talk about both the Raptors and the Wizards being a better matchup.

The Celtics have a lot of things to build on from this season, and in the Eastern Conference Finals in particular. When Isaiah Thomas went down, Brad Stevens had to shift his approach. The Celtics would have to depend a lot more on their bench and that meant giving the youngest players on the team the kind of opportunity that first and second year players do not get.

It is not as if these guys were consistently dominant, but the Celtics can leave the conference finals knowing that Marcus Smart, Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown are capable of taking on the pressure and responsibility of the playoffs, showing the kind of poise and maturity that is never found in players their age.

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There were many times when the Celtics decided to run things through their young players, and they were times when they were able to go on runs against the most elite talent in the NBA. These young players stepped up in a way that should not be expected of players their age, and that alone is enough to leave the Celtics knowing that this is just the beginning, and they will continue to be one of the most improved teams in the league for yet another year.

There has been all kinds of speculation about trades, free agents and the number one overall pick, but the Celtics leave the Eastern Conference Finals knowing that if none of those options work out, they still have a future to build towards with the young players currently on the team, while being right on the fringe of a title contending team with the likes of Thomas, Avery Bradley and Al Horford playing the best basketball of their career.

It is a bit different for Smart, who went into these playoffs already established as one of the most important players on the team with a role that was set in stone. He was madly inconsistent as usual, but he reminded everyone why he will be in contention for the best defensive guard in the league for a long time in this league. Then, in their long victory against the Cavaliers, Smart showed the kind of high end potential that fans have been dreaming of.

It does not take long to see that Smart has a lot of flaws in his game, but he made it clear that he knows how to run this offense. Smart has the passing and he has the aggressive shooting, he just needs to find the finishing.

The game three victory against the Cavaliers was a little window into the potential future he has with this team. Smart is going to remain stuck to a sixth man role until he proves the has can play consistently on offense. That being said, if the offense he brought in game three can become closer to the norm, he can become the kind of two way guard that the Celtics will have no choice other than to play and pay.

Smart does some things a lot better than Rozier or Brown do anything right now, but they also have more untapped potential. We know a lot more about Smart’s limitations than those other two, and they did more things than anyone could have expected to suggest they will become great players.

The fact that a 20 year old was matched up on the all time leading playoff scorer in the midst of one of the best playoff runs ever, and managed to hold his own on occasions, is all the Celtics needed to see.

Brown still has a lot of room to develop physically, and he is already confident enough to, for some periods, defend the best players in the league. That kind of defense will get any player minutes under Brad Stevens, and Brown could end up being the best defender Stevens has ever had at his disposal.

On offense. the athletic flashes were one of the true highlights of the series. Brown attacks the rim with blind confidence, and may already be behind only Thomas in finishing through contact and maneuvering his way through bodies in the paint.

Another great thing from Brown, that he could have easily picked up form Smart, is that he just found ways to have an impact. Brown would attack the matchups where he had an advantage, he would fight for offensive boards, and be one of the few players to box out properly. He plays with the kind of intensity and competitiveness that had him fitting in just fine on the biggest stage you can get in the East. Brown was fearless and unfazed, even when Stevens took him out of the rotation entirely early on.

There are obviously flaws, but when you take into account that Brown also had his moments as a shooter, it is impossible to not believe in the future of him. Brown may have the brightest future on this team and you better believe he will be fighting for a starting position next season.

Then, perhaps the biggest surprise of the playoffs, Rozier. Rozier was a non factor for almost the entire regular season. He was an after thought, and I have a hard time believing anyone who thought he could get the kind of role he ended with.

In the regular season, Rozier was wild and out of control, and became a liability on both ends. In the playoffs, Rozier was masterful on both ends. He came in and ran the offense for the second unit, knocked down 37 percent of his three point shots, while doing a great job attacking the rim.

There were times when Rozier was able to manufacture runs by himself. He is the most energetic defender on the court, and is aggressive enough to be one of the best rebounders on the team. Rozier was consistently too good to be left on the bench, and he finished as a +55 in a playoff run where no starter was in the positive and the next best was Kelly Olynyk at +16.

The Celtics already had a log jam at the guard position, but Rozier has made it impossible to ignore him. He has a ways to go before he is a starter, but Rozier has proven that he is ready to run this second unit while being a top presence on defense.

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The Celtics saw all the promise they needed to somehow get even more optimistic about their future with these young players, and Markelle Fultz is expected to be added to that group. The Celtics have assembled a team that has proven they are more than good enough to be a factor in the playoffs, but the potential of their young core could blow away what they are doing right now.