Boston Celtics Need Passing from Their Second Big

The Boston Celtics will be looking at passing when deciding on their second starting big

The Boston Celtics appear to have most of their roster settled, but still have a lot of uncertainty in the starting lineup. Both Avery Bradley and Amir Johnson have left starting positions available, and there is far too much speculation about Jae Crowder‘s starting position with Gordon Hayward coming in.

The biggest mystery for the starting lineup is going to be the second big that plays next to Al Horford. The Celtics then have multiple options to start next to him. They can go all small all the time with Crowder next to him, they can go for shooting with some size in Marcus Morris, or they can try out more traditional bigs in Aron Baynes and Ante Zizic.

The Celtics have multiple players that can all fill different roles as the second starting big, and it will be crucial for Brad Stevens to find which will fit the best.

One of the most vital aspects of bigs for the Celtics that may go unnoticed in this position battle is passing. We saw how much of an impact Horford’s passing had on the Celtics last year.

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What often went unnoticed last season, however, is how well Johnson passed the ball. He did not put up the crazy assist numbers that Horford did, and he did not open up other facets of the offense like Horford did with his passing out of the post.

What Johnson did is continue to facilitate the ball movement. Johnson was never a ball stopper in any situation, and he was constantly looking for his teammates that were constantly moving.

The Celtics do not need their other big to instigate offense with passing the way Horford does and they do not need him to be making crazy degrees of difficulty passes. What the Celtics cannot afford to have is a big that over dribbles or holds onto the ball.

The Celtics generate as many open looks as any team in the NBA, and the way they play offense means every player on the court needs to be ready to hit that open man.

Johnson brought his career assist percentage of 8.5 all the way up to 13, and it is safe to say that none of these potential bigs have an assist percentage that high.

That being said, the Celtics offense should inflate those numbers for anyone, and if the Celtics can see that they are a capable passer, the numbers should improve the way they did with Johnson.

The problem is that not all of these options can be seen as capable or willing passers that can have an impact in that area of the game. Baynes, for example, has never shown any signs of being a capable passer.

Baynes can certainly impact the Celtics in ways they need, but it will be more difficult to run a smooth offensive system with him in there. Best case scenario is that Baynes would have a tough adjustment period, but there have been no indications that he can become the passer the Celtics need.

Baynes appears to be the best fit to compliment the areas that Horford struggles in because of his paint presence and rebounding. That, however, does not mean he will be the best fit in this overall lineup.

The Celtics experienced a surge in their offensive fire power, and if they want to unlock their potential they need the ball movement of last season, with the shooting they now have. Baynes will not kill everything, but he will make it difficult to sustain the same kind of offensive movement that Johnson did.

Crowder should be a capable options. Again, there will be no play making on his end, but he has the comfort. Crowder has played that position before and the Celtics know their offense can run well with him at the four.

Crowder has the comfort, and when it comes to sustaining the offensive rhythm, that alone could make him the best option next to Horford.

Zizic is hard to gauge when it comes to passing. He has shown a willingness to be a passer, but he has never been a dynamic play maker. The Celtics will need to gauge if Zizic can handle that kind of passing, and if he is slowing things down in an adjustment period, that could kill his chances of getting into the starting lineup.

Then there is Morris who is the most intriguing option next to Horford. He does not solve the rebounding or size problems, but he could unlock yet another offensive level for this team.

The floor spacing alone will help the ball movement, but Morris has also been a capable passer in his career. Outside of Boston, Morris has been a better passer in his career than Johnson was outside of Boston, and this will be the best passing system he has ever been a part of.

Again, Morris does not need to be Horford. The offense does not have to be run by his passing. What Morris can do is make sure the ball does not stop, and make sure that Stevens can use him as more than just a stretch four hitting open shots.

Playing Morris will already ensure that the Celtics have three point threats from all five positions, something the Celtics have never had before. The Celtics have seen how well their offense can work when they have five solid passers on the court at once.

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Right now, Morris is the most intriguing option to start next to Horford because, with him, the Celtics will both have five shooters and five passers in their starting lineup, and Stevens can unleash the best offense of his career with those pieces.