The Boston Celtics are proving exactly how important guards are to them
Now that the Boston Celtics are nearing what may be considered their assembled roster, one thing has become abundantly clear, they love guard depth. After losing Evan Turner in free agency there may have been some concerns about the stability on their guard depth. That can be put aside because the Celtics are doing everything to make sure they continue to have options in their back court.
In addition to having one of the younger and more promising core of guards in the NBA with Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier, they have revamped the depth behind them with newly signed guard Gerald Green and second round draft pick Demetrius Jackson.
The investing the Celtics are doing in their front court is much less financial right now. Jackson was given an extra sense of security considering he was given a partially guaranteed four year deal, despite being a second round draft pick. They also addressed their need for size in the back court with the addition of Green.
Even before these additions, the Celtics had a core of guards that they believed in, and yet they continue to invest valuable roster space on the back court. The Celtics did also resign Tyler Zeller and gave Ben Bentil three year contract, but they desperately need those front court options. The fact that the Celtics continue to look to address their back court despite the much greater stability than the front court proves how important guards are to the Celtics, especially defensive guards.
The Celtics are able to use this kind of roster space on their back court largely because of Brad Stevens. Despite lacking the playoff success, Stevens has cemented himself as one of the best young coaches the NBA has seen in a long time, and one thing he has done phenomenally each season is an incredible dynamic use of his guards.
First of all, defense has always been the priority. The Celtics have used top picks on Smart, Rozier and that was with already having one of the best defensive guards in the league in Bradley. The point guard position is currently flourishing in the NBA and there may not be a team in a better position to defend opposing back courts than the Celtics, and that applies to both their starters and second unit.
That dynamic use of guards is what allows the Celtics to do so well with small ball. They may have difficulty replacing Turner’s defensive presence, but Stevens has more than enough guards that he can be comfortable with defending the three. Smart has already proven himself on that end and Rozier will get a much bigger role this year.
Literally every single guard on the Celtics is also expected to interchange between the one and the two. Every guard on the Celtics needs to be prepared to play with the ball in their hands, they need to be willing passers, and they need to be able to move properly off ball, leading to quality opportunities.
Adding Horford could change things, but almost all of Boston’s success in the Brad Stevens era has been because of their guard play, and the front office is making sure that the Celtics never lose that edge with their guards, even if they have to deal with the loss of guards with key roles on the team.
Putting this much value on guards will also give the Celtics the most opportunities to find that ideal two way guard. They have prioritized defense but the idea with Smart and now with Rozier is that they need to develop on the offensive end. Smart has been an awful shooter but he has never lost his aggressiveness. Smart knows that his impact will be too limited if he does not become a factor on the offensive end, and the same will be the case with Rozier. The Celtics are looking to stack the odds in their favor in order to get the best possible guard for their team.
Horford gives the Celtics some much needed balance by bolstering their front court, but the guards will remain more important to their success. The Celtics only started really investing draft picks in the front court this season, and that did not stop them from making the moves with Jackson and Green, while still not knowing exactly what they will get out of Rozier or Hunter.
There is a lot of hope and promise with the Celtics’ back court and they now have a well established duo in Bradley and Thomas. They get the offense and the defense they need from those two and they have proven that they will flourish in Stevens’ system.
Unfortunately, depending on what the Celtics do with future free agents, there could be problems when Thomas and Bradley’s contracts are up. Both of them are certainly more important than Turner was, but they are establishing the kind of depth that will allow them to accommodate significant loses in the back court.
Right now, the biggest problem is the unrealized potential. Until the Celtics know exactly what they will get out of all these young guards they have on their team, they will continue to depend more on Thomas and Bradley than anyone else.
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Guard play has always been a priority for the Celtics and they have reinforced that idea this offseason. They have taken the long route with their drafting, rather than making those blockbuster trades that Ainge always talked about and that should start paying off this season when the younger guards will be dealing with the heightened expectations.