Can Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier Mesh Together?

Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier will need to quickly figure out what kind of role they will be playing this season

The Boston Celtics have depended greatly on a phenomenal impact from their second unit, and without that impact it is hard to imagine them having the success they’ve had over the last two seasons. While the Celtics certainly have plenty of confidence in the young players on their second unit, it is going to look and function a lot differently this year.

Losing Evan Turner takes away their main ball handler and, most importantly, their main distributor. At this point, it is still hard to gauge how the will try to replace that impact. Both Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier will play with the ball in their hands, and even Kelly Olynyk may get an opportunity to be a play maker.

That being said, the Celtics have no pass first guards on the second unit and with two incredibly aggressive guards that have struggled to shoot expected to be running the offense, it may take time before they are able to function properly.

Finding the appropriate balance between Smart and Rozier is going to be absolutely essential, but it could be difficult finding the best way to get those two players to be at their best while on the court together.

The one thing that both Smart and Rozier should have no problem maintaining is the pace. They both play with unwavering energy and they are more comfortable when they are pushing the ball and using their defense in order to be successful in transition.

The issues, however, will be with play making and shooting. Rozier may be more comfortable as a play maker, but his aggressiveness in college never captured the balance that made Isaiah Thomas so successful. Rozier was a volume shooter at Louisville, averaging just 2.4 assists per game in his two seasons. Smart, while not having the same kind of responsibility as a volume scorer, did manage to average 4.5 assists per game.

Unfortunately, neither Smart nor Rozier have shown signs of being good distributors in the NBA, and that is where the chemistry issues could become severe. Avery Bradley and Thomas make such a great guard duo Thomas is the unquestioned ball handler, and Bradley is much more effective as an off ball shooter.

The same could be said about Smart and Turner last year. Smart never became a successful shooter, but Turner was clearly the ball handler and all of Smart’s aggression was put into scoring and defense.

The Celtics will need to figure out who is better off playing with the ball in their hands, and whoever that player is needs to make the same kind of adjustment that Thomas made in his second season with the Celtics. Pace and aggressiveness is vital to the Celtics’ offense, but they will not be able to function properly without their great ball movement.

The good news is that chemistry issues will strictly be limited to the offensive end. Smart and Rozier are young and inexperienced but could already be one of the deadliest defensive guard duos in the league, and certainly the best combo on a second unit.

On offense, however, the start of the season could be rough. Both Smart and Rozier were unimaginably bad shooting the ball last year. They need to figure out how to become effective scorers and one of them needs to figure out how to be an effective distributor. If neither of them are able to separate themselves as a play maker, then the offense will not be able to function the way it needs to on the second unit.

The problem is amplified considering Olynyk and Jonas Jerebko are the only trusted shooters on the second unit. The Celtics’ bench needs their passing and ball movement to get good enough looks and even if they are getting those looks, it is too hard to trust that they will knock them down.

At first, there is unlikely to be clearly defined roles between Smart and Rozier. In order to ease their way into the new roles as primary ball handlers it will need to be a collective effort. Smart and Rozier will need to focus on continually pushing the pace and continually making sure the ball keeps moving. Jaylen Brown has spoken about passing being an underrated aspect of his game and Olynyk has always proven to be a willing passer.

As a unit, the Celtics can attempt to make up for that one pure play maker, but it is impossible to trust such a young group of players to consistently play at that level as a unit. The second unit is now in a position where almost all their success will need to come from the defensive end, but the offensive potential is still there.

The Celtics knew that Smart was a work in progress on offense, and the time is coming for that improvement to come. Smart and Rozier are two top breakout candidates on the team and they are the ones being thrusted into a new and increased role.

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It will certainly take time for them to get comfortable with the roles, but giving Smart and Rozier this added responsibility will give the Celtics a much better outlook on their future. A lot of their future plans are hinging on both Smart and Rozier and this season could be crucial to what kind of role they are going to have in the long term future.