The Celtics talented group of guards has been a big reason why they’re in the conference finals. A lot of changes could be made to this group over the summer to transition this team towards the future.
Last week we took a look at the state of the Celtics frontcourt. Now it’s time to switch to the guards. There aren’t many teams in the NBA that have as much talent and depth in the backcourt as the Boston Celtics. This is a loaded backcourt that doesn’t have much room for new players at the moment. With the Celtics picking #1 in a guard-heavy draft, another talented guard will likely be added into the mix. One of the current guards might have to go to make room, or maybe Danny Ainge has a trade up his sleeves involving that top pick. Something has to give.
Current Starters
Isaiah Thomas (Signed Through 2017-2018)
Avery Bradley (Signed Through 2017-2018)
Who would’ve thought the 5’9 point guard out of Washington University would blossom into one of the best players in the NBA. After being selected last in the 2011 NBA draft, the only person who probably thought that was possible was Isaiah Thomas himself. After a solid 3 ½ seasons in Sacramento and Phoenix, Thomas really began to flourish in Boston after a mid-season trade to Boston in 2014-2015. This season was his best year yet. He finished the season 3rd in scoring at 28.9 PPG and will likely finish top-5 in the MVP voting. Not too shabby for a guy brought over to be a bench player.
Barring an offseason trade, Thomas will be in green for at least one more season before his contract expires. That’s when a difficult decision will have to be made. The question “Should Boston sign Thomas to a max contract?” has been discussed and debated across New England sports media for the better part of a year now. Offensively, there’s no doubt that he deserves a max contract. It’s the defensive side of his game that might cause some concerns in Boston’s front office.
The Celtics have several solid defenders on the roster, but Thomas is definitely not one of them. I hate to say that he’s a defensive liability, but that’s basically what he is. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: If you combine Thomas’ offense with Marcus Smart’s defense, you’d have the best point guard in the NBA. Unfortunately, we haven’t developed that kind of technology yet.
As we all know, Thomas is short. In fact, he’s currently the shortest player in the NBA along with Kay Felder of the Cleveland Cavaliers. On any given night, the player he’s guarding will usually have anywhere from three to six inches of height on him. If the opposing player is a good shooter, they’ll just keep shooting over him until Boston switches defenders.
Even though Thomas is one of the quickest players in the NBA, he can’t seem to keep other quick point guards from getting past him and into the lane. This is why we routinely see Smart or Avery Bradley guarding the opposing point guard.
Thomas has certainly become a fan favorite in Boston, but signing him to a max contract might not be beneficial to this team long-term. With Boston likely bringing in a guard in the draft, that could mean the end for Thomas in Boston. It would not surprise me if next season was Isaiah’s last in Beantown. I also wouldn’t be surprised if Boston signed him to a max contract. It really could go either way. Boston has a big decision to make over the next 12 months.
Bradley’s contract, like Thomas’, is up after next season. He won’t be a player that is in the running for a max contract, but Bradley certainly has been a key part of this team for several years now. In fact, he’s the only player left from the 2012 team that lost to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.
Throughout his career, Bradley has been considered an excellent defender. In 2012-13 he was named to the NBA All-Defensive 2nd team and then to the All-Defensive 1st team in 2015-16. His offense is what hasn’t come along like the Celtics had hoped. He’s been a decent, yet unspectacular, scorer in his career. The problem is that Boston has been lacking a consistent 2nd scorer for years now. Many had hoped that Bradley would become that scorer, but that just hasn’t happened.
This season was Bradley’s best scoring season yet. In 55 games, he averaged career highs with 16.3 PPG on 46.3 percent shooting. That’s a decent season, but the Celtics need more scoring than that out of their second offensive option behind Thomas.
Another area that has become concerning is his durability. Bradley has missed at least 20 games in three of the last four seasons, including 27 absences this year.
Bradley is the player I can see being involved as a piece in a major trade this offseason, especially if Boston drafts a guard with their top pick. If not, he might be off to another team after the 2017-18 season. I’m sure Boston would love to keep Bradley on their roster, but if he wants to stay it might have to be as a key bench contributor. All these top picks can’t keep being buried on the bench.
Bench Contributors
Marcus Smart (Signed Through 2017-2018)
Terry Rozier (Signed Through 2018-2019)
One of the key reasons why Boston was able to advance past Washington was their incredible bench depth, especially in the backcourt. Washington just didn’t have the bench guards that could keep up with the likes of Smart and Terry Rozier. In his three years in the NBA, Smart has turned into one of the peskiest defenders in the league. His offensive game, however, has been a major letdown.
Smart has seen his scoring go up in each season from 7.8 to 9.1 to 10.6 this season. His shooting percentages, on the other hand, have been horrible. The best he’s ever shot was 36.7% in his rookie season and for his career is shooting 35.8%. That’s just not going to get it done, and certainly not what you expected out of a #6 overall pick. If it wasn’t for his stellar defense, Smart would be getting much fewer minutes than he currently is.
Smart is another guard I could see involved in a trade package this summer. There’s probably still a team or two out there that would love to have him as their starting point guard. He still has a fair amount of talent and promise. That could be very beneficial is Boston wants to dangle him in trade talks.
As the year has progressed, I’ve grown to appreciate Terry Rozier more and more. His contributions don’t show up in the stat sheet quite yet, but it’s the intangibles that he brings to the court every night. He plays with confidence and tenacity. Two qualities that are relatively rare for young players in this league. If any of the guards mentioned above get dealt this offseason, Rozier is a player that seems like he would be able to handle the increase in playing time.
Non-Factors/Likely Gone
Demetrius Jackson (Signed Through 2019-2020)
James Young (Unrestricted Free Agent)
Gerald Green (Unrestricted Free Agent)
Every time James Young enters the game I cringe. Yes, he’s usually only put in during garbage time, but he’s just flat out terrible. Drafting him was clearly a waste. I think most of you will join me in being glad that he’s now a free agent and hopefully out of our lives forever.
Like I mentioned in the opening paragraph, there’s a lot of depth on this team. That doesn’t bode well for 2016 2nd round pick Demetrius Jackson. He might be able to carve out a bench role for an NBA team at some point, but that doesn’t look like it will be soon or with Boston. Expect him to be a D-League player for the next couple seasons.
There was a handful of games this postseason that Gerald Green helped this team, and I thank him for that. But when you look at the big picture, this isn’t going to be a player back in Boston next season. His contract expires at the end of next season and he doesn’t possess enough value to be a prominent contributor to this team.
Next: Boston Celtics Make Their Own Luck
With all these talented guards, it’s going to be interesting to see how the Celtics handle this number one pick. Do they keep it and take another talented guard? Or do they trade it for an all-star big man? Only time will tell, but either way, this backcourt is set up to be very good for a long time.