Boston Celtics Bench Needs to Stop Taking Turns on Offense
The Boston Celtics need their second unit to bring a different kind of spark
The Boston Celtics are in midst of their worst stretch of the season, and it is fairly obvious that their offense is the biggest problem right now. The worst part might be that Kyrie Irving is still playing out of his mind, but everything else around him has fallen apart. They are shooting too much and they are shooting terribly.
The starting unit alone has their own problems, but a recurring theme has been putting too much responsibility on the starting unit, particularly on offense. We have seen some flashes and sparks from most of the bench players, but not a single one of them brings consistent offense.
The starting unit needs some of that added security from the second unit. Not only do they not want the starting unit to have to do everything themselves, but the added pressure of thinking they need to do more is just extra strain that could hold them back.
We have seen on multiple occasions this season that the only time the offense is truly at its best is when the second unit gets going. We have never seen a game where the second unit gets going, and the overall offense is nonexistent. On the other hand, we have seen Irving go off in two of these miserable offensive loses.
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The starting unit is obviously more prominent and impactful, but they are never going to be bad enough to bring them too far down if the second unit is also playing well.
Throughout the year, the Celtics have gotten a lot of sparks off that bench. Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart, Shane Larkin and Marcus Morris have all brought timely scoring that has helped in a way. The problem is that it is feeling more and more like they are just taking turns trying to take over.
We have all kinds of examples of these guys going off on their own, and if the starting unit is all playing well that is usually enough to win. When the starting unit also struggles, just getting one performance like Smart’s last night is clearly not going to be enough.
It is also not if the Celtics need two of these guys to go off like this, because that is unrealistic. There are only so many minutes for those second unit guys, and if each individual is trying to take over every time they touch the ball, they are not going to consistently play well.
Every time one of these second unit guys touch the ball, they are looking to be the ones that make the plays. When it is Morris, you rarely see him even look to make passes. He has bailed the offense out on many different occasions, but the offense can only be so good if Morris is trying to make a play for himself every time he touches the ball.
With Smart it is a bit different, because he is one of the best passers on the team. The problem comes when he looks to make the difficult passes that will lead to opportunities, rather than try to instigate overall ball movement. Smart often looks like he might be assist hunting a bit, and that is valuable at times.
There will be moments when the Celtics want Smart to be looking to make those passes and makes those kinds of plays, but it is not something that can continuously be sustained. These guys need to be working together and generating the easiest looks as possible, both for the man shooting the ball and passing the ball.
The second unit is not talented enough on offense to think they can make all these plays as individuals. The second unit needs to get back to playing more fluid, and not looking to individuals to take their turns making the plays they need.
The second unit is always going to play a vital role for this team, and with Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum both struggling, they need to pick up even more slack. We should have expected these young guys to start slumping at one point, and now is when the depth will really be tested.
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They may never reach a point where they can consistently play well, but they need to play with the mentality that they can. The second unit players are trying to do things that are not realistically sustainable for them, and until that changes they will not bring the spark the starting unit needs right now.