Boston Celtics: Balance on offense key to success

Balance on offense is going to be key to playoff success for the Boston Celtics

The Boston Celtics did not have a perfect offensive game against the Milwaukee Bucks, but they played about as well as you would expect that group to play. With five different players scoring at least 19 points, but no player scoring more than 24 points, they made it clear that they are not going to look to any one individual to try and take the kind of role Kyrie Irving would have.

Right now, it is realistically possible that Marcus Morris will be the leading scorer on the team, and that could definitely be enough to get a first round victory. You could also say the same thing about Al Horford, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Terry Rozier.

All of these players are stepping up in the face of these injuries, but the most important thing is that they are doing it together, and nobody has the mentality that is has to be them, without the help of their teammates.

The ceiling of this offense will always be limited by this, because they are not looking to have that top prolific scorer that will blow the top off the game. The Celtics know they do not have that individual talent that can go back and forth with Giannis Antetokounmpo play after play, and that mentality is allowing this offense to function better than most expected it would without Irving.

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The Celtics still left a lot to be desired, and they made things a lot more difficult on themselves hitting just over 41 percent of their overall shots. That should not be too surprising, however, because the Celtics have been using superior three point shooting to make up for a weaker overall percentage all season long.

It is frustrating that the Celtics are missing some of the easier layups, and can often force things on the inside and get out of control. That being said, the Celtics know that they have deadly three point shooters all over the court, and every one of them needs to get involved.

The Celtics do not have a true number one option, and seeing four different players taking between 18-20 shots is something you need to get used to. All of this young talent is also aware of how much young talent is around them, and they all want to get everyone involved.

Maybe it is possible that one of these young stars will have that game in them where they take over on offense, and carry it themselves. That, however, is not how they get out of the first round. The Celtics need all of these players contributing, and they need everyone to be making it easier around them.

The Celtics are a lot harder to defend when you cannot predict the way the offense is going to go. Horford facilitates and instigates the most, but he is creating for any option around him, and the threat of that kind of balance is not something the Bucks will be able to account for.

The Celtics are never going to be truly superb on offense. They are often going to have those lulls and know that struggles will inevitably come with so much young and unproven talent. The good side of that is how all the young stars are willing to let their teammates help them as much as possible, because they understand they need that balance for themselves, and their team to be at the best.

Next: Can we expect the Boston Celtics to be better?

The Celtics will continue to look for ways to get better, but that is not going to be about any individual performance. There may be those breakout moments, but that cannot be the foundation of their offense. If the Celtics can play with the kind of balance they did in game one, they can afford to struggle for periods, and still have the confidence that the offense will come together and be good enough to get a chance to win.

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