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Boston Celtics: Top heavy or deep rotation?

By Joshua Bateman

OAKLAND, CA - JANUARY 27: Kyrie Irving #11 and Marcus Morris #13 of the Boston Celtics exchange a hand shakes during the game against the Golden State Warriors on January 27, 2018 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - JANUARY 27: Kyrie Irving #11 and Marcus Morris #13 of the Boston Celtics exchange a hand shakes during the game against the Golden State Warriors on January 27, 2018 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Boston Celtics have the top talent for a great short rotation but Brad Stevens has a lot of depth that he can use

The Boston Celtics are going into next season with one of the best collections of talent in the NBA, and there are multiple ways they can try to embrace it. The Celtics might be the only team in the league in a position to shorten the rotation and go completely top heavy, or use a deeper bench than any other contending team.

The top players on this roster are ready to compete with any other starting unit in the NBA. The Celtics have one of the deepest starting units in the NBA, and they really do not need to go much deeper than just Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart with a consistent presence in the rotation.

Obviously, they still need to bring back Smart, but he is too important to not incorporate in these lineup ideas.

Keep in mind, this is before we see how good both Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown can become. Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving alone create matchup nightmares for any defense, so that means Tatum and Brown can be running wild with clear advantages on every single possession.

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Add on Al Horford hitting all his open shots and finding all these advantages to exploit, and it could be hard to reconcile any minutes when these guys are not on the court. With Rozier and Smart coming off the bench, the Celtics will get an energy boost on both ends, and make sure there is no opportunity for any opponent to have a clear weakness to attack.

With that seven man rotation, there is no where anyone can hide, and they will be getting brutally attacked in too many ways to account for. The top of this rotation is one of the most special ones in the NBA, and Brad Stevens is going to have so many different ways for them to exploit any level of opponent.

The funny thing is that chances are Stevens will not go that route, because he is known for embracing a deep rotation, and the Celtics still have valuable players behind that top seven.

Stevens loves to make sure his players are fresh, and going eight or nine deep with their rotation will make sure everyone on the court is as fresh as possible, and no one will have to endure too much wear and tear before the playoffs start.

On top of that, Stevens can unlock a lot more lineup options by going to a deeper rotation. Their top seven is pure small ball. Horford and Smart make all the difference on defense, and having the size of Brown in the back court gives them a great opportunity to go pure small ball, and run teams off the court with little size in their front court.

The reality is that the Celtics will be able to be in better positions against certain teams with a deeper bench. They have Daniel Theis and Robert Williams who can be difference makers on defense. They are still somewhat undersized, but bring a different dimension of denfense to the front court.

Then you have Marcus Morris, who everyone knows can be an incredibly valuable scorer. Add on the prospect of Aron Baynes potentially being brought back in free agency. With Baynes, they will have a trusted traditional big, and we saw how great he and Horford can be on defense together.

They also just added Brad Wanamaker, giving them another hybrid wing type option that can bring some additional depth.

There is no way all these players will be able to get consistent minutes, but there are too many options for Stevens to use a shorter rotation this season than we have seen in the past.

Especially in the regular season, he is going to try out as much as possible. He will tighten things up once things settle down and he knows what he can get out of all these different pieces. That alone will keep everyone fresh for the playoffs, but there is a good chance a lot of these options can work  out really well.

Stevens will always make sure these bench players are put in positions to succeed, and having that kind of depth can give them an advantage over any team in the NBA. The Celtics have an opportunity to have the kind of bench that can abuse other second units and keep up with a lot of starters.

Next: Brad Stevens already believes in Robert Williams

Stevens will also be able to stagger starters, and get the top players in as many different positions as possible, so he can know how many different ways they can be used in the most important situations.

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