Passing might be the most important skill for a big on the Boston Celtics
The Boston Celtics are a team built around wings and ball handlers, while their bigs have always seemed to lag behind a bit. Al Horford is the lone exception, because he carries as much responsibility as any other player on the team.
The Celtics also use Horford in a lot more ways than you usually get from bigs. His defense holds everything together, and he has one of the most dynamic impacts on offense in the NBA. His shooting is out of this world, but the most important part of his game is passing.
The Celtics use Horford as a primary distributor, and that opens up all kinds of options on offense. Horford sets a standard for this team with passing, and it might be the most important aspect of their overall ball movement.
The Celtics need everyone on the court to be willing passers, making sure no one is slowing down the ball movement. They want to generate as many clean looks as possible, but never want to rely on any individual to have to create by himself.
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By having a big that can pass, the Celtics add another dimension to their ball movement, and it is the most difficult for defenses to account for. Horford is ideal in that position, and the rest of the bigs coming off the bench need to follow that example.
There is a lot of competition for the backup bigs on the Celtics, and while defense is the number one priority, passing might be more important than any other asset on offense for them. They are going to have plenty of shooting with the starting unit an the best way for any backup to fit in is by generating or maintaining ball movement.
A major key for the Celtics is to make sure they have no ball stoppers, and everyone on the court is able to handle the ball to a certain degree. The Celtics do not want to have to worry about their offense slowing down, because a defense is able to force the ball into his hands and clog everything up.
The Celtics ask a lot of their bigs, and it would be unfair to ask anyone else to pass the ball the way Horford does, but the moment any of these bigs hold the team back in any way, they are going to lose their playing time.
The Celtics need to keep everything as fluid as possible, with all players being interchangeable on the court to a certain degree. Just as the Celtics need bigs that can switch on defense and defend almost every single position, they need their bigs to be maintaining ball movement to make sure their offense can also be fluid like that.
The Celtics have a lot of individual talent that can create their own offense, but the ball movement is what makes them so special. The best part is that the Celtics will be one of the best passing teams in the league, without a single player that puts up big assist numbers.
For the Celtics, passing is not about assists, because they want to break down an entire defense, allowing the easiest shots to open up. With bigs that can pass, there is almost nothing a defense can do.
The Celtics will have all kinds of options that will hit any open shots they get, and passing from their bigs is as important as passing from any other position. If the Celtics have a big that is unable to maintain that ball movement, it changes the approach they have to take on offense, and exposes a potential weakness.
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If one of the bigs coming off the bench really wants to separate themselves, and establish a prominent role, it is absolutely essential for them to be strong passers.