The Boston Celtics are a pass first team that has been built with score first players
Ever since Brad Stevens took over, there has been an interesting dynamic with distribution on the Boston Celtics. They have always been solid when it comes to overall assists. Getting open looks was never a problem, and that has been because of ball movement throughout.
The odd part is that they have done that without ever really having anyone get a significant amount of assists. Just five per game is enough to put you right around the team leader, and that would be with their starting center in Al Horford and a sixth man in Marcus Smart.
Horford and Smart might be the only players on the team that you could say are pass first players, but it is not that clear. For a center, Horford is one of the most prolific passers in the league, and he will pass up open shots he should take at times.
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Horford unlocks a lot with his passing, but he still has to be an aggressive shooter. The same goes for Smart, who does not let even the worst of shooting stop his from taking the open looks.
The Celtics have a roster that is filled with players whose instinct is going to be to score first. Somehow, they are able to do that while having an overall offense that relies on passing as much as any other team in the NBA.
Timing is essential for the Celtics. The worst thing you can do on offense is pass up a good opportunity. The Celtics need to be able to finish everything they create and that means no player on the court should be hesitant with a good opportunity.
Every player plays with that mentality, while also knowing they only get those opportunities when the entire unit is moving the ball well. They need to have all the aggressiveness, without forcing anything.
They need to make sure that they are able top keep the ball moving when the opportunity is not there, because that constant movement will eventually open something up.
Passing is an essential trait for every single player on the Celtics, and they need to incorporate it into everything that they want to do. Establishing that while having so may aggressive scorers is a big reason why this offense is so special, and should be impossible for anyone to stop on a consistent basis.
Going into this season, it is almost impossible to know who the primary distributor will be. They have Kyrie Irving, Horford and Smart, but they want their offense to be as fluid as possible. The Celtics want to be able to use all three of their stellar wings as ball handlers.
In order for that to be an option, they all need to be able to instigate the same kind of ball movement. Getting individual assists really means nothing to this team, because it is not about an individual creating on their own.
There are the players that will have the ball in their hands more and the box score will reflect that. In order for this offense to be their best, it has to be everyone contributing to the ball movement, without losing any of the scoring edge that will make them so dangerous.
It might get difficult to balance, but the Celtics are in a unique spot with so many players who will always be thinking to score first, while having an overall offensive system that requires everyone to be active passers at all times