Boston Celtics: Changes to Lineup Might Signal Change of Fortune
Starting Smart & Morris
Firstly, injecting Marcus Smart and Marcus Morris into the starting lineup seemed to bring that much-needed toughness that Coach Stevens had been emphasizing during the losing streak. When both Smart and Morris are in, the defense is sharper, and there is a clear improvement in the offensive execution.
In both plays above, you can see the added dimension of strength and defensive versatility that both players bring when they are on the court: Smart with his post defense, once again outmuscling a center on the lower blocks and Morris using his body to regain his positioning and eventually leading to a transition three.
Additionally, on the Marcus Smart front, it is no mystery that when Smart plays the Celtics compete better on both ends – in Marcus Smart’s five most-played games this season, the Celtics have won four of them. The one game in which they lost of those five, a 123-115 loss to Utah on the road, he happened to finish plus-10 for the game.
The issue with starting Smart and Morris is that come playoff time, the team’s more talented scorers and playmakers like Gordon Hayward or Jaylen Brown are going to need to be reinserted into the starting five or at the very least, the closing five.
A starting five with Smart and Morris is a short-term solution to the Celtics’ woes. Until Hayward regains confidence his shot and some semblance of his athletic ability, Smart should remain in the starting lineup and even close out the games.
Secondly, the Celtics bigs have to become a more integral part of the team. Aron Baynes has been active on defense, making it easier on Horford on the defensive end by taking away some of the burdens as the defensive anchor. Once again, like Smart, when Baynes plays decent minutes, the Celtics get results: in games where Baynes plays more than 15 minutes, the Celtics are 6-2.
Even players like Daniel Theis and rookie Robert Williams have shown that they deserve more minutes during games. Theis has explicitly proven to be an offensive spark plug at times and can more than hold his own on the defensive end. He can stretch the court with his 3-point shot and has the lateral agility to be able to switch on almost every screen.
Theis leads the team in defensive rating at 84.0 and the team in net rating as well at 14.5. Brad Stevens is very matchup-based with his starting fives, yet starting Baynes going forward could force the issue for the other team to alter the starting five instead of Stevens being so flexible with his.
Whether it is Horford, Baynes, or even Theis at the five, it has proven to be a recipe of success so far this season, especially when Horford is paired with one of these bigs. Look for Theis and Baynes both to have a more significant impact going forward in the season.