This past season, the Boston Celtics ranked 10th in offensive rating and 13th in net rating.
Those two dropped to 27th and 24th, respectively, once the team’s lead star, Jayson Tatum, stepped off the floor.
As seen by the numbers and the film, the Boston Celtics were a one-dimensional team with nothing to offer outside its star player. They could not make decisions, create shots, or make rudimentary passes without Tatum to do it for them.
This style of play is no way to win at the highest level.
The task ahead for the C’s new General Manager seems stark, but in reality, it isn’t that complicated.
They have a lot to do to improve their offense and get back to contending status.
Brad Stevens needs to bring ancillary pieces that do not rely on Jayson Tatum like the 2020-21 role players did.
The front office also needs to find decision-makers and players who will move without the ball while staying well under the NBA’s salary cap apron.
There are plenty of veterans or cheap role players that could greatly benefit the team’s offense.
However, before all else, the Celtics must figure out a way to get the most out of the group of ballers they currently have on the payroll, and we at HH believe there are 3 ways they can go about doing this that could help improve their offense:
Offensive Improvement for Boston Celtics No.1) Maximizing big man play
The C’s big man rotation for next season will most likely consist of Al Horford, Robert Williams, and Moses Brown.
With Brad Stevens stressing financial flexibility, it is unlikely he rolls with Tristan Thompson, who will make nearly $10 million next season.
The same goes for Kornet for, with Brown making a modest $3 million for the next three seasons, none of which are fully guaranteed, Stevens will likely let the big walk to another team.
There is a chance Stevens brings in another big like Larry Nance Jr., Gorgui Dieng, or JaVale McGee since Stevens historically prefers veterans over young guys, but I won’t be making that assumption in this article.
For now, the Boston Celtics have a very versatile offensive center rotation.
Robert Williams, who will likely start, provides elite rim rolling, passing, and offensive rebounding but does not have a sustainable jumper and struggles to finish through contact.
Off the bench, the team welcomes back Al Horford, who will give Udoka some reliable shooting, decision making, passing, and facilitation but may not be able to roll and finish like he used to.
As for Moses Brown, he will certainly see multiple DNP’s and garbage time minutes barring any injuries to the Celtics’ front two. He will be a development player until he takes strides as a finisher and decision-maker.
Udoka must use these skill sets to the team’s advantage.
Not many teams have the luxury of having such a deep center rotation; it’s up to the Celtics to leverage this strength against their opponents.
When Williams is in, the Boston Celtics need to push the ball and get the big man running in transition. They need to keep the floor spaced for his kick-outs and drive the ball to the hoop to create offensive rebounding opportunities.
With Horford, they should play slower and more methodically.
Let the veteran direct traffic and organize things rather than trying to catch the opposing team off guard. With Williams, it’s chaos, but with Horford, it’s a chess match.
Offensive Improvement for Boston Celtics No. 2) Creating reliable bench units
This one is more up to Brad Stevens than it is Ime Udoka.
The Boston Celtics will likely start Marcus Smart, Evan Fournier, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Robert Williams.
Horford will be the first off the bench, and then after him comes one of Payton Pritchard, Romeo Langford, Aaron Nesmith, or Jabari Parker. This rotation is passable but not exactly a bench that a team contending for a title wants.
It’s too reliant on young players with rough skill sets.
Brad Stevens needs to find the Boston Celtics a worthy seventh man, preferably one that can play on the wing.
If they roll with Payton Pritchard and Marcus Smart, that’s fine.
If they move with Al Horford and Robert Williams, that’s fine too, but they absolutely cannot back Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown up with two players still on their rookie contracts.
There are a few names I have brought up before, but Garrison Matthews and Danny Green are by far the best options for the C’s bench wing rotation.
Both are elite shooters and good team defenders that can move in and out of the starting lineup depending on injuries and Udoka’s preferences. Neither would be particularly expensive, and neither would tie Boston’s hands next offseason should they wish to pursue Bradley Beal, Stephen Curry, or Zach LaVine.
Other guys like Patty Mills, Reggie Jackson, or Gorgui Dieng would all be great, and the Boston Celtics can get them along with these two wing options, but they don’t take precedence over them.
If the Celtics want to avoid a third season in a row where lineups without Jayson Tatum are unbearable to watch, they need to find two-way floor spacing wings to back him up.
Offensive Improvement for Boston Celtics No. 3) More player and ball movement
The Boston Celtics were highly predictable and bland on the offensive end, which played a large part in their poor regular-season record.
Their lack of passers and decision-makers led to the ball rarely popping from side to side and making its way into the paint.
Instead, the ball stopped at one man or passed between two while they wasted the whole shot clock missing reads and letting the defense get settled in.
It was abysmal to watch and probably even more unbearable to coach.
I doubt Stevens lets Udoka suffer the same way he did, which means the Celtics are likely en route to acquiring multiple passers to help stabilize a better offense.
But passing is not the only thing this team needs.
One of the reasons the ball never moved was because it never had anywhere to go. The Boston Celtics rarely moved off the ball or made cutting plays to the basket and rarely put effort into relocating around the perimeter when a player drove.
The only two players that routinely did these two things were Payton Pritchard and Aaron Nesmith, who were in and out of the C’s rotation all season.
It’s high time the Celtics bring in some passers to move the ball around, but they need to bring in guys that will roll off the ball before they can do that.
Shooters do this the best, and guys like Justin Holiday and Larry Nance Jr, who can shoot but also have the size to finish at the rim, would be fantastic.
Both would have to be acquired via trade, but both fit inside Boston’s TPE and would not cost any of Boston’s core players.