Boston Celtics: 3 ways Cs can improve their passing

Improvement #2 to the Boston Celtics passing: Bring in more ball-handlers

As good as Jayson Tatum is, having the ball in his hands in almost every offensive possession has its repercussions:

-Tatum gets tired faster, limiting his defensive production and production down the stretch of the game.
-It’s predictable. Defenses can focus on Tatum, knowing no one else possesses a threat which leads to avoidable losses.
-It limits the versatility of the Celtics offense.

Tatum is a great playmaker, but his bag of tricks when passing is limited. Teams can key in on his favorite reads and take them away, forcing him to resort to isolation ball, which loses the Celtics games.

To avoid this from happening again, it would be in Brad Stevens’ best interest to acquire more ball handlers. After losing Kemba Walker, the Celtics are down another ball-handler, but they have more cap space to bring one in.

Depending on what happens with Fournier and who the Celtics use their TPE on will determine what ball-handlers the Celtics can pay. If the Celtics opt to resign Fournier and forfeit the full use of their TPE, I like Patty Mills the most to fill this role.

Mills has experience working with Udoka and is a seasoned veteran. With the Boston Celtics, Mills would come off the bench and provide ancillary playmaking in pick and roll with Robert Williams and Al Horford and off the dribble decision-making on kick-outs. His elite three-point shooting gives Mills a lot of leverage in the half-court, and he’s learned how to use his size to his advantage.

Patty Mills is the best use of the Celtics MLE and by far the best possible backup point guard option.