Marquee Boston Celtics offseason addition Kristaps Porzingis will bring “variety” to the team’s offense according to CelticsBlog’s Bill Sy — who called what the big man is expected to bring a “calming salve.”
“Last season, (Porzingis) shot roughly 20% of his shots at the rim, 25% in the paint, 25% from the mid-range, and 30% behind the arc; Horford and Williams’ splits were 15-10-5-65 and 75-20-5-0 respectively,” Sy prefaced before saying, “That variety will give the Celtics a threat in the high and low posts, a reliable pop and roll man in the PnR, a lob threat, and kick out release valve. Variety may be the spice of life, but it’s also the calming salve for an offense that looked discombobulated at times and degenerated into Jays isolations far too often.”
Boston will almost assuredly be moving back to a double-big arrangement during the 2023-24 season due to the lack of depth in the backcourt. Behind Derrick White and Malcolm Brogdon, there’s Delano Banton and two-way contract holder JD Davison. With that in mind, the team figures to still maintain a fast-paced attack with Porzingis being an effective rim-runner in transitions.
Boston Celtics defense may have gotten better without Marcus Smart
Sy made an assertion about the Boston Celtics defense that may leave just about any NBA fan shocked: the defense may actually improve without the presence of former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart.
“On defense, it sounds crazy to suggest that losing a former Defensive Player of the Year might actually improve the collective defense,” Sy prefaced before saying, “Smart could command a singular moment and often, a big hustle play could permanently change the energy of a game. Over the course of his nine seasons in Boston, you could string together all his winning plays into a pretty nice clip package. However, with how offenses target individual defenders these days, Smart’s ability to be a lockdown defender against players of all sizes could be somewhat neutralized. Don’t want Marcus mucking up a play? Force him to switch off the action.”
While the Smart trade figures to hurt when he’s donning Memphis Grizzlies blue, there’s a strong possibility the team got better by adding a player with a higher ceiling. It’d certainly shock most to see that be the case on the defensive side of the ball, in particular.