Celtics look much different
But edge on boards will still go to Cavs
Marcus Smart, who will learn a lot about sharing a backcourt with Kyrie Irving over the next three months, sent out a bittersweet welcome tweet to his new teammate last night.
“Big welcome to @KyrieIrving but most importantly-I’m gonna miss IT & Jae. You’ll always b my big bros! Thx 4 everything over last few years!”
Smart inherited an interesting title with Tuesday night’s trade agreement between the Celtics and Cavaliers. Of the four Celtics remaining from last season’s playoff roster (also including Al Horford, Terry Rozier and Jaylen Brown), Smart is the longest-running member of the team at three seasons.
Thomas, Crowder, Avery Bradley, Amir Johnson, Kelly Olynyk, Jonas Jerebko, Gerald Green, Demetrius Jackson, Tyler Zeller, James Young and Jordan Mickey have all left either via trade or free agency.
Though it’s possible that Green could re-emerge as a last minute addition, most of the players Smart knows best in this league now play for other teams.
There’s another distinction for Smart now as well. Bradley and Crowder, along with Smart, had been the GREEN WITH EXPERIENCE: Marcus Smart is one of only four holdovers on the Celtics roster from the 2016-17 season. trio that gave the Celtics their well-known defensive edge.
Smart will carry on that tradition now, probably with Marcus Morris and Aron Baynes now helping to set a new edginess. But overnight the Celtics have gone from a defensively tenacious unit to one that may rely more on finesse because of the fine collection of offensive talent Danny Ainge has now compiled.
They will also be younger, with players like Brown, rookie Jayson Tatum and French power forward Guerschon Yabusele likely receiving as much playing time as they can handle. But with added youth could come at least a temporary step back because of the learning curve.
At a time when everything they do is being measured against Cleveland, they did not get better than the Cavs with this trade. Cleveland will still beat them up on the interior, and with the additions of Thomas and Crowder will still beat them from downtown, especially if the Celtics suffer from this trade defensively.
Here’s an updated positional breakdown, which, as Ainge reminded everyone during his Tuesday night conference call, could change again.
Guards —
Las Vegas certainly likes what the move will mean for Irving. His odds of winning a league MVP jumped from 50-1 to 15-1 after the trade, and he is truly one of the NBA’s elite scorers. Steph Curry may be the greater shooter, but Irving is the better pure scorer, with more moves off the dribble and finishing ability than just about anyone. Defensively he’s not much better, if better at all, than Thomas, but this is now where Smart steps in. His development running the pick-and-roll also means that Irving can play off the ball — an option Thomas didn’t really have last year when playing alongside Bradley.
And if anything, Terry Rozier’s role is about to double. Indications are that the backup point guard is ready for a big year.
Forwards — The premium signing of Gordon Hayward, the acquisition of Morris and the drafting of Tatum created a swing forward logjam that pointed to a Crowder trade. Brown and Hayward are likely to start at the two forward spots, and virtually all of these players will rotate through the two forward spots in varying amounts.
But look for Brown to swing back to the backcourt as well. He brought the ball up during summer league. He’s athletic enough to handle big guards, and at this point may be better suited to that kind of assignment than big forwards. But the Celtics believe they have a young star in Brown. Hayward is a much improved defensive player, and the best wing shooting forward the Celtics have had since Paul Pierce. Brad Stevens undoubtedly can’t wait to get his hands on this group. The coach probably envisions infinite forward combinations.
Bigs — It’s the same old story for Horford, who will once again be forced to play more center than he would like. But with the shooting talent that now flanks Horford at forward, the Celtics will space the floor more than ever, this time with Irving finding those open lanes. And it works best with Horford taking the opposing center out to the 3-point line in Stevens’ favorite small ball lineup.
Beyond Irving, this will be the C’s strength next season. But a lot will fall on Baynes, and possibly even Morris, to protect the glass. Rebounding is an ongoing weakness, though. The Cavaliers and a few other teams can still hurt them badly on the glass.