Some Random Celtics Thoughts- Part 1

Though I'm usually a college basketball fan, the pandmeic elminated a lot of choices, but did open my eyes to how much fun the NBA can be. As with the Red Sox, I tend to have a Boston loyalty, making an offseason series of shadow GM post for the Celtics seem logical.

Here goes.

Yes, the Celtics lost to the Heat, while playing short handed (to be fair, karma wasn't kind to the Heat and the Lakers now have 17 titles after defeating a short handed team... heck Pat Reilly talked about how the lakers absolutely won, but the Heat could deserve an asterisk). That said, the Heat did exploit a number of issues besides the Celtics injuries (hello Zone defense).

For me, the core of this Celtis team, both right this minute, and over the next few years, is 4 players deep

• Jayson Tatum
• Jaylen Brown
• Marcus Smart
• Grant Williams

The 4 of them can all pass, play defense, hit 3s, and they can switch everything. It's 4/5th of the Warriors Death Lineup, but younger. They can all also play multiple positions, with Smart as a 1/2, Brown a 2/3, Tatum a 3/4 and Williams a 4/5.

In other words, there's a boatload of versatility here, so instead of searching for supprt players who can fill multiple roles, it's possible to augment these four guys with players who do one or two things really well.

Let's discuss the 4 players who'd be ideal suppport for Smart, Grant and the Jay's.

The first type of player that would fit here is another guard, ideally somone who can be a facilitator, but can also shoot the lights out (another sniper would give it the full on 5-out offense that Celtics fans have continually been craving). Though his defense leaves something to be desired, the reality is that Kemba Walker is already in green, and can absolutely be a perfect fit next to these guys. We saw the Celtics lineup of Walker, Smart, Tatum, Brown and Theis wreak havoc in the playoffs... it isn't hard to make a compelling argument that running it back has some serious merits... especially if Williams can soak up some of the minutes Theis misses due to the war on fouls. The picks won't be as aggressive with Grant out there, but the ball movement might actually be better with Williams as a 2nd/3rd facilitator.

The second thing this group could use is a point forward, somone who can serve as a secondary facilitator, fit into the switch-everything scheme, and might be able to give teams a different look (especially if this player is paired with Kemba, which allows him to play off the ball a bit more). This role should also be a player who alternates with Smart (and Tatum?) hanging out at the elbow against the zone. Fortunately for the Celtics, there's Gordon Hayward, who is on the roster, seems likely to opt-in, and fits this description to a T.

These guys need a center who can body up the big guys, open lanes via the pick, and serve as a defensive anchor. If this player can shoot it from 3, that's ideal, even if it's only a couple times per game. They have an option on this player with Theis, who is sort of a perfect glue guy for this roster. Again, if we assume Grant Williams soaks up some backup minutes at the 5, and that Robert Williams can also be a conributor (more on this in a further post), this position might be in good shape, despite thousands of variations of Gordon Hayward for Andre Drummond/Myles Turner deals basically flooding the Trade Machine.

That leaves open a roster spot that's been a blind spot for Danny Ainge for years... a stretch 4. James Posey was the last one the Celtics had (they won a championship with him). This position could also be a freakishly athletic pogo-stick of a player who happens to be a strong defender. My personal belief is that the Celtics would still be one title in front of the Lakers had Danny been able to find one of these guys in 2008. I know the Perk injury was an issue, but Phil Jackson's adjustment to move Lamar Odom to Point-4, which took Kevin Garnett, Boston's best interior defender, out to the 3 point line (while Gasol feasted on a worn-out Rasheed Wallace) was the straw that broke the camel's back. As I recall, Jamario Moon was available that season at the trade deadline for a used basketball and a half drunken diet coke. Moon would have allowed Garnett to go head to head with Gasol (or allowed Garnett and Wallace to each play ~30 minutes, staying fresh), and instead of the 17-17 we're at with titles... it'd be 18-16.

That would bring us to an 8 man rotation, which means 8 guys who play 30 minutes per night (seems ideal), and then you can look at the rest of the bench as player to develop (and/or specialists).

Over the next few posts, I'll delve into each of the positions I think the Celtics should be looking at, with options (short and long term) on how to fill the roles.