Do the Celtics need a #1 Point Guard: NBA Finals Reaction

[Sophomore]

Not necessarily.

It is one avenue open to improving the team's offense but it is not an absolute need. The offense led by Smart worked very well for the season on the whole and Smart himself played well. And defensively his D at PG was a key reason to our team defense being so dominant.

I think this is an important point. The team got within inches of a title with Smart because we had a special defense - and Smart was a key to that. I would be thrilled to get someone who’s a better distributor and a very good, long defender - like Dejounte Murray - but there is no way he’s available for any price we could pay. The other names I’m seeing don’t really move the needle for me. Rubio might have, if healthy, but he’s had 2 ACL injuries already and won’t be ready to start the season.

Anither way of looking at what the team needs is that the Cs bench fell apart while GSW’s soared. We ran a 7 1/2 man rotation, and the three guys on our bench still gave us nothing in games 4-6: Payton, Grant, and Derrick White scored a combined 28 points over those three games, on really inefficient shooting - 8-33, under 25%. Over the same 3 games, two Warrior bench players, Poole and Payton, scored 69 points on 25-50 from the field. And Payton also gave them excellent defense. If we’d just had bench players at the Warriors’ level, would we have won that series? And could we have avoided playing the Js 40 minutes every game?

I’m inclined to count on internal improvement from our core, plus a better bench or fifth starter - probably a PF.

[Jvalin]

I believe we do. Off the top of my head, four names come to mind: Brunson (S&T), Rubio, Conley, Tyus Jones.

I'd love us to somehow acquire CP3 or Haliburton, but it's a pipe dream.

Of all of those guys, only Rubio and maybe Jones are attainable and only the latter would be worth any pursuit.

Not necessarily.

- It's possible that the Mavs would be interested in a Brunson-Smart swap. Not sure whether I'd pull the trigger, but I wouldn't be against it either. Fwiw, Smart is from Dallas and even has a ''DALLAS'' tattoo on his left hand.

- It's possible the Jazz trade Gobert and rebuild their whole team around Mitchell. If so, Conley doesn't fit Mitchell's time window.

- I'd love us to go after Rubio. We could have a use for his court vision.

Another name that comes to mind is TJ McConnell. Basketball-wise, I reckon he'd be a good fit on the C's. Problem is he's a bit overpaid ($26.1M over 3 years). He's also coming off a wrist surgery, but I'd expect him to be 100% ready for the 2022/23 season. Wouldn't be against swapping Theis for McConnell straight up.

1. Wouldn’t acquiring Brunson hard cap us?

2. Maybe about Conley, but we’d likely have to give up a lot due to his contract.

3. Rubio is coming off an ACL and has been disgustingly inefficient his last two seasons.

4. I love TJ McConnell. Would add him in a heartbeat

1. Yes. I'm too lazy to put down the numbers, but I'm pretty confident we can stay below the apron.

2. White + minimum contract for Conley works salary-wise. Feel free to add sweetener(s) either way if you see fit.

3. Which is why we may be able to sign him on the cheap.

[Who]

I am not sure about Mike Conley. He will be 35yo at the start of next season. He is a small PG 6-1 180lbs who needs his quickness to be an above average player. His shooting is inconsistent year to year.

I am not sure how much I'd be willing to invest in him. Is Conley really a better player than Smart? Or, more specifically, will he be a better player next year and in future seasons? I am not sure Conley is better going forward. He has been better in the past but next season? I am not convinced.


The idea of trading Derrick White & scrubs for Conley is interesting. I would do that if I were Utah simply from an age point of view because White is a long term piece whereas Conley is not. It would also be interesting for Boston giving us a different type of guard to work with whether as a starting PG or as a change of pace PG off the bench.

Still, why am I so quick to yes for Utah but not as quick to say no for Boston? After all you are giving up a long term piece for a short term fix. That is not good scenario. I feel like I am undervaluing D White here for Boston. You'd want to be sure about Conley being a big upgrade ... maybe the final piece of the puzzle? Is he that? Not sure.

[Rosco917]

The problem with Smart is he just won't stop trying to be that 3rd Celtic star. In his opinion he's as much of a scoring option as both J's, especially with a game on the line. Because, when he settles into being a selfless point guard, simply running the team, he does a decent job.

When the cameras come on in a Nationally televised game, something happens to him and other players on this team in general. 

That's why I call for finding a veteran point guard with league gravitas, someone to bark at them and gain their attention in a tight situation.

[slamtheking]

team needs more depth.  a real PG that can run an offense effectively such that the J's don't need to be playmakers all the time would be real improvement

[Sophomore]

The problem with Smart is he just won't stop trying to be that 3rd Celtic star. In his opinion he's as much of a scoring option as both J's, especially with a game on the line. Because, when he settles into being a selfless point guard, simply running the team, he does a decent job.

When the cameras come on in a Nationally televised game, something happens to him and other players on this team in general. 

That's why I call for finding a veteran point guard with league gravitas, someone to bark at them and gain their attention in a tight situation.

The numbers don’t back this up. In the 15 playoff games he played before the finals - all nationally televised - he slightly improved his assist number (from 5.9 to 6.2 per game) while his turnovers were unchanged (2.2 per game). So, there was a slight improvement in efficiency and no big change in role.

He did take three more shots per game, from 10.1 to 13.3. But he was also playing more minutes and his efficiency was basically the same because he hit a higher % from 3 and got to the line. He gave them 15.5 ppg instead of 12.2. He probably took two shots a game from bench players and one more due to playing more minutes.

I think ppl have the idea there’s a fundamental change in his team role because he plays more minutes, or because his mistakes can be really grating - live ball passes to nobody - and they really stand out in a big game.

I’m not counting the finals, which you can argue isn’t the complete picture, and I see that argument. But I didn’t include theme because I’m specifically testing the idea that he goes crazy in nationally televised games. If that was right we should see it in those playoff games - which were all on national TV and included three elimination games. We don’t. He fell off against GSW - like they all did. To me, that wasn’t caused by national TV. It was whatever golden state did to the Celtics offense.

[nickagneta]

If I am moving White to Utah, it's for Bogdanovic and I would then sign someone like Donte DiVincenzo with the TMLE.

Bogs gives the team that third scorer who is a 3/4 swing player and DiVincenzo is your 3&D backup SG behind Brown.

And I would do this because, quite simply, the Celtics aren't going to move on from Smart as PG. He is too important in the defensive scheme while being a decent PG on offense.

[wdleehi]

I don't see PG as an issue.   

The Celtics need swing depth.   Right now only going smaller with White or big with Grant.   They need the swing bench player they were hoping Nesmith could become.

[Big333223]

I don't see PG as an issue.   

The Celtics need swing depth.   Right now only going smaller with White or big with Grant.   They need the swing bench player they were hoping Nesmith could become.

This.

I think a lot of people are overreacting to the finals and forgetting that after the Celtics turned the corner in January, Marcus was a terrific floor general and exactly what this team needed. The Celtics lost their composure in their first finals but I feel confident they're going to come back better next season, including Smart and his offensive decision making.

[td450]

Whatever a team does produces tradeoffs. The best path is to lean into the set of compromises that maximize your two or three best players, and that's what we've done.

The core strength of the team is its defense, and that is largely based on almost no one playing who isn't a switchable plus defender who works in the scheme. I think it is crazy to give that up.

Smart is the starting point, but this team runs its offense through Tatum. Tatum expects that this is his team and this is his role going forward. Taking that away is super risky. Whether we keep Smart or somehow miraculously trade him for Dejounte Murray, this is still more on Tatum to fix as long as he's the man on this team.

The answer is not likely a new #1 point. It has to be a series of smaller improvements by everyone, and mostly improvement by Tatum himself, which is highly likely.

I don't think they are far away at all. If Derrick White could have just been pretty good instead of alternating between excellent and horrible, we might have avoided a few rough patches and won it all. If we had an older vet looking for a ring instead of Pritchard, we might have won a quarter or two we otherwise lost. Those are the places we should be looking at, not some huge shakeup.

[keevsnick]

Look, I'm not gonna sit here and tell you Marcus Smart is some elite PG. He's not. I know he dishes a decent number of assists, has a good AS:TO ratio, ect. But his lack of ability to create high level offense off the dribble and the disrespect teams show him when he spaces the floor is a problem. In a perfect world you'd find a better offensive point guard.

That said, you aren't going to find a better overall player at that position. He has offensive downsides, but his ability to play the point and guard everybody 1-5 is invaluable defensively. That ability was key to their run. Sure, if you had Chris Paul that would be great. But you don't. So what you have to do is put good offensive players around your core and hope for internal improvement

[Jvalin]

I don't see PG as an issue.   

The Celtics need swing depth.   Right now only going smaller with White or big with Grant.   They need the swing bench player they were hoping Nesmith could become.

Nesmith is a wing (SG-SF), not a swing. Grant is a swing (PF-SF). If you like Horford at the 4 and you think Grant is a legit rotation option, then we're probably set at the swing positions.

Ball handlers: Smart, White, Pritchard
Wings: Brown, Nesmith
Swings: Tatum, Grant
Bigs: Timelord, Horford, Theis

Personally speaking, I'd love us to go after a swing, but that's only because I believe Horford is at his best when playing at the 5. With this in mind, the odd man out is Theis, especially given he's overpaid.

[Jvalin]

I am not sure about Mike Conley. He will be 35yo at the start of next season. He is a small PG 6-1 180lbs who needs his quickness to be an above average player. His shooting is inconsistent year to year.

I am not sure how much I'd be willing to invest in him. Is Conley really a better player than Smart? Or, more specifically, will he be a better player next year and in future seasons? I am not sure Conley is better going forward. He has been better in the past but next season? I am not convinced.


The idea of trading Derrick White & scrubs for Conley is interesting. I would do that if I were Utah simply from an age point of view because White is a long term piece whereas Conley is not. It would also be interesting for Boston giving us a different type of guard to work with whether as a starting PG or as a change of pace PG off the bench.

Still, why am I so quick to yes for Utah but not as quick to say no for Boston? After all you are giving up a long term piece for a short term fix. That is not good scenario. I feel like I am undervaluing D White here for Boston. You'd want to be sure about Conley being a big upgrade ... maybe the final piece of the puzzle? Is he that? Not sure.

Conley's selling point is his BBIQ which can only get higher as he grows older. Think of it like Miami's acquisition of Kyle Lowry, except the Heat already had a high-BBIQ shot creator in Butler. In theory, Tatum is a more tantalizing talent, but Butler is hands down a better decision maker in the half court. Our highest BBIQ-player is Horford. As much as I love his game, he cannot run the offense. He's more of a secondary playmaker.

[BitterJim]

Look, I'm not gonna sit here and tell you Marcus Smart is some elite PG. He's not. I know he dishes a decent number of assists, has a good AS:TO ratio, ect. But his lack of ability to create high level offense off the dribble and the disrespect teams show him when he spaces the floor is a problem. In a perfect world you'd find a better offensive point guard.

That said, you aren't going to find a better overall player at that position. He has offensive downsides, but his ability to play the point and guard everybody 1-5 is invaluable defensively. That ability was key to their run. Sure, if you had Chris Paul that would be great. But you don't. So what you have to do is put good offensive players around your core and hope for internal improvement

Yup. We were right on the cusp of a championship, now is the time to make small changes around the core, not panic and make huge strategic changes.

If you could get a PG that is like a better version of Smart (obviously worse defensively but still very good, while also better on offense) then you obviously do that, but going to a defensive liability just because they're good on offense is taking steps backwards. The only person you swap Smart for is someone like Jrue, not someone like Rubio or (pre-injury) Kemba.

[LilRip]

Look, I'm not gonna sit here and tell you Marcus Smart is some elite PG. He's not. I know he dishes a decent number of assists, has a good AS:TO ratio, ect. But his lack of ability to create high level offense off the dribble and the disrespect teams show him when he spaces the floor is a problem. In a perfect world you'd find a better offensive point guard.

That said, you aren't going to find a better overall player at that position. He has offensive downsides, but his ability to play the point and guard everybody 1-5 is invaluable defensively. That ability was key to their run. Sure, if you had Chris Paul that would be great. But you don't. So what you have to do is put good offensive players around your core and hope for internal improvement

Yup. We were right on the cusp of a championship, now is the time to make small changes around the core, not panic and make huge strategic changes.

If you could get a PG that is like a better version of Smart (obviously worse defensively but still very good, while also better on offense) then you obviously do that, but going to a defensive liability just because they're good on offense is taking steps backwards. The only person you swap Smart for is someone like Jrue, not someone like Rubio or (pre-injury) Kemba.

I think Smart should remain our starting PG but I also think we need a decent floor general as a backup. Especially when Smart starts getting erratic and the team is losing its composure. It’s not necessarily “swapping” Smart out. I’m not hoping for a fringe all star but instead, more of a past prime vet who can play productive minutes. Kinda like what Otto Porter or Jeff Green are for the wing position.

Tatum initiating everything just because he can isn’t maximizing him as a talent. I see him closer to being KD/Kobe rather than Lebron/Harden.