Should IT start?

[Rosco917]

IMO I say no, but I see many of you feel he should.

I like IT as a guy off the bench to put pressure on a tired or second string defense at the end of the half, and at the end of the game. He's an attack dog, a gunslinger. He's best in many short stints. Starting him negates this. When he's played for extended minutes, at 5'-9" his defense, already suspect, gets weaker and weaker, and he's then exploited. We don't need a tired IT at the end of the game.

Thoughts?

 

[Who]

No. He is a bench. He should stay on the bench. It'll only make it more difficult on him down the road after the team adds more talent and he is forced back into his bench role. Liable to throw a hissy fit and create chemistry problems.

[Donoghus]

I'd much rather prefer him coming off the bench as a sparkplug.

[BudweiserCeltic]

No. He is a bench. He should stay on the bench. It'll only make it more difficult on him down the road after the team adds more talent and he is forced back into his bench role. Liable to throw a hissy fit and create chemistry problems.

That the only current angle in which I wouldn't want Thomas starting. But in a vacuum, for this year, I think he's better off with us as a starter (sending Turner to the bench, and starting Crowder).

Aside from that I agree with much of what you say.

[Celtics4ever]

He is our best guard by a mile, but he should come off the bench.

[Evantime34]

I prefer him coming off the bench. IMO a starting unit should set the tone for the game by playing strong defense and getting everyone involved. Thomas, starting would make their defense worse and make him the focal point of the offense from the get go rather than getting everyone involved.

When he comes off the bench he can shoot to his hearts content and face weaker defenses. Plus he still plays in crunch  time. Finishing the game will always be more important than starting it.

[PhoSita]

Until the team gets rid of Bradley and ET, Thomas will probably continue to come off the bench.

I think the best four guys on the team right now are IT, Smart, Lee, and Amir, though, so ideally I'd want to see all four in the starting lineup, probably with Crowder, or possibly Jerebko, at the 3.

Long term, I see Smart as a 2, so whether it's Thomas or Rozier or somebody else, the Celts will need to find somebody to play next to Smart in the backcourt.  Neither Bradley nor Turner is that guy, in my opinion.

[max215]

Tough to say. Offensively, he's a top 10 PG in the league, but on defense he's outside the top 70 (according to DRPM). Overall, he and Ty Lawson are essentially equal presences on the court; Lawson is going to be a starter on a legitimate contender. FWIW, I really like these first and second groups:

IT/Turner
Smart/Bradley
Crowder/Jerebko
Lee/Sully
Amir/Zeller

[SHAQATTACK]

Fire ET .....trade Bradley and Young

Then play Smart  , Rosier , IT

[ahonui06]

I'd much rather prefer him coming off the bench as a sparkplug.

Agree with this completely.

I also feel that IT4 would be a huge defensive liability starting next to Bradley or Smart. He basically plays starter minutes anyways and always finishes the games.

Doesn't really matter who starts, but who finishes.

[D.o.s.]

He is our best guard by a mile, but he should come off the bench.

Agreed.

[alewilliam789]

Absolutely should be starting. He is the best player on our team entering his prime. He is the best playmaker and makes our offense truly dynamic. I read an article on BR documenting the pros and cons of starting Thomas and the pros far outweighed the cons. For example, the offense was among the league's best when Isaiah Thomas was on the court. With Smart it was one of the worst. Then when they showed Thomas' impact defensively using points given up to illustrate the defensive impact it wasn't a huge difference. When he was on the floor compared to Smart and it was pretty much the same points allowed.

So the biggest pro about Marcus Smart's impact as a starter is exaggerated constantly to justify people's idea that Smart is the "point guard of the future".

I'll try and get the article so I can link it.

[jbpats]

He gets starter level minutes so whats really the difference? Guy is a sparkplug off the bench, I think he should stay put.

[alewilliam789]

Here's the article:

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2462060-is-isaiah-thomas-the-starting-point-guard-of-future-for-boston-celtics

Also when we insert Thomas into the starting lineup it would make us more defensive oriented anyway.
PG: Isaiah Thomas
SG: Avery Bradley
SF: Jae Crowder
PF: Jared Sullinger
C: Amir Johnson


Then you can bring Smart off the bench for Bradley and keep the same consistency in the offense because they have similar games at this point. Then you could pair the combination of Rozier and Smart off the bench which worked really well for us in SL and makes some time for Rozier as the backup. Can bring in Evan Turner for extra playmaking alongside Rozier and Smart