Our Best Lineup

[PhoSita]

As things stand now, in my opinion, our best four players are Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, David Lee, and Amir Johnson.

Since the team appears intent on being as respectable as possible this year, maximizing playing time for those four players -- together, ideally -- makes sense.

The gaping hole, of course, is at small forward.

What is the Celtics' best option to complete that 5 man unit?  Turner and Crowder are both unsatisfying solutions.  Can Jerebko be a starting small forward?  I rather doubt it, though he averaged basically 15-10 on great shooting numbers per-36 last year in his time with the Celtics.  He mostly played at the 4 and 5, though.

How about Gallinari?  I like the idea of adding a creative shooter with good size at the 3, but at this point Gallo seems less likely to adequately defend at the 3 than Jerebko. 

That's kind of the problem of this 4 man grouping: with Isaiah Thomas and David Lee on the floor together, you really can't afford to have anything less than stellar defenders at the other three positions.


What do you think of as the ideal (non-superstar) wing to complete this unit?  I think Brad Stevens's old buddy Gordon Hayward would be perfect, but he's not going anywhere.  A 3-and-D guy like Trevor Ariza strikes me as the baseline.

[Endless Paradise]

Carroll, P.J. Tucker, Luol Deng, Ariza (as you mentioned), to name a few.

Aminu would also be intriguing. He's not a great shooter, but he's pretty awesome on defense.

[max215]

MKG

[PhoSita]

Carroll, P.J. Tucker, Luol Deng, Ariza (as you mentioned), to name a few.

Aminu would also be intriguing. He's not a great shooter, but he's pretty awesome on defense.

To truly fit in Stevens's system, I think we'd really need to get somebody who can shoot well from anywhere on the floor and run the pick and roll, all while being at least pretty good defensively.

That's a tough checklist to complete.

[GreenCoffeeBean]

Our success last year wasn't because we maximized the playing time of our best players. It was because we had good depth and could hang with teams for four quarters. I expect this year to be the same, maybe with the exception of Smart getting 34+ minutes per game.

[PaulAllen]

Dino Radja
Mark Blount
Kedrick Brown
Dana Barros
Ron Mercer

[Celtics4ever]

MKG

Can't shoot well enough.

Our success last year wasn't because we maximized the playing time of our best players. It was because we had good depth and could hang with teams for four quarters. I expect this year to be the same, maybe with the exception of Smart getting 34+ minutes per game.

I think we had guys buy into the system and play as a team and we got IT, this also coincided with our worst defensive player getting hurt and being out.   Our D went to near the top of the league as a result.

As things stand now, in my opinion, our best four players are Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, David Lee, and Amir Johnson.

  I share this opinion.   But can we fit our other pieces to fit our needs.   Crowder is a fine defensive SF, can Hunter be the offense from there.    Jonas went a team goes big?    We have more flexibility than last year and I think we got more athletic, not where we need to be but we improved some in that regard.

[Chris22]

I'm fine with Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder, David Lee, and Amir Johnson.

That's a much better team than we started last year with.

[PhoSita]

Our success last year wasn't because we maximized the playing time of our best players. It was because we had good depth and could hang with teams for four quarters. I expect this year to be the same, maybe with the exception of Smart getting 34+ minutes per game.

This is not a recipe for meaningful success.

It worked just fine beating teams playing out the string last spring, but if the team wants to actually win 45+ games and have a shot at doing something of note in the playoffs (like, say, winning a game), they need to find a 5 man unit that works really well and maximize it.

[dreamgreen]

That 4 you mention is most probably our best 4 until proven otherwise. I think you can add Crowder as the SF and be competitive with most teams.

[PhoSita]

I'm fine with Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder, David Lee, and Amir Johnson.

That's a much better team than we started last year with.

I don't believe that Crowder can be a good enough shooter to allow that lineup to get by.  Plus, he's not really a guy you want handling the ball in any significant capacity.

[aingeforthree]

Best lineup for me would be:

Smart
Bradley
Crowder
Lee
Johnson

6th man - IT4

Olynyk and Zeller right behind IT4, with Turner coming in for Crowder.

[PhoSita]

The more I think about it, the more I think that Jerebko will be the best option until a trade happens.

I'm afraid Danny's going to keep Turner and Bradley and we'll see Smart - Bradley - Turner - Lee - Johnson as the opening night starting lineup, though.

[aingeforthree]

I'm fine with Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder, David Lee, and Amir Johnson.

That's a much better team than we started last year with.

I don't believe that Crowder can be a good enough shooter to allow that lineup to get by.  Plus, he's not really a guy you want handling the ball in any significant capacity.

Why would he have to handle the ball in that equation ?  Wouldn't Isaiah and Smart be handling the ball ?

Forget his shooting, his energy & defense would allow him to be involved in any lineup.  He also can score the ball a bit.

[PhoSita]

I'm fine with Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder, David Lee, and Amir Johnson.

That's a much better team than we started last year with.

I don't believe that Crowder can be a good enough shooter to allow that lineup to get by.  Plus, he's not really a guy you want handling the ball in any significant capacity.

Why would he have to handle the ball in that equation ?  Wouldn't Isaiah and Smart be handling the ball ?

Forget his shooting, his energy & defense would allow him to be involved in any lineup.  He also can score the ball a bit.

The way Stevens has the team run the offense requires multiple ball-handlers on the floor.  Ideally, nearly everybody out there should be able to set screens and be the ball-handler on a pick and roll.  At the least, I think Stevens prefers to have his guards and wings have the ability to do that.

Crowder is a fine enough option for now.  My main issue with it is that he's not shown an ability to hit the three consistently, even when he's taking open corner threes.