AB & IT top 5 guard combo?

[cltc5]

I've not been happy with any of our picks in the last 5 years but sully and hunter

[Greyman]

On current form you have to rate them highly, though you have to rate the whole team. No matter how you look at it, they are getting the job done and it would be difficult to swap them for any combos.

IT said recently how much the team loves proving people wrong and beating teams they weren't expected to. I think the players have greater belief than quite a few fans. Getting away from the point but I am loving the way this team, with IT and AB playing large parts, are proving themselves. Yet many fans and commentators pull out the same arguments to convince us that this team is limited in what it can achieve.

I am over hearing that we don't have a superstar or that the team is greater than the sum of its parts or that the Celtics are a team of role players. They are third in the east, 2 games ahead of the Heat and well above a .5 team. What do they have to do to get respect?

[Csfan1984]

I think without Smart, AB and IT wouldn't be good enough to be top 5. Smart let's them really take advantage of other back courts. By getting them rest and also doing dirty work. Smart, IT, and AB rotation is killer.

[Celtics4ever]

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I've not been happy with any of our picks in the last 5 years but sully and hunter

Both of them can play but both have flaws.   Both have good basketball IQs.   

Sully can rebound really well, but his shooting and conditioning are an issue.   Hunter was a scorer, in college not a shooter.   I think both of them could be better if they worked in these areas.   The key is for Sully to focus on shoots inside the three point line and keep working on his conditioning and body.   He has actually did enough in the off season to stay healthy for once in his career.   Hunter needs to work on his balance on his shot, he is always twisting all over the place.

[loco_91]

No, I'd say definitely not. AB is a good 3&D guy but he isn't a well-rounded offensive player, and IT is awesome but he's pretty bad defensively. I'd say that the Warriors, Raptors, Clippers, Thunder, Blazers, Heat, and possibly Rockets and Bulls all have better starting backcourts. But the Celtics backcourt rotation is easily top 5, as Smart has now surpassed AB and Turner is maybe the best 4th guard in the league.

[Celtics18]

No, I'd say definitely not. AB is a good 3&D guy but he isn't a well-rounded offensive player, and IT is awesome but he's pretty bad defensively. I'd say that the Warriors, Raptors, Clippers, Thunder, Blazers, Heat, and possibly Rockets and Bulls all have better starting backcourts. But the Celtics backcourt rotation is easily top 5, as Smart has now surpassed AB and Turner is maybe the best 4th guard in the league.

I wouldn't include the Thunder in the better starting back court category.  Don't they start Andre Roberson next to Westbrook?

[PhoSita]

I don't know. I can't figure it out--- the team is so much more than the sum of its parts that when you pull a part out and try to figure out the magic, you end up gobsmacked.

Agreed.  If you take any individual player on the roster, I feel like you could probably find a good number of other players in the league who could slot into that spot in the rotation and the Celts would be no worse, or possibly even better. 

Yet the collection of parts is by any measure a top 10 team in the league.

[LooseCannon]

No, I'd say definitely not. AB is a good 3&D guy but he isn't a well-rounded offensive player, and IT is awesome but he's pretty bad defensively. I'd say that the Warriors, Raptors, Clippers, Thunder, Blazers, Heat, and possibly Rockets and Bulls all have better starting backcourts. But the Celtics backcourt rotation is easily top 5, as Smart has now surpassed AB and Turner is maybe the best 4th guard in the league.

I wouldn't include the Thunder in the better starting back court category.  Don't they start Andre Roberson next to Westbrook?

The simple test is whether or not you would trade Bradley and Thomas for Westbrook and Roberson.

[PhoSita]

No, I'd say definitely not. AB is a good 3&D guy but he isn't a well-rounded offensive player, and IT is awesome but he's pretty bad defensively. I'd say that the Warriors, Raptors, Clippers, Thunder, Blazers, Heat, and possibly Rockets and Bulls all have better starting backcourts. But the Celtics backcourt rotation is easily top 5, as Smart has now surpassed AB and Turner is maybe the best 4th guard in the league.

I wouldn't include the Thunder in the better starting back court category.  Don't they start Andre Roberson next to Westbrook?

The simple test is whether or not you would trade Bradley and Thomas for Westbrook and Roberson.

Without hesitation, but in part that's because we could put Roberson on the bench and start Smart next to Westbrook.  Whereas the Thunder's next best option is Cam Payne or Dion Waiters.

[loco_91]

No, I'd say definitely not. AB is a good 3&D guy but he isn't a well-rounded offensive player, and IT is awesome but he's pretty bad defensively. I'd say that the Warriors, Raptors, Clippers, Thunder, Blazers, Heat, and possibly Rockets and Bulls all have better starting backcourts. But the Celtics backcourt rotation is easily top 5, as Smart has now surpassed AB and Turner is maybe the best 4th guard in the league.

I wouldn't include the Thunder in the better starting back court category.  Don't they start Andre Roberson next to Westbrook?

The simple test is whether or not you would trade Bradley and Thomas for Westbrook and Roberson.

Without hesitation, but in part that's because we could put Roberson on the bench and start Smart next to Westbrook.  Whereas the Thunder's next best option is Cam Payne or Dion Waiters.

Well, Roberson isn't a scrub; stats models actually seem to like him better than AB. And Westbrook was worth 14 wins over replacement last year, so I'm going to say that this one isn't even close.

[PhoSita]

Well, Roberson isn't a scrub; stats models actually seem to like him better than AB. And Westbrook was worth 14 wins over replacement last year, so I'm going to say that this one isn't even close.

Roberson is fine.  I haven't looked at what the stat models say, but one thing is clear from watching him and that's the total apathy the other team shows toward defending him.

I agree, regardless, it's a no-brainer.  Westbrook plus a replacement level player is better than Thomas and Bradley, as much as I like those guys.