Rank our most valuable (best) players

[celticmania]

Just rank our players from best to worst in terms of impact on winning games (not trade value).

1. Isaiah Thomas
2. Jae Crowder
3. Avery Bradley
4. Marcus Smart
5. Evan Turner
6. Jared Sullinger
7. Kelly Olynyk
8. Jonas Jerebko
9. Tyler Zeller
10.Amir Johnson
11. Jordan Mickey
12. RJ Hunter
13. Terry Rozier
14. James Young

[fairweatherfan]

I think Amir's way too low, he's our most valuable big, arguably 2nd to Sully.

1. Thomas
2. Crowder
3. Smart
4. Bradley
5. Turner
6. Amir
7. Sullinger
8. Olynyk
9. Jerebko
10. Zeller

Non-contributors - Hunter, Mickey, Young, Rozier

[PhoSita]

I'd rank Amir ahead of Jonas and Zeller, but otherwise I think you've got it about right.

Also agree with FWF that it doesn't matter how you rank Hunter, Young, Mickey, and Rozier, because none of them has contributed anything of significance this year, unfortunately.

[Denis998]

1. IT
2. Smart
3. Crowder
4. AB
5. KO
6. Amir
7. Turner
8. Sully
9. Jerebko
---------------
10. Mickey
11. Young
12. Hunter
13. Rozier
14. Zeller

[nickagneta]

1. Isaiah Thomas
1. Jae Crowder
1. Avery Bradley
1. Marcus Smart
1. Evan Turner
1. Jared Sullinger
1. Kelly Olynyk
1.Amir Johnson
9. Jonas Jerebko
9. Tyler Zeller
11. Jordan Mickey
11. RJ Hunter
11. Terry Rozier
11. James Young

I think the top 8 guys have all been equally responsible for how the team has fared and why players can take days off with the team's success not skipping a beat. JJ and Zeller are then slightly less significant than the top 8 guys but those two are then ahead of the four young guys that have contributed nothing.

[max215]

My list would be very different if we were discussing "best" in a vacuum.

1. Isaiah
2. Bae
3. Smart
4. Sully
5. KO
6. Bradley
7. ET
8. Amir
9. Jerebko
10. Mickey
11. Zeller
12. Hunter
13. Young
14. Rozier

Top 8 guys are all very important.

[MJohnnyboy]

1. Isaiah Thomas
2. Jae Crowder
3. Marcus Smart
4. Avery Bradley
5. Kelly Olynyk
6. Jared Sullinger
7. Evan Turner
8. Amir Johnson
9. Jonas Jerebko
10. Tyler Zeller
11. Jordan Mickey
12. Terry Rozier
13. RJ Hunter
14. James Young

That actually turned out to be much harder than I thought it would be because each guy in this rotation does atleast one thing better than the average nba player does, and the best part is, each one of them has a different skill that stands out. The thing about this team is that it has no severe weaknesses. It can match-up against any line-up and take advantage of any mismatch on the court. I think we are like the Warriors in that our versatility really helps our chances in the game. The only difference between the Celtics and the Warriors is that well, the Warriors have the MVP and 3 of the NBA's best 15-20 players, hence why they are the best team in the league.

People may disagree with my take that KO is our most valuable big. I'm just going by advanced metrics. When Olynyk is on the floor, the Celtics play their best basketball because he's a one of a kind 7-footer. Plus, I'll say it again, it was really hard ranking the impact of each player.

[KingofDaPlayazBall]

1. Jae Crowder
2. Isaiah Thomas
3. Marcus Smart
4. Jared Sullinger
5. Avery Bradley
6. Evan Turner
7. Amir Johnson
8. Olynyk
9. Jonas Jerebko
10. Jordan Mickey
11. Tyler Zeller
12. Terry Rozier
13. RJ Hunter
14. James Young

[loco_91]

1. Crowder (gets the nod over Thomas due to a huge gap in defense)
2. Thomas
3. Smart (since getting healthy, he's actually been solid on offense while continuing to dominate on defense)
4. Johnson (underappreciated, but he's still an advanced-stats darling)
5. Sullinger
6. Bradley
7. Olynyk
8. Turner
9/10 Jerebko, Zeller

I think it's really close 1 through 6. You could rerank 1-2 and 3-6 in almost any order and I think it would be reasonable. I feel bad putting Bradley 6th, especially since he has elevated his game this year, with career highs in TS%, PER, OWS and DWS. However, it does appear that he has been surpassed by Smart. Though Smart is a worse shooter from everywhere on the floor than Bradley, he gets to the line a lot more, takes fewer long 2's, and gets much more assists on the same number of turnovers; the result is that the two players have an identical PER, but Smart is much more disruptive on defense, as he gets 50% more steals than Bradley and routinely blows up possessions with his outstanding anticipation and physicality.

Doing this ranking made me realize how deep this squad is. I think Olynyk is a really good player and it seems crazy to be ranking him 7th-- I think he'd be top-5 on almost any other NBA team (besides like the Warriors and Spurs). Basically I feel like somebody is getting shafted no matter how I do this ranking.

[KeepRondo]

IT
Crowder
AB
Olynyk
Turner
Sully
Smart
Amir
Jerebko
Mickey
Roz/RJ
Zeller

[Chief]

It4
Smart
Crowder
Sully
AB
Olynyk
Amir
Turner
Jerebko
Mickey
Rozier
Rj
Zeller
Young

[KeepRondo]

I forgot James Young was on the team.

[Bucketgetter]

IT
Crowder
AB
Olynyk
Turner
Sully
Smart
Amir
Jerebko
Mickey
Roz/RJ
Zeller

Too low

[KeepRondo]

IT
Crowder
AB
Olynyk
Turner
Sully
Smart
Amir
Jerebko
Mickey
Roz/RJ
Zeller

Too low

He does have the third highest potential on this team and perhaps he improves and moves up higher before the end of the season but for right now I think my ranking is correct.

[PhoSita]

IT - Crowder - Bradley - Turner is the heart of this team. 

Nick's right that it's a close thing and the team finds ways to get by without pretty much anybody in the rotation.

Still, I think the team has coalesced in its identity and its style of play around those four guys.  The tried and true plays that this team appears comfortable to fall back on now all involve those four.