Would you start Smart or Brown at SG (poll)

[smokeablount]

Brown starts.

Smart is the better player, but the bench is already incredibly young and I think Marcus is an absolutely necessary stabilizing force. Plus in the starting lineup, Brown will be able to simplify his game where he can be very very effective in his limited role.

Let Marcus run the second unit.

FWIW my closing lineup is Irving-Smart-Hayward-Morris-Horford to start the season. Ideally Brown and/or Tatum force their way into that lineup by the playoffs.

TP, agree with all of that. I hope by the end of the season we're regularly closing with Kyrie, Smart, Brown/Tatum, Hayward, and Horford.

Yup. I'm pulling hard for Tatum to surprise and take the PF spot, partly due to his skills, partly because the only true big men we have besides Al are better suited for backup roles, IMO.

[nickagneta]

I think you have to start Brown. Brown is a future starter and its better to get him used to being a starter and develop with Horford and Kyrie. The starters will help to cover up some of Brown's mistakes caused by inexperience.

Also, who knows if Smart is here long term. Yes, Bradley's and IT's increases in salary arr no longer here to throw the Cs into luxury tax hell, but Smart is still here and his new contract could still hurt the team financially for what he gives the team. Also, he is just a glorified role player. So its best to start the player that has the potential to be a star and let him develop with the current stars.

I will feel the same way about Tatum next year. Starting will be in his future because of his star potential, too. Next year's starting five should be:

Kyrie
Brown
Hayward
Tatum
Horford

[Csfan1984]

I kind of like the idea of Smart starting at SG to have more options off the bench and give IT/Irving the easier guard to defend. Also if you believe there is a chance to showcase Rozier or Smart this helps too.

Irving/Rozier
Smart/Brown
Hayward/Tatum
Horford/Morris
Baynes/Theis

[smokeablount]

I think you have to start Brown. Brown is a future starter and its better to get him used to being a starter and develop with Horford and Kyrie. The starters will help to cover up some of Brown's mistakes caused by inexperience.

Also, who knows if Smart is here long term. Yes, Bradley's and IT's increases in salary arr no longer here to throw the Cs into luxury tax hell, but Smart is still here and his new contract could still hurt the team financially for what he gives the team. Also, he is just a glorified role player. So its best to start the player that has the potential to be a star and let him develop with the current stars.

I will feel the same way about Tatum next year. Starting will be in his future because of his star potential, too. Next year's starting five should be:

Kyrie
Brown
Hayward
Tatum
Horford

This is my dream. Good lord I'm on pins on needles hoping this trade goes through, even if it costs an extra Celtics late 1st round pick.

I also just think until further notice, Smart is best suited for the backup PG role, or the backup SG role with Rozier at PG, where they effectively switch places and Smart handles the ball while Rozier looks for his shot.

[Jon]

I think you have to start Brown. Brown is a future starter and its better to get him used to being a starter and develop with Horford and Kyrie. The starters will help to cover up some of Brown's mistakes caused by inexperience.

Also, who knows if Smart is here long term. Yes, Bradley's and IT's increases in salary arr no longer here to throw the Cs into luxury tax hell, but Smart is still here and his new contract could still hurt the team financially for what he gives the team. Also, he is just a glorified role player. So its best to start the player that has the potential to be a star and let him develop with the current stars.

I will feel the same way about Tatum next year. Starting will be in his future because of his star potential, too. Next year's starting five should be:

Kyrie
Brown
Hayward
Tatum
Horford

This is my dream. Good lord I'm on pins on needles hoping this trade goes through, even if it costs an extra Celtics late 1st round pick.

I also just think until further notice, Smart is best suited for the backup PG role, or the backup SG role with Rozier at PG, where they effectively switch places and Smart handles the ball while Rozier looks for his shot.

This is all probably right, though we'd be remiss not to note that Smart will likely finish many games.  Though I wouldn't be surprised to see both Smart and Brown on the court together (with Hayward at the 4) in many fourth quarters.

[Bostoncelticsforlife7]

Smart is my favorite player by far, but still I'm gonna go with Brown for the reasons you said. It'll be too much inexperience playing Brown, Tatum, and possibly another rookie in the second unit at once. Smart should get 30 minutes off the bench, but another thing to consider is with all this talk about Smart improving his jump shot ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VG_-rKEHlw&t=75s ), he might benefit greatly starting at the 2 with all the catch and shoot opportunities that will come with playing next to Kyrie, Harward, and Horford, while also getting the back up point guard minutes when Kyrie sits. But for now, I think its best that we start Brown.

[GreenEnvy]

I wouldn't be too worried about the bench being too young if Smart starts. I'm sure he would pull Al first and get him back out there before the other 4 come out.

If Smart is the backup and approaches 30mpg split between PG and SG, that leaves very little PT for Rozier, who I believe is now ready to make an impact. Brown can get backup minutes at SG and split backup SF duty with Tatum.

Seems like a nice problem for CBS.

[crimson_stallion]

As much as I've been critical of Smart over the, I'm actually going to say Smart in this poll.

In the past I was never a fan of starting Smart, but that was due to the makeup of our team.  We already had two defensive beasts in Bradley and Crowder who both happened to also be quality offensive players who could stretch the floor - so swapping either out for Smart would have made us little (if any) better on defence, while sacrificing a lot of offence. That was a big deal, as we didn't really have a lot of offence beyond IT and we really needed that extra scoring from Braley and Crowder. 

However now we have Kyrie and Hayward, and those two guys on their own are strong enough offensively to carry the team on that end of the court, while also both being elite outside shooters.  Add in Horford and Morris and you have two more guy who can give you ~14 PPG apiece while also helping to stretch the floor with their solid jumpers. 

So with four guys out there who can all shoot and score, now we don't really NEED more offence.  However I am a bit concerned about our perimeter defence with Kyrie and Hayward.  Kyrie is a major defensive liability, and while Hayward can kind of hold his own on that end, he's far from a defensive stopper.  I think we really need a guy in that starting 5 who can be a difference maker on defence, and Smart is that guy.   With all that scoring in our starting 5 his standard 9-10 PPG would be all we'd need from him, and his inconsistent outside shot wouldn't really be a huge issue. 

On the other hand, Jaylen hasn't really proven he can excel consistently on either end of the court yet, and I'd really like for him to have to prove he can stand out and earn that starting spot, rather than just being gifted it. I'm not yet convinced that a Kyrie / Jaylen / Gordon trio can be capable enough defensively just yet.  Jaylen was solid defensively at times last season, but he didn't show consistent defensive prowess.

[JBcat]

I think you have to start Brown. Brown is a future starter and its better to get him used to being a starter and develop with Horford and Kyrie. The starters will help to cover up some of Brown's mistakes caused by inexperience.

Also, who knows if Smart is here long term. Yes, Bradley's and IT's increases in salary arr no longer here to throw the Cs into luxury tax hell, but Smart is still here and his new contract could still hurt the team financially for what he gives the team. Also, he is just a glorified role player. So its best to start the player that has the potential to be a star and let him develop with the current stars.

I will feel the same way about Tatum next year. Starting will be in his future because of his star potential, too. Next year's starting five should be:

Kyrie
Brown
Hayward
Tatum
Horford

This is my dream. Good lord I'm on pins on needles hoping this trade goes through, even if it costs an extra Celtics late 1st round pick.

I also just think until further notice, Smart is best suited for the backup PG role, or the backup SG role with Rozier at PG, where they effectively switch places and Smart handles the ball while Rozier looks for his shot.

This is all probably right, though we'd be remiss not to note that Smart will likely finish many games.  Though I wouldn't be surprised to see both Smart and Brown on the court together (with Hayward at the 4) in many fourth quarters.

This would be one fun lineup to watch.  Hayward would probably be at the 4 though until Tatum puts on more mass. 

[Eddie20]

Brown.

You can run offensive through Irving, Hayward, and Horford, but you can't run it through Rozier. Smart is needed on the second unit in order to put Rozier off the ball and have the offense flow more effectively.

[LilRip]

Oops! Meant to vote Brown but I pressed Smart. HAHA! My head is in the clouds.

Anyway, gotta start Brown. The 2nd unit could use a playmaker and Smart fits the bill. I fully expect Smart to close games for us though.

[loco_91]

I'd start either Brown or Rozier, whoever has been playing better recently. Smart is much better on-ball than off-ball, so he's better suited to play with the second unit.

[TheTruthFot18]

Smart. We have a major hole with AB and Crowder gone in the starting unit. We need some kind of enforcer out there to balance the starting 5.

I chose Smart but with a *. I think this can motivate Brown to excel more and EARN the job as a second-year player. As Belichek does, it doesn't matter your draft position or your salary, the best man for the job gets the PT. And right now Smart has that over Brown, but not for long.