The Microscope: The Non-Issue of Boston Celtics' Pecking Order (and More)

The Microscope is your recurring look at the NBA's small-scale developments—the rotational curiosities, skill showcases, coaching decisions, notable performances and changes in approach that make the league go 'round. 

The Hilarious Irrelevance of Being "The Man" in Boston

With the Miami Heat, pundits debated who between LeBron James and Dwyane Wade would be "The Man"—that leader in skill and testosterone who leads a team with an alpha mentality. In L.A., Andrew Bynum's strong play this season has sparked debates over the Lakers' pecking order.

But in Boston, the fact that Player X is an alpha or Player Y is the Celtics' best player is a laughable non-issue. 

The Celtics aren't without their own internal disagreements, gripes and concerns. But for whatever reason, the allocation of leadership responsibility and shots just isn't pored over in the same way, despite the fact that a few different Celtics could claim to be the team's best player at various points in the season.

Kevin Garnett clearly deserves that honor at the moment, though Rajon Rondo's advocates wouldn't be specifically wrong, just as Paul Pierce's backers would be tardy rather than incorrect.

There's probably a debate to be had here, if anyone cared to, and yet it's almost as if the play of the Celtics themselves has made it a non-issue. 

Jason Terry: The Big-Man Whisperer

Jason Kidd and Delonte West may be the Mavericks' steadiest playmakers, but Jason Terry has managed to establish a pretty remarkable rapport with both Ian Mahinmi and Brandan Wright.

Credit the potency of JET's pull-up jumper; even in his more inconsistent stretches, Terry is a shooting threat that must be accounted for, and as such, he buys finishers like Mahinmi and Wright an opportunity to roll into open space.

Making plays for others may not always be his first priority, but Terry is nonetheless a masterful practitioner of the pick-and-roll—attuned to the timing and actions after years of repetition.

Yet those pick-and-roll opportunities only provide the basic foundation of Terry's relationship with the Mavs' athletic bigs. According to NBA.com, Terry has notched more assists to Wright (21) and Mahinmi (23) individually than any other Maverick, a statistical feat that wouldn't be possible on the odd pick-and-roll opportunity alone.

Terry does a terrific job of finding open bigs under the rim on broken plays, setting them up perfectly in transition and generating highlight candy like so:

An Unfortunate Trade-Off in Chicago

Rip Hamilton's long overdue return from injury has given the Chicago Bulls an extra body and some extra scoring, both of which are good news for a team that misses Derrick Rose, both in wins and losses.

Yet implicit in Hamilton's return to the rotation is a trade-off of minutes elsewhere, and thus far, Tom Thibodeau has elected to slash the playing time of Ronnie Brewer.

Though Hamilton may be productive (at least in theory; he's still a bit inconsistent thus far, but should have some time to work his way into game shape), any time Brewer is taken off the floor is a bit of a shame.

There simply aren't many defenders of Brewer's caliber, nor offensive players with such an intuitive understanding of when and how to cut to the rim. He may lack an ability to spread the floor in any capacity (his mid-range jumper, while improving, still isn't a consistent weapon), but it's unfortunate that a single flaw has so often come to make him a scapegoat for the Bulls' offensive limitations.

There's certainly nothing wrong with playing Hamilton, and Thibodeau's job will only be made easier by having more options on the wing.

Yet there's a balance to be struck between Rip, Brewer and Kyle Korver that shouldn't be decided on any kind of universal basis—because, honestly, there's nothing universally consistent in the nature of that three-man rotation.

In some games, Korver's ability to create space will be invaluable. In others, Hamilton's movement within the offense will be crucial. But I suspect that in a lion's share of the Bulls' games going forward, Brewer will be able to offer Chicago the most value, both as an elite wing defender and a counter-slasher to the off-ball work of Luol Deng.