Winners and Losers from Week 2 of Boston Celtics' NBA Preseason
The Boston Celtics may have played just two games in their second week of preseason action, but we learned a lot over those 96 minutes.
The C's lost a tight 92-89 contest to the Toronto Raptors but rebounded by hammering the Philadelphia 76ers 111-91.
Jeff Green, Brandon Bass and Avery Bradley all returned to the court, while projects like Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk and Marcus Smart continued to see major burn.
With the start of the regular season less than two weeks away, we're beginning to see Boston's true colors and who has a shot at making their mark on 2014-15.
It wasn't all pretty, but Boston looked like a real team in Week 2 of the preseason (whatever that's worth).
With just one week of action remaining, let's examine the winners and losers from Week 2 of the C's preseason.
Winner: Tyler Zeller
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After averaging just seven points and three rebounds during the first trio of preseason games, Tyler Zeller came alive during Week 2.
The third-year center was a force on both ends of the court, averaging 13.5 points, 5.5 boards and two blocks.
He also shot a terrific, if unsustainable, 12-of-15 from the floor.
Zeller is not a dominant player, but as a true 7-footer he will see time on the floor, and it’s important he capitalizes on his opportunities.
Defensively, he is probably Boston’s best shot-blocker, and he showed it against the Raptors.
Sullinger and Olynyk are both pretty ground-bound, which means that Zeller will be tasked with protecting the rim and denying penetration.
Offensively, he’ll never be a focal point, but Zeller has nice touch around the rim and is a threat in the pick-and-roll, too.
The timing of Zeller’s breakout is also interesting.
As NESN.com’s Zack Cox noted, coach Brad Stevens said before the game that it would be difficult for anyone to depose Olynyk as the starting center. Zeller may not be the starter on opening night, but if he can keep up his strong play from Week 2, it will be tough for Stevens not to give him regular minutes.
Loser: Jeff Green
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Green made his preseason debut this week and unfortunately looked exactly like the player who couldn’t thrive as Boston’s main option.
He posted just nine points and five boards in 31 minutes against Toronto, which is understandable given the obvious rust. But he wasn’t exactly dominant against the Sixers, despite scoring 18 and hitting three three-pointers.
It would be one thing if Green was playing 15 minutes per game, but he’s a 28-year-old veteran who should be dominating against inexperienced players.
As was the issue in 2013-14, Green is getting up shots, but they aren’t necessarily quality. He’s 4-of-14 from distance and just 10-of-27 overall in two contests.
This obviously is too small a sample size to get worked up about, but it isn’t encouraging.
Factor in the surprisingly strong play of Evan Turner, and Green could be in for a rude awakening when 2014-15 tips off. CBS Boston’s Brian Robb notes:
"With the emergence of Evan Turner this preseason, Stevens could be left with a tough decision once Rajon Rondo returns to the floor, when it comes to Green’s minutes. Green will likely keep his starting job when Rondo’s back, but if the Celtics offense looks better with Turner on the floor, it’s going to be hard to justify playing Green major minutes over him at the wing.
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It’s too early to worry about Green losing his starting job, but if he can’t outplay Turner, then it’s worth wondering what his trade value might be.
By this point it seems clear Green’s long-term future isn’t in Boston, but he’s too valuable of an asset to be given up for nothing.
Let’s hope he can turn things around with the remaining preseason games, because it’s looking like 2014-15 could be another tough year for Green.
Winner: Brad Stevens' Defense
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Yes, it is just the preseason, but the Celtics managed two impressive defensive performances in Week 2.
They held Philadelphia to just 40 percent shooting and the Raptors to a slightly better 42.5 percent.
Obviously, these results should come with an asterisk given that players like Arnett Moultrie and Jordan Hamilton were featured weapons, but it’s still refreshing to see Stevens’ defensive principles taking hold.
If Boston is going to be competitive this season, it will need to take the Memphis Grizzlies approach and grind games down on the defensive end, limiting opportunities for the opposition.
The C’s lack frontcourt defensive talent, but luckily the wings have been putting in strong effort.
Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley have provided brutal pressure for opposing ball-handlers, while Turner and Green have both done decent jobs of containing their assignments.
Boston has also done a nice job of forcing turnovers, averaging 19 takeaways in these two games.
Granted, the Raptors and Sixers weren’t relying on their best point guards, but the Celtics have the personnel to make life difficult for opposing guards.
They also do a strong job of getting back, even if costs them a few offensive opportunities.
This strategy is especially effective in the preseason when teams are trying to run often, but it still a useful tool in the regular year.
Boston doesn’t have the personnel to be a top-10 defense, but it could be one of the league’s better units if it keeps up this pace.
Loser: Brandon Bass
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Poor Brandon Bass.
Bass is a consummate NBA veteran and a legitimately valuable player, but he has found himself in a terrible situation. With Sullinger and Olynyk needing heavy minutes, Bass has emerged as the odd man out in the frontcourt rotation.
Through two preseason contests he is averaging 4.5 points and 2.5 rebounds on 2-of-8 shooting.
He has also logged just 28 total minutes, which indicates that getting Bass playing time is far from Stevens’ top priority.
The 29-year-old has clearly reached his peak as an NBA player, so it doesn’t make a ton of sense for him to see heavy run.
Still, Bass’ value can only be hurt by his sitting on the bench, and the C’s would ideally like to get something of note for his $6.9 million expiring deal.
His role is probably as a third big man on a playoff team, not as a starter on a surefire lottery squad like the 2014-15 Celtics.
Look for the C’s to try to ship out Bass as soon as possible, because if his Week 2 performance is any indication, he can only hurt his trade value going forward.
Winner: Boston's Frontcourt of the Future
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While Bass didn’t exactly turn heads, Boston’s two frontcourt starters both turned in strong performances against Toronto and Philadelphia.
Sullinger poured in 21 points against the Sixers and chipped in 10 boards despite struggling to score against Toronto.
Olynyk had a solid all-around game against Philly (14 points, eight rebounds and four dimes), and posted a plus-17 rating against the Raptors.
Sully and Olynyk are effectively locks to start at the 4 and 5, respectively, and seeing them impact the game in multiple ways is huge.
Because of their tendency to drift out to the perimeter, neither is going to be an extremely consistent scorer, but if they can pitch in on the glass and in the passing game, those offensive struggles are less of an issue.
Olynyk is one of the team’s best passers due to his background as a point guard, and Sully is easily Boston’s best rebounder thanks to his size and nose for the ball.
He also has solid passing instincts as well, dishing out five assists against the 76ers.
The trio of Sullinger-Olynyk-Zeller have their defensive shortcomings, but they have the potential to be dynamic on the offensive end.
Because Boston relies heavily on three spotty shooters in Rajon Rondo, Bradley and Turner, the team needs bigs who can consistently hit jumpers and open up driving lanes.
Olynyk and Sullinger were a combined 6-of-11 on threes against Philadelphia, and even the threat of their shooting was a help against the Raptors.
Neither player is going to be an All-Star in 2014-15, but the two young big men have shown enough promise throughout the preseason for there to be optimism about their long-term futures.
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