6 Things to Watch For During Boston Celtics' Opening Week
For a team likely looking at another lottery pick, there are plenty of intriguing storylines involving the Boston Celtics as we approach the opening week of the 2014-15 season.
Obviously, the NBA franchise with the most championships can't be mentioned these days without a flurry of Rajon Rondo trade rumors, but even beyond the behind-the-scenes drama there is plenty to observe.
Armed with a slew of young talent and unproven players, the C's may not make waves this year but should be an interesting team to follow, at least for the first few weeks.
Will the two star rookies live up to expectations? Will the new starting unit mesh from the jump? How will the Boston faithful receive Kevin Garnett more than a year removed from the infamous trade?
All these questions will receive some answers between Boston's tilts with the Brooklyn Nets and Houston Rockets.
There's no way around the fact that things should get pretty bleak for C's fans by the time we hit the New Year's, so let's cherish the first few weeks of Boston basketball and take a look at some of big questions for the new season.
Which Rajon Rondo Will We See…If Any?
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We saw some flashes of Rondo’s elite talents during the 30 appearances he made in 2013-14, but with an offseason under his belt it’s time to see if the floor general is fully healed.
Obviously, with an ACL tear it takes more than a year to recover, so Rondo’s rust and defensive struggles were hardly a surprise last season. He still managed to average a solid 11.7 points, 5.5 rebounds and 9.8 assists, albeit on just 40.3 percent shooting from the floor.
He also flirted with a respectable three-point jumper before his outside shooting cratered and he wound up hitting just 28.9 percent from distance.
Unfortunately, the mercurial point guard broke his left hand before training camp started and was initially projected to miss up to eight weeks. However, according to The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn, Rondo is hoping to be able to suit up for opening night, noting that he’s been shooting with a protective pad on his hand.
“I don’t know what the restrictions are from an NBA standpoint, but I’m sure they’ll work on that appropriately and if he’s able to play, they’ll come up with the right contraption for him to wear,” Brad Stevens told Washburn.
Obviously Rondo won’t be going 100 percent with his hand hampering him, but if we can see his quickness and unique athleticism on both ends of the court, that’ll be victory enough.
This Celtics offense is never going to be stellar, but without Rondo it will be absolutely lifeless.
If he plays, Rondo will be going against two strong if not elite lead guards in Deron Williams and Patrick Beverley. Williams is not the All-Star he once was but is still a capable shooter and penetrator when his ankles are healthy. Beverley won’t torch Rondo on the offensive end but could make bringing the ball up the court a hassle with his particular brand of junkyard-dog defense.
This will also be our first chance to see if contract-year Rondo has an extra gear, particularly if he hopes for a midseason trade that would send him to a contender.
Regardless of what happens, let’s just hope Rondo can play, because we should cherish whatever we get to see from the superstar guard while he’s still in green.
Will James Young Play?
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It’s safe to assume Marcus Smart will see a decent amount of minutes off the bench, but James Young’s role is a complete mystery right now.
The rookie 2-guard showed some flashes in the preseason but also missed time and had some defensive struggles.
According to MassLive’s Jay King, “Stevens said the Celtics will play the most ready guys, regardless of whether Young—or anyone else—needs seasoning. Playing time is earned, Stevens believes. Improvement can come off the court. It might even come in Maine [Boston's D-League affiliate].”
Stevens has traditionally been hesitant to throw unproven players into the fire, but he’ll almost certainly be bucking that trend this season to some degree given the amount of youth on Boston’s roster.
That doesn’t bode particularly well for Young, who is incredibly gifted but also very raw.
In his two preseason appearances, Young chipped in 7.5 points and two rebounds, shooting a mere 31.2 percent overall and 22.2 percent from distance. He showed some of his athletic promise but struggled with Stevens’ defensive system and never quite got his bearings.
Offensively, it’s important to remember that Young has never been an elite shooter. He canned just 34.5 percent of his threes last season, and it’s pretty common for a shooter to regress when he transitions from college to the league.
There is also the matter of Boston’s massive backcourt logjam. Young will be competing with Evan Turner, Marcus Thornton and Avery Bradley for minutes, all of whom are more proven commodities.
It’s unlikely he gets anything close to major minutes in Week 1, but it’s worth wondering if Stevens even feels confident having him out on the floor.
How Do Avery Bradley and Marcus Smart Play Together?
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This could very well be Rondo’s last season in green, meaning that Smart and the recently re-signed Bradley could be the C’s backcourt of the future.
Both project as defense-first guards with shaky jumpers, but it’s important to see if they could potentially become a starting unit on a playoff-caliber team.
Smart figures to be the primary backup to Rondo and at 6’4” is a better fit alongside the 6’2” Bradley.
While Bradley is an aggressive enough defender to cover 2-guards, Smart is stronger and more physical, making it an easier task for him. That should leave Bradley open to pressure the opposing point guard and really stall the offense early in the shot clock.
Offensively, one of the key issues for this unit will be hitting three-pointers.
Smart’s outside shot is still a work in progress (25 percent on 5.5 attempts in the preseason), and while Bradley drilled 39.5 percent of his triples in 2013-14 he’s hardly a volume threat. If the two are going to play successfully together, it will either be because one of them is a viable distance threat or because Boston’s bigs have both become league-average from deep.
Since Rondo may not be 100 percent healthy to start 2014-15, we should be getting a pretty solid sample size of the two playing together, which will be huge in any future personnel decisions the C’s make from here on out.
And that, of course, includes potentially trading their All-Star playmaker.
Will Playing the Brooklyn Nets Mean Anything?
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Last year’s Nets-Celtics game was one of the regular season’s most emotional, but given the amount of turnover since then it’s worth wondering if the atmosphere will be even remotely the same.
Now that Paul Pierce is a Washington Wizard and Boston is in Year 2 of its rebuild, the distance between the contenders of yesteryear and today’s C’s is even wider.
Obviously Kevin Garnett’s return will always conjure up emotions, but the former MVP is now 38 years old and clearly a shell of his former self.
Kris Humphries and Keith Bogan are also no longer Celtics, not that their presence would really move the needle much. Plus, Jason Terry is a Houston Rocket now, and Gerald Wallace figures to be nothing more than an eighth or ninth man off the bench.
In short, don’t expect a particularly fired-up home crowd outside of Garnett’s introduction, and don’t assume there’s going to be appreciably more effort put into this game than a tilt with the Sacramento Kings in February.
How Will Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk Mesh as Starters?
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While both Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk figure to be key parts of Boston’s future, the two have played surprisingly little together.
According to 82games, the top lineup to feature Olynyk and Sullinger together only cracked 45.5 minutes and finished with a plus/minus of minus-four. Both are skilled offensive players with decent shooting range and nice touch around the rim, but it’s not a cinch that they will gel as starters.
Olynyk is a true 7-footer, but he’s not particularly mobile on defense and is hardly a shot-blocking threat.
Sullinger is a tenacious rebounder, but his tendency to drift outside for jumpers limits his impact on the offensive glass. He isn’t a stellar defender either, given his lack of leaping ability and athleticism.
Stevens clearly has faith in Olynyk after naming him a starter in mid-October, but with a capable backup on the bench in Tyler Zeller the leash may be pretty short.
Boston’s offense is sure to be more of a problem than its defense, so having offensive big men is important, but it’s worth wondering if their skill sets overlap too much. The C’s may be facing an aging Garnett and the Nets’ backup center if Brook Lopez isn’t healthy, so that won’t be an issue, but a matchup with Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets will be a solid test.
If the two can show that their cerebral style, offensive skill and ability to take charges offset their lack of athleticism they could exceed expectations, but it’s a big question mark.
Will Boston’s Offense Be Even Remotely Competent?
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Stevens is a terrific defensive coach, but his offenses have always been fairly humdrum. That style works in college, but not in the NBA without an elite one-on-one player.
Boston’s offense was just 26th in points per game last season (96.2) and doesn’t figure to be appreciably better.
Having a healthy Rondo (eventually) will help, and Sully and Olynyk will both grow, but this is still an inefficient unit at its core. Add to that the inclusion of Smart and Turner in the rotation, and this could be among the worst three-point shooting units in the entire league.
Even with Pierce and Garnett the Celtics offense was never particularly dominant, and while Rondo can keep his assist totals high he cannot make a ho-hum supporting cast into All-Stars.
Jeff Green figures to be the team’s leading shot-taker once more (unless Sully takes a massive leap), and while he’s good for the occasional outburst he’s streaky and settles for jumpers too often. Green is best utilized as a second or third banana slashing and running the break, not handling at the top of the key and trying to make plays.
His playmaking skills aren't anything to write home about, and Evan Turner may actually steal some of his minutes given his ability to handle the ball.
The Nets and Rockets are both strong defensive teams that can protect the rim, which won’t bode well for a Boston team that lacks the talent to make them pay from outside.
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