Brad Stevens Working To Establish Celtics’ Rotation
With Celtics training camp beginning this Saturday, coach Brad Stevens and general manager Danny Ainge see an opportunity to establish a rotation from Boston’s crowded roster. Both spoke at a charity golf event this morning and their statements were reported by CSNNE’s A. Sherrod Blakely. The Celtics currently have 16 players with guaranteed contracts heading into next season. They’re required to part ways with one, and of the 15 remaining Stevens says he anticipates steady contributions from 10.
“I don’t think on most nights you can go past 10 players. There may be an exception in certain situations. But the one thing that I do feel comfortable in saying is I’d feel comfortable playing 10 on our roster, regardless of who they are. I think our depth is a key. We’re going to have a lot of ability to maintain our level when we go to our bench.”
Part of maintaining a high level of play from the bench may have to do with the Celtics’ best player coming off it. Last season Isaiah Thomas was the runner-up for the Sixth Man Award and he gives Boston an advantage over most teams’ second units. There’s some debate about whether he should be shifted into the starting lineup, but for now it looks like his role will stay the same, meaning Stevens can count on his bench to make up ground or extend leads behind Thomas’ scoring and playmaking.
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Who will be joining him in the Celtics’ second five remains to be seen. For now Stevens is leaving his options open, and there are a lot of them. Newly acquired forwards David Lee and Amir Johnson will compete with Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk for minutes. Rookie Jordan Mickey is also in the mix to see some playing time in the frontcourt. First-round picks Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter will be battling for reps at the guard positions and there are choices to be made at small forward as well. Ainge says he anticipates a lot of shuffling going on during training camp as Boston works to solidify its rotation.
“That’s going to be a challenge for our coaching staff. You’ll probably see a lot of different combinations through training camp scrimmages and in exhibition games and see who plays best together. It’s not always the best players, but the players that play the best together.”
An important point, as Boston has a roster full of talented guys, but few standouts. Who gets time on the floor will depend in large part on their ability to execute Stevens’ game plan and build chemistry with their teammates. There are players locked in for minutes, established guard Avery Bradley, last year’s lottery pick Marcus Smart, and of course Thomas, but so many positions are truly up for grabs.
It’s a complicated situation and one that should motivate the entire roster. Stevens has made all the right calls thus far and gotten the Celtics back to relevance quickly in his two seasons with the team. He has options heading into year three, and there’s no reason to doubt that he’ll figure out the best possible way to utilize them. That process begins with training camp opening this weekend.
Next: Isaiah Thomas: Big Goals For First Full Season With Celtics