Boston Celtics: 2017-18 NBA season preview
Storyline 2: What will be Boston’s closing lineup?
The Boston Celtics have their own, new version of a “Big Three” with Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford. Those three players will surely be part of the team’s crunch-time lineup, but who will join them?
Brad Stevens has a number of avenues he can take to answer this question, and he has the majority of the season to determine this before it truly begins to matter. Within the question are three smaller questions.
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The first is what Stevens wants to accomplish with his backcourt. If he wants to maximize ball-handling and shot creation, then Terry Rozier would be the choice alongside Kyrie Irving. However, the offensive benefits could be outweighed by the defensive limitations. Thus Marcus Smart could be the better choice, especially if the fire he has shown in preseason continues into the regular season.
The second question is what position Hayward plays in the closing lineup. If he stays at the 3, then Stevens can pick from the myriad of combo forwards and bigs on the roster, from Marcus Morris to Jayson Tatum to Aron Baynes. Slide Hayward to the 4, and then Jaylen Brown or Smart come in play as wing defenders.
Finally, who will step up this season and earn a spot in the closing lineup? Smart is in a contract year and reported to camp slimmed down and filled with fire. Jaylen Brown will enter his second season needing to prove he’s deserving of the starting job he’s being thrust into. Tatum has the talent to contribute in his rookie season. Could Yabusele, Theis or Nader force themselves into the picture?
In the end, matchups will have some role in determining which players close certain games. Overall, the best play for the Celtics is to slot a pair of wing defenders into the closing lineup that do not compromise spacing — that means Smart, and then potentially Brown if he can improve his shooting. Either way, there is both time and plenty of options for Stevens.