Boston Celtics: 3 ways to improve before the playoffs

1. Rotations & Coaching

This is by no means a knock on Brad Stevens as a coach.

It certainly cannot be easy to maneuver around different stars getting hurt day-in and day-out. However, some of the decisions regarding the lineups on the court have been questionable, at best.

At one point in the first quarter against the Utah Jazz, the Boston Celtics were leading by 11. After that timeout, Brad subbed in a questionable lineup, including Brad Wanamaker, Enes Kanter and Grant Williams to stay with Smart.

By the end of the first quarter, the Celtics were down by a point. They allowed an 11 point comeback in the last four minutes of the quarter.

Struggling to close out quarters can be attributed to poor bench play, something that has become synonymous with the Celtics this season.

Also in the same game, Brad sat Tatum out for nearly the whole second quarter, which left the team with almost no scoring options for a solid eight-to-nine minutes.

It is the little things like that which make a big difference in the playoffs. Good teams will take advantage of coaching lapses like that, which is exactly what the Jazz did. There was most likely a reason for the long rest, but it’s certainly questionable.

One thing that fans have wondered/asked for is a reunion with Isaiah Thomas. I personally disagree with that, because his defense is tremendously worse than Wanamaker’s. Strong guard defense is a necessity for the team because of Kanter and his questionable interior defense off the bench.

It would be dangerous for Danny Ainge to sign IT, thus giving teams a field day down low and on the perimeter.

One player that is worth mentioning is Jamal Crawford, who just scored 51 points one season ago. He is 6’5″, significantly taller than IT. Due to that, he can most likely hold his own on defense, and he would have Smart at his side in the backcourt.

If Crawford could come in and give the team close to nine points a game, he would certainly be beneficial for a bench currently 29th in bench scoring, with just over 27 points a game.

Anything would help, and a change may be necessary before it becomes too late.

If the roster stays the same, and health remains an issue, the Boston Celtics could be looking at an early exit in this year’s postseason.