Issues follow Celtics as western swing begins

Steve Bulpett Saturday, March 26, 2016

Credit: Christopher Evans


Boston Celtics guard Avery Bradley (0) dunks the ball against the Toronto Raptors during the first quarter of a game at TD Garden in Boston on Wednesday, March 23, 2016.

PHOENIX — Whenever Brad Stevens is asked about how well things are going with the Celtics, he is quick to note that his club is far from a finished product.

He is a wise man.

The C’s open a five-game Western Conference trip tonight against the Suns with a 42-30 record. After 72 games last season, they were 32-40 and, because they had played one more game and won it, a half-game ahead of Brooklyn in the race for the eighth and final playoff spot.

The improvement isn’t quite as dramatic as it appears when you consider the Celts were 20-10 last year after Isaiah Thomas first donned their uniform. But it’s hard to be critical now, because they’re not supposed to be better than this. In fact, you could easily make the argument that they’ve overachieved in the sense they are greater than the sum of their individual parts. It’s been some pretty good basketball to watch, fun even.

Another reason scrutiny has been minimal is because everyone is well aware the C’s will look different next season, dramatically so if Danny Ainge has his way — and free agents, ping-pong balls and fellow GMs play along.

But there is the here and now to deal with, and this club has some things to fix if it wishes to be more than just a nice regular season team that turns into playoff fodder.

Or as Stevens said, “You don’t sign up to come to the Boston Celtics to win 42 games, so we’ve got a long way to go.”

In no particular order, here are some of the Celtics’ main issues:

• While people were calling for a rim protector last offseason, we continually preached the need for a legitimate scorer. Ainge has even said recently he’s looking for a “closer.”

In that the trade deadline has passed, it’s imperative that someone step forward and be Thomas’ counterpoint on a far more regular basis. It’s nice that the Celts can say, “We have a lot of guys who can beat you on a given night,” but it’s fair to assume they’d appreciate a little more certainty.

As constituted now, Avery Bradley stands the best chance of being that guy. He’s had the occasional slump, but he has a good stroke from the outside, and his cutting game has been very good since he first started getting real minutes in the 2011-12 season.

When the playoffs come, teams will crowd the living heck out of Thomas (see: Cavaliers, 2015 postseason). If Bradley or someone else is continually burning the opponent, Thomas gets more room to drive.

• Consistency overall has to be better. Another of Stevens’ maxims is that you’re only something if you do it: “You’re not tough unless you’re tough consistently.”

The Celts have had some terrible spells where they’ve stopped moving the ball for a quarter or a half or longer, and there have been times when they have been outhustled. As we’ve noted here before, the C’s can’t get fooled into acting like an elite team.

“We have to work like hungry dogs if we want to win,” is how Evan Turner put it earlier this year.

• Jae Crowder has to get healthy and stay healthy. His ability to guard different positions is a key to Stevens’ flexible lineups.

Crowder is one of the toughest players in the league and the Celts’ best bet to keep an opposing star in check. Without him, the C’s have also lost the Turner-Marcus Smart combination off the bench.

• The progress of Smart will be an interesting sidebar the rest of the way. While certainly the Celts would like him to play with better control, they don’t want it to come at the expense of his intensity. (And you can see him visibly taking a moment and holding back when he disagrees with an official’s call the last few games.)

Sure, there have been some bad shots in his recent slump, but, if you’ll recall, even Ray Allen had his dry spells. The key for Smart will be how well he develops the mechanisms to get himself out of it, such as a few more drives.


The Celts open and close this trip with the Suns and Lakers, respectively. In between are meetings with the Clippers, Trail Blazers and Warriors — teams very capable of exposing the issues noted above and more.

Collected By:http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2016/03/issues_follow_celtics_as_western_swing_begins: