So Where Do The Celtics Go From Here?

Fernando Medina. Getty Images.

Yesterday was certainly eventful for the Boston Celtics, which is something I think most of us wanted. Now that the dust has settled and we've all had some time to sit and take a breath, my focus has now shifted to what happens moving forward. If you heard Ainge this morning, he did give us a little insight to certain things

You won't find many complaints there. Anyone who has watched this team play this season has been begging for that exact thing. Take the training wheels off Rob. 

But there's also something to be said that with their changes and giving more of a role to Rob, there will be growing pains. As I talked about yesterday, adding someone like Fournier certainly helps you offensively, but doesn't really do much for you on the other end. While an expanded role for Rob is a welcomed sight, if you look how the team has looked with a Kemba/Smart/Jaylen/Tatum/Rob lineup, it certainly leaves more to be desired (albeit an extremely small sample size)

14 minutes / 85.7 Ortg / 122 Drtg / -36.5 net rating

Some might see this as a case for starting Thompson and just ramping up Rob's minutes on a more consistent basis. I'm not sure that's all that better. Again, it's a very small sample size of Thompson only being the lone big, but it's not pretty

8 minutes / 113.3 Ortg / 147 Drtg / -33.7 net rating

I think we can assume that ever since Brad said the double big lineup is dead that we won't see it again, especially with Theis off the roster, so it's an interesting question as to what this team does the rest of the way. Is the plan to snag someone like Fournier who is a good player who helps you in the now, and then could potentially be a complimentary 4th option for the future and you just accept the growing pains of the young guys for the rest of the year?

Is the larger idea to maybe package something this summer to get off Kemba's deal in a larger trade? There are many directions this team can go it seems.

I then wonder about the two young wings in Romeo and Nesmith. In theory, they are both blocked a little bit by Fournier now being on the roster. It'll be interesting then to see if Brad goes back to Smart coming off the bench, because that does help stagger things a little bit. Now, your second unit rotation (when healthy) can look a lot more like this

Smart/Pritchard/Romeo/Nesmith/Semi/Grant/Rob (or Thompson, whoever doesn't start)

That feels a little more balanced to me. You have to figure we'll get a lot more lineups with one of the Jays + Fournier and the bench as well. That way there can be more shot creators on the floor at all times. Something this team has desperately missed since Hayward departed. I think where we've seen this team get into trouble is when we see lineups with Smart + one Jay + bench. There isn't enough consistent shooting in those lineups which then forces Smart to turn into a shooter, which hasn't worked out.

I think that's my biggest hope moving forward. That this addition of Fournier will help slide Smart back into more of a facilitator role, where he is not only at his best, but where he helps put the team in the best position to succeed. 

I also have hopes that now with Fournier in the mix, we'll see a different approach offensively to close out games. With Kemba not always looking like Kemba, the closing lineup of Kemba/Smart/Jaylen/Tatum/Rob tends to lead to more isolation, which again, hasn't worked out. Now, based on situation and matchups, you can swap Fournier in for one of Kemba/Smart, and it gives you another legit offensive option to close out games. As it stands now, with how bad Kemba has been in the fourth quarter and in clutch time, the Celts have two. That's not enough.  

There's also the question of how their offense will shift now that Theis is no longer an option. As we know, him being a consistent pick and pop player was a big part of the offense. It's no surprise that a lot of the main guys on this roster tend to have better metrics with Theis on the floor than off. Well, looking at the available bodies, does this mean we'll see Grant step in more as that small ball five? I don't exactly hate that, but it makes me a little nervous. His three point shooting has improved enough to where I at least want to see it, and I do think his future in the league is a small ball five. But with that will come more growing pains. I can't imagine Brad abandons this all together, so it'll be interesting to see what Grant does with this opportunity.

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The overall sense I personally get coming out of yesterday was Ainge made a move to help change the vibe around the team with a player that is not only good, but fills a need. It also sort of shifts their plan to some degree. I don't think that really changes if they bring in a buyout guy either. If the core of Kemba/Smart/Jaylen/Tatum play to their potential and the entire roster finds ways to get better defensively, there is still reason to be optimistic about the rest of the year. The 4 seed is still in play, and at their peak (if healthy) this team does have enough talent to compete. The only thing I'll say is the margin or error that was already razor thin, got a little more thin. If the plan is to give more opportunities to young players, there will be mistakes. There will be regression in certain areas. But I truly feel you can give a larger role to guys like Rob, Pritchard, Nesmith, Romeo Grant etc and still be competitive. 

What I absolutely disagree with is yesterday showed us that Ainge was punting on the season. I saw it as him bringing in a good player and finally picking a direction. Now we just have to see how the young guys do with an increased role. I don't think anyone is going to argue that more Pritchard is worse than seeing any Jeff Teague for example. 

The Celts are at a bit of a crossroads and that's a little scary, but also pretty exciting if it means we're going to see things like an unlocked Rob, more Pritchard and lord can only hope some actual opportunity for Romeo/Nesmith. Here's to hoping it all works out.