C’s Adaptability Traces Back to Ainge’s Ingenious Roster Creation

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C’s Adaptability Traces Back to Ainge’s Ingenious Roster Creation


By Taylor C. Snow |  @taylorcsnow
Celtics.com


May 2, 2018



WALTHAM, Mass. – The Boston Celtics have been plagued with injuries from Game 1 of the regular season all the way to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. Yet, they have consistently found a way to step up as a unit and overcome any form of adversity that’s thrown their way.

Just about every player on the roster, along with each member of the coaching staff, deserves credit for this accomplishment, but so does the man behind the scenes – president of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge.

“One of the things,” coach Brad Stevens says, “that Danny has really hit a home run with, among the many things, is that in all of our moves it seems like competitiveness, resiliency and desire to be a part of something bigger than yourself have really weighed heavily in all of those decisions.

“If you look at all of the draft picks or pick-ups or trades, we’ve got a real strong locker room. And they’re in it for each other, they’re in it for the right reasons, and I think that gives you a little bit more of a feel of, ‘OK, the next man can step in and cover when somebody’s down.”

First, the Celtics had to cover for Gordon Hayward after he suffered a season-ending ankle injury on Opening Night. Throughout the season, Jaylen Brown, Kyrie Irving, Marcus Smart and Daniel Theis all missed significant time as well, but each of their roles were filled admirably by their eager teammates.

The C’s made their push down the final stretch without Hayward, Irving, Smart and Theis, yet still managed to lock up the East’s second seed. The only player of that bunch that was able to return for the first round was Smart, but the C’s continued to chug away, eliminating the Milwaukee Bucks in seven games.

Knowing the Celtics’ injury luck – or lack thereof – the first-round victory came at a cost. During the final game of the series, Brown went down with a strained hamstring. As a result, he had to sit out of Game 1 of the second round against the Philadelphia 76ers and he will likely miss Game 2 Thursday night, as well.

Even without their top three projected scorers (Brown, Hayward and Irving), the Celtics still managed to win Game 1 in blowout fashion, 117-101. Al Horford, Terry Rozier and Jayson Tatum stepped into the primary scoring roles, tallying a massive combined total of 83 points.

Entering the season, those three players were not expected to carry major scoring responsibilities, but they have all bought into Boston’s system in which the next man up is always placed in a position to flourish.

“Our job is easy,” Rozier said Wednesday morning ahead of shootaround at the team’s training facility. “The coaches give us the [game plan] of what we’ve gotta do out there and we just follow that. No matter who’s out there on the court, we all just try to play hard and control what we can control.”

Another quality that Ainge has sought out in players is versatility. Many players on Boston’s roster can step into any role and contribute, because most of them are flexible from both a physical and mental standpoint.

“We know what we gotta do no matter what position we’re in,” said Rozier. “That’s why we pay attention in times like this when it comes to practice and shootaround. We put a lot of details into what we want to do, what we want to accomplish, and so guys are looking at their position and at other positions so that when you go out there, no matter who you’re out there with, we’re rolling.”

The injury-riddled Celtics rolled through Game 1, just as they rolled through the regular season, largely thanks to the players for their versatility and hard-working mindsets, and to the coaching staff for its ability to adjust rotations on the fly.

And, while we’re giving out thanks, don’t forget to praise the man who is pulling all of the strings behind the scenes. Ainge deserves enormous credit for Boston’s ability to conquer adversity, because he, at the end of the day, is the one who created this adaptable, fearless beast of a team in the first place.



bob
MY NOTE: It is Danny, but he's also just fulfilling Brad's vision of "position-less basketball". You cannot play Brad's switching defense if you have players who can only play one position. From a tactical perspective, it makes pnr defense easier since you don't need to fight through a pick as much. You can just switch and let the pick defender take the ball and the ball defender pick up the pick setter, but that only works if you have a lot of multi-position players. Really, the only one-position players we have are Baynes, Monroe and, I guess, Larkin.


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Hats off to Danny!

Year after year I keep thinking GM of the year?

Danny has fleeced many NBA teams.  We all know about the Nets and silly Philly but he has executed a ton of deals that end up with him fleecing the other team.  

In between doing that he identifies and hires a trancendent level coach to manage all that talent he has acquired.

Danny delivers on his promise to make the Celtics a top NBA team.

The owners are willing to pay the luxury tax as long as the team wins.