Who can't the Celtics afford to lose?

http://hardwoodhoudini.com/2015/08/09/cant-celtics-afford-lose/



Who can't the Celtics afford to lose?

by C.J Maffris 13h ago




Is there really anyone on the Boston Celtics that the team can not afford to lose any time from? Does Brad Stevens have a catalyst-type of player who would hurt the team if he was traded or injured? This is the question some Celtics fans should be asking after Dante Exum tore his ACL during a FIBA basketball game. While Utah can survive without Exum, this injury certainly hinders his development and the team’s possibilityy become a “sneaky-good” team according to Grantland’s Zach Lowe. So due to this injury it’s good to look at the Celtics’ roster to see if anyone would hinder the Celtics’ rebuild if they were gone.


The first name that comes to mind is Isaiah Thomas. He was an integral part of the Celtics making the postseason last year. Many experts scratched their heads about the Celtics acquiring Thomas, due to the fact that he made them too good too fast. There’s no way a team can win a title if Thomas is the best player on the team. That’s not to say that he is expendable, but the Celtics need to do more to build a contender.

However, Thomas is important to the team’s offense due to his efficient pick-and-roll ability and scoring touch. Not many players on this roster (if any) can score like Thomas, especially when a basket is desperately needed. Not to mention that he looks to be used a lot by Stevens in this upcoming season. Whether it be from the bench or starting, Thomas’ number will be called.

So is he that player that nothing can happen to? I wouldn’t go that far. It would certainly suck is Thomas injured himself. He’s “balls-to-the-wall” mentally has already got him injured with Boston. He drives to the hoop a lot to initiate contact and get to the free throw line. That could in turn cause his body more harm than good, and shorten his career. Plus with the Celtics banking on Marcus Smart to develop into a star, he might be looked at as more vital than Thomas in the long run. So Thomas might not be the one player the team cannot afford to lose.

Could it be any of the prospects on the Celtics? I do think losing Smart would devastate the team. He needs to develop, especially his outside shot. His three-point shooting has greatly improved since college, but he needs more exposure to shoot more effectively. Still if Smart lost time, it could give way for Terry Roizer to prove his worth. Also, that would give Thomas more time to start, which could benefit Boston. James Young looks to be an after thought with the team, and R.J Hunter might be “two years away, from being two years away”. I honestly hope that isn’t the case, but we won’t know for a while.

Now when looking at the active roster after all the prospects, there really isn’t a name that jumps out to me that fans should be worry about losing. In my eyes, the team looks more like a collective group that’s stronger as a whole than as individuals. I certainly like a lineup of Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, Evan Turner, Tyler Zeller, and Jae Crowder as a unit than one by one. It shows how well Brad Stevens coaches the team. We see Evan Turner contributing better than he has with any other franchise thanks to Stevens. Zeller looks fantastic in transition with Stevens at the helm. Maybe that means that it’s the head coach that the team cannot afford to lose most. Sadly, that won’t exactly translate to success. However, this team could be the first to do it. After all the Golden State Warriors were the first team since 1974 to win an NBA Championship without an All-Star forward/center. So all I’m saying is there’s a chance.



bob
MY NOTE:  I'm a little torn here.  On one hand, IT might be the best player on the roster right now, but is he irreplaceable?  There are lots of shooters out there, especially high volume 41% shooters.  Jae Crowder has rapidly become our backbone, but is a SF-army-knife irreplaceable?  Smart?  A PG who isn't a great floor general and a SG who can't shoot?  Bradley?  An undersized SG?  Sully?  Kelly?  Damn, this is a hard question.  It depends upon who we can pick up in return, OBVIOUSLY, you don't want to do the cha-cha, but you want to make progress and you don't do that by trading away your most irreplaceable player even if you gain an irreplaceable player.  Zeller?  Hmm.  For all his faults he is a legit 7'er, young, on his rookie contract and his game is improving.  How easy it to replace or upgrade a legit back up center/potential future starting center?  David Lee?  Hmmm again.  He's a 2x all-star and a World Champion.  If trading Rondo was a setback because we lost our only player whose rep could draw high quality free agents to Boston then maybe Lee will fill that specific role.  We're a 40 win team that should do better this year and that means we have some assets, but not great ones.  When you're a 25 win team, then EVERYBODY is replaceable but 40+, maybe even 48, wins?  It gets harder and harder to trade for more than marginal improvements when you've got a roster that is making some waves, even if not tsunamis, not because your players suck but because they're good enough that whomever you could get for them isn't likely to be head-and-shoulders better.


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The two closest guys we have to being irreplaceable are danny and brad.

I'd hate to see sully go- but I saw Kg and pp and I survived that..

I don't think we have any players we can't afford to lose but i do think any moves we make this year must be deals where we walk away from the trade with the best player in that deal.

no one this year.....everyone this year.

meaning we have many players that are equal or close to in skills.

now next year, once Danny signs Durant and Noah...then we'll have players we can't afford to lose for long stretches

I can think of only one scenario in which I would consider any Celtics player to be indispensable right now. That would be if great emphasis were going to be put on establishing the team as a strong defensive force. If that were the case, I'd consider Jae Crowder to be as close as it gets to indispensable because I believe his disruptive play is the face of the defense as it now stands.

I know some people feel players such as Jae can be found on any street corner. I disagree. To anyone who feels he can be criticized for lack of stature, weight, strength or toughness, I would refer you to a gentleman names Havlicek, John.

And there's more to Jae's value than defense. I believe he's definitely the toughest slashing finisher on the team, especially against stacked defenses. He's also perfect for a motion offense. His outside shooting needs improvement. But point me to an indispensable member of any team in the league who is perfect, and I believe I could refute the perfection claim.

Sam