Who is the most underrated Celtics player?

https://www.celticsblog.com/2017/8/11/16116586/who-is-the-most-underrated-player-on-the-boston-celtics



Who is the most underrated Celtics player?



The Celtics have a lot of unheralded players on the roster, but who gets the least due?



by CelticsBlog Staff  


Aug 11, 2017, 8:00am EDT


Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports




Roundtable Discussion: Who is the Celtics’ most underrated player?

Mike DePrisco

It’s so difficult to pick one because the entire Celtics roster is made up of players who are overlooked. I’ll say Isaiah Thomas, though.

The man faces double teams every night and averages almost 30 points, on a contender, as a 5’9” guard. I don’t know how you watch the performance Thomas put on through the tragedy of his sister’s passing and not think he’s one of the best players in the NBA. He’s everything you want in a player besides his short stature.

Simon Pollock

I almost want to say that it’s Al Horford, maybe just for argument’s sake.

I’m not sure there was a better big that the C’s could have added to unlock Thomas in the pick-and-roll. He is SUCH a good passer and reliable from deep. The C’s don’t get to whip the ball around and create opportunities all over the floor without that. Maybe he’s not the 5 we all wanted in terms of rebounding and shot blocking, but he’s absolutely the 5 that a Brad Stevens offense needed to make it go.

Greg Cassoli

Jae Crowder. He’s not a perfect player, which is probably why he gets thrown into so many hypothetical trades, but he doesn’t deserve that. Crowder is critically important to Boston’s ability to go small, he’s a versatile defender, and a very good, albeit somewhat streaky, shooter.

He’s not great off the dribble, which can slow offensive possessions, but the fact of the matter is that the Celtics are way better with him on the court (Like 11.5 points per 100 possessions better). Not to mention the fact that he’s in his prime, with three more years on a bargain contract. That’s not the kind of player you think about giving away, unless he’s underrated.


Tim MacLean

I have to agree with Greg on this one.

It seems as though a lot of people are in a hurry to move on from Crowder whenever his name is brought up in trade rumors and I’m not sure why. He’s a solid offensive player with the versatility to fill multiple roles on the defensive side of the ball.

Whether he’s starting or coming off the bench, Crowder has the ability to be a steady contributor on a championship-caliber team. Add his cheap contract to the mix, as Greg alluded to, and you’ve got yourself a pretty valuable piece to your puzzle.

Bill Sy

He hasn’t played a single game in green yet, but I’m going with Marcus Morris. His numbers coming out of Detroit are a little underappreciated because he shot 41.8% from the field (33% from behind the arc), but he’s a plus defender that can guard multiple positions and his game is more diverse than you think. For Stan Van Gundy, he played small forward next to Tobias Harris and Andre Drummond, but I think his game will be unlocked under Brad Stevens as a playmaking big that can back down smaller defenders and face up against bigger players.



bob
MY NOTE:  This board works differently from Celticsblog in that we don't have a staff who do round tables among ourselves.  If we did have a round table, however, I'd be Sir Rant-a-Lot.  So, I'm posting their blog (I don't want anybody to think I'm stealing their ideas or topics) but am throwing it out to everybody here for discussion. Everybody jump in, the water's fine.

The list includes players who are expected to be on the roster next season or have a legit shot of making the roster like Larkin and Nader.  I went back-and-forth with including the rookies in the poll.  How can someone be underrated, or overrated, if he has never laced up an NBA sneaker?  I decided, in the end, to include them and just let all of you decide whether you want to include them in your votes and/or comments.

Who's our Dark Horse?  Who's our sleeper?  Who is the one who is going to snap our eyes open and heads up?


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On this forum IT by a mile.

Al Horford is a Jack (I'd say higher but don't want to call him a Queen) of all basketball trades.

He's a solid scorer, but he's not a KAT or Embiid or Cousins.

He's a solid rebounder, but not exceptional.

He's a good, solid shot blocker but not exceptional.

He's an above average 3pt shooter for a big but, his biggest asset is his floor generalship.  He is a superior, even elite, passer for a big (in fact, he leads the leage in assists by a center and set a career high in that stat last year) and his assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.89:1.  That is a ratio many point guards would be proud of.  For example, the much-discussed Kyrie Irving's assist-to-TO ratio is 2.31:1 (and Al dishes almost as many assists/minute as Kyrie too!).  Reigning MVP and Mr. Triple-Double Russell Westbrook's assist-to-TO ratio is 1.93:1 and James Harden's is 1.94:1.  In other words, in terms of efficiency, Al Horford is a better floor general than any of them.

Last year, and this year too from the looks of it so far, we don't have a lot of true ball-handlers, although I have high hopes that Rozier will take another step up in that category this year.  We have IT and, maybe Shane Larkin with Smart being a decent half-court point guard.  Adding Hayward will give Al Horford another player to run the half court offense through and allow IT to play off the ball.  Can't triple-team a player who doesn't have the ball.

On the other hand, if the ball is in Hayward or Al's hands does that mean that Smart is playing offense off the ball too?  That does not please me much  since I do not want him shooting.


bob


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