Summer Quandaries: Who Will Be The Biggest Surprise This Year?

http://celticsgreen.blogspot.com/2014/09/sq14-59-who-will-be-biggest-surprise.html







With so many new players on the team this year, there are a lot of candidates for this answer.  Some are unfamiliar to Celtics fans, some are unfamiliar to all but college fans, some are devalued due to recent history, and at least one may already be overrated.  It’s a mixed bag and the only thing they all have in common is that they are part of the Celtic family now and we wish them well.

Marcus Smart has gotten the most positive press since joining the C’s.  He has been anointed the next defensive stopper at guard.  His aggressiveness and aplomb has been lauded, and it already appears that he will not be your typical awed rookie.  So while he may perform quite adequately, I have a hard time picking him to be a big surprise.

Fellow draftee James Young is the biggest unknown but his tender age and his missing summer league makes him a real dark horse to bolt out of the gate.  He appears to lack the physical development to tussle with the athletes at this level, even playing at guard rather than small forward.  I might pick him to be the biggest surprise of the second half of the season but probably not for the season as a whole.

Free agent Evan Turner, rumored to be under contract before camp starts, is a good choice.  His ability to play both shooting guard and small forward means he could carve out minutes at both positions.  The depths to which he had fallen actually works in his favor, both in having the mentality to make a rebound, and in this particular question since having even a modestly productive season would be a surprise by definition.  A good choice, but not mine even though I think he will indeed be a pleasant surprise.

Next up, the more experienced member of the pair acquired in the trade with Cleveland and Brooklyn (or Danny’s amazing second heist involving the Nets), Marcus Thornton.  Thornton’s decline is less extreme, and hence his motivation more suspect.  In all honesty his inclusion in the deal was the cost of acquiring the pick and Tyler Zeller.  A year from now Thornton might well be in the same boat that Evan Turner found himself this summer--the demand dried up and begging for a job; but for now, the likelihood that he will suddenly find the inner will to extend himself on defense and blend his talent on offense, is pretty small.  He might be a spot substitution to help spread the floor for a play at the end of the quarter or half or game, but much more likely is to be Bogans-ed out of the Celtics facilities.  Not a good bet for most positive surprise.

The other player in the latest Nets-related heist is Tyler Zeller.  Many are down on him because his second year numbers fell off from his rookie season.  I think this is a bum rap.  He was felled by an emergency appendectomy in training camp last year, losing the bulk and conditioning he spent the summer acquiring, and killing his hopes of a bright second campaign.  The addition of the always interesting Andrew Bynum and irregular usage and minutes pretty much doomed the rest of his season after his disastrous start.  On a positive note he did finish the season strong and Cleveland’s trade was more clearing the decks, and salary cap, to sign LeQueen, than it was to rid themselves of Zeller.  I’m expecting a good year out of Tyler, far better than most seem to expect, and thus he is my pick for biggest positive surprise.

Only 5 more days until training camp.




bob




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I think Zeller's a good choice.  He should have tons of motivation to put last season behind him and also because he'd being entrusted with a position the most storied team in the league has been hungering to fill for quite a while.

It's difficult to see how Smart could be the biggest surprise because he's practically been deified already.

Sam

Avery could be a second or third team all star this year which will shock everyone.

I voted Pressey. He's not getting much love in the early going, but I believe he can make a nice impact this season.


KJ

I voted Kelly.  We know about his offense, and I expect that to be more "settled down" from the beginning than last year, but I think his defense and rebounding will improve this year.  He's beefier, he has a year in the trenches and now knows what it takes to survive in there among the big timber and he has had a year in Brad's system.  Fewer "deer in headlights" moments on defense.

If he gets 25mpg (kdp has him pegged for 24mpg) then I could see him being a 15/7 player.  I also see him getting more assists now that we have a legit center he can dump the ball into and slashers like Bradley, Smart and Turner.  I could see Kelly in the high post a lot, either taking his man off the dribble (if last year is any indication, it'll be to his left) or hitting cutters with passes.



bob



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KJ,

Maybe not the most popular choice but not a bad one.  After all, it could be argued that he could well be more comfortable than any other Celtic in running a motion offense.

Sam