Grantland’s Zach Lowe has a new column where he looks at 7 teams on the “cusp” of the Eastern conference playoffs and tries to determine which teams would be the most fun to watch as they’re getting blown out.
The Celtics come in at #4 on his list, beating out Orlando, Brooklyn and Indiana:
These guys aren’t unappealing. They can play five-out when Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk are both available (and on time!), Avery Bradley has been canning jumpers lately, and Marcus Smart is a goddamn velociraptor on defense. He’ll gamble himself out of position now and then, but Smart is an in-your-grill torment who is somehow immune to being screened. Seriously: You can’t set a clean pick on him! He’s also shooting a tidy 36 percent from deep; Boston has been much better on offense with Smart on the floor, and when Brad Stevens really wants to amp up the pressure, he can put Smart, Bradley, and Jae Crowder out there together.
Olynyk has also been a boon to Boston’s offense, since he can shoot 3s and work the pump-and-drive game.
The C’s are playing small ball more without him, and Stevens has mercifully nailed Tayshaun Prince and Gerald Wallace to the bench over the last week.
There’s just a certain lack of dynamism here. The C’s ping the ball around a lot, but they can’t get the juiciest shots out of it; only four teams take more long 2s in the first half of the shot clock, per SportVU data provided to Grantland, and only the hapless Knicks get to the line less often. The Celtics don’t have enough heft or rim protection up front to be much better than average defensively.
Lots of praise for Smart’s defense (maybe some day the blowhards on local talk radio will actually recognize it, too) and accurate criticism.
I can’t seem to make up my mind with this team. Another chance at the lottery is probably best for the future of the team, but I can’t help my craving for playoff basketball. Yes, I realize winning one game against Cleveland or Atlanta is probably the best case scenario.
Lowe settles on Detroit (gross) as the most fun team, followed by Miami. I’d love to see a healthy Heat team challenge Cleveland in the first round. And wouldn’t it be dandy if they could beat Lebron? (My disdain for Lebron trumps those annoying, band-wagon Miami fans. )
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