The biggest takeaway from the Celtics season opening win against Philadelphia on Wednesday night was the play of Jared Sullinger. After showing up out of shape and being pushed out of the rotation, Sully capitalized on Kelly Olynyk’s absence and Tyler Zeller’s ineffectiveness and put forth a solid effort.
But as John said after the game, Sully’s performance was less of a breakout game and more of a reminder of what he is capable of. Sullinger’s game speaks to the great depth of this Celtics team, but it also poses Brad Stevens with the problem of dividing minutes between seven different players capable of playing one of the two big spots on the court.
Much like Sullinger, Jae Crowder and Jonas Jerebko have gone largely overlooked as options for the Celtics at the big spots. In today’s NBA, the stretch 4 may be the best spots for Crowder and Jerebko. As a small forward, Crowder is a decent shooter and a good defender, but his strength and athleticism allow him to carry that same defense over to the power forward position, while also creating a mismatch on the offensive end. Similarly, Jerebko as a 3 is nothing more than a spot shooter who may not be quick enough to guard the position. But move him to the 4 and he’s a versatile stretch big who can switch onto a guard in a pinch.
Between the small ball options of Crowder and Jerebko and the more traditional bigs like Sullinger, Olynyk, Zeller, David Lee and Amir Johnson, the Celtics frontcourt is crowded to say the least. That depth is undoubtedly a positive for the team and creates a situation where good players will be fighting to separate themselves for playing time.
As we saw last night with Tyler Zeller, minutes are going to be inconsistent for many of the Celtics big men. Stevens has many weapons at his disposal to use given any matchups or trends that may emerge and what he will do on a nightly basis is anyone’s guess. To this point, the one big who has separated himself from the pack is Amir Johnson. Johnson has already solidifed himself as a guy who is going to command minutes each night regardless of the matchup, and the 76ers game was a perfect example of why.
The Little Things
The classic way to explain Amir Johnson’s game is that he does the little things that don’t always show up in the box score. But what does that mean? Here are a few examples for the Philly Game:
After getting roasted for 18 points in the paint in the first 10 minutes of the game, here’s what Johnson did on his first defensive possession after checking in with a little more than two minutes to go in the quarter:
https://youtu.be/98fLxB6Cpa4
That’s how you set the tone for your team. Here’s another defensive play he made, effectively pulling the chair out on Isaiah Canaan who was driving out of control and seeking contact:
https://youtu.be/g9CEsBDMuhc
That is the ultimate veteran play. The best part of that play is that it was Sullinger’s responsibility to help on the drive, but Johnson picked his teammate up and got across the lane to affect the shot and create a turnover, exhibiting his strong defensive instincts and ability to make up for his teammates’ mistakes.
Johnson is far from an offensive stud, but again, he does the little things that help a team win, like create extra possessions:
https://youtu.be/Jt2ITQXTeWY
That’s not a play you typically notice during the flow of the game, but it resulted in an extra possession for the Cs that turned into a Sullinger basket. With four 76ers in the paint, Amir had no business coming down with that rebound.
Here’s another really simple yet effective offensive play by Amir. Once he realizes Noel is content with standing in the restricted area, he seals him in the paint, getting great post position. Knowing how much Noel likes to block shots, he shot fakes after receiving the ball from Thomas, drawing the foul and two free throws:
https://youtu.be/8XOMxrJnTr0
Johnson has developed into a fundamental basketball player who makes winning plays. His basketball IQ is evident on both ends of the floor. It comes as no surprise that he finished the game +16, best of the bigs.
Versatility
The more versatile a player is, the more he is going to play and in Amir’s case, he is versatile on both ends of the floor. On offense, he excels as the roll man on the pick and roll. As Kevin O’Connor notes, Johnson scored an elite 1.16 points per possession as the roll man in a pick and roll last season. But Johnson has also become a capable floor spacer. Last year with the Raptors he shot 45.9% on catch and shoots including 42.9% from 3, according to NBA.com. Against the 76ers on Wednesday night, Johnson was very effective rolling to the rim, capitalizing off the attention Isaiah Thomas draws coming off a screen. But Johnson also served as a floor spacer. Here he hits a spot up corner 3 as a result of an IT/Jerebko pick and roll (and some lazy defense by Jahlil Okafor):
https://youtu.be/hBpKblxGnzg
Being able to both roll to the rim and space the floor effectively as a big gives Johnson the capability to play with another floor spacer, like Kelly Olynyk, or more traditional bigs who are better as roll men like Zeller, Lee or Sullinger.
On the defensive end, Amir has already shown that he will likely be Boston’s best help defender out of the big man crew. While he may not be a prototypical center, he has good basketball instincts that allow him to beat drivers to the spot and effectively contest shots at the rim. At the same time, Amir is athletic enough to guard most stretch 4s in the league, or switch onto a guard if need be. That versatility means that Amir is somewhat “matchup proof.”
The Isaiah/Amir Pairing
One of the best ways to ensure playing time is be effective along side the team’s best offensive player. The Isaiah Thomas and Amir Johnson pick and roll combination has been well noted and will be fun to watch all year long. As Jay King noted after the game, four of Thomas’ seven assists went to Amir, with three of those coming out of the pick and roll. The other was Thomas finding Johnson for the corner three.
If there is one thing we know for sure about this Celtics team, it’s that they are going to need Thomas to score, especially down the stretch of games. Johnson, who has already established himself as Thomas’ most effective pick and roll partner, has a step up on the other rotation bigs because he plays well alongside Thomas. His ability to cover up Thomas’ defensive shortcomings make the combo and even better pair.
This season, Stevens may tend to lean more towards bigs who stretch the floor. Thomas is the best offensive player on a team that otherwise struggles to score, so it makes sense to structure your offense in a way that makes him most effective. That’s why I see Johnson and Olynyk getting relatively consistent minutes, along with David Lee who has an important playmaking roll with the first unit. There are going to be nights when the Celtics rely on Zeller’s size and Sullinger’s strength, but my best guess is that their minutes will be a little bit more inconsistent.
The guy that is easy to forget about is Jerebko. The Cs were 11 points per 100 possessions better than opponents with him on the floor last year, according the Basketball Reference. He is another guy who can stretch the floor, but is also capable of switching onto a guard in pick and roll situations. While he can play the 3, he helps the team more as a stretch 4. Stevens has been unpredictable in who he plays on a day to day basis, and with so many solid options in the frontcourt, he will be able to pick and choose his spots with certain players. But Stevens appreciates what Johnson does, and Amir has quickly shown that he will garner playing time regardless of the matchup.
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