I see a lot of media
bemoaning the dearth of Celtics players to adequately man the three.
The heir apparent is Jae Crowder, and the incumbent is “point
forward” Evan Turner. Playing up from shooting guard, we have
James Young who was for too spindly last year but has added some
15-20 pounds of muscle. I have even seen rookie R. J. Hunter
mentioned for time at small forward but not only is he far too slight
but why play a natural shooting guard out of position, or force a rookie to learn a second position for which he is less well suited? In addition
Ainge has mentioned that they feel that Marcus Smart can cover the
three in some small ball situations. In the opposite of small we
have Jonas Jerebko and newcomer (short-timer?) Perry Jones III as
extremely tall (power) three's and I don't see any reason not to
include rookie Jordan Mickey in this group. So do the Celtics have
one small forward (Jae Crowder) or do they have more than half the
roster capable of manning the position? I'd say somewhere in
between.
I'd eliminate Smart,
Hunter, and Mickey from consideration unless injury forced
adjustments. Foolish to force-fit your starting point guard into a
role in which he will be giving up 2-5 inches. Equally foolish to
force rookies to play out of their natural position. I don't think
Young is ready to contribute yet, and if he is, he would be a better
fit at the two. I don't see a pressing need for Turner's ball
dominance this year with an improved cast across the board. I very
much hope that PJ3 is reborn and claims the majority of backup
minutes at the three; but I also see Jerebko as a viable
backup—either will have some decided advantages against other small
forwards. Each also has the height and length to bother the
increasingly robust three's proliferating through the league.
Throughout the NBA
there is a lot of firepower at small forward. Still, even at their
most potent, I think LeBron or Durant will have a long, tiring night
being checked by a tag team of Crowder, Jones, Jerebko, and maybe
even a few minutes of Jordan Mickey. Perhaps apropos is a line that
emerged from WWII: quantity has a quality all its own. Sometimes a
deep even talent level wears down even the great ONE's.
60 days until camp
[Discuss on CG Forums!]
I love Jae Crowder and think he hasn't reached his peak yet. Jones has all the tools to be something special but as we talked about before, it all depends on his effort and desire. I really like Jerebko as well. All 3 would cause some matchup nightmares for other teams.
ReplyDeleteYes the trio of players you mention are good defensively, but I'd like to see a better scorer at the 3. But perhaps Jones will be better offensively. I haven't watched him much out west.
ReplyDeleteAinge is building a team with interchangeable parts.
ReplyDelete