Celtics player power rankings: Isaiah Thomas is the second-best scorer in Eastern Conference
Reinforcements are on the way for the Celtics after a .500 start to the season.
COMMENTARYCeltics head coach Brad Stevens has not yet had an opportunity to see his roster at full strength during the team’s 5-5 start to the regular season. He may finally get that chance in the next week. Al Horford (concussion) appears to be on the verge of a return after traveling with the team during its latest two-game road trip. Jae Crowder (ankle) could be back before Thanksgiving. These reinforcements will give the Celtics a chance to right the ship in the competitive Eastern Conference playoff picture.Without that pair, a heavy burden has fallen on Isaiah Thomas and Avery Bradley for the second straight week on the offensive end to compensate for the team’s disappointing defense (25th in the NBA in defensive rating). Let’s take a look at the impressive numbers from Boston’s starting backcourt and examine which players may be headed to the bench in this week’s edition of the Celtics player power rankings:
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Jae Crowder: The Celtics are 2-4 without their starting small forward in the lineup. They may miss him most in an unexpected area: defensive rebounding. The 6-foot-6 swingman had the team’s best defensive rebounding rate (20.7 percent) before going down with a sprained ankle nearly two weeks ago. Al Horford: Boston’s All-Star offseason addition has missed the team’s last seven games with concussion symptoms, but is hoping to return on Wednesday against the Mavericks. “There’s certain things that you look for and you want to make sure that you feel well and that there’s nothing lingering or anything,” Horford told reporters on Monday. “I gotta go out there and feel 100 percent. And I’m still trying to get there.”
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13. Demetrius Jackson:
The second-round pick has impressed in early season D-League action, averaging 25.5 points, six rebounds, five assists and 2.5 steals per game in his first two contests with the Maine Red Claws.
12. Gerald Green: Scoring points has not been a problem for the Celtics (6th in offensive rating) this year, but it has been an issue for the veteran swingman. Green is shooting a career-worst 29.4 percent from 3-point range. That shooting slump, combined with subpar defense, has left the 30-year-old out of Stevens’ playing rotation for the past two games.
11. Jordan Mickey: The young forward has played just 63 minutes this year, and the Celtics have run into major problems on both ends with him on the court. Mickey’s -21.1 net rating is easily the worst mark on the team.
10. James Young: His 12 points on Saturday night against the Pacers were just one point shy of his career high. The problem for the third-year guard? Sustaining that kind of production. He’s gone scoreless in the six other games he’s played this year, including Monday’s loss against the Pelicans.
9. Jonas Jerebko: For the second straight year, Jerebko has mightily struggled out of the gate with his shot. He could not crack 40 percent shooting from the field last season in November and he’s on pace to be even worse in 2016-17, hitting a team-low 33 percent of his field goal attempts through 10 games.
8. Jaylen Brown: The rookie’s stint in the starting lineup was brief and unsuccessful, as he headed back to the bench after three straight losses last week. Following a strong shooting start to the year, the No. 3 overall pick has hit a few bumps in the road on the offensive end. He’s shooting just 33 percent from the field and 57 percent from the free-throw line in his past five games.
7. Tyler Zeller: Frontcourt injuries enabled Zeller to earn consistent playing time in the first few weeks of the season, but that stretch may be coming to a close. Horford’s expected return on Wednesday should push Kelly Olynyk to the bench and potentially move Zeller out of the rotation as well.
6. Terry Rozier: The second-year guard’s offensive game remains a work in progress (39 percent shooting), but he has been extremely reliable from a ball-handling perspective. In 10 games this year, he has had just four total turnovers, with only one in his last five games.
5. Amir Johnson: The veteran big man doesn’t show up with big numbers in the box score, but don’t underestimate his impact on Boston’s defense. The Celtics have their worst defensive rating as a team (allowing 110.5 points per 100 possessions) during the 250 minutes Johnson has sat on the bench this year.
4. Kelly Olynyk: It took just one game for Stevens to insert the seven-footer into the starting five once he returned to the floor from offseason shoulder surgery. He’s likely headed back to the bench soon with Horford’s return on the horizon, but a Horford/Olynyk starting frontcourt pairing is possible later this season.
3. Marcus Smart: Shooting was the biggest question mark surrounding Smart as he entered his third NBA season. He’s quieted his critics on that front by scoring in double digits during five of his first seven games while posting career-highs in field goal (41 percent) and 3-point (35 percent) shooting percentage thus far.
2. Avery Bradley: The 6-foot-2 shooting guard compiled just two double-doubles in 358 regular-season games over his first six NBA seasons. This season? He’s posted five double-doubles already in just 10 games for a shorthanded Celtics roster.
1. Isaiah Thomas: After posting the third-highest scoring game of his Celtics career against the Pelicans (37 points), the 5-foot-9 point guard is now averaging 26.9 ppg. That’s the eighth-best mark in the league and second highest in the Eastern Conference behind Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan.
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