Robb: Stevens Forced To Get Creative With Celtics Starting Lineup In Game 3
By Brian Robb, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Brad Stevens made no secret at Thursday's practice that he is considering a shift to his team's starting lineup ahead of Game 3 Friday night.
That line of thinking comes for good reason. The Hawks have outscored the Celtics by 28 points in the first quarter of this series, with most of the damage coming against a traditional starting lineup that contains Jared Sullinger and Amir Johnson up front.
That grouping lacks reliable outside shooting with Sullinger, and the problem has become worse in recent weeks with Jae Crowder still struggling with his shot as he recovers from a sprained ankle. Once Avery Bradley went down with a hamstring injury in Game 1, the problem was further compounded. With no one to spread floor adequately around Isaiah Thomas, the Hawks have been packing the paint with their elite rim defense, leaving a Boston offense in shambles.
These struggles should look familiar to Celtics fans against the Hawks. Heading into this series, the Celtics starting lineup had a net rating of -33 against the Hawks over four regular season games in about 33 minutes of action. That's beyond awful. The reason for it (mostly) is that Sullinger is a terrible matchup for the Hawks with his shooting, but also with his defense. He doesn't have the speed to stick with Paul Millsap/Al Horford on the perimeter and that creates easy shot opportunities for the Hawks on offense. He can't be out there with another true big.
Brad Stevens surely knew this going into the series. I can understand him sticking with same starting lineup in Game 1 for the sake of continuity, but even then he decided to go small six minutes into the game, eventually leading to a Celtics near-comeback.
The fact that he went back to the Sullinger/Johnson starting front line in Game 2 after going away from it for the final 42 minutes of Game 1 was alarming. Losing Bradley complicated matters, but team still needed to go small without him with a better shooting option at the four.
In Game 2, he pulled Johnson and went small after three minutes of action, but the Celtics were already down double digits by the time the switch was made. The damage was done.
For Stevens, this isn't just a 2016 problem either. Going back to last postseason, Stevens has been a bit slow to adapt in the playoffs. He doesn't play his best players enough. Last year, he waited until Game 4 last year to put Crowder in the starting five to take on LeBron but by then it was too late to matter.
There are a couple of potential solutions for the Celtics in Game 3. The questionable status of Kelly Olynyk complicates matters, but the Celtics would be wise to give Jonas Jerebko a shot at the power forward spot in place of Sullinger. He's not going to be a game-changer, but the Hawks will have to respect his 40 percent shooting from 3-point range.
The other alternative? Start super-small with Thomas, Marcus Smart, Evan Turner and Crowder at the 4. That grouping gives you a pair of shot creators in Thomas and Turner, but doesn't necessarily help your spacing as much as Jerebko would. It would also leave the bench with a true reliable point guard, as Turner handles that heavy lifting for the second unit. Staggering Thomas and Turner is important to Boston's offense and that becomes trickier if both start.
The bottom line here is that even with their injuries, the Celtics can hang with Atlanta. It's up to Stevens now to make the changes necessary to give his team a chance out of the gate. Whatever lineup he decides upon, look for a change of pace in Game 3 to help get Boston back on track.
Brian Robb covers the Celtics for CBS Boston and contributes to NBA.com, among other media outlets. You can follow him on Twitter @CelticsHub.