Boston's Bench Gives Celtics a Puncher's Chance Against LeBron James

Two seasons ago, the Cleveland Cavaliers swept the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Since then, Brad Stevens and his Celtics have gotten more experience, and the team has gotten better.

Coming off a Game 7 win against the Washington Wizards, the No. 1 seeded — remember Boston, not Cleveland, is the top seed in the East — Celtics now have a more capable Isaiah Thomas who sits at the heart of every opposing defensive gameplan; a four-time All-Star (Al Horford) who excels in the frontcourt; at least three years of continuity strung between seven core players; and bench depth.

It's that last, completely unexpected element that, to a lesser degree, helped Boston separate itself from the rest of the Eastern Conference during the regular season, and also was the deciding factor that ultimately nudged them past the Chicago Bulls and Washington in the first two rounds.

From October to April, Boston's bench ranked 12th in net rating, barely getting outscored by 0.6 points per 100 possessions. Since the playoffs started, only two benches have a more positive point differential than the Celtics' (surprise: the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs); they're the only three teams that are at least +8.0.

These numbers should shock anyone who watched Boston play after the All-Star break. Whenever Isaiah Thomas took a seat they resembled five blindfolded children trying to crack open a piñata while standing in quicksand. Oddly enough, the opposite has been true since the playoffs began: the Celtics are actually 0.5 points per 100 possessions better when Thomas sits.

Some of this is courtesy of a small-sample size and Thomas' defensive weaknesses bubbling to the surface, and some is thanks to weak competition. The Wizards are a five-man team that badly struggles whenever they bring a sub off the bench, and the Bulls looked uninspired before they turned into paper tigers after Rajon Rondo broke his thumb.

Still, heading into the Eastern Conference Finals against a Cavaliers team that remains dependent on a basketball demigod, Boston's improved depth that allows them to rest Thomas is a significant achievement and gives them a chance against the defending champs—albeit a small one.

To get here, each series, game, and quarter has had its own unlikely hero for Boston.

First it was the 31-year-old Gerald Green, who helped unmoor Boston's congested offense by entering the starting lineup in Game 3 against Chicago (he had not started a game all season). Two days later, he dropped 18 points on 13 shots, then knocked down three more three pointers in the series clincher.

Marcus Smart is only a reserve by name, but we'll throw him on the list anyway. Smart's appeal mostly comes on the defensive end, but he's also able to run Boston's offense when Thomas isn't in the game. The Celtics used to fear those minutes. Now, they look forward to them. With Cleveland's roster providing more places for Thomas to hide on the defensive end, don't be surprised if Smart, who has all the characteristics of a starting point guard, spends time guarding everybody—from LeBron to Irving to Kevin Love and other threats in the frontcourt. He lets Boston go small without losing a single ounce of toughness, and is an immovable concrete slab whenever Stevens needs him to be.

Terry Rozier entered the season as Thomas' backup, but drifted in and out of the rotation as one of the team's more disappointing role players. Then the postseason started, and the second-year combo guard leapt from anonymous extra to crowd-pleasing guest star after Stevens decided ultra-small lineups were essential. The 23-year-old has three turnovers in 195 minutes, and is shooting 44 percent beyond the arc. His individual net rating is +24.5, which leads all players who average at least 15 minutes per game and don't suit up for the Golden State Warriors.

Kelly Olynyk morphed into a cross between Dirk Nowitzki and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar by erupting for 26 points on Monday night. It was the best performance in the biggest game of his life. Of course, in four of the conference semifinals' other six outings, he failed to hit double figures, while subsisting as a foul magnet who doesn't have the foot speed to corral most guards and wings—particularly Kyrie Irving—as they tumble downhill off a high screen.

But Olynyk is an ideal complementary piece beside Thomas, especially against teams that want to trap him and overload to the strong side as much as Cleveland may/will do. He's one of the most efficient bigs in the entire league, an exceptional finisher around the basket who also spaces the floor, and can do damage as a screen setter.

According to Synergy Sports, Olynyk ranks in the 89th percentile attacking out of pick-and-pop situations. He can either knock down an open three or put the ball on the floor and attack a defense that's spread too thin. Minus lineups where he's featured alongside Al Horford, Olynyk will probably spend most of his time in this series as the lone big on the floor (especially when Channing Frye is out there).

If he can continue to produce at a ridiculously efficient rate (64.9 True Shooting percentage), that's another boost. Otherwise, it'll be hard to get Olynyk any minutes against most of Cleveland's go-to lineups.

Jaylen Brown's numbers are what you'd expect from a 20-year-old in his first playoff run. (They aren't good.) He's been yanked in and out of the rotation and has no clue when he'll enter a game, which teammates he'll get to play with, or who'll be lined up on the opposite side.

But Brown's athletic versatility makes him an impressive variable from here on out, and it shouldn't surprise anyone if he eventually hops into the starting lineup, or sees the floor at the beginning of every second quarter, when James is surrounded by four three-point shooters off Cleveland's bench.

Jonas Jerebko is another body Boston can use in small lineups when they want to switch across the perimeter without losing too much space on offense. He hasn't played much, but came up pretty big as an emergency center in last year's first-round loss against the Atlanta Hawks.

All in all, with home-court advantage on their side, Boston's bench has an opportunity to swing a series nobody thinks they can win. Depth never outweighs top-heavy superpowers this late in the season, and excellent play from Thomas, Horford, Crowder, and Avery Bradley is essential if the Celtics want to shock the world.

But if their bench can sustain its collective greatness over the next couple weeks, the Cavaliers will have to work so much harder for their third straight Finals appearance than they're probably expecting.