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Mailbag: Minutes, Playoffs, and Sully an All-Star?

Marc D'Amico
Team Reporter and Analyst

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Another edition of the Celtics Mailbag has arrived! I asked the Twittersphere on Tuesday to submit Celtics-related questions using the hashtag #CelticsMailbag. I chose a handful of the top questions that were submitted and answered them below. Keep in mind that these opinions are mine and do not reflect those of the team's front office personnel.

ANSWER: I see it shaking out like this: Rajon Rondo starts at point guard, Avery Bradley starts at shooting guard, and everyone else grabs minutes around them.

I think Smart is at the forefront of that next group. He’s the No. 6 overall pick who’s a bull on defense and can create offense at the other end. You want that type of talent on the floor as much as possible.

Phil Pressey and Marcus Thornton will likely play as well, but no one knows how much. Pressey is a sparkplug who clearly has fans on the coaching staff and in the front office, and Thornton is a dangerous scorer.

The wild card here is Young, who did not play during summer league. No one knows whether the C’s will play him more as a 2 or a 3. Boston’s crowded backcourt may push him to more minutes as a 3, especially during any small ball minutes. If that’s the case, he’ll certainly garner some playing time alongside Smart.

ANSWER: That’s asking a lot out of a guy who’s going into his second full season as a pro. The Eastern Conference already has Kevin Love, Paul Millsap, Al Jefferson, Joakim Noah, Pau Gasol and Andre Drummond at the power forward and center positions. I don’t think Jared Sullinger is on the verge of earning an All-Star bid over those players. I do, however, think that he’s on the verge of becoming a double-double player who can score efficiently both from the block and on the perimeter.

ANSWER: The addition of Tyler Zeller gives Boston a legitimate 7-foot center who can score and rebound. He may wind up as the team’s starting center. As you’re alluding to, Rob, that would squeeze the minutes for the other centers on the roster, Vitor Faverani and Joel Anthony.

Of the two, I have to think that Faverani is in the lead. He showed some serious promise last season before undergoing season-ending knee surgery on March 7. He’s now healthy, and as a 26-year-old who can block shots and stretch the floor, one would assume that he’ll find his way into games.

Anthony also brings a defensive presence to the court but he’s limited offensively. Even last year, when Faverani and Zeller were out of the fold, Anthony averaged only 7.1 minutes per game with the C’s. It may prove to be difficult for him to crack the regular rotation this season as well.

ANSWER: There are two enormous differences for the Celtics this season compared to last season: Rajon Rondo is healthy, and Brad Stevens is in Year Two.

Rondo is a game changer. Adding a talent like that to the lineup for the entire season, particularly when he is fully healthy, will undoubtedly raise the bar for the Celtics. He’ll get this group many more open shots than they saw a season ago, which should lead to an improved offense.

Rondo and the rest of the returning Celtics will be playing in their second season under Stevens. That’s a fact that cannot go overlooked.

Rewind to a year ago and everything in Boston was new. New coaching staff. New offense. New defense. New day-to-day life. That isn’t the case this year. The C’s should hit the ground running later this month at training camp.

Stevens himself should be more comfortable as well. He now has a firm grasp on the league’s players, their tendencies, and the NBA game in general. He’ll be a much better coach in Year Two than he was in Year One.

That fact, combined with a healthy Rondo, should make this year’s Celtics much more competitive than last year’s edition.

ANSWER: Expect? Probably not. Hope for? Absolutely.

The possibility of the Celtics qualifying for the Playoffs this season is very real. Let’s assume Cleveland, Chicago, Miami, Toronto and Washington will qualify for the postseason. After that, you’ve got a few more teams that participated in the 2014 postseason and will likely contend for a playoff berth this season: Indiana, Brooklyn, Charlotte and Atlanta.

The Celtics could compete with that group for the final three Playoff spots. Here’s why.

As previously outlined, Rondo is healthy for opening night and Stevens will be a much better coach. Additionally, it’s a safe bet to assume that Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk will take a step forward in their development and that Jeff Green will improve his game. Remember, last season was the first full season of Green’s career in which he played small forward. Couple those factors with an upgrade in talent with Smart, Young and Zeller coming on board, and you have a team that could challenge for a postseason berth. Just don’t expect one.