2016-17 Roster Breakdown: The Ball Handlers

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The Boston Celtics begin training camp in less than three weeks, so it’s time we break down the roster and provide an idea of what the team’s depth chart will look like heading into the 2016-17 season.

Coach Brad Stevens divides his team into four positional categories, as follows:

There are currently 16 guaranteed contracts on the C’s, meaning Boston must shave its player total by one by the end of the preseason. Regardless, this should give a solid indication of each member’s projected role with the squad.

We begin this series with arguably the most important role on the court – the ball-handling position.

Boston has a number of guys who are capable of steering the offense, and it’ll often have multiple ball handlers on the court at once to keep opposing defenses honest.

Here are the players who will be controlling the pace for the Celtics this season:

At this time last year, Isaiah Thomas was considered to be Boston’s sixth man. He had just 21 regular season games in a Celtics uniform under his belt, and started the season coming off the bench to provide an early spark of offensive electricity. It only took three games for his role to change, however, as he earned the starting ball handling role. He was selected to his first All-Star game and established himself as one of the top guards in the league. Boston rode Thomas’ current to the Playoffs for the second straight season. He averaged team highs in points (22.2 per game) and assists (6.2 per game), and became just the third player in franchise history to tally at least 1,800 points and 500 assists in a season, joining legends Larry Bird and John Havlicek.

Despite those milestones and accomplishments, Thomas was not entirely satisfied at the end of last season, which is a good indicator that he’ll be even hungrier heading into this campaign. He often speaks of the chip on his shoulder and his quest to become the greatest little guy to ever play the game, and Boston’s first-round elimination from the Playoffs certainly left a lasting sting that should motivate him to elevate his game even more this season.

Thomas will enter this season with some added help, thanks to a couple of offseason acquisitions. Four-time All-Star Al Horford has joined the mix, and he could potentially become a lethal pick-and-roll partner for Boston’s starting ball handler. Thomas should also benefit from the addition of former Suns teammate Gerald Green, as the explosive pair should thrive off of each other in the transition game.

Before joining the Celtics, Marcus Smart was the primary ball handler at Oklahoma State, but he has had limited opportunities to shine in that role since being drafted in 2014. Point guard responsibilities have fallen heavily upon Thomas and Evan Turner over the last two seasons, which forced Smart to play off the ball often.

This season, however, may be a different story for the 22-year-old. Turner has moved on to Portland, leaving a vacancy in Boston’s backcourt. Smart is projected to be first in line to fill that void and eat up a large portion of Turner’s minutes.

Smart has averaged 3.1 assists per game through his first two campaigns, but there’s a great chance that number will rise this season.

This could certainly turn into a breakout campaign for the third-year guard, especially in a facilitating capacity.

Another player who should benefit from Turner’s departure is second-year point guard Terry Rozier. During his rookie season, Rozier didn’t see much of the court – 311 regular season minutes over 39 games, to be exact. He did, however, earn some significant playing time in the Playoffs, averaging 19.8 minutes per game off the bench during Boston’s first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks. That postseason experience instilled confidence in the 22-year-old, and could go a long way as he embarks on his sophomore campaign.

Rozier already showed strides during Summer League, as he displayed an improved long-range stroke and averaged a team-best 21.0 points per game in Las Vegas. As the squad’s primary facilitator, Rozier was Boston’s clear-cut leader this summer, and he should have plenty of opportunities to handle the rock this coming season as well.

Demetrius Jackson will likely serve a similar role for the Celtics as Rozier did last season. Jackson, who led Notre Dame in scoring (15.8 PPG) and assists (4.7 APG) last season, may have difficulty breaking the rotation behind Thomas, Smart and Rozier.

However, Boston clearly has faith in Jackson as evidenced by the record contract it gave him this offseason. Still, the 45th overall pick from this year’s draft will probably be back and forth between Boston and its D-League affiliate Maine Red Claws due to overall team depth.