Which Celtics rookie will make the biggest impact this season? Avery Bradley gets the nod in the latest installment of ESPN Boston's Summer Forecast.
I agree with the majority:Avery Bradley. I'm not sure Harangody and Erden will see much action, buried behind the deepest frontcourt in the history of the NBA.
I went with Bradley by default (I didn't realize "No impact" was an option). I can see Avery earning minutes with his defense, but I don't see him "impacting" the season. Could he "impact" a handful of games - maybe.
John and Jay both picked Luke Harangody.
(John) Doc Rivers hates to play rookies. I'm so tempted to say Avery Bradley because of Rivers' quote that "he's an NBA defender right now." That makes me think Rivers will use him. But the Celtics are just too deep at the guard spot. Harangody, however, might get some burn at the 3 because (a) it is Boston's thinnest spot and (b) Marquis Daniels is a stiff breeze away from getting hurt. Now, Harangody isn't exactly a 3, but he'll have to be. And he's the most likely to get minutes out of sheer necessity.
(Jay) Since the New Big Three Era, Doc has shown a penchant for letting rookies learn mostly by observation rather than active contribution. For the most part it's difficult to argue with Doc's success, but the Celtics could have definitely given a guy like Bill Walker more run last season. He proved he's an NBA player when he got minutes for the Knicks and he could have helped even for 5 minutes at a time. With that being said, I think Harangody may play the most meaningful minutes. Erden is pretty deep on the big man depth chart, and Avery Bradley will have to carve out minutes behind Rondo and Nate Robinson. Unless Nate gets packaged in a deal later on in the season, I have a tough time visualizing Bradley getting meaningful minutes other than for the Maine Red Claws.
While I hope Harangody has the ability to play the 3, I just don't see it. How many small forwards will he be able to guard in this league?