What is the difference between the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics?
The point guard
First assumption here, we are only going to look at the Celtics’ final roster. The one that helped Boston make the Playoffs at the end of the season and the one that played in the Playoffs against Cleveland.
Really, this was the roster that made the Playoffs anyway. The Celtics were 13-23 when they traded Jeff Green. When they traded Rajon Rondo, Boston was 9-14. The Celtics finished the year 40-42.
The Celtics’ starting point guard was rookie Marcus Smart, a player the Magic supposedly were hot for in the 2013 Draft and then passed over in favor of Aaron Gordon and Elfrid Payton in the 2014 Draft.
Payton finished ahead of Smart in Rookie of the Year voting. And it seems pretty inarguable that Payton was better this year, if not equal:
| Rk | Player | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | eFG% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elfrid Payton | 82 | 30.4 | .425 | .262 | .433 | .551 | 4.3 | 6.5 | 1.7 | 2.5 | 8.9 |
| 2 | Marcus Smart | 67 | 27.0 | .367 | .335 | .462 | .646 | 3.3 | 3.1 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 7.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/3/2015.
Surprisingly, Payton was even a better field goal shooter (just not nearly as good a 3-point shooter or efficient shooter). There is not much difference between the two guards.
The Celtics had a three-guard rotation that included Isaiah Thomas coming off the bench (more on him later) and veteran Avery Bradley. Again, comparing him to Victor Oladipo:
| Rk | Player | G | MP | FG% | 3P% | eFG% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | TOV | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Avery Bradley | 77 | 31.5 | .429 | .352 | .490 | .790 | 3.1 | 1.8 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 13.9 |
| 2 | Victor Oladipo | 72 | 35.7 | .436 | .339 | .474 | .819 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 17.9 |
| 3 | Isaiah Thomas | 67 | 25.8 | .420 | .373 | .501 | .868 | 2.3 | 4.2 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 16.4 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 5/4/2015.
Oladipo more than holds his own as a starter. But Thomas is the wild card when it comes to the guards for the Celtics. The Magic really have no one coming off their bench that could produce at that level.
Evan Fournier could try, and he perhaps is the best comparable, but he was a solid but hardly spectacular bench player at 12.0 points per game and a 51.4 percent effective field goal percentage.
Whereas, Thomas was a Sixth Man of the Year candidate and a driver of the second unit’s offense, Fournier fits more as a role player.
It is depth where the two teams really begin to separate.
Next: The bench