It’s difficult to determine how the Celtics offense will look after the trade of Marcus Smart and acquisition of Kristaps Porzingis because there may be a void at point guard.
Smart was the Celtics’ lead ballhandler. He was their best passer and facilitator. And now he’s gone, to the Memphis Grizzlies in a three-team deal that has shocked Celtics faithful. Smart was the team’s longest-tenured player at nine years and he had become perhaps the franchise’s most polarizing player since Antoine Walker.
Smart’s weaknesses were apparent at times, but he also improved immensely at point guard. But the Celtics’ offense continued to suffer late in crucial games and the organization sought to unclog a crowded backcourt.
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Of course, the first choice to go was Malcolm Brogdon, but his elbow injury and the Clippers’ concern about adding another injured player scared them off, leaving the Celtics to formulate another Porzingis trade before the big man’s midnight deadline of opting into the final year of his contract at $36 million.
Here’s what we know about Porzingis at this point. He played the best basketball of his career last season in Washington, averaging a career high in points on 38.5 percent 3-point shooting and pulling down 8.4 rebounds.
And while playing 65 games may be considered a low mark for the most rugged NBA players, it was an accomplishment for Porzingis, whose 7-foot-3-inch frame has been susceptible to injury. But also consider Porzingis sat out Washington’s final six games because the Wizards had nothing to play for and were trying to improve their draft position.
The Celtics, however, will have to monitor his workload.
His versatility, however, allows coach Joe Mazzulla to use him alongside Robert Williams. There is speculation that 37-year-old Al Horford, entering the first year of a two-year contract extension, will have a reduced role. Porzingis will help the Celtics stretch the floor and open driving lanes for Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
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In the Eastern Conference finals against Miami, the Celtics became too predictable. They didn’t have the necessary versatility from Williams or Horford and couldn’t score consistently in the paint outside of drives from Tatum or Brown. The Heat clogged the lane with defenders, hence Brown’s issues with turning the ball over.
The Heat were content to allow Horford to shoot 3-pointers because he wasn’t consistently hitting any. With Porzingis being a plus perimeter shooter, defenses can’t leave him alone. In the Celtics’ 130-111 loss to Washington on March 28, Porzingis scored 32 points with 13 rebounds and 6 assists, displaying his full arsenal.
Eleven of his 14 made field goals were in the paint or from midrange. He went 3 of 5 from deep. Celtics fans looking for a reminder of how offensively gifted Porzingis can be should watch a replay of that game.
The addition of Porzingis does make the Celtics more productive in the paint but not in a Shaquille O’Neal/Dwight Howard sort of way. Porzingis is a finesse big with the ability to post and shoot over defenders, not go through them. He does not lack toughness but his lanky frame prevents him from extreme physicality in the paint.
That’s why the future development of Williams will be critical for the Celtics. The former first-round pick just completed his fifth NBA season but he has yet to emerge as a post threat; he thrives on either lobs or putbacks.
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The Celtics are obviously going to have to address point guard, whether it’s giving Brogdon or Derrick White the job or seeking a replacement for Smart on the trade or free agent market. The Wizards just traded Chris Paul to the Golden State Warriors for Jordan Poole, taking the 38-year-old pick-and-roll master off the market.
That point guard will need to get the Celtics in more cohesive offensive sets, especially late in games. Smart never developed a midrange game, making the Celtics more predictable as defenses simply followed Tatum or Brown because they knew Smart wouldn’t take that open jumper. Brogdon is a better midrange shooter but he hasn’t played point since his Indiana days and it may be a tough transition back to that position.
But the Celtics are now deeper in the frontcourt with Porzingis and Mazzulla can be more creative in using his skillset with Tatum and Brown — the whole point of this transformation is making matters easier offensively for those two — who too often have had to navigate through multiple defenders to get to the rim because defenses didn’t fully respect their teammates.
Porzingis is a proven scorer (19.6 points per game for his career) who will require the attention of opposing defenses. The Celtics don’t necessarily need five scorers on the court at all times but they do need five offensive threats. White became more impactful offensively because he capitalized on being left open because of the emphasis on Tatum and Brown. The problem was there was no third option that worried defenses.
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Porzingis becomes that third option and could flourish in that role, getting plenty of uncontested shots or one-on-one coverage because of the presence of Tatum and Brown, lifting the Celtics’ offense to championship level.
Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at gary.washburn@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @GwashburnGlobe.