Boston Celtics Backcourt Is Running Low on Upside Versus Atlanta Hawks

BOSTON — The backcourt was the one strength the Boston Celtics could rely on at the start of this postseason. It had been a key to Boston’s 48 wins in the regular season.

All that changed quickly, though, in the fourth quarter of Game 1 against the Atlanta Hawks when Avery Bradley suffered a strained hamstring. Head coach Brad Stevens has deemed the 25-year-old, arguably the best two-way player on the roster, “extremely unlikely” to return to action at any point in the first-round series.

That diagnosis sent Stevens looking down his bench to replace Bradley’s tenacious defense and reliable outside shooting.

Marcus Smart, 22, was the choice in Game 2, but, as has been the case for much of the 2015-16 season, the 6’4’’ guard was only able to reliably contribute on one end of the floor: defense. While Jeff Teague was held in check for most of the night, Smart shot 1-of-11 from the field and scored just three points in Boston’s 89-72 defeat.

Facing a 2-0 series deficit, there is plenty on the line for the young Celtics, and the potential effects go beyond just this first-round series. Smart and Boston’s other inexperienced pieces must find their offensive production—not only to give the Celtics a chance to come back against Atlanta but also to prove they can be a part of Boston’s growth into a contender in the years to come.

Deceiving Depth?

All-Star Isaiah Thomas and Bradley combined all year to form one of the best starting tandems in the Eastern Conference. Evan Turner was a legitimate Sixth Man of the Year contender on the wing, and second-year guard Smart regularly provided feisty defense and intangibles off the pine.

There was even some emergency depth for Stevens in rookies R.J. Hunter and Terry Rozier. Ahead of the team’s first-round matchup with the Hawks, Boston seemed to have the personnel to match up well with the Atlanta backcourt of Teague and Kent Bazemore.

But these kinds of offensive meltdowns from Smart and other young Celtics have been the rule, rather than the exception, in the past two postseasons. Boston shot 42 percent from the field while being swept by the …

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