Season preview: Celtics player power rankings

With opening night looming, the time feels right to dive into the first edition of the 2017-18 season player power rankings as we preview what to expect from each player for the year ahead. If you guys enjoy it, I may turn it into a weekly or monthly feature, so sound off in the comments either way.

Let’s get to the rankings:

Inactive list

Marcus Morris: The likely starting power forward will begin the season watching from the sidelines as he rests a sore right knee and gets into better shape. When the 6-foot-9 forward does return to the floor, the Celtics are expecting big things from him. He’s a versatile defender who has the strength to handle bulkier wings at either forward spot. He has been considered one of the better LeBron James defenders throughout his career, and that could ultimately pay dividends when the Eastern Conference Finals roll around. In the meantime, the Celtics will need him to become an improved rebounder (12.8 defensive rebounding rate is subpar for his size) and a better shooter to maximize the team’s production. He shot a subpar 33 percent from 3-point range last year, but luckily he has a better track record from beyond the arc during his Phoenix days. With better floor spacing and better shot opportunities awaiting him in Boston, he needs to knock down open looks while staying away from too much of an isolation-focused offensive game (unless it comes against mismatches). He did a lot of that in Detroit, and it won’t be necessary playing next to Kyrie Irving, Gordon Hayward and Al Horford in Boston.

13. Abdel Nader: The grind of a long D-League season has paid off for the 24-year-old swingman, who turned down significant money overseas last year in hopes of making the Celtics this season. The 2016 second-round pick was rewarded with a four-year contract this summer (only first year guaranteed), but he will start at the bottom of a deep wing rotation for Boston. However, the 6-foot-6 forward has an edge over other Celtics rookies with his knowledge of the C’s system after playing with Boston’s D-League affiliate for a full season. He could get a bit of a chance early with Morris sidelined if others flounder ahead of him. If that does happen, look for a guy who isn’t afraid of getting shots up on the drive or from the perimeter. He will need to improve his defense to push himself out of the basement.

12. Shane Larkin: I was tempted to put him higher on this list, but there is just too much talent ahead of him in the backcourt to expect him to contend for rotation minutes early. Larkin should serve this team well as a third point guard and a possible change of pace guy off the bench. He’s a shifty passer with good vision, but finishing on the offensive end remains a problem for him. He’s never shot above 44 percent during his NBA career, and those issues didn’t go away for him during one year overseas. With Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier shining ahead of him in the preseason, he’s strictly an extra option for Stevens in small ball lineups out of the gate.

11. Guerschon Yabusele: The absence of Morris pushes the Frenchman up this list a little bit higher than anticipated. Yabusele is going to be a ball of energy on the court all year with his hustle, but after watching him over four preseason games, the guess here is that most of those minutes will be coming with the Maine Red Claws. There’s no denying that Yabusele has an NBA body (6-foot-8, 260 pounds) with good agility for his size, but his offensive skillset looks a bit limited early on. The perimeter shooting isn’t there just yet and he struggled with his handle in stretches, which is not a good recipe for success in a pace and space offense. Still, expect him to remain with the big club early on with Morris sidelined, since he’ll get a shot at some point to prove he belongs (along with the rest of the non-Tatum rookie bigs).

10. Semi Ojeleye: Comparisons to Jae Crowder have been thrown around Ojeleye since draft night, but the No. 37 overall pick has a ways to go to fulfill that kind of potential. In the meantime, he remains toward the top half of the depth chart among Boston’s rookie wings and bigs. The 6-foot-6 SMU product was guarding 4s and 5s during summer league at times, but he also looked capable of handling wings at the small forward when playing with more traditional bigs. If the Celtics want to maximize their spacing with smallball, Ojeleye is a strong candidate to see some bench minutes as a stretch power forward with Morris out. If not, he’ll serve as a depth piece for the frontcourt. A promising shooting start to the preseason (50 percent from 3-point range) gives reason for optimism though.

9. Daniel Theis: This might be a bit higher than most analysts would have placed the German, but I can’t shake Danny Ainge’s comments to NBC Sports Boston about Theis during their preview show in which he singled out the big man as a guy he’s been impressed with. The 6-foot-9 German has been a pro overseas for nearly a decade and provides the type of rebounding and energy Boston could use off the bench against frontcourts with size. He has a limited offensive skillset, but that’s not a problem for a guy who knows to stay in his lane. Theis also hits the glass hard, sets strong picks and can handle the ball adequately on the perimeter. If Stevens want to stick with a more traditional bench frontcourt, Theis/Baynes could be a fun duo to watch together.

8. Terry Rozier: The reserve guard built on a strong postseason last year with more steady play in the backcourt this preseason, but consistency remains key for the athletic speedster in year three. It’s easy to forget the struggles he had last year with his finishing and defense, both of which caused him to be on the outside of the rotation before the postseason began. He only got a chance in the Bulls series because Jaylen Brown faltered early in his bench minutes, which led to Stevens searching for help deeper into his bench. A strong offseason has appeared to improve Rozier’s on-court strengths. He rebounds like a mad man for a 6-foot-2 guard, he has tremendous open court speed and his perimeter jumper looks more reliable out of the gate. The biggest key to maintaining minutes for Rozier though will be his defense. He was overmatched by opposing bench point guards throughout the regular season last year. If he can hold his own there and do a better job of containing dribble penetration, the 23-year-old could scoop up more minutes in the backcourt over a guy like Brown.

7. Aron Baynes: The Celtics finally have a traditional bruising center in Baynes, probably for the first time since Kendrick Perkins was traded in 2011. The Australian loves to do the dirty work, whether it’s setting mean screens, fighting for position on the glass or drawing a charge on the defensive end. He came to Boston eager for opportunity after playing sparse minutes behind Andre Drummond in Detroit, and he’s been a seamless fit so far whether he is playing with the starters or bench unit. Boston’s defense will probably be at its best with him and Horford together in the frontcourt, but the opportunities for those lineups could be limited if teams downsize to smallball. As long as Baynes can stay consistent with a midrange jumper, he shouldn’t drag down the offense much when he’s out there, while also giving the Celtics a rebounding and rim protection presence they desperately need.

6. Jayson Tatum: Welcome to the big show, rookie. After a rough start to his preseason career as a reserve, Tatum has looked right at home as a starting forward for the final three preseason games with Boston. The confidence he has shown at both ends has allowed Stevens to put his faith in the 19-year-old rookie for a starting spot with Morris sidelined. That will make Tatum the youngest Celtic opening night starter since Antoine Walker got the nod in 1997. Luckily for Tatum, he’ll be surrounded by a little more talent than Walker was in those days. The shot creation ability has translated well to the college game, and he has shown strong awareness on both ends of the floor that has led to consistent praise from Stevens. Whether Tatum has the strength and speed to stick with imposing stretch fours in the NBA remains to be seen, but the Celtics have to feel good about finding an elite young talent that can handle this type of role out of the gate.

5. Jaylen Brown: The door was open for Brown to earn the starting shooting guard spot in the preseason, but his competition for the spot (Smart) made things easy on him by volunteering to come off the bench before the year even started. Playing with the starters is the best fit for Brown from a role standpoint. His splits last season were much better when he started at shooting guard in place of an injured Avery Bradley. In that role he wasn’t forced to do too much from an offensive standpoint, as opposing defenses were preoccupied with other offensive threats. That should be the case against this year alongside Hayward and Irving, but the Celtics really will need him to come through on the defensive end. With a subpar player defending next to him in the backcourt (Irving), the pressure will be on Brown to limit the opponent’s best guard on a nightly basis. The 20-year-old struggled with his defensive awareness at points last year, but his physical tools make him an ideal fit for the job. He needs to step up early or risk losing minutes to the bench guards.

4. Marcus Smart: The new and improved Smart won’t begin the year with the benefit of an extension, but that shouldn’t take anything away from his potential impact. The defensive assignments will only intensify with Bradley no longer in green, opening the door for Smart to assert himself as a member of the closing five unit on a nightly basis. While Smart’s 20-pound weight loss will likely help him stick better with speedier guards, all eyes should continue to be focused on his offensive game. He hasn’t come close to matching his 33 percent shooting from 3-point range from his rookie year, and perhaps more alarmingly, his 3-point attempts have increased during his stint as an awful high volume 3-point shooter. Smart was also one of the worst guard finishers at the rim last season (along with Rozier). The Celtics can’t afford him to struggle so mightily in both those areas again.

3. Gordon Hayward: The All-Star has seen his numbers improve during each season of his six-year career to date. In Boston, don’t expect the quantity to jump on the point front, but efficiency should still continue to increase across the board. Hayward was always the main offensive weapon in Utah for the past three years, and he’s going to be seeing a lot fewer double teams with the likes of Irving and Horford flanking him on a nightly basis. The Butler product is a gritty player who will do the little things a team needs on a given night to win. Like Horford, he may get some flack for failing to put up big numbers on a max contract regularly, but that does not change the fact that he’s a winning player on both ends and an ideal second option for this team.

2. Al Horford: Given the state of the frontcourt, I’d put Horford as the Celtic that the team can least afford to lose. Offensively, his shooting and passing make him one of the best supporting big men in the league. Asking him to be a second option in an offense is probably too much for the 31-year-old at this stage of his career, but with Irving and Hayward now in the fold, Horford can feast on open looks provided by his shot-creating teammates. The one worry to have on Horford in this kind of a role is the wear and tear he could take as a full-time center. The Celtics started Amir Johnson with him last season to take the onus off him, but they are shying away from that in 2017-18 as more teams turn to smallball. Stevens and the training staff will have to monitor Horford closely to ensure he can handle the nightly battles with the collection of true bigs in the East.

1. Kyrie Irving: The Celtics went all-in on the All-Star last month, and the early returns are promising this preseason. Irving’s assist rate is way up, he’s meshing well in the two-man game with Horford and Irving, and his own offensive highlight reel has been stellar over just four contests. The supporting cast is in place for Irving to take his elite scoring ability to the next level in Boston, but it’s his defense alongside Brown that I’ll be watching most closely as the season begins. The pair had some communication and switching issues throughout the preseason, something that needs to be corrected quickly with a tough schedule looming out of the gate. The knock on Irving has always been his effort on defense, but with inexperience around him in the backcourt, he’s going to have to pull his weight for the Celtics to make a real run at the Cavs this season.