Who's the second option on offense

[KG Living Legend]

 Hello! It's Al Horford ! One of the big reasons we are going to be much better next season is because we have a legit number two option that's a big guy. You can't cheat on Isaiah as much now.

 Turner and Sully combined for 21 ppg last year, and 19 shot attempts per game, that's significant. But we should have the players to pick up the slack.

 I like Bradley as a number three option.

 Offensive pecking order.

 #1 Thomas
 #2 Horford
 #3 Bradley
 #4 Crowder
 #5 Smart, Olynyk, Amir, Rozier, Brown

 #5 should be interesting to see who wants to take that #5 spot for most shot attempts and Points per game.

 A lot of games last year Turner was our #2 option. Horford makes us better.

[LarBrd33]

I think that's right.  I think Bradley and Crowder are a bit underrated right now and this might be the year they finally start getting serious notice around the league.  I also think there's a chance Olynyk rises up the offensive depth chart.  He seems to be our best shooter.

[jpotter33]

People underestimate what Horford will do for IT. Not only will he take attention away from IT, he also provides spacing that we just didn't have in the bigs in the starting lineup before. Imagine how much spacing we will have when KO is with Horford in the lineup. That will provide us the easy offense that we've not had lately, because all we'll have to do is put everyone outside the three point line and let IT penetrate and score or kick it out for a three.

I think the order will be - 1) IT, 2) Horford, 3) Bradley/Crowder/Whoever is hot that night.

[Csfan1984]

Hordford/AB depending on the matchup. Hell maybe Crowder on some nights. IT should be #1 is all that's for sure.

[KG Living Legend]

I think that's right.  I think Bradley and Crowder are a bit underrated right now and this might be the year they finally start getting serious notice around the league.  I also think there's a chance Olynyk rises up the offensive depth chart.  He seems to be our best shooter.

 Yeah, Olynyk is frustrating. You get that feeling that he could be awesome. He just needs to be more assertive. He lacks confidence in himself, and he shouldn't, he's good.

[clover]

I think that's right.  I think Bradley and Crowder are a bit underrated right now and this might be the year they finally start getting serious notice around the league.  I also think there's a chance Olynyk rises up the offensive depth chart.  He seems to be our best shooter.

 Yeah, Olynyk is frustrating. You get that feeling that he could be awesome. He just needs to be more assertive. He lacks confidence in himself, and he shouldn't, he's good.

KO last year scored more points per possession than anyone on the team other than IT and more than Horford either scored last year or has averaged for his career. No, he wasn't a starter, but once he's fully back, if he is playing well and starting, he could well be the #2 option and the #2 scorer behind IT.

[Celtics4ever]

Whomever is hot that night.

[TheSundanceKid]

IT and Horford have to be the 1-2 punch. After that I expect different people will get hot on different nights but Bradley will be 3rd highest ppg.

It's always interesting to watch at the start of games Brad always tries to get Bradley going instead of IT. I've often wondered why that was, does anyone know?

[dreamgreen]

Hello! It's Al Horford ! One of the big reasons we are going to be much better next season is because we have a legit number two option that's a big guy. You can't cheat on Isaiah as much now.

 Turner and Sully combined for 21 ppg last year, and 19 shot attempts per game, that's significant. But we should have the players to pick up the slack.

 I like Bradley as a number three option.

 Offensive pecking order.

 #1 Thomas
 #2 Horford
 #3 Bradley
 #4 Crowder
 #5 Smart, Olynyk, Amir, Rozier, Brown

 #5 should be interesting to see who wants to take that #5 spot for most shot attempts and Points per game.

 A lot of games last year Turner was our #2 option. Horford makes us better.

Sounds right, I would add Green as an "X" factor. He could sit on the bench and rot or be our sixth man or anything in between. I'm very interested to see what kind of preseason he has.

[otherdave]

The same as the first option - the player who is open.

[trickybilly]

This offseason is deathrow. Can't wait to see how much run Jaylen gets. I will only be slightly surprised if he has one or two 20+ games before the all-star break.

[Surferdad]

I think that's right.  I think Bradley and Crowder are a bit underrated right now and this might be the year they finally start getting serious notice around the league.  I also think there's a chance Olynyk rises up the offensive depth chart.  He seems to be our best shooter.

 Yeah, Olynyk is frustrating. You get that feeling that he could be awesome. He just needs to be more assertive. He lacks confidence in himself, and he shouldn't, he's good.

KO last year scored more points per possession than anyone on the team other than IT and more than Horford either scored last year or has averaged for his career. No, he wasn't a starter, but once he's fully back, if he is playing well and starting, he could well be the #2 option and the #2 scorer behind IT.

On some nights, Olynyk will be the #2 offensive option if he gets hot.  However, most of the time our top scorers should be:
IT
Horford
AB

[Vermont Green]

Whomever is hot that night.

I don't agree with the whole idea.  I get the idea of #1, #2 and all that to a point but basketball isn't like a pass play in football where you look here first then here...  There is no benefit to thinking in terms of #1, #2 etc.  There is no value to the team in even trying to define this.

The most successful teams will simply move the ball and find the open man.  Sometimes you may be looking to feed a hot hand but that is usually not the best approach either.  Being "hot" is a debatable theory anyway.  Red believed you could be hot but sabermetrics tell us that it is statistically normal to hit say 5 shots in a row sometimes.  Sooner or later, a hot player takes a shot that gets called a "heat check" and usually misses and goes back to shooting their normal percentages.

Of course at the end of games, you want the ball in the hands of you best creater (not necessarily best scorer) but for the vast majority of the play, you need to force the issue, see how the defense reacts, and then keep the ball moving until you find an open man or a beneficial match-up that may have been created by a switch.  I don't think IT should even think of himself as #1.  He should be trying to create and keep the ball moving, finding open people, take shots when they are there, just the same as the other 4 on the court.

[Rosco917]

I'm anticipating seeing Horford's 15 ppg last year, jump up this year. He'll get more opportunities on this Celtic team that needs a second option. He's a big target, that can score in many different ways.

I also think look for Bradley to have a career year on offense, off his 1st. team all NBA defensive
team award. Once again he'll be the guy CBS tries to get going first at the start of every game, simply because IT is a self-starter, and Bradley isn't. Look for Bradley to take a more aggressive roll on offense. 
 
I also see many on this site answered "whomever is hot that night"... that's easier said than done with a PG that is also the teams first option on offense. They'll be times when IT will have to be a simple PG, and get others involved. Hopefully he'll be able to recognize exactly when.

[clover]

I think that's right.  I think Bradley and Crowder are a bit underrated right now and this might be the year they finally start getting serious notice around the league.  I also think there's a chance Olynyk rises up the offensive depth chart.  He seems to be our best shooter.

 Yeah, Olynyk is frustrating. You get that feeling that he could be awesome. He just needs to be more assertive. He lacks confidence in himself, and he shouldn't, he's good.

KO last year scored more points per possession than anyone on the team other than IT and more than Horford either scored last year or has averaged for his career. No, he wasn't a starter, but once he's fully back, if he is playing well and starting, he could well be the #2 option and the #2 scorer behind IT.

On some nights, Olynyk will be the #2 offensive option if he gets hot.  However, most of the time our top scorers should be:
IT
Horford
AB

IT is obviously the number one scorer.

And Al and KO are actually pretty similar offensively, with each a bit better than the other in a number of offensive categories.

But KO is a better offensive player than AB on almost every measure. He already scores more frequently than AB, more efficiently, and they C's want to see him shooting more often. So if he's playing well and starting, KO is a pretty clear #2/3 option.