Celtics '19'20 - Turning over a New Clover Leaf

[Gman]

Also, one of the main reasons Embiid and Simmons struggled against the Celtics last year was one Al Horford.
As much as his signing helps us, it may have hurt the Celtics more.

Yeah... no doubt.

 

[flyerhawk]

• Philly is gonna be a very strong defensive team.
• I liked the hustle that Boston played with. I think they played hard.
• I really liked what I saw out of Hayward. Not just the final stats... he seemed to be moving very well. (At times last season he was noticeably very hesitant and uncertain).

That's about it. One game against a very good Philly team... a team that Boston seems to clearly be a notch below right now.

Seems fair. One game is just one game so you really can't read too much into it.

 

[Sparhawk]

Yeah... no doubt.

And I don't know if that's because it caught the Celtics by surprise.

Sure, Horford said all the right things when someone asked him if he would have stayed had he known Kemba was coming.
But, they didn't appear to have any alternative but to sign Kanter and/or hope that one of their European bigs comes through.

I also have to wonder about their mindsets coming off the FIBA debacle.

 

[Gman]

And I don't know if that's because it caught the Celtics by surprise.

Sure, Horford said all the right things when someone asked him if he would have stayed had he known Kemba was coming.
But, they didn't appear to have any alternative but to sign Kanter and/or hope that one of their European bigs comes through.

Surprise, I think, is too strong a word.

After all, Horford has walked away from "a home" previously... he did the same thing to the Hawks.

I do think the Celtics did not assign the same dollar value to Horford that Philly did.

Which isn't necessarily wrong for either side... at the time, the C's didn't have Kemba and didn't seem close to a title... so an aging Horford on a big contract didn't necessarily make sense...

... Philly, OTOH, was a team potentially one piece away from a title. Horford makes much more sense for y'all, regardless of his age.

 

[The Q]

How does Browns $115 million dollar contract affect the C's? Do they have more money to spend now and in the future or does this hinder what they can do in the future?

It's scary to think that this is a "standard" contract/ re-signing whatever you want to call it though.

zero cap space this summer with Tatum looking to get even more money

 

[redseat]

zero cap space this summer with Tatum looking to get even more money

Damn

 

[Gman]

Damn

It's not the end of the world... the C's got the main guys locked up... Kemba, Hayward, Brown, Smart... and they'll be willing to go max with Tatum even if it means the luxury tax.

What they need is their big dogs to play like big dogs... (first and foremost)...

Then if they can just get a guy like Robert Williams III to take the next step... or a combination of role players to step up... guy like Edwards, Grant Williams and Theis... this team can be right towards the top of the league.

I was actually pleased with what I saw out of RWIII in the first game... he is bigger/stronger than last year, and seemed to be making better reads/decisions on the defensive end.

 

[The Q]

Damn

Yeah it’s gonna be a mid level exception add and a draft pick being the only potential big additions minus a trade.

 

[The Q]

It's not the end of the world... the C's got the main guys locked up... Kemba, Hayward, Brown, Smart... and they'll be willing to go max with Tatum even if it means the luxury tax.

What they need is their big dogs to play like big dogs... (first and foremost)...

Then if they can just get a guy like Robert Williams III to take the next step... or a combination of role players to step up... guy like Edwards, Grant Williams and Theis... this team can be right towards the top of the league.

I was actually pleased with what I saw out of RWIII in the first game... he is bigger/stronger than last year, and seemed to be making better reads/decisions on the defensive end.

They paid a lot of money to a guy who was replacement level last year instead of trading him for kawhi.

Probably a mistake.

 

[Gman]

They paid a lot of money to a guy who was replacement level last year instead of trading him for kawhi.

Probably a mistake.

No use crying over spilled milk... in retrospect, not going harder after Kawhi was the wrong move... at the time, it's understandable why the C's and most other teams were hesitant/reluctant to go all-in.

That aside... the move to lock Brown up is understandable, at the very least. Are you really that negative on it?

What are the other options? Wait on locking up Brown and that $$$ figure likely goes up, or you risk losing him.

It's a risk, no doubt. The C's are betting on Brown playing better in the future. But Brown is the right age (just entering his prime) so I'm fine with the bet.

 

[The Q]

No use crying over spilled milk... in retrospect, not going harder after Kawhi was the wrong move... at the time, it's understandable why the C's and most other teams were hesitant/reluctant to go all-in.

That aside... the move to lock Brown up is understandable, at the very least. Are you really that negative on it?

What are the other options? Wait on locking up Brown and that $$$ figure likely goes up, or you risk losing him.

It's a risk, no doubt. The C's are betting on Brown playing better in the future. But Brown is the right age (just entering his prime) so I'm fine with the bet.

the cap is probably going down thanks to Morey.

few teams will have cap space.

Hell tatum isn’t worth that deal right now. That’s how big of a gamble this is.

 

[Gman]

Hell tatum isn’t worth that deal right now.

I don't necessarily disagree.

Tatum has not put it all together yet... he will have moments of excellence on the floor, followed by surprisingly awkward moments... still. Opening night vs Philly was a great example... Tatum had several awkward drives at the rim.

The good news is he was driving... I like the mentality compared to last year...

... definitely room for improvement, though.

We're banking on progression from Tatum. No doubt. That's where we're at... that's the plan.

 

[The Q]

I don't necessarily disagree.

Tatum has not put it all together yet... he will have moments of excellence on the floor, followed by surprisingly awkward moments... still. Opening night vs Philly was a great example... Tatum had several awkward drives at the rim.

The good news is he was driving... I like the mentality compared to last year...

... definitely room for improvement, though.

We're banking on progression from Tatum. No doubt. That's where we're at... that's the plan.

and brown.

I would've rather turned Brown and Smart into one more big piece.

 

[Gman]

I would've rather turned Brown and Smart into one more big piece.

I hear ya.

Easier said then done, though.

Furthermore: a benefit of Brown and Smart that we shouldn't overlook is that they appear to love Boston and are both good culture guys. They want to be here and have brought in.

Boston's a cold weather city and somewhat removed from the action... unfortunately, some guys don't want to come here... and other guys are just plain crazy. {{cough, Kyrie}}

 

[trojanfan12]

in retrospect, not going harder after Kawhi was the wrong move... at the time, it's understandable why the C's and most other teams were hesitant/reluctant to go all-in.

I'm not so sure it was the wrong move. Sure, the Raptors winning the title makes it look like the wrong move. But a lot of weird things had to happen for them to accomplish that. No guarantee everything plays out the same way.

I would also assume that any trade wouldn't have involved Kyrie and who knows how Kawhi's low key personality would mesh with Kyrie's special brand of crazy.

The Celtics could have ended up giving up a lot of assets for a 1 year rental and no title to show for it.

 

[The Q]

I'm not so sure it was the wrong move. Sure, the Raptors winning the title makes it look like the wrong move. But a lot of weird things had to happen for them to accomplish that. No guarantee everything plays out the same way.

I would also assume that any trade wouldn't have involved Kyrie and who knows how Kawhi's low key personality would mesh with Kyrie's special brand of crazy.

The Celtics could have ended up giving up a lot of assets for a 1 year rental and no title to show for it.

it's possible they still have that...

 

[Gman]

A seemingly small thing, but this is a big reason why Grant Williams is gonna earn minutes right from the get-go in Boston.

He understands how to play defense... and we need some muscle at the 4.

 

[flyerhawk]

A seemingly small thing, but this is a big reason why Grant Williams is gonna earn minutes right from the get-go in Boston.

He understands how to play defense... and we need some muscle at the 4.

Williams was tenacious tonight. But no way is he a big regardless of what he played in Tennessee.

 

[Gman]

Williams was tenacious tonight. But no way is he a big regardless of what he played in Tennessee.

Maybe not a traditional big... but he's a strong dude, a stout 230-240 lbs easily.

 

[flyerhawk]

Maybe not a traditional big... but he's a strong dude, a stout 230-240 lbs easily.

He's stout. And he can occasionally man up on a 4. But he's more like Marcus Smart than a real 4.

This isn't a criticism of him. I just expected him to be a lot bigger than what I saw.