Celtics '20'21 - The Young and the Restless

[Gman]

Some observations after 10 games of the season:

• Nice start, overall. The depth issue hasn't been as big an issue as reasonable fears suggested.
• Jaylen Brown has taken the next step. I never envisioned him as the scoring threat he has become. Most notably, JB has become deadly in the mid-range... coming off screens or rubs, getting to somewhere around the foul line, and knocking in little jumpers has quickly become something of a signature shot. Brown is so athletic and such a threat to get to the basket that defenders often have no choice but to cede him this shot.
• Payton Pritchard has been great, especially for a late-1st rookie. The game doesn't look too fast for him. Without his quality 20+ mpg, we'd likely have a losing record at this point, IMO.
• OTOH, the game has looked too fast for Aaron Nesmith. Which isn't a knock on Nesmith... it's to be more expected that young guys outside the very top picks are gonna need an adjustment period... (especially in a year like this). Anywho: from what I've seen, I don't expect Nesmith to be a significant contributor this year.
• Young veterans like Semi Ojeleye and Robert Williams III have quietly shown some improvement. This is actually big for us. We don't need these guys to be all-stars... but getting anything more out of them helps ameliorate our bench issues.
• Tristan Thompson has been a quality addition. He's a known quantity... his strengths are toughness, offensive rebounding and defense... we needed upgrades there, and I think what Thompson is giving us will be most felt when it matters the most: the playoffs.
• Jeff Teague has been mixed results so far. His FG% overall has been terrible, but his 3pt FG% has been excellent. Teague has had a lot of trouble finishing on his drives. He may need a little more time to settle in... or he may be past-his-due-date. We'll see. If there is a problem here, it's less pressing because we'll eventually get Kemba back and because of the emergence of Pritchard.

That's about it from me. Everything else is roughly what I expected.

In the short term, we're dealing with some significant CV19-related issues. It'll be cool to see some of the young guys (like Tacko!!!) get more playing time... that said, we're probably gonna lose some games coming up. Can't be a short a Kemba and a Tatum and a few other guys on top of that and not have it hit you in the W-L column.

I just want to see hustle, desire and competitiveness.

 

[The Q]

Maybe it’s just me. But Danny could’ve gotten a good young center (Jarrett Allen) plus a useful backup 3 and d ish wing (taurean prince) for the cost of a late first and part of his tpe, I think he probably should’ve done it.

it would’ve let him use theis in a deal to either add back some picks or trade for a guy at another position.

 

[Gman]

This good, clean fun needs to be posted...


"BTW, Tacko's drive to the basket was NOT a travel."

signed -- Giannis Antetokounmpo

 

[Gman]

Yikes... our first true stinker of the season today... here are the numbers...

25 for 84 from the field overall... 30%
7 for 46 from 3 pt range... 15%
Lost by 30... to the Knicks

Let us never speak of this game again.

 

[trojanfan12]

Hey!! Did you guys see that Knicks/Celtics game today?

Early entry for game of the year?

Thoughts.

 

[Gman]

Hey!! Did you guys see that Knicks/Celtics game today?

Early entry for game of the year?

Thoughts.

lol... look at the post right above yours.

It's nice to know you care, though.

 

[BigKen]

Thoughts.

One game does not a season make.

 

[Gman]

Well... we're mired in out longest losing streak of the season... 3 games... and it's probably not a coincidence that it happened while Tatum is out and Kemba is getting re-adjusted to playing ball.

It's certainly not time to panic or anything like that. Frankly, I'm more surprised we were in 1st place last week with all the flux we've had... losing a few in the midst of a year like this seems more to be expected.

That said, this team could be playing better on defense. We've been pedestrian at best on that end of the floor... and that end of the floor is usually our calling card. Again, it's not time to panic about it. A big reason we've struggled on that end is all the line-up flux we've had... it's tough to play team defense at a high level in this league when so many parts are shifting in and out of the line-up. But this is a clear area for improvement going forward. At least half of the defensive equation is effort and grit, we can always bring those more consistently.

-------------

Celtics issues aside, let's talk Philly. The recent mini-series between our two teams (which the 76ers sweeped) was great basketball... you could tell both teams don't like each other and both teams want to win. Obviously, Philly got the better of us this time.

Embiid looked fantastic... the best I've ever seen him. We got Tristan Thompson for his defense and toughness in the middle... and even TT looked helpless much of the time to slow down the Philly big man.

If we meet in the playoffs... it's definitely gonna have to be a team effort to slow Embiid... and we've been able to do that before, so we know it's possible... still, it's gonna be tougher challenge the next time around...

 

[Gman]

** Holding breath with regards to Marcus Smart injury **

 

[trojanfan12]

** Holding breath with regards to Marcus Smart injury **

Woj just tweeted it's a calf strain. Out 1-2 weeks.

 

[Gman]

Woj just tweeted it's a calf strain. Out 1-2 weeks.

Nice.

The C's should play this one safe and err on the side of caution... let Smart stay out a month plus or whatever... whatever they have to do to try to avoid a Kevin Durant part deux here.

 

[LogicMan]

We need Kemba off the floor and Payton back

half serious

 

[Gman]

We need Kemba off the floor and Payton back

half serious

I feel bad for Kemba struggling like this, I know he has a lot of pride...

... that said, he deserves every benefit of the doubt here... not only has he missed the opening of the season, but he missed all the informal "warm-up" time before the season... dude was mandated to rest up, and he did...

... so it's unsurprising that he is struggling at first. Guy hasn't played ball in literally months.

Kemba's a natural born scorer... he'll round into form... I'm not worried about it.

 

[LogicMan]

I feel bad for Kemba struggling like this, I know he has a lot of pride...

... that said, he deserves every benefit of the doubt here... not only has he missed the opening of the season, but he missed all the informal "warm-up" time before the season... dude was mandated to rest up, and he did...

... so it's unsurprising that he is struggling at first. Guy hasn't played ball in literally months.

Kemba's a natural born scorer... he'll round into form... I'm not worried about it.

appreciate your comments GMan. I am not all warm and fuzzy on Kemba

- injuries
- defense

 

[The Q]

appreciate your comments GMan. I am not all warm and fuzzy on Kemba

- injuries
- defense

this is killing me right now.

but with no training camp and he was line 12th in playoff raptor on one leg, he deserves the benefit of the doubt

 

[Gman]

So after a disappointing road trip and at the 23 game mark, the Celtics sit at a lackluster 12-11.

Not great...

There are reasons, of course. Boston has had all kinds of flux in their line-ups... some guys missing time here, other guys missing time there, and on any given night having to shake things up all over again and to try new combinations.

Can't always control stuff like that in a crazy season. But it's tough all over, and in the end the C's have to play better. Here's how I'd summarize the main concerns that can be improved:

• Team Defense - The 5 guys on the floor at any given time are, all too often, not adding up to a quality total defense. Too many easy/open shots are conceded by this team right now. With the line-up flux we've had, this isn't totally unsurprising... still, it very noticeable that Boston is not living up to their standard in this area and need to get things right if they have any chance of reaching their potential.
• Tristan Thompson - From an individual standpoint, his defense has been poor... not up to his reputation at all. In particular, I've noticed that he has been victimized when switched onto a smaller/quicker player... guys are going right around him. I thought that defending those switches was supposed to be his strong suit? Not so far in green.
• Kemba Walker - Kemba's struggles have been widely reported. He's having a lot of trouble all over on offense, but in particular he's having trouble getting to the basket and finishing. Still not time to panic... Kemba's still working his way back after a long layoff as far as I'm concerned.
• Jeff Teague - This is a lesser concern because, (when fully healthy), the C's are deep at the PG position. But Teague continues to struggle also... also having a lot of trouble finishing his drives.

That's it, aside from the line-up flux. The good news is these are all areas that could and should be fixed... especially in light of the fact that Ainge has trade exceptions in his back pocket... I could even see a Tristan Thompson being part of trade (something made possible by the fact that RWIII is showing some potential at the 5 spot).

So... still plenty of time to turn this around, and still plenty of positive things (Jaylen Brown's play, the boost Payton Pritchard is giving us, good 3 pt shooting) to feel optimistic about...

... what we probably need most of all is line-up consistency... but that's harder to control and predict.

 

[The Q]

So after a disappointing road trip and at the 23 game mark, the Celtics sit at a lackluster 12-11.

Not great...

There are reasons, of course. Boston has had all kinds of flux in their line-ups... some guys missing time here, other guys missing time there, and on any given night having to shake things up all over again and to try new combinations.

Can't always control stuff like that in a crazy season. But it's tough all over, and in the end the C's have to play better. Here's how I'd summarize the main concerns that can be improved:

• Team Defense - The 5 guys on the floor at any given time are, all too often, not adding up to a quality total defense. Too many easy/open shots are conceded by this team right now. With the line-up flux we've had, this isn't totally unsurprising... still, it very noticeable that Boston is not living up to their standard in this area and need to get things right if they have any chance of reaching their potential.
• Tristan Thompson - From an individual standpoint, his defense has been poor... not up to his reputation at all. In particular, I've noticed that he has been victimized when switched onto a smaller/quicker player... guys are going right around him. I thought that defending those switches was supposed to be his strong suit? Not so far in green.
• Kemba Walker - Kemba's struggles have been widely reported. He's having a lot of trouble all over on offense, but in particular he's having trouble getting to the basket and finishing. Still not time to panic... Kemba's still working his way back after a long layoff as far as I'm concerned.
• Jeff Teague - This is a lesser concern because, (when fully healthy), the C's are deep at the PG position. But Teague continues to struggle also... also having a lot of trouble finishing his drives.

That's it, aside from the line-up flux. The good news is these are all areas that could and should be fixed... especially in light of the fact that Ainge has trade exceptions in his back pocket... I could even see a Tristan Thompson being part of trade (something made possible by the fact that RWIII is showing some potential at the 5 spot).

So... still plenty of time to turn this around, and still plenty of positive things (Jaylen Brown's play, the boost Payton Pritchard is giving us, good 3 pt shooting) to feel optimistic about...

... what we probably need most of all is line-up consistency... but that's harder to control and predict.

Good summary so far

Danny may not use that trade exception until the offseason.

I still say don’t sleep on a deal with smart, nes, and theis (and maybe Romeo) all in it for an impact player.

 

[Gman]

I still say don’t sleep on a deal with smart, nes, and theis (and maybe Romeo) all in it for an impact player.

That would have to be a deal for a very good player... Smart, in particular, means a lot to this team... and Theis is our best big man...

... it's possible, but very unlikely IMO.

I'd say someone like an Aaron Gordon or Harrison Barnes is more likely... we'd still make a significant upgrade without having to give up so much.

We'll see what we will see, though.

 

[The Q]

That would have to be a deal for a very good player... Smart, in particular, means a lot to this team... and Theis is our best big man...

... it's possible, but very unlikely IMO.

I'd say someone like an Aaron Gordon or Harrison Barnes is more likely... we'd still make a significant upgrade without having to give up so much.

We'll see what we will see, though.

theis is a fa after the year. He’s basically Kendrick Perkins to this team (not style but role/value to the team and contract situation)

 

[Gman]

theis is a fa after the year.

I get that.

My statement about him is still true... and therefore makes him very valuable to us this year.

I still have high hopes for this year.