It feels that way now. But as of this summer, both Kyrie's near term (knee) and long term (pending UFA) status with the Celtics was far from clear. So I can understand why they didn't pull the trigger.
If you DVR'd it, spend 15 minutes and watch that first quarter. It was historic. 70years (~5000 games) of Celtics hoops and that was the 5th highest scoring first quarter ever. This team and in particular the starting unit have been a horrible offensive unit. It's worth watching.
+1 nailed it, small quick, defensive guard that wants to play physical defense is a need. One willing to provide energy and harass the other teams' ball handler full court. That shouldn't be difficult to find. Larkin's energy and shooting helped last season.
Can you list the "many teams" that don't even use a 4 anymore please?
I agree with mostly everything so this is a nitpick, but are we sure he's going to get that much time? He's already 40 as it is.
I didn't know we could eliminate teams because well.....they aren't using 4's. That is kinda misleading for that simple reason. I'd include the LA Clippers who have Gallo and Tobias as perimeter face-up players, Houston with PJ Tucker and Ennis in the frontcourt with Capela, Mirocic in NO, Ryan Anderson is Phoenix......off the top of my head I can include these 4 with your above 8 without even looking at a dozen other teams where playing 2 bigs creates a terrible matchup for our defense in defending the 3-point line and switching on high pick n pops.
Are you implying that the Cs run a different offense with Baynes in the lineup?
I think Al has slipped a little too. He is 32, so that isn't surprising. Oddly enough, he's having his best year blocking wise and by a healthy margin. Still early though.
Can I be sure, no?
Already included Phoenix with TJ Warren. Tobias is a 4, PJ Tucker is a 4, Mirotic is a 4.
"Pining" for Larkin was never my point. They need someone who can guard those little, scoring PGs who can beat Kyrie and Marcus. If that can't be Rozier, it needs to be someone else. Larkin was used successfully in that limited role last year, but I don't think there's anything special about him. They just need someone. Rozier, meanwhile, has been pretty awful all season, and I'd rather not see him taking minutes that could go to others on the team (Smart, Hayward, Brown).
Where did I imply that they ran a different offense w/Baynes?
Well, I hope you don't hurt yourself patting yourself on back
You aren't the only person who laments the departure of Larkin - that wasn't directed at you. As you note, given Rozier's play of late, he is not providing what this team requires from a back-up ball handler. As such, I think the obvious fix is a swap of Rozier for a rotation PG type who is ok with the role.
Ha. Brad has forgotten more about hoops than anyone on this site knows.
I'll rip up my membership card and mail it to TD Garden.
Apparently I was unclear.Ha. Brad has forgotten more about hoops than anyone on this site knows.
I guess questioning any decision he makes gets you thrown out of Coach Stevens' Ball Washing Fan Club.
Don't know, but my focus would be on role player types, not guys with the talent to be NBA regulars.
Sure if you want to stick a number next to their name to attempt to prove your point have at it.....that doesn't change all of these players being a mismatch for us if Brad choose to use 2 bigs against these teams offenses with Horford chasing these guys behind the 3-point line. How do you see this as a good idea?
Good question.
This seems about right.
When did anyone ever say this about Golden State? They have 2 players actively looking for their shots in Steph and Durant, with a 3rd being comfortable in his role playing off them......with 5-6 other rotation players who fully understand their job description as secondary players. The Warriors have an ideal balance which is why they execute like a well-oiled machine at full strength. Boston has 7-8 players actively looking for their shots while being unable to recognize when/where these shots are coming from while you admit they struggle with cohesion in doing so.
Not denying the issues with Rozier and his numbers/contract year aren't a problem.....but he is not THE problem or else we wouldn't be trailing most games in the 1st quarter prior to him ever stepping foot on the floor. The issues of a .500 team are much deeper than that of your 7th/8th man.
I'm not arguing that other issues don't exist, but chemistry is the 800 pound gorilla.
First you would have to look at the rebuilding teams who would want to trade for Rozier with the intent of resigning him as their long term point guard. The short list is Phoenix and Orlando with maybe Chicago if Dunn continues with his injury jinx. The Suns don't have anything to offer us however the Magic have DJ Augustin who has quietly developed into a real good NBA player under contract for $7.7m next season so in addition to a culture change with a better fit as a backup 1 you have added a second year for a player behind Kyrie for some roster certainty.
You're right, of course, only blithering idiots like Stephen A Smith said there might be a chemistry issue, and that was all the way back when they were adding Durant. It was stupid of me to bring up.
I think it’s less about Kemba, and more about the Celtics getting lit up by the likes of JJ Barea and Trey Burke.
Meh. Small samples like that shouldn't sway this team quite yet. The teams they are concerned about in the eastern conference are TOR + PHI + MIL. None of those teams have these quick PGs that we are so worried about.
Its really more about Rozier not only appearing to play differently than last year as well as his statistics reflecting an almost across the board decline.
Until they draw the Hornets in the first round. I agree it's small sample size but if it is an issue, it's something that should be addressed.
The issue with smaller, quicker guards isn’t really exclusive to this year though - it was a struggle last year too. And, given how they’ve played thus far, I think it’s reasonable to worry about beating teams besides TOR/PHI/MIL. Even if the Celtics end up being some form of the team we expected coming into the year, the gap vs. the elite teams in the East isn’t so large that home court isn’t meaningful. They’ve already spotted TOR 6.5 games, MIL 4.5 games, and PHI 3 games... making up ground requires consistently beating mediocre opponents, so if they could avoid being the opponent for career games from otherwise average guards, that would really help. Of course, the obvious solution would be for Terry to actually play defense again, but absent that, Ainge should be exploring his options...
The observations about screen depth and play design, along with how Tatum and Kyrie are being used, make Brad look pretty bad.
I knew KOC was reading this forum. I just didn't know he posts under the username "benhogan"
I wish I could play the Tim Legler clip from Sirius NBA Radio this afternoon discussing Butler in Philly and why it is so perfect for him and the team while unknowingly saying what is all wrong with the Celtics. Paraphrasing.....
I don't understand what you're saying. This is precisely the job description for Kyrie's backup who is capable of stepping into a starting role when he's out. The big things for me is you trade 1/2 a season for 1 and 1/2 seasons of what should be a better fit for that job. It had nothing to do with the Kemba or the Burke games as I've been beating this drum all year.
The game has gotten quicker and faster so let's play bigger and slower. What could possibly go wrong?
I get what you're saying, but has the game evolved THAT MUCH since the end of last season? Enough to go from Horford playing with another big 50% of the time to 5%? That's a shit load of Darwinian evolution in 6 months.
Worth noting that they trailed by 12 at one pint against Orlando, 13 against Charlotte, and 21 against Portland. And in the Indiana game they led by 13 at one point. They just play too many stretches of absolutely terrible basketball right now...
