2019-2020 Celtics Regular Season Thread
- Thread starter Devizier
- Start date
But all that messaging came from the NBA--these are their slogans. And they likely had some sort of input from interested parties in developing potential messages.
Oh I don't have any problem with what Hayward chose, I just saw that list yesterday when Nicole Yang tweeted it out and then Hayward started trending with people calling him out for not picking the right message, apparently. I actually kind of think it is more impressive that Hayward chose something different than his teammates, and it isn't like we don't need education reform, particularly when it comes to race relations. It was just a lot of "Well of course Gordon Hayward chose that."
View: https://twitter.com/nicolecyang/status/1288530141405229060?s=20
Hayward is still getting dragged for this pretty hard by Celtics Twitter today (poor Max Lederman wandered into that one). He is going to be asked about it by the press and it has the potential to be a much bigger story.
That's because twitter is full of idiots.
I mean...
Jaylen Brown Strives to Reform Education in America
https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/celtics/2019/12/18/jaylen-brown-the-idea-america-that-some-people-have-win-and-some-people-have-lose-filtered-through-our-education-system/BtCwaQ1kYdRjNfspCdSNYP/story.html
https://celticswire.usatoday.com/2019/12/20/nba-boston-celtics-jaylen-brown-vs-public-education/
This is better than nothing, but limiting the players to very basic, anodyne statements makes this seem like just another exercise in corporate platitudes than anything spontaneous or meaningful (to be clear, I'm faulting the NBA, not the players).
This has been pointed out several times around Celtic Twitter but it doesn't seem to be blunting the criticism. Perhaps it will die out but I suspect he is going to be asked about it. He should have his answer prepared at this point.
Most of social media is. I often wonder if we’d be better off as a people if social media was never invented.
Nah this is more a community than social media I think. Probably a better topic for a new thread. Hayward getting dragged on Twitter is BS.
You didn't think you needed to see Jurgen Klopp meeting Tacko Fall but you actually did:
View: https://twitter.com/LFCUSA/status/1288935148373921814?s=20
View: https://twitter.com/LFCUSA/status/1288935148373921814?s=20
It's Embiid that's the rough matchup for Boston. Losing Simmons may make them [very slightly] better in the half court offense, but Simmons is a monster defensively and in transition. Losing him hurts a lot, but not to the point where I'd prefer to play them over Indy.
I'd be quite happy playing the Sixers sans Simmons, which is good, because I don't think we have much of a choice now.
The 12-14 non-Embiid minutes each night will be brutal for Philly. When Embiid is on the floor you can play Kanter against him more (without worrying about Simmons waltzing to the rim against Kanter over and over), or you just double-team/zone the shit out of Embiid without being too worried about the gaps that opens in the defense.
I'm fine playing Indy too, but they're a better coached team with more ability to rise above their talent, so I don't know that it's a huge win. Simmons-less Philly just isn't a particularly good basketball team.
The 12-14 non-Embiid minutes each night will be brutal for Philly. When Embiid is on the floor you can play Kanter against him more (without worrying about Simmons waltzing to the rim against Kanter over and over), or you just double-team/zone the shit out of Embiid without being too worried about the gaps that opens in the defense.
I'm fine playing Indy too, but they're a better coached team with more ability to rise above their talent, so I don't know that it's a huge win. Simmons-less Philly just isn't a particularly good basketball team.
Indiana plays: LAL, Miami, Houston, Miami
Philly plays: Orlando, Portland, Phoenix, Toronto, Houston
If Philly wins tonight they're tied (Indy has tiebreaker)--I can see Philly passing them.
That said, I've seen all the numbers regarding Simmons and his fit, but my brain can't really accept that losing a guy like that makes them better.
We are going to run Philly off the floor, especially without Simmons. There is no chance they can defend our wings. We'll be running a layup line past old man Al when Embiid is on the bench.
Philly is in big trouble without Simmons. Who is the next best ball handler? Horford? Simmons is one of the best creators in the league with his ability to pass out to shooters. Their offense will be slow and messy without him handling the ball. Defense might be worse, especially against the Cs. His absence puts much more pressure on everyone on that team.
Grant Williams seems to be the loser in Time Lord's ascendence. While I like Grant, I can't argue with the choice most nights.
Grant is a better all-around player than Semi, but right now Semi is a better man defender and a better 3 pt shooter. As we saw today, as soon as Semi is doing anything else he is terrible...but those two things comprise the role right now against most teams
I think that final spot (or two) will be heavily matchup dependent, among TL, GW, EK, and SO.
I agree with this group of posts. While Grant is the best of the three overall, TL and Semi bring limited role skills that he doesn't have (mad length/hops of TL) or have yet (Semi's spot three).
I do worry that good teams will run Semi off the line in a seven-game series, and he's useless offensively then. He can't drive closeouts at all. He makes Crowder look like a great finisher. Not the biggest problem in the world though.
Maybe I’m off base but in my view something will have to have gone terribly wrong or fantastically right in order for Semi to get more than a couple of minutes playing time in the playoffs. The only exception being a strong body to pick up fouls against Giannis.
Semi may not be a classic 3-and-D player, but he'll get some minutes as long as he can credibly impersonate one. His base is nice for a few possessions on a Giannis, but he's also not killing us at the 3 or the D part right now.
FWIW, I'd be shocked if he's on this team next year, as they are likely dreaming hard on getting what he gives them out of the Romeo/Grant combination. But they don't seem quite ready.
He's shooting .379 on the year and 8-18 in the bubble from 3.
Semi should be here as a cheap, deep bench piece. He has a significantly improving 3pt shot + a role defensively (can respectably guard Giannis/Simmons in small stints)
I agree that Romeo/Grant have more upside and will start playing bigger roles next season but Semi has a #10-13 spot on this roster.
With the roster crunch coming after this season, Danny will have to make some decisions. I could also see Semi included in a trade where the C's package a handful of dimes for a quarter.
If Semi’s shooting is at all for real, he’s going to be an NBA 8th-10th guy for a long time. I’d be totally with him being my 8th-10th guy indefinitely if the contract stayed in the $2-3M range.
Wouldn't it be pretty great to be a 10th man on an NBA roster for a dozen years, making $3 million each year? Man, that would be a nice way to make a living.
I mean, you have to make 37% of 3 pointers with a decently quick release with large men flying at you, while you also handle your defensive assignments against monsters like Giannis and Simmons.
If you can’t do that, that juicy 9th-10th man money is very happy to go to somebody else.
I know, right?! Almost like being one of the hardest working, talented people in the world spending 10 hours a day in the gym is coasting by. Oh and if he goes from shooting close to 40% from 3 to 30% from getting complacent he's out of a job at 30 years old.
SSS aside his 3pt shooting has gone from 31% his first two seasons to 38% this season and FT% from 61% to 86%. @$1.75MM next season (26yr old)
The league will take notice of his jumps and he'll have some trade value if Danny decides to go in that direction
The league will take notice of his jumps and he'll have some trade value if Danny decides to go in that direction
He's notorious for being a gym freak, so we should expect his improvements aren't a fluke given how hard he works. He's a UFA in 2021, so the Celtics will need to try to extend him early. He's exactly what a contending team would want on their team - a fairly cheap player willing to play a specific role, while being a great teammate when that skillset isn't needed.
Just to clarify: Are either of you under the impression that I'm denigrating him in any way or thinking he doesn't work hard or isn't talented or anything remotely like that?
Agreed. His age, attitude, work ethic and potentially modest salary demands do dovetail nicely in with the Tatum/Brown Show over the next 5 seasons.
It's not really a Grant OR Romeo OR Semi thing. The C's will need all three to improve, develop and support the stars for championship aspirations over the next half dozen seasons. There is room for all three especially with Gordon and Smart contracts eventually expiring.
My comment was based on roster spots. Semi is pretty damn close to his ceiling. I think that either Grant or Romeo can make him expendable. But you're right that cost isn't a concern for next year.
I'm the last guy that's looking to jettison SO. But they had 18 guys this year that they like and still have a truckload of role player level draft picks in their pockets. Some deals will be made, and my wild ass guess is that Semi could be involved. But yeah maybe I'm a year early.
Na, totally understood your lighthearted point. Just wanted to make it clear that, for a guy like Semi, I’m not damning with faint praise by saying he could be a solid 8-10 man, and I also think he’s a clear tier above Scalabrine mascot types.
(And yes, I know that compared to even talented normal humans, Scal was really good at basketball).
Totally. I think he's a very useful guy. I'm just saying that it would be pretty freaking awesome to be an NBA 10th man, if that's "all" Semi ever can be.
We haven't had a chance to jump down each other's throats about hoop in a while. I think that we missed it.
In the NBA, sure. In Europe / Asia, he's got a career in the mid to high six figures till he's 40, as a starter even, if he wants it.
Fringe NBA talent still has a very strong market.
One thing I've noticed a lot in the bubble is that our key wings, Brown/Tatum/Hayward, all do a great job fighting for rebounds. They rise up and snag rebounds away from taller opponents and we are going to need that kind of fight in the playoffs. The Celtics are currently 6th in total rebounds per 100 possessions, and from a personnel standpoint they have no business being in that mix. The teams ahead of them (Milwaukee, Dallas, Knicks, Nets and Clippers) all play a lot of minutes with a traditional big man and/or have generational rebounding talents. The Celtics grab more rebounds per 100 possessions than teams like the Sixers and Lakers, and they do it through gang rebounding. It is really impressive.
Yup, the effort matters a lot. The Celtics are also big at the 2 and the 3, so crashing the boards hard lets them leverage that. Brown and Hayward in particular are really strong at this when engaged.
I have to agree. Never want to be too overconfident, especially when the other team has "arguably" the best player in the series.
But the Sixers without Simmons really shouldn't beat us. This is a lottery level roster aside from Embiid right now, kind of amazing how badly they screwed this thing up.
Overpaid Harris, Over the Hill Al, and a bunch of filler aside from their top 2 guys.
The Fultz swing and miss is the one that hurts.
Harris is ok but you are right about Horford. His current skill set would be great on a real contender but not on this roster. Its old world eye test stuff but he just hasn't looked comfortable in that offense.
And yes I wonder how he would play with this Cs team even if dodging that contract is likely a blessing. I think even 33 year old Horford would be great for this Boston team.