2023-24 Celtics

[brendan f]

Celtic 15
1. Tatum
2. Brown
3. Holiday
4. KP
5. White
6. Horford

7. Hauser
8. PP
9. Kornet

10. Stevens
11. Brissett
12. SviMyk
13. Gabriel
14. Banton
15. Walsh

Two Ways: Queta, Scrubb, JDD

Probably means next to nothing, but Jay King said Banton has been turning heads in the early going. I would have him ahead of Gabriel. Quibbling, but since you are ranking, I would have Brissett higher than Stevens since he was signed to a guaranteed deal. However, they are very similar players. Both have shown good defensive acumen and the opposite offensively. They are also basically the same size so I would think they are in a competition for back-up, defensive wing/PF.

My guy is Svi. I have no rational basis for thinking he's going to be good. There's a small chance he's been underutilized and can find a role on a team that is able to space well for him. He's also shown the ability to help create, as both his assist percentage and assist to usage rate were incredible last year with Charlotte. That hasn't shown consistently though so could be a fluke.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

I think it's a top 9 with Lamar Stevens. He's a real player, and I think he's the Grant Williams replacement. I'd be surprised if he's healthy and doesn't play 1500 minutes+.

I was going to say exactly the same thing. Stevens is a player and gives us a lot of what we will be missing without Grant and Smart.

It was a glorious 24 hours. The possibilities were endless

Kid is gonna love Maine this time of year.

 

[benhogan]

I was going to say exactly the same thing. Stevens is a player and gives us a lot of what we will be missing without Grant and Smart.

I think it's a top 9 with Lamar Stevens. He's a real player, and I think he's the Grant Williams replacement. I'd be surprised if he's healthy and doesn't play 1500 minutes+.

The rankings are really situational. The bench is a collection of good role players. Well constructed in light of the budget (minimums)

I like the idea of Lamar Stevens being the #1 option off the bench against Giannis/LeBron/Jimmy/Randle/Siakam/Banchero. His minutes will be very lumpy.

I also don't see him exceeding his minutes total of last season (1120 mins) when he started 25 games.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/CyCIGu6pP7X/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==


Feels like the old heads are going to be hanging around more this season.

Eddie House is telling them...

 

[Montana Fan]

Feels like the old heads are going to be hanging around more this season.

Sam Cassell walks in as one of the funniest guys in the league. Loose and serious, that’s the combo I want for 23-24. Have fun and kick the shit out of mf’ers.

 

[DavidTai]

It was a glorious 24 hours. The possibilities were endless

Don't these signings/waivers usually happen because they're sending those players to Maine?

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Sam Cassell walks in as one of the funniest guys in the league. Loose and serious, that’s the combo I want for 23-24. Have fun and kick the shit out of mf’ers.

I just watched the Pierce interview and he said that Mazzulla asked him and some of the other veterans to not only come to games but practice and travel with the team. Sam may have to figure out how to soar with the eagles while hooting with the owls. Or Truths.

 

[The Mort Report]

I just watched the Pierce interview and he said that Mazzulla asked him and some of the other veterans to not only come to games but practice and travel with the team. Sam may have to figure out how to soar with the eagles while hooting with the owls. Or Truths.

Watched that interview too. No judgement, that dude likes to party, but man you have to wonder if becoming Tatum's gym buddy has had a big impact on him. I also don't think I can remember seeing an ex player getting an interview like that, but I loved it. If you didn't know who he was you'd think he was an active player. That clip of Tatum was him watching Pierce, House and Cassell have a shooting contest:

 

[BigSoxFan]

Watched that interview too. No judgement, that dude likes to party, but man you have to wonder if becoming Tatum's gym buddy has had a big impact on him. I also don't think I can remember seeing an ex player getting an interview like that, but I loved it. If you didn't know who he was you'd think he was an active player. That clip of Tatum was him watching Pierce, House and Cassell have a shooting contest:

Damn, Eddie House is a tank now!

 

[DavidTai]

I just want Tatum to start swinging them big balls around like Sam dud.

 

[Auger34]

I just watched the Pierce interview and he said that Mazzulla asked him and some of the other veterans to not only come to games but practice and travel with the team. Sam may have to figure out how to soar with the eagles while hooting with the owls. Or Truths.

Can you link to this interview? I’d like to watch as well

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Can you link to this interview? I’d like to watch as well

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-cznh0KoDw&ab_channel=CLNSMediaBostonSportsNetwork

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Don't these signings/waivers usually happen because they're sending those players to Maine?

Yes that is the purpose of these Exhibit 10 signings/releases.

 

[128]

ESPN is carrying the preseason opener (6 p.m. Sunday vs. Sixers).

 

[SteveF]

Team	OR 2020-2023	DR 2020-2023	OR vs 2020-2023	DR vs 2020-2023	Expected OR	Expected DR	Delta OR	Delta DR
Boston	115.62	110.94	117.17	109.61	113.645	113.24	3.525	-3.63
Milwaukee	115.54	111.67	109.61	117.17	113.24	113.645	-3.63	3.525

I took a took at the head to head matchups (17) between Boston and Milwaukee to test my basic idea that over the past 3 years Boston has matched up particularly well with Milwaukee.

The first two columns are just the teams OR and DR averaged out over the 2020-2021 to 2022-2023 NBA season. The next two columns are the OR/DR in head to head matchups. The next two columns are just what you might expect their OR/DR to be against that particular opponent by averaging OR of the team and the DR of the opponent. The Delta is simply the difference between the actual head to head OR/DR and the expected. Positive is better for OR. Negative is better for DR.

The point of all this was to try to quantify the matchup advantage I've felt the Celtics have had over Milwaukee these past three years as a sort of baseline when thinking about how these two teams compare after the roster changes. My thought through all of this is that Milwaukee really had a long way to go to close the gap. Now, spamming Lillard/Giannis PnR might very well close that gap, but I'm not sure people really get how big the gap was to start with.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

From what I am reading they seem to like Kornet as the third center and Pritchard as the third guard (although I would expect them to also use some lineups with Brown at the 2 - to play a second big and/or to have more size on the wing). It also seems likely that Hauser and Brissett will be in the rotation. I think they should have a 10-man rotation in the regular season which would leave one spot up for grabs.

So my thinking:

5: Porzingis
4: Tatum
3: Brown
2: White
1: Holliday

I think they are too thin up front to go with the only obvious alternative: Horford starting at PF and White coming off the bench. I also think White is better suited to starting than being a 6th man. But it would not surprise me if they occasionally go to that look, for example, when they play Philly or Milwaukee and want Horford's defense in the starting lineup.

The bench, 6 to 9:

Horford
Pritchard
Hauser
Brissett

Last spot:

Kornet (or Banton)

The remaining guys on more than just 2-way or camp contracts are Kornet, Walsh, and Banton. The more 2-big they plan to play, the more that last spot goes to Kornet. If not him, I think Banton has the inside track because he is on a real 2-year deal and he's not a secon d round rookie like Walsh.

The camp contract guys: Stevens, Mykhailiuk, Gabriel, Steward. Stevens looks like the one guy who might - but probably won't - play his way into the 10th slot. But three of these guys (probably the first 3) look like they might be the ones who round out the deep bench in the absence of other moves.

Reports are that Stevens is still looking to deal, but but I wodner, is he looking to deal now, or does he want to go into the season with the current team and then see where the holes are that need to be filled.

 

[bosockboy]

From what I am reading they seem to like Kornet as the third center and Pritchard as the third guard (although I would expect them to also use some lineups with Brown at the 2 - to play a second big and/or to have more size on the wing). It also seems likely that Hauser and Brissett will be in the rotation. I think they should have a 10-man rotation in the regular season which would leave one spot up for grabs.

So my thinking:

5: Porzingis
4: Tatum
3: Brown
2: White
1: Holliday

I think they are too thin up front to go with the only obvious alternative: Horford starting at PF and White coming off the bench. I also think White is better suited to starting than being a 6th man. But it would not surprise me if they occasionally go to that look, for example, when they play Philly or Milwaukee and want Horford's defense in the starting lineup.

The bench, 6 to 9:

Horford
Pritchard
Hauser
Brissett

Last spot:

Kornet (or Banton)

The remaining guys on more than just 2-way or camp contracts are Kornet, Walsh, and Banton. The more 2-big they plan to play, the more that last spot goes to Kornet. If not him, I think Banton has the inside track because he is on a real 2-year deal and he's not a secon d round rookie like Walsh.

The camp contract guys: Stevens, Mykhailiuk, Gabriel, Steward. Stevens looks like the one guy who might - but probably won't - play his way into the 10th slot. But three of these guys (probably the first 3) look like they might be the ones who round out the deep bench in the absence of other moves.

Reports are that Stevens is still looking to deal, but but I wodner, is he looking to deal now, or does he want to go into the season with the current team and then see where the holes are that need to be filled.

Good analysis. I think you’re underselling Stevens, who’ll get some good run with his defense.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

Good analysis. I think you’re underselling Stevens, who’ll get some good run with his defense.

That may well be. I think my rankings are less prediction and more of how I am handicapping things at the start of camp. My key factors were past history with Celtics, positional need, extent of financial commitment, and experience in the league.

That puts Horford at the top of the list, obviously.

Pritchard second because he's a ballhandler (even if the jury is still out on him as a PG), can hit the three, and the Celtics know and like him.

Kornet is the third center because the Celtics like him and they will probably use some 2-big lineups.

That leaves room for 2 wings in the top 10, and the potential candidates are Hauser, Brissett, Banton, Walsh, Stevens, Mykhailiuk, Scrubb (two way). I went with Hauser because the Cetics know and like him and he can hit the three, and Brissett because the Celtics gave him a slightly better deal than Banton (money about the same but Brissett got 1+1 while Banton got a straight 2. The Celtics gave Walsh 2 guaranteed years too, at not too juch less than Banton, and used a second round pick on him. But I think he's more of a project. The others including to Stevens need to win their jobs in camp.

 

[brendan f]

The remaining guys on more than just 2-way or camp contracts are Kornet, Walsh, and Banton.

This isn't accurate. Svi and Banton are both signed to partially guaranteed deals, so each could be cut and the Celts would only be on the hook for $200,000. Stevens and Gabriel both signed exhibit 9 non-guaranteed deals so they could be cut with no cost to the C's. If each of the players make the team, their respective deals would become fully guaranteed on January 10th.

 

[JakeRae]

Good analysis. I think you’re underselling Stevens, who’ll get some good run with his defense.

I’m not sure I see that. Here’s how DARKO sees Banton, Stevens, Gabriel, Svi, and Brissett. I don’t see any of these guys as more than deep depth who will get rotated through (to the extent they make the roster) based on need.

In contrast, here’s the core bench crew (Pritchard, Hauser, and Kornet).

There’s a very clear gap between these groups. For Lamar Stevens or Oshae Brisset to take meaningful minutes from Hauser (who we know our coach likes and values as a playoff rotation caliber player) they are going to have to take very real steps forward. They’ll have opportunities to do that, but there’s a clear top 9 on this roster and they aren’t in it.

Also of note, LEBRON generally looks at this group of 8 players as much flatter. I think Pritchard and Hauser should thrive offensively as elite spot up shooters who don’t need to do anything but drain open threes on offense. Svi is a good but not great shooter and Brissett, Banton, and Stevens are all terrible shooters. That limits their utility unless/until one of them improves their shooting. They all have aspects of their game that are promising, but I don’t think those can compare to having two .400+ shooters coming off the bench.

 

[RorschachsMask]

Team USA badly want Holiday for next years Olympic team.

 

[ifmanis5]

Oh well.
View: https://twitter.com/TimBontemps/status/1711133807531774426

The Celtics announce Jay Scrubb, who they signed to a two-way deal this summer, tore his ACL during yesterday’s practice.

 

[128]

Oh well.
View: https://twitter.com/TimBontemps/status/1711133807531774426

The Celtics announce Jay Scrubb, who they signed to a two-way deal this summer, tore his ACL during yesterday’s practice.

Sucks for him. He played his ass off in Vegas.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

I’m not sure I see that. Here’s how DARKO sees Banton, Stevens, Gabriel, Svi, and Brissett. I don’t see any of these guys as more than deep depth who will get rotated through (to the extent they make the roster) based on need.
View attachment 72223
In contrast, here’s the core bench crew (Pritchard, Hauser, and Kornet).
View attachment 72222
There’s a very clear gap between these groups. For Lamar Stevens or Oshae Brisset to take meaningful minutes from Hauser (who we know our coach likes and values as a playoff rotation caliber player) they are going to have to take very real steps forward. They’ll have opportunities to do that, but there’s a clear top 9 on this roster and they aren’t in it.

Also of note, LEBRON generally looks at this group of 8 players as much flatter. I think Pritchard and Hauser should thrive offensively as elite spot up shooters who don’t need to do anything but drain open threes on offense. Svi is a good but not great shooter and Brissett, Banton, and Stevens are all terrible shooters. That limits their utility unless/until one of them improves their shooting. They all have aspects of their game that are promising, but I don’t think those can compare to having two .400+ shooters coming off the bench.

true talent level that’s a fair point—but when you get into 15 minute a game role players fit overwhelms that in terms of assessing rotation impact. I don’t know whether any of these guys will show they are enough different role-wise to do so here, but it’s not reallly a question of who is better in the abstract, imo. Stevens’ defense plays differently—and ma he’s up differently—than Hauser’s shooting etc.

this is part of what heat are great at roster-wise,

 

[Euclis20]

The offensive potential of the White/Holiday/Brown/Tatum/Porzingis lineups are off the charts for a team that doesn't have a Curry or Shaq style cheat code. It'll definitely take some time for them to find their rhythm but five players that can all break down the defense and score at multiple levels is just deadly.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

Well, the first preseason game looked pretty good for the Celtics. They overcame most of the team shooting poorly, and the bench guys put on a nice show at the end. A few thoughts:

• The starters played a lot through most of 3 quarters and only 12 players saw time. After the guys I had guessed were the top 10, only Banton and Stevens played. No minutes for Gabriel, Mykhailiuk, Walsh, Steward, Davison, or Queta.
• Porzingis shot perfectly from the field and the line in the first half, leading the team with 13 points. Also had a block. But in the second half, he missed from the field and even missed 3 free throws. And he turned the ball over 3 times, at least twice trying to do dribble penetration. On this team he needs to not try to do that. Also not sure that he'll be much of a rebounder.
• Tatum shot poorly but did everything else, leading the team in rebounds and assists and getting to the line. Usual Tatum but for the shooting. Maybe did a little more work down low.
• Brown led the starters with 19 points on 7-10 shooting. But I mostly wasn;t thrilled with his halfcourt game. He got a lot of his points on transition dunks/threes.
• Holiday also shot poorly but contrinbuted in other ways.
• Oshae Brissett looks like a good signing - he can be an energy guy off the bench who can contrinbute in different ways and roles. He almost had an incredible putback dunk but was called for an offneisve foul.
• Sam Hauser shot 0-6 from three, rough night for him.
• Kornet was terrible. 12 minutes, -12, 3 turnovers. Gabriel will have an opportunity to push him for backup minutes.
• Banton looked OK at times, overmatched at other times. Intriguing size and versatility but not sure he's good enough, at least not yet.
• Pritchard was the star of the game, scoring 26 ppoints and adding 4 assists.
• Stevens came in for the last 5 minutes when Mazzulla went to a small bench lineup and the small lineup worked. He had 5 points and 3 rebounds and was a +12 as the Celtics put the game away late.

It will be interesting to see who plays tomorrow night. Less time for the starters and first looks at some of those who sat out tonight?

 

[DGreenwood]

Feels good to be posting highlights again!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCSt_nHsPW0&ab_channel=NBA

 

[Van Everyman]

I’m not sure I’m ready for Bald Derrick White.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

That was probably the loudest pre-season game I've heard. Everyone is psyched for this team.

I hope the Cs realize that the more people touch the ball, the better off they will be. Once they get the defense in rotation, ball movement will find the guy with the most favorable outcome.

• Sam Hauser shot 0-6 from three, rough night for him.

I guess someone told Sam that he can't just be a catch-and-shoot wide open 3P guy. He was taking movement and contested 3Ps.

 

[chilidawg]

Feels good to be posting highlights again!

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCSt_nHsPW0&ab_channel=NBA

That was fun. Celtics basketball is back!

 

[Jimbodandy]

That was probably the loudest pre-season game I've heard. Everyone is psyched for this team.

I hope the Cs realize that the more people touch the ball, the better off they will be. Once they get the defense in rotation, ball movement will find the guy with the most favorable outcome.

I guess someone told Sam that he can't just be a catch-and-shoot wide open 3P guy. He was taking movement and contested 3Ps.

Agreed on all of this.

Hauser didn't set his feet once all night, to my recollection. Seemed like he was forcing. He needs to get back to being a catch and shoot guy on offense until he really outgrows that.

 

[DavidTai]

Agreed on all of this.

Hauser didn't set his feet once all night, to my recollection. Seemed like he was forcing. He needs to get back to being a catch and shoot guy on offense until he really outgrows that.

Preseason seems like the best time to try working out the kinks, unless the fear is that he'd lose his feel for catch and shooting?

 

[lovegtm]

Lots of talent.

Looks ok.

Lot of work to do to find identity and rhythm, but that's what this overly long 82-game schedule is for.

 

[MyDaughterLovesTomGordon]

Tatum has increased his PPG every year (actually, he’s increased all three major counting stats each year), cracking 30 PPG last year, but I think that comes to an end this year and it will be interesting how he/media/fans deal with it. There just don’t seem to be enough shots with this likely starting 5 and “big 6.”

Kristaps is being underestimated all of a sudden in the wake of the Holiday trade. Dude is a scorer used to averaging 20+ a game.

Putting Al on the bench, the starters average 88 points per game for their careers!

I think Tatum is going to need to reimagine his game even more than he has, especially given some of the rebounding issues this team may have, and I wonder if he’s more of a 25/10/6 guy this year, scoring less but putting even more emphasis on mucking around down low and distributing to shooters.

I bet he’s first to the bench and we see a lot of Tatum and the bench mob in the early second quarter.

 

[benhogan]

I bet he’s first to the bench and we see a lot of Tatum and the bench mob in the early second quarter.

Agreed on the timing/use of JT. That's when Tatum really shines, he does a good job of getting the most out of the 2nd stringers while abusing the opponents bench.

Porzingas seemed to alter a bunch of shots in the paint, rather obvious that a 7'4" player would do that, but wasn't expecting it to that degree.

Brissett/Stevens as energy, bully WINGs was fun. Interested in seeing how those two develop in Boston. Brissett crashing from the corner was PJ Tucker-ish. Maybe the loss of Grant's D will be made up by these two, with Grant's 3-4 3pt shots being taken by PP/Hauser

 

[BigSoxFan]

Tatum has increased his PPG every year (actually, he’s increased all three major counting stats each year), cracking 30 PPG last year, but I think that comes to an end this year and it will be interesting how he/media/fans deal with it. There just don’t seem to be enough shots with this likely starting 5 and “big 6.”

Kristaps is being underestimated all of a sudden in the wake of the Holiday trade. Dude is a scorer used to averaging 20+ a game.

Putting Al on the bench, the starters average 88 points per game for their careers!

I think Tatum is going to need to reimagine his game even more than he has, especially given some of the rebounding issues this team may have, and I wonder if he’s more of a 25/10/6 guy this year, scoring less but putting even more emphasis on mucking around down low and distributing to shooters.

I bet he’s first to the bench and we see a lot of Tatum and the bench mob in the early second quarter.

Interestingly, Tatum’s assists tend to go up in the playoffs. I agree that we could be looking at more of a Larry Bird 25/10/6 stat line from him this year, which would obviously be perfectly fine.

 

[NomarsFool]

I was surprised how much the top 6 played through most of it. Will be interesting who plays tonight on the second night of the B2B.

KP sure looked tall and long. I thought he also looked smooth taking shots. I think he’s going to add a lot.

First preseason game, of course, but Jaylen didn’t look great. Kornet also looked not good to me. I was disappointed not to see Walsh with the top guys at all.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

Tatum has increased his PPG every year (actually, he’s increased all three major counting stats each year), cracking 30 PPG last year, but I think that comes to an end this year and it will be interesting how he/media/fans deal with it. There just don’t seem to be enough shots with this likely starting 5 and “big 6.”

This is an interesting point, but in terms of the media I think it is going to apply more to Brown than Tatum. Tatum is just a naturally more well-rounded player than Brown at multiple levels. Better defender, more versatile defender, better rebounder, better scorer who scores efficiently in more ways, better vision, bettter handle. If Tatum carries less of the scoring load, he will still have a whole range of other ways to contribute.

Brown is also coming off of a career high in scoring, as well as coming off signing the richest contract in NBA history. And he does have some versatility to his game, but far less so than Tatum. He gets to the line far less often, he struggles in off-ball and switching defenses, he's more of an on ball permieter defender at his best, he isn't showing the same trajectory of improvement as Tatum in getting to the line, rebounding, creating for teammates. I should say, the most obvious road to new offensive contribution from Brown would be to further refine his mid range game.

If Brown sees a scoring dip because of bringing 2 more players who can score into the starting lineup, he is less likely than Tatum to obviously offset that with production in other areas.

Kristaps is being underestimated all of a sudden in the wake of the Holiday trade. Dude is a scorer used to averaging 20+ a game.

Putting Al on the bench, the starters average 88 points per game for their careers!

I think Tatum is going to need to reimagine his game even more than he has, especially given some of the rebounding issues this team may have, and I wonder if he’s more of a 25/10/6 guy this year, scoring less but putting even more emphasis on mucking around down low and distributing to shooters.

The model here has to be 2007-08, even though the situations are not exactly alike. Garnett's career years came in 2003-04 and 2004-05. He has a great year in 2007-08, but it wasn't at the level of his MN years. Ray Allen averaged 26 points per game, his career high, the year before he came to Boston and averaged 17. Paul Pierce's career years statistically were the 2 years prior to 2007-08. He scored 26.8 in 2005-06, 25.0 in "injury" shortened 2006-07, and then just 19.6 in 2007-08.

But the coaches do need to figure out how all the pieces work together most effectively. Remember Brad Stevens' philosophy of finding what players do best and emphasizing that? I think that needs to happen with Brown and Porzingis. The halfcourt offense needs to minimize Brown as an initiator of the offense and minimize Porzingis as a guy trying to take people off the dribble. That's a quick opinion based on one preseason game, so take with a grain of salt.

 

[tbrown_01923]

First preseason game, of course, but Jaylen didn’t look great. Kornet also looked not good to me.

We haven't seen a ton of Kornet, but I always considered him sure handed. Last night he had trouble receiving the ball - there were at least a couple fumbles. Hopefully jitters? I also didn't love the three in substitutions. I bet that was a way to force the newbies to develop some chemistry, but those six need to be spread out a bit to allow more space to shine. Spreading them out should allow Hauser to spot/space more.

Lover Hauser and Pritch shooting - they need to shoot if they are in the game. Not at the expense of Tatum, but finding them when they are open, and them firing without hesitation should provide some gravity (or effective FG).

 

[Jimbodandy]

Preseason seems like the best time to try working out the kinks, unless the fear is that he'd lose his feel for catch and shooting?

Yeah that's not a complaint on my part, just noting it as a reason why he shot poorly. If they want him to become more of a movement shooter, that's fine by me.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

Tatum has increased his PPG every year (actually, he’s increased all three major counting stats each year), cracking 30 PPG last year, but I think that comes to an end this year and it will be interesting how he/media/fans deal with it. There just don’t seem to be enough shots with this likely starting 5 and “big 6.”

Kristaps is being underestimated all of a sudden in the wake of the Holiday trade. Dude is a scorer used to averaging 20+ a game.

Putting Al on the bench, the starters average 88 points per game for their careers!

I think Tatum is going to need to reimagine his game even more than he has, especially given some of the rebounding issues this team may have, and I wonder if he’s more of a 25/10/6 guy this year, scoring less but putting even more emphasis on mucking around down low and distributing to shooters.

I bet he’s first to the bench and we see a lot of Tatum and the bench mob in the early second quarter.

I'm sure JT's points are going down but he had 5 assists in under 27 minutes so I'm hoping his assists go way up. If he is the best player on a team that steamrolls other people because his gravity is opening up the court for other players, I would think that would help (or a least shouldn't hurt) how he's viewed by the league.

We all love Al and have marveled at his 40% 3P shooting but I think people forget that there's a HUGE difference between shooting 40% on wide-open catch-and-shoot 3Ps and what KP can do. The first 3P he hit wasn't bad defense but he's so tall the close-out didn't matter. And the play where he caught the ball and juked the defender (Beverly?) to the ground and went in for the dunk is something we've not really seen Al do since his first tour with BOS. All of which means that defenders can't load up on JT/JB.

Rotating against last year's Cs wasn't really a problem for defenses last year because while Al, Marcus, and Grant all could hit open shots, they weren't the type to attack close-outs or mismatches consistently and DW and MB were only sporadically successful. That's not going to be the case this year. KP and Jrue can both wreck mismatches.

I'm excited to see the 4Q offense.

 

[lovegtm]

I'm sure JT's points are going down but he had 5 assists in under 27 minutes so I'm hoping his assists go way up. If he is the best player on a team that steamrolls other people because his gravity is opening up the court for other players, I would think that would help (or a least shouldn't hurt) how he's viewed by the league.

We all love Al and have marveled at his 40% 3P shooting but I think people forget that there's a HUGE difference between shooting 40% on wide-open catch-and-shoot 3Ps and what KP can do. The first 3P he hit wasn't bad defense but he's so tall the close-out didn't matter. And the play where he caught the ball and juked the defender (Beverly?) to the ground and went in for the dunk is something we've not really seen Al do since his first tour with BOS. All of which means that defenders can't load up on JT/JB.

Rotating against last year's Cs wasn't really a problem for defenses last year because while Al, Marcus, and Grant all could hit open shots, they weren't the type to attack close-outs or mismatches consistently and DW and MB were only sporadically successful. That's not going to be the case this year. KP and Jrue can both wreck mismatches.

I'm excited to see the 4Q offense.

Yeah, KP's juke for the dunk and the fake to set up an easy mid-ranger were super legit.

If healthy (TM), he probably will be the 2nd-best player on the team, due to fit and skillset.

 

[RorschachsMask]

The video is funny, KP kind of seemed in disbelief about how much attention Tatum draws, even in a preseason game. I said it when we traded for him, but he’s probably one of the 5-10 on court fit with Tatum.

View: https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1711194771023114330

 

[BaseballJones]

Interestingly, Tatum’s assists tend to go up in the playoffs. I agree that we could be looking at more of a Larry Bird 25/10/6 stat line from him this year, which would obviously be perfectly fine.

Some fools would consider that a "step back" in Tatum's performance, but we would likely know it meant a much more well-rounded role for the team, and increased TEAM performance, which is the aim, really.

 

[lovegtm]

The video is funny, KP kind of seemed in disbelief about how much attention Tatum draws, even in a preseason game. I said it when we traded for him, but he’s probably one of the 5-10 on court fit with Tatum.

View: https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1711194771023114330

It's almost funny to watch how much space he had in the mid post to just work guys.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

We haven't seen a ton of Kornet, but I always considered him sure handed. Last night he had trouble receiving the ball - there were at least a couple fumbles. Hopefully jitters? I also didn't love the three in substitutions. I bet that was a way to force the newbies to develop some chemistry, but those six need to be spread out a bit to allow more space to shine.

I do think that a player like Kornet is going to be most effective playing in structure that wasn’t there last night. The looser the play gets, the worse Kornet is going to look.

Maybe as the team gets some experience playing together and maybe Kornet is out with more starters, he may start to add more value.

But I would also say that Gabriel will have an opportunity to battle Kornet for minutes.

 

[BigSoxFan]

Some fools would consider that a "step back" in Tatum's performance, but we would likely know it meant a much more well-rounded role for the team, and increased TEAM performance, which is the aim, really.

Yup. And the reality is that injuries or rest will certainly play a role this year. There may be stretches where Tatum has to average 30-35 PPG due to guys being out. The good news is that we have 5 guys on the team who can be counted on for volume scoring and that's not even counting Pritchard who has 20+ point games from time to time, as we saw last night.

 

[lovegtm]

Some fools would consider that a "step back" in Tatum's performance, but we would likely know it meant a much more well-rounded role for the team, and increased TEAM performance, which is the aim, really.

I might be naive, but I also just don't think it will be a big deal for Tatum if he goes down to 26/game or whatever. That's what Durant did in GSW, and it didn't hurt his rep at all (to the point I had to look it up to be sure).

It's not a ppg league anymore, at least not like it was 20 years ago.

 

[RorschachsMask]

I’m thinking 27/9/6 for Tatum, 62% TS.

Jaylen- 24/6/3 on a 60% TS
Zinger- 19/8/2 on a 64% TS
Holiday-15/5/6 on a 58% TS.

 

[Auger34]

I’m thinking 27/9/6 for Tatum, 62% TS.

Jaylen- 24/6/3 on a 60% TS
Zinger- 19/8/2 on a 64% TS
Holiday-15/5/6 on a 58% TS.

This would be great.

No one cares if Tatum's PPG goes down...if it goes down and his efficiency is down across the board, that would be a problem.