2023-24 Celtics

[NomarsFool]

BTW every 14yr old has adopted the Harden step-back 3 as their own (I bartered with my kid that if he didn't take that shot all season, chased rebounds & just shot putbacks I'd give him $100. It worked. Plus the Coach never took him out)

It's so annoying how kids try and emulate what the NBA stars do. Step back threes, side step threes, exasperated hands in the air when they don't get a call, and then one of my personal favorites is the stand there and admire their 3 point shot (often with their foot on the line) instead of following their shot for the rebound or getting back on defense.

 

[HomeRunBaker]

It's so annoying how kids try and emulate what the NBA stars do. Step back threes, side step threes, exasperated hands in the air when they don't get a call, and then one of my personal favorites is the stand there and admire their 3 point shot (often with their foot on the line) instead of following their shot for the rebound or getting back on defense.

It's been like this forever. I was a teenager in my driveway as a 5-7 white kid playing one-on-one with my older brother grabbing rebounds and put backs screaming that I was Michael Cage when he was at San Diego State!

Bird/Magic made kids want to be great passers, Jordan and then Iverson made them want to "get theirs" using iso and crossovers, then came Curry. That's just how it is....kids emulate their hero's.

 

[wade boggs chicken dinner]

BTW every 14yr old has adopted the Harden step-back 3 as their own (I bartered with my kid that if he didn't take that shot all season, chased rebounds & just shot putbacks I'd give him $100. It worked. Plus the Coach never took him out)

That's hilarious. When my 13 YO son shoots around with me, his go-to move is the side step jump shot. At least I don't worry about him doing it in games because he doesn't play BBall (he's into other sports).

It's been like this forever. I was a teenager in my driveway as a 5-7 white kid playing one-on-one with my older brother grabbing rebounds and put backs screaming that I was Michael Cage when he was at San Diego State!

Bird/Magic made kids want to be great passers, Jordan and then Iverson made them want to "get theirs" using iso and crossovers, then came Curry. That's just how it is....kids emulate their hero's.

Yes, forever. When I was a kid, I was practising the Sky Hook because it was unstoppable (too bad I never made it to 7 feet tall). I guess that makes me a little older than you - LOL!

 

[Jimbodandy]

It's been like this forever. I was a teenager in my driveway as a 5-7 white kid playing one-on-one with my older brother grabbing rebounds and put backs screaming that I was Michael Cage when he was at San Diego State!

Bird/Magic made kids want to be great passers, Jordan and then Iverson made them want to "get theirs" using iso and crossovers, then came Curry. That's just how it is....kids emulate their hero's.

Agree with this totally. I was in 7th grade during the 80-81 season and fell in love with Bird's passing. Magic's was awesome too, but more of the transition stuff. A lot of us wanted to be those guys. I didn't care if I scored at all, if I was getting other guys layups.

 

[NomarsFool]

I do see some kids trying to be Lamelo Ball by jumping in the air and then trying to make a pass which is inevitably a turnover. So, there is that

 

[Over Guapo Grande]

When I was a kid, I was practising the Sky Hook because it was unstoppable (too bad I never made it to 7 feet tall). I guess that makes me a little older than you - LOL!

I "transferred" to a different school for the 8th grade. I caught the eye of the b-ball coach when I banked in a foul line sky hook in a recess pick-up game.

That was probably the highlight of my hoops career.

 

[RorschachsMask]

I do see some kids trying to be Lamelo Ball by jumping in the air and then trying to make a pass which is inevitably a turnover. So, there is that

Funny you mention that, but the jump pass is being used more and more, led by Haliburton, who is incredible at it. Caitlin Cooper is an excellent basketball writer, and has kind of led the charge about how effective jump passes can be. It just depends on who is doing it of course lol, LeBron has always been great at them as well. Tatum has dropped a few really nice ones this year, one of the few ways he hasn’t turned it over.

One of Cooper's most popular stories involved hand-tracking all 1,843 of Tyrese Haliburton's passes in his first year with the Pacers. After two weeks straight of watching film over the offseason and four days of writing, she observed that Haliburton's jump passes, which have traditionally been thought of as bad technique at lower levels, were extremely effective.

That effort won her over two subscribers — Haliburton and his brother.

"I thought it was very interesting," Haliburton said. "I appreciate people who pay attention to the little nuances of the game. Obviously the work it took for her to do that article was super cool, and I appreciate it because my whole life, I've been told not to jump and pass. So, I appreciated having someone on my side."

Haliburton calls himself "very much a fan of Caitlin Cooper." He and his brother both own merchandise from Cooper's TeePublic shop. Haliburton proudly wore his "Jump passes are good now" shirt before a game this season.

"I definitely listen to what she has to say sometimes, and I laugh because I'm like, 'Damn,'" Haliburton said. "I can't even fathom that she picked up on what we're doing, and we're doing this coverage now, or this is what's going on."

"I just like to read what she has to say."


Cooper's attention to detail has become legendary among fans, media and the NBA itself. Pacers coach Rick Carlisle calls himself a "longtime admirer" of her writing.

"I've talked to her a couple times, and hopefully I'll be talking to her again soon," Carlisle said. "Her work is very compelling. It's very detailed, very in-depth. And it's unique because it comes from the perspective of real basketball knowledge, not just analytic knowledge. We see her work a lot and have great respect for it."

"I think it's brilliant work. I've reached out to her and told her what a fan I am," Pacers assistant coach Jenny Boucek said. "It is elite how she studies it. She puts in a lot of work. She obviously has a good eye and understanding of the game."

https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nba/news/caitlin-cooper-nba-writer-basketball-fans-players/rbzolj6fzzf2hlxnciynpu7r

 

[SteveF]

2023-2024: Celtics: 91.32 FGA/100, 6.68 blocks/100, 21.94 FTA/100
2023-2024: Opponent: 93.93 FGA/100, 3.87 blocks/100, 19.19 FTA/100
Net: -2.61 FGA/100, +2.81 blocks/100, +2.75 FTA/100

2022-2023: Celtics: 89.0 FGA/100, 5.27 blocks/100, 21.65 FTA/100
2022-2023: Opponent: 90.7 FGA/100, 3.89 blocks/100, 21.24 FTA/100
Net: -1.7 FGA/100, +1.38 blocks/100, +0.41 FTA/100

Rebounding numbers:

2023-2024: Celtics: 39.24 DR/100, 13.24 OR/100, DR% 74.0%, OR% 27.2%
2023-2024: Opponent: 35.46 DR/100, 13.82 OR/100, DR% 72.8%, OR% 26.0%
2023-2024: League defensive rebounding average 72.9%

2022-2023: Celtics: 38.10 DR/100, 11.41 OR/100, DR% 76.1% OR% 23.9%
2022-2023: Opponent: 36.25 DR/100, 11.97 OR/100, DR% 76.1% OR% 23.9%
2022-2023: League defensive rebounding average 73.4%

Turnover numbers:

2023-2024: Celtics: 12.69 TO/100, Opponents: 11.96 TO/100, -0.73 net turnover differential
2023-2024: League Average: 13.71 TO/100
2022-2023: Celtics: 13.40 TO/100, Opponents: 12.74 TO/100, -0.66 net turnover differential

2023-2024: Celtics: 1.82 OffFouls/100, Opponents: 1.21 OffFouls/100, -0.61 net
2023-2024: League average: 1.71 OffFouls/100
2022-2023: Celtics: 1.95 OffFouls/100, Opponents: 2.22 OffFouls/100, +0.27 net

Charges committed/drawn:

2023-2024: Celtics: 0.40 charges committed/100, Opponents: 0.30 charges committed/100, -0.10 net
2023-2024: League average: 0.46 charges committed/100
2022-2023: Celtics: 0.37 charges committed/100, Opponents: 0.58 charges committed/100, +0.21 net

Edit: Added some numbers, switched to per 100 possessions, and fixed some errors.
Edit2: Updated as of Feb 8, 2024.

 

[InstaFace]

thank you for crunching those numbers, very interesting stuff.

curious about rebounding, next time you want to look at something. Anecdotally we appear much better about offensive rebounding this year, but I look at the data and we are getting 10.5 ORB's game (opponents: 10.9), whereas last year both the Celtics and opponents were getting 9.7 ORBs / game. That difference probably isn't enough to matter, or at least, suffers from SSS too much to draw any conclusions. But maybe that's just pace, and we're going for more on a rate basis too. Or maybe we're able to prevent more fast breaks this year, or get more 2nd-chance points.

 

[snowmanny]

Yes, forever. When I was a kid, I was practising the Sky Hook because it was unstoppable (too bad I never made it to 7 feet tall). I guess that makes me a little older than you - LOL!

JoJo White on a fast break would sometimes stop and pop a five-footer instead of just making the layup. Very cool. Now that drove the seventh grade coach crazy.

 

[RorschachsMask]

This matches the eye test. Tatum more bad pass turnovers, Jaylen more lost ball.

 

[SteveF]

curious about rebounding, next time you want to look at something. Anecdotally we appear much better about offensive rebounding this year, but I look at the data and we are getting 10.5 ORB's game (opponents: 10.9), whereas last year both the Celtics and opponents were getting 9.7 ORBs / game. That difference probably isn't enough to matter, or at least, suffers from SSS too much to draw any conclusions. But maybe that's just pace, and we're going for more on a rate basis too. Or maybe we're able to prevent more fast breaks this year, or get more 2nd-chance points.

One of the issues with looking at stats that way in this context is you miss out on the team rebounds. If you look at team rebounding percentages (not those listed in 4 factors on basketball reference, but a number that includes team rebounding) you'll get a more accurate picture of rebounding's impact on the FGA situation. Any box score that is crediting a rebound to a player is usually missing this.
Edit: I take that back on basketball-reference 4 factors. Those numbers might be accurate.
Edit2: I was right the first time. The 4 factors are not accurate.
Edit3: Of course the flipside of this is the end of quarter situations, so this way of viewing it has some issues also, but presumably that evens out over the course of a season (comparing across teams and seasons) and we're still comparing apples to apples. So mostly accurate as a relative matter, but maybe not as an objective one.

The Celtics have a Dreb% of 74.25% on missed FGAs, and Celtics opponents have a Dreb% of 72.28% on missed FGAs. So the Celtics are getting some FGA advantages this season out of the rebounding action.
In 2022-2023, the Celtics had a Dreb% of 75.42% on missed FGAs and Celtics opponents had a Dreb% of 75.35%. Basically even.

Leaguewide average Dreb% on missed FGAs in 2023-2024 is 71.64%, down from 72.56% over the full 2022-2023 season.

So leaguewide offensive rebounding rates have improved by 1%, the Celtics defensive rebounding has declined by that same 1%, but their offensive rebounding has improved by 3%. The stats back up the idea that the Celtics are offensive rebounding more effectively. I don't know what the knock on effects from that might be. The last I looked the Celtics were giving up slightly more transition opportunities but doing a good job of limiting PPP.

 

[chilidawg]

JoJo White on a fast break would sometimes stop and pop a five-footer instead of just making the layup. Very cool. Now that drove the seventh grade coach crazy.

Jo Jo's stop and pop was my favorite move. I loved Most's call "He stops, he pops, it's good". Rarely went in for me, but I was pretty bad at basketball.

 

[slamminsammya]

It's so annoying how kids try and emulate what the NBA stars do. Step back threes, side step threes, exasperated hands in the air when they don't get a call, and then one of my personal favorites is the stand there and admire their 3 point shot (often with their foot on the line) instead of following their shot for the rebound or getting back on defense.

https://youtube.com/shorts/tJlYh4WUix4?si=y6ITqECBNjqlt5Se

 

[JCizzle]

This was one of the worst officiated games in recent memory. Save it with the "Jaylen should have sat down" BS, the ejection was a joke based on how the majority of the league is officiated. Silver has a real problem that he refuses to address. This is coming up far too frequently: see Tatum a couple games ago. Congrats on the in-season tournament, now do something about the actual problems facing the league.

 

[SteveF]

5-3 over the next 8 would be a pretty good outcome. After Christmas, the schedule gets quite a bit easier.

 

[Auger34]

This was one of the worst officiated games in recent memory. Save it with the "Jaylen should have sat down" BS, the ejection was a joke based on how the majority of the league is officiated. Silver has a real problem that he refuses to address. This is coming up far too frequently: see Tatum a couple games ago. Congrats on the in-season tournament, now do something about the actual problems facing the league.

If anyone watches that and legitimately think Brown deserved a second T and an ejection, they are out of their fucking mind. He’s on the bench, he’s not yelling and he makes a benign gesture.

 

[Ed Hillel]

This was one of the worst officiated games in recent memory. Save it with the "Jaylen should have sat down" BS, the ejection was a joke based on how the majority of the league is officiated. Silver has a real problem that he refuses to address. This is coming up far too frequently: see Tatum a couple games ago. Congrats on the in-season tournament, now do something about the actual problems facing the league.

Absolutely ridiculous second T. First was fine, but a waving hand gesture from the bench to boot a guy? Lol what a power trip.

Also, Tatum nearly blew his knee out on a dunk because he released the rim early, probably because of the ridiculous “rim-hanging” techs have him paranoid. Right now, it’s just a garbage product from the officials.

 

[DGreenwood]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwyrp8B7YCs&ab_channel=NBA

 

[HomeRunBaker]

If anyone watches that and legitimately think Brown deserved a second T and an ejection, they are out of their fucking mind. He’s on the bench, he’s not yelling and he makes a benign gesture.

View: https://youtu.be/1424hqSDrkI?si=8KH9gz9XRZ_Us7Zz

 

[CaptainLaddie]

I have to say, it's nice to see this team beat the Knicks three times so far this year after going 1-3 last year.

 

[lovegtm]

Loved the intensity on both ends. They could have let down and just jacked 3s when they were falling at first, but they stayed really intentional and kept getting things back on track on offense.

The league needs to do something about these referee power trips. It's officially a problem now.

 

[Justthetippett]

This was one of the worst officiated games in recent memory. Save it with the "Jaylen should have sat down" BS, the ejection was a joke based on how the majority of the league is officiated. Silver has a real problem that he refuses to address. This is coming up far too frequently: see Tatum a couple games ago. Congrats on the in-season tournament, now do something about the actual problems facing the league.

I agree there's a problem but what's the fix? The issue is linked to individual refs who can't manage situations. It's less about technical competence and more about emotional control and maturity. Silver has been pretty clear that he doesn't believe publicizing the assessment and disciplinary system is appropriate, so it will be inside the black box. Refs already get reports on every call. So a more critical approach on "demeanor" (which Silver has mentioned is also assessed) as part of that process could help?

 

[NomarsFool]

It seems like it should be an easy fix. Much easier than a lot of other issues with refereeing. I’m a big believer in respecting the refs, but their egos seem much too fragile (some of them)

 

[HomeRunBaker]

It seems like it should be an easy fix. Much easier than a lot of other issues with refereeing. I’m a big believer in respecting the refs, but their egos seem much too fragile (some of them)

I'm not sure how much blame to put on the refs in regard to this years thin skin. When there is a widespread change such as this at the beginning of a season I tend to believe that there is a directive from above....otherwise it would be random coincidence that all these refs are suddenly teeing everyone up and tossing them.

 

[Jimbodandy]

I'm not sure how much blame to put on the refs in regard to this years thin skin. When there is a widespread change such as this at the beginning of a season I tend to believe that there is a directive from above....otherwise it would be random coincidence that all these refs are suddenly teeing everyone up and tossing them.

It's a reasonable theory.

If someone knows what the refs' contract status is currently, that might shed light on it too. Also, have we had more ref turnover this year than usual?

Whatever it is, nobody buys tickets to see them. Shit should be egregious before players are tossed. I mean, this is the commissioner who took a stand this very year on resting players too much because fans. Does the same guy want players sent packing on a nightly basis? Prob not.

 

[amlothi]

Except, if its a point of emphasis for the officials, you would expect the number of technical fouls to increase across the board until teams adjust.

The technical foul rate per game for the Celtics is 3x their rate last season and highest in the league this year. A quick look doesn't show a huge shift across the board.

Edited to add: KP had 7 technicals all season last year and he has 8 already.

Marcus had 11 last year (2nd most amongst Celtics) and has left the team.

Why are the Celtics, and not other teams, getting significantly more Ts this year than last?

 

[TripleOT]

A technical for hanging on the rim when any other players in near the dunker is stupid. I’d rather have one broken backboard than one broken $50 million a year player.

 

[NomarsFool]

While they are both techs, I think the hanging on the rim stuff and the refs getting their feelings hurt are most likely separate. I could be wrong, but I wouldn’t necessarily see the refs actually caring about the rim hanging stuff unless it was a point of emphasis from the league. Or, it could also just be a random coincidence. The league admitted that Jaylens second T was for a the wave from the bench when the ref was nowhere near him. That’s just ridiculous

 

[lars10]

While they are both techs, I think the hanging on the rim stuff and the refs getting their feelings hurt are most likely separate. I could be wrong, but I wouldn’t necessarily see the refs actually caring about the rim hanging stuff unless it was a point of emphasis from the league. Or, it could also just be a random coincidence. The league admitted that Jaylens second T was for a the wave from the bench when the ref was nowhere near him. That’s just ridiculous

It’s basically the same as Duncan getting a tech for laughing. It’s bad enough that that ref should be banned from handing them out for a while.

 

[128]

View: https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1734696357133475889

 

[chilidawg]

View: https://twitter.com/celtics/status/1734696357133475889

Didn't last long. Wonder what the story was there.

 

[InstaFace]

what a game tonight, just finished watching. Horford and the white-boy bench - "Big Al and the Sunburn Crew", perhaps? - really got us back into it. But it was Jaylen who was the only guy dialed in at the start (And for parts of the 3rd). Was fairly impressed with him tonight, 2 cringe-y turnovers (and 1 or 2 "eh that'll happen" turnovers, plus the Allen jump ball) notwithstanding. You wouldn't have known Tatum was in the game in the first half.

Saw some nice stuff out of Zinger. The backdoor feed to Jaylen is at this point an obligation to the home crowd, but the couple of back-downs he did in the post were very nice and with only one or two exceptions his rim protection was impressive.

Luke Kornet, in the last few weeks, appears to have mastered the art of burning the candle at both ends - going balls-to-the-wall but knowing he can only keep that up for 2-3 minutes at a time. He had one of the best games I can recall out of him on Friday against the Knicks, and tonight he wasn't quite as sharp but still made a couple of plays, including a few requiring some fast hands on scrambles for rebounds and such. Really the only guy in the rotation you can't quite say is playing better than last year is, well, Tatum. And maybe Al. But that's it.

 

[DeJesus Built My Hotrod]

Is beating an opponent who shoots 42+% on 45 3pA by seven points good or does it portend a lot of problems down the road?

 

[InstaFace]

Is beating an opponent who shoots 42+% on 45 3pA by seven points good or does it portend a lot of problems down the road?

I'm still not really sure how we did it tonight, it's not like we didn't turn the ball over. I guess the answer is being +20 on FTAs and hitting 100% of them.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

Is beating an opponent who shoots 42+% on 45 3pA by seven points good or does it portend a lot of problems down the road?

Mentioned it in the game thread but to me it is kind of both. The drop coverage most of the night is just an open concession for good players to get open gym looks. That isn’t fluke shooting or hot hands or anything, that is just what will happen in today’s NBA, period. It makes me nervous that they get comfortable with

That they can shift gears and make it really tough on an offense when they want to is, in turn, very good, but doesn’t tell us anything about their ability to stay in that 4th quarter mindset through a whole playoff game, or series, or playoffs. We’re just not going to have that answer until spring, and that’s fine, but I wish I felt more confident that they will in May/June be able to turn the switch on before the game starts and not turn it off until the job is done.

On the other side of the ball, KP continues to be a late-game trump card they have not had. His ability to draw easy fouls down low is immense for what has historically ailed this team when things get tight.

 

[Deathofthebambino]

I'm still not really sure how we did it tonight, it's not like we didn't turn the ball over. I guess the answer is being +20 on FTAs and hitting 100% of them.

There was a lot of good hustle going on out there tonight that kept them in it when their shots weren't falling in the first half (on mostly really good looks). Scal called it early, it looked like the C's needed to beat some rust off after what felt like a month off, find their rhythm and then roll. Once PP made a couple shots, and then DWhite went on that run with 3 in a row, the C's just took control.

They also had 12 offensive boards to 6 for Cleveland, along with 9 steals and 9 blocked shots (Cleveland had 6 and 4 respectively). They had a big margin from the free throw line, but they ended up taking 8 less FGA's (even with those added possessions due to blocks/steals/offensive rebounds) than Cleveland because FGA's that don't go in don't count if there's a foul anymore.

I thought the C's worked really hard all night, and just needed to see their shots start falling. I don't think their defense was that bad. It seemed like every offensive rebound the Cavs got (only 6 of them) led to a wide open 3, and every loose ball the Cavs got led to the same, and they just buried all of them. Every time the defensive structure broke down, the Cavs just made a shot, but I don't think it was anything more than the C's just needed to get their blood flowing after a long layoff.

 

[Zereck]

You wouldn't have known Tatum was in the game in the first half.

Huh? He had 17-8-3 in the first half and was in the game along with the bench crew when the Celtics turned things around at the end of the first and into the second.

 

[chilidawg]

Really the only guy in the rotation you can't quite say is playing better than last year is, well, Tatum. And maybe Al. But that's it.

Tatum was player of the month for Oct/Nov, of the whole damn league.

 

[slamminsammya]

Really the only guy in the rotation you can't quite say is playing better than last year is, well, Tatum. And maybe Al. But that's it.

What in the world? Are you watching the games or looking at the stats at all?

 

[DGreenwood]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UyU0yOv3wQ&ab_channel=NBA

 

[HomeRunBaker]

Tatum was player of the month for Oct/Nov, of the whole damn league.

He's consensus 5th in MVP odds behind Jokic, Doncic, Embiid and SGA too.

 

[InstaFace]

What in the world? Are you watching the games or looking at the stats at all?

"hasn't raised his level from being merely a top-5 player in the league" is a pretty anodyne statement given the heights he's at, which was my whole point.

But perhaps I'm wrong, even if only slightly - Tatum has had a slight uptick thus far this season, and it's actually Holiday who has tapered off a bit.



And Brown is the one where the regression curve is sloping downwards more than the others:





(Al's curve isn't great, it shows a somewhat stable leveling-off after a point about 2 seasons ago where it dropped some, but adding him would screw up the X-axis here)

 

[radsoxfan]

I hope no one tells Jaylen that DARKO think's he's playing poorly.

He won't be happy.

 

[slamminsammya]

"hasn't raised his level from being merely a top-5 player in the league" is a pretty anodyne statement given the heights he's at, which was my whole point.

But perhaps I'm wrong, even if only slightly - Tatum has had a slight uptick thus far this season, and it's actually Holiday who has tapered off a bit.

View attachment 75036

And Brown is the one where the regression curve is sloping downwards more than the others:

View attachment 75037

View attachment 75038

(Al's curve isn't great, it shows a somewhat stable leveling-off after a point about 2 seasons ago where it dropped some, but adding him would screw up the X-axis here)

Pritchard is way down from last year, whatever Darko thinks. Thats an obvious one.

 

[lovegtm]

Mentioned it in the game thread but to me it is kind of both. The drop coverage most of the night is just an open concession for good players to get open gym looks. That isn’t fluke shooting or hot hands or anything, that is just what will happen in today’s NBA, period. It makes me nervous that they get comfortable with

That they can shift gears and make it really tough on an offense when they want to is, in turn, very good, but doesn’t tell us anything about their ability to stay in that 4th quarter mindset through a whole playoff game, or series, or playoffs. We’re just not going to have that answer until spring, and that’s fine, but I wish I felt more confident that they will in May/June be able to turn the switch on before the game starts and not turn it off until the job is done.

On the other side of the ball, KP continues to be a late-game trump card they have not had. His ability to draw easy fouls down low is immense for what has historically ailed this team when things get tight.

If the fandoms were flipped, and the Celtics were a potential playoff opponent of our favorite team, would we be happy that they sometimes don't play full intensity on defense?

No, we'd (correctly) point to the fact that they've been monstrous on that end whenever they decide to lock in, since we've seen so, so many teams do that once the playoffs start.

The team has flaws (as does everyone post-KD Dubs), but playoff defensive intensity isn't that high on my list of concerns.

 

[lovegtm]

Yeah, and almost as impressive was the team…actually… tried…to get to the line due to being in the bonus. It’s taken a few years of experience but *finallly* they use their advantage instead of being in the bonus with 7 min left and holding the ball to take a contested 3 with a few seconds left. Instead they gave it to Porzingas to let him create a situation where he’d get fouled. Amazing.

They looked like they knew exactly what they wanted to do in the late game offense, while keeping diversity. Improvement.

 

[NomarsFool]

It’s still very early, he’s still figuring out his role on the team and the chemistry with his teammates, but I hope we get a real clear picture on Jrue by the end of the season as the Cs have a real decision on an extension coming up.

Meanwhile, DWhite has been killing it this season. If trading Smart was necessary just to let White shine, that’d almost be enough - not to mention KP on top. An exaggeration, I know, but I’ve been so glad to see how much he has improved and his key role in helping the team win.

 

[bigq]

Huh? He had 17-8-3 in the first half and was in the game along with the bench crew when the Celtics turned things around at the end of the first and into the second.

Maybe he meant KP who was 0-6 in the first half with 3 turnovers. Thankfully he turned it around in the 2nd half going 5-10 from the floor and 7-7 on free throws for 19 points along with 6 rebounds and 2 assists. KP’s performance in the 2nd half was a big factor in the win but he was nearly invisible in the first 24 minutes.

 

[lovegtm]

It’s still very early, he’s still figuring out his role on the team and the chemistry with his teammates, but I hope we get a real clear picture on Jrue by the end of the season as the Cs have a real decision on an extension coming up.

Meanwhile, DWhite has been killing it this season. If trading Smart was necessary just to let White shine, that’d almost be enough - not to mention KP on top. An exaggeration, I know, but I’ve been so glad to see how much he has improved and his key role in helping the team win.

His defense is really good, he fits in fine on offense, and they destroy teams with him in the starting 5. If he'll extend at a reasonable number, it's getting done. Probably they'll try to convince him to take the KP "I've made a ton of money and want a clean role on a winner" discount.