Analysis of Celtics Games (2020-2021)
- Thread starter Imbricus
- Start date
Brown has been developing some nice passing chemistry with TL, and seems to get the ball to Semi for wide open looks.
Willing passers have to believe that the guys they pass to are going to convert shots. The Jays want to win, and know they are way better scorers than the guys they are passing to.
Hopefully, these recent struggles will re-center their thinking on getting teammates open looks. Both were much improved in that department to start the season.
Willing passers have to believe that the guys they pass to are going to convert shots. The Jays want to win, and know they are way better scorers than the guys they are passing to.
Hopefully, these recent struggles will re-center their thinking on getting teammates open looks. Both were much improved in that department to start the season.
With the brutal schedule they're playing it might be good strategy to sit a guy like Teague for a week and let him recharge. You could sit one of the 3 bigs for week, for instance. Kemba's getting some rest and it seems to help, maybe Brown and Tatum need some load management as well.
Whatever analysis someone wants to do about how Tatum and Brown's psychologies and egos are evolving, it is a simple fact that neither of them are natural playmakers and also a fact that they have both gotten significantly better throughout their careers. Brown especially is not a good technical passer of the ball - even when he makes the right read he often either misses the target or is a beat too late. And that will get better, regardless of whether either of them can evolve into selfless leaders who prioritize lifting up their teammates.
There really isn’t an excuse for any player on this team to be tired with the only possible exception of Tatum due to him not being fully recovered. Aside from that, the season is only two months old, and most everyone has already had a week off due to an injury during these first 9 weeks of the season.
Good scheduling spot for us on Sunday with the Wizards coming in off a Saturday night win with this being their 6th game in 9 nights in 6 different cities. West coast, altitude in Denver, back home and now up to Boston. They are in a potential lay a complete egg spot.
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His excuses probably won’t get a doctor’s note from you, but Brown looks really gassed (mentally or physically) the past few weeks. I can’t think of anyone else aside from Tatum who has looked tired, however.
Is it motivation, other potential factors or fatigue from playing basketball? He just had 5 days off 2-3 weeks ago which is an eternity for a player in the middle of the season.
The season may be just two months old but a lot of these guys are coming off the shortest offseason in history. I don't know that it's a giant coincidence that 3/4 of semi finalists last year (Celtics, Heat, Nuggets) are three of the most disappointing teams thus far.
Which of our players are being affected by the shortened offseason? Kemba had his normal rest, Teague, Pritchard, Nesmith and Tristan weren’t on the team. Semi, Javonte, Carsten, Waters, TL and Grant either didn’t play or played limited minutes. The only 3 players you can point toward are Jaylen, Tatum and Theis.....and Jaylen was making another leap until he missed a few games two weeks ago, which wouldn’t have resulted in him flattening out of fatigue was an issue. Theis appears to be the same guy and Tatum seems to be slow in recovering from Covid.
The Heat and Celtics are Top-4 in ws-games lost due to injured players. The Nuggets don’t defend anyone and no longer have Jamal Murray carrying them in the bubble. The condensed season isn’t affecting the Jazz, Clippers or Lakers (pre-Schroeder/AD injuries) who made deep runs last year because they have really really good players. I’ll beat the horse harder in that our personnel is crappy outside of the Jays, it’s clearly frustrating them and we are exposed without Smart being our glue guy on the floor.
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I think this almost certainly true. Even the lakers are scuffling badly, although AD’s absence explains a lot of that too.
JT and JB are known hard workers and both made noticeable, material changes in the limited offseason. It wouldn’t surprise me to hear both guys tried to fit a normal offseason worth of work into a very short offseason, and not giving to themselves enough rest. It also wouldn’t shock anyone to find out the bubble had a massive impact on guys’ mental health and the short offseason may not have given them a chance to appropriately recharge.
I’m hopeful both guys will be rejuvenated after spending the ASB around the top players in the league. With it just being an exhibition game this year and without all the all other events that make it a typically taxing weekend, they should be able to get enough rest.
Ah yes, the deep Jazz playoff run of the 2020 season. I remember it like yesterday.
Anyway, I agree that the Celtics have more of a talent/health problem than a fatigue problem. I specifically only mentioned Jaylen and Tatum as possible fatigue guys.
Just a small correction, AD has missed 8 games, the Lakers are 0-4 in the ones Schroeder also missed and 4-0 when Schroeder played. The Lakers are pretty bad without both those guys but can deal short-term missing one of two.
JB has definitely been in a slump for a 10 games or so. Definitely some bad luck there as his shooting in the first part of the season was other worldly. Tatum has more poor shooting nights, I think, because his game seems to involve more lower percentage shots. As I mentioned in another thread, I'm surprised when Brown misses and I'm surprised when Tatum makes many of his shots.
There may be a physical issue as JB looks like his lift isn't completely there, which I'm sure effects his shooting. May E it's his knee.
Playing both sides of the floor spends a ton of energy, which is why a lot of guys don't do it. JB and JT have been asked to do even more on both ends of the floor. It could be a combination of mental fatigue plus physical fatigue plus minor injuries but as said above, he does seem "gassed" in recent games.
He obviously was dealing with a knee a couple of weeks back, and he has seemed frustrated with the losing, chirping about the “system” being the reason we fell to Dallas.
For some players I'm sure the shorter offseason is bothering them, fatigue is real. Kemba did not have his normal rest, not by a long shot. Even ignoring the fact that he was recovering from injury and taking into account that he missed the first 3-4 weeks of the season, his offseason (from last playoff game to first regular season game) was still shorter than a typical player who makes the NBA finals one year and starts on opening night the following season. That wouldn't be a normal offseason, unless you're Lebron or the Warriors, which Kemba is far from (we're talking about a guy who has never been out of the first round of the playoffs). For the others, fatigue hits everyone differently. Maybe the Jays started strong but due to their increased workload and short offseason, are hitting the wall now. Everyone else on the roster is inconsistent because they are either really young or just not that good, so I agree there.
Agree with most of this (especially the basic math of a calendar w/Kemba) but think Nesmith and Grant we're affected by the COVID offseason.
Nesmith missing SL/preseason/G-League games to develop his 3pt stroke after a shortened NCAA season. He's trying to regain his form in-game with the pressure of getting immediately benched for multiple games.
When we left Granite in the bubble he was a solid defender that was hitting corner 3s at a high %. This season he still has the 3pt stroke, but he can't stay in front of a parked car. Actually, most of the lineup has been guilty of Ole' defense, especially Brown, Tatum, and Smart getting beat off the dribble more than ever.
You owe it to yourselves to listen to the end of Zach Lowe’s Feb 26 podcast with Scal. The KG story is gold.
Kemba had 3 full months following a shortened season. I’d place more weight on him being rusty in being unable to have his normal practice/workout time than it is a lack of rest. We are 9 weeks into the season.....rookies can’t even see the wall much less hit it. He’s a guy whose body has been trained to play basketball everyday and he’s not able to do so due to the amount of rest he now needs for his knee.
The Celtics added Jaylen to the injury report yesterday as questionable for tonight with the knee injury.
I'd imagine it will, at a minimum, be bothering him off and on for the rest of the season.
While a seven game run is deep for the Jazz, it was not very deep on an absolute basis.
The defensive breakdowns without Smart on the floor directing traffic have been very telling. People that want him gone at any cost might want to take a closer look at the recent stretch for what the future might hold (at least until Tatum is ready to assume the role).
That Denver series seemed like it lasted 3 weeks.While a seven game run is deep for the Jazz, it was not very deep on an absolute basis.
Knee tendonitis. Not a particular injury, just something that bothers professional athletes from time to time.
This has probably been bothering him since he sat a couple of games earlier in the month. He hadn’t been the same as he was earlier in the season since the first time he was rested.
I agree.
He's likely just not 100% comfortable with it.
He probably needs to rest it, having that all star break for him would've been nice.
I'd guess he won't want to pass up his first all star game.
Does anyone here want him gone at any cost?While a seven game run is deep for the Jazz, it was not very deep on an absolute basis.
The defensive breakdowns without Smart on the floor directing traffic have been very telling. People that want him gone at any cost might want to take a closer look at the recent stretch for what the future might hold (at least until Tatum is ready to assume the role).
There were calls to trade him specifically for Buddy Hield earlier in the year.
Trading Smart for a solid shooting guard (cold start this year notwithstanding) who also happens to be 28 and signed for 2 years longer than Smart isn't exactly the same as wanting him gone at any cost.
Does a day go by without a certain segment of the board inventing Marcus Smart trades that in almost every case make zero sense?
Trading Smart for a guy that couldn’t defend Kuzma to a roomful of Laker fans is the definition of unloading a player. Especially when that player is carrying the contract that said people are using as a justification for unloading Marcus (i.e. “Someone will give Marcus a near max deal, we have to trade him!!!”).
If Buddy Hield is the answer you’re asking the wrong fucking question.
I wouldn't do it, but given that
-This team doesn't look like it's close to contending for a title
-Smart could gone after next year
I don't think it's a good move but arguing for it certainly isn't the same as trying to move Smart at any cost.
Smart should be named Captain.
An aggressive, on-ball defender that can distribute the ball is the perfect match with our soft-spoken kids (Tatum/Brown)
I could see adding Hield while unloading TT+ for him.
Hield is not solid. In terms of overall basketball value, he is cents on Smart's dollar. The Kings would have said done to an actual trade proposal so fast that it might set records. This is a talk radio trade idea.
Our wing depth is rough, and Hield's corner 3s would help.
BUT his contract/situation in Sacramento makes him a negative asset. No need to even spitball Smart.
BUT his contract/situation in Sacramento makes him a negative asset. No need to even spitball Smart.
Totally agree on the overrated Hield on the court who is rumored to be out of favor with the Kings due to being selfish and having a bad attitude. No thanks and No thanks. Hard pass.
I'm not going to defend Hield or that trade proposal any more than I already have, because as mentioned above it would be bad. I'm just not onboard with the original statement which seemed more than a bit hyberbolic (that people want Smart gone at any cost).
Yup. And I was the originator of the Hield stuff, I think, but reversed course whenever we first discussed it a couple months ago.
The “get rid of him at any cost” discussions certainly apply to Kemba. There have been plenty of those. I don’t see that with Smart unless I missed something. If I’m not mistaken, the most recent Smart trade discussions on this board have centered around adding him to a package for potential impact guys like John Collins.
I think most here agree that you don’t deal Smart unless you’re getting a game changer in return. And he won’t have as much value to someone else as he does with us so there really aren’t any potential options here.
And everyone generally agrees about the value he has on the court.
@Euclis20
Entirely fair. It was hyperbolic but that's how 'hob rolls... No "t".
In any event, player metrics are still far from perfect and especially when it comes to Smart. Regardless of whether he is over or underrated, its pretty clear that this team misses him on both sides of the ball. His playmaking alone would allow give the team a lot of options. I am going to be optimistic that what we are seeing from Walker is sustainable. Its hard not to get excited seeing Smart setting up Tatum, Brown and an off the ball Kemba. And, yeah, its safe to say that teams shooting 40% and shooters like Beal or Young or even Luka aren't going to be as comfortable with Smart playing defense. He really cleans up a lot of messes.
Entirely fair. It was hyperbolic but that's how 'hob rolls... No "t".
In any event, player metrics are still far from perfect and especially when it comes to Smart. Regardless of whether he is over or underrated, its pretty clear that this team misses him on both sides of the ball. His playmaking alone would allow give the team a lot of options. I am going to be optimistic that what we are seeing from Walker is sustainable. Its hard not to get excited seeing Smart setting up Tatum, Brown and an off the ball Kemba. And, yeah, its safe to say that teams shooting 40% and shooters like Beal or Young or even Luka aren't going to be as comfortable with Smart playing defense. He really cleans up a lot of messes.
The reason you consider trading Marcus Smart isn't that he's bad, it's because he's good. If you add another impact player this year or next, the roster just gets way too expensive with Smart's next contract, which will be large, because Marcus Smart is good.
If you can get him to come back on 4/70 or something, or an impact player just isn't out there to be had, then obviously that changes things.
The "at any cost" stuff is dumb hyperbole.
If you can get him to come back on 4/70 or something, or an impact player just isn't out there to be had, then obviously that changes things.
The "at any cost" stuff is dumb hyperbole.
Update on Romeo - from none other than The Is: "Daniel Theis said he believes Romeo Langford is “close to being back.”
View: https://twitter.com/ByJayKing/status/1366225271393718276
View: https://twitter.com/ByJayKing/status/1366225271393718276
They're winning their division, that's the #1 tiebreaker in 3 way ties now if 1 team is a DIV winner and the other 2 aren't
Don't know where to put this but thought you folks might enjoy it.
View: https://twitter.com/GBHArchives/status/1309886476595998720
View: https://twitter.com/GBHArchives/status/1304524914607771650
View: https://twitter.com/GBHArchives/status/1309886476595998720
View: https://twitter.com/GBHArchives/status/1304524914607771650
