Having thought a lot about this Cs team before the season started and watched that gutty, if not somewhat ugly, win over the pesky Knicks, I offer the following thoughts. I'm both interested in how others perceive them and how they will age as the season progresses.
1. Guard Defense. With all respect to Marcus Smart's defense, the combination of Holliday and White just could be the best Celtics' defensive guard duo that I've ever seen, and the best in the NBA this season. I honestly do not recall any pair that looked as stifling as these two did last night and promise to look like given their pasts. Obviously, Smart and White were of similar ilk, but Brogdon was like a third starter with regard to playing time, which meant less time together for Smart and White than I anticipate for the current two.
2. Elite 6; Brown. Along the lines of what I mentioned in the Opening Night Game Thread, the top 6 is so good, and so deep, that it's arguable that the highest paid player in the NBA is the 5th most important guy on this team. Yes, I KNOW. It was one night. There will be nights when Brown carries them. But if you had to lose one player to injury, and I gave you the choice, would you choose any of Tatum, Porzingis, Holliday or White instead of Brown? Yep, it's not really a fair question because they play different positions and fulfill different roles. And yes, that they are so deep through 6 is why we have the luxury of asking such a question.
3. Egos. One of the reasons why the 2007-8 team was so remarkable was that the big 3 all sublimated their egos as necessary and seemingly ignored personal numbers. Or did so enough. I think one of the biggest unknowns is whether this team will be able to do the same. Will players have a "I need to get mine" aspect? There were a few times last night when it seemed like that happened. And the ball movement was not always great. Of course, that could be down to it being the first game and these guys not really having much chemistry so far. But there's a reason why Doc Rivers and Phil Jackson got so much credit for blending teams full of stars. Will these players buy in? Can Joe push their buttons as needed? My strong sense is that they will. Other than White, whose play says he gets the team concept as much as anyone, they all are in a very good place financially and contract wise. And all are saying all the right things. But this is still not an area that can be taken for granted and whether they can focus on Ws and not their own numbers is going to be a huge swing factor in the outcome.
4. Bench. Does anyone think that 7-9 is going to remain Hauser, Kornet and Pritchard for very long? Hauser will not go scoreless very often and has the capacity to pump in buckets. Pritchard too. But the bench has to contribute more or the top 6 will wear down, they very likely will, there will very likely be an addition or two over the course of the year, one ore more of the DNPs from last night are going to contribute and the only one I am confident will be in the rotation come April is Pritchard.
5. Porzingis. Nothing about last night really surprised me. But damn he's fun to watch. Between the blocks, unusual combo and agility and height, and outside shooting (including the line drive-ish trajectory of his shots), it really is true that we have not seen many guys like him. And I don't recall seeing him smile as much when he was a visitor.
6. Team D. I think there is reason to be optimistic that this team will play very good team defense this year. Yes, the Knicks missed a ton of shots last night. Many makable ones. But it's also true that the Cs looked to be swarming and all over the NYers in a way that reminded me of the defense that the Cs played during the Udoka year. None of the "starting six" are guys who get picked on often. It's tempting to look toward Al, given his age, among other things, but that would be a stretch in my view.
7. Hero Ball. Along the lines of point 3, it's going to be very important that the ball not stagnate and the offense not reduce into a series of "hero ball" moments. That happened at times last year and the prior season, it's very common as a whole in the NBA, and both Tatum and Brown seem at times to decide that it's time to score by themselves. Make no mistake, being able to create your own offense is often necessary. But I hope they will be a team that works for the best shot, no matter who has done what so far in the game, and that they will not settle for a series of one on ones. I think they will in fact not do either excessively, but to me it will be one of the keys of the season.
8. Tatum. Is he still improving? It's impossible to know off one game, of course. He looked very smooth, strong and confident last night. But then again, he did last year so much of the time. I don't know if he has to be better than last year in order for them to win a title, as some have suggested. For me, this is a two-fer. Will he be better? And does he need to be? I tend to think that he doesn't need to be given the talent around him. But it would be nice!
9. Smart's Leadership. I think this is one of the most overrated topics. Meaning I am not worried about it I think the players on this team will fill in the gaps, as needed. And we all know that Marcus took some shots and did some things that made us crazy. But many have said it's an issue. I' don't see it.
10. Joe. The Coach's use of TOs and his penchant for using players in a very uneven way (going from being benched to playing huge minutes to being mostly benched) were two huge issues in my book. The heavy reliance on 3s was another. How Mazzulla matures, and whether having HIS assistants will make him more able to excel, will be big issues. I have no real reason to learn positively other than trust in Brad's instincts, which I have. And I guess the fact that he has a year under his belt in the top spot. Here's hoping.
1. Guard Defense. With all respect to Marcus Smart's defense, the combination of Holliday and White just could be the best Celtics' defensive guard duo that I've ever seen, and the best in the NBA this season. I honestly do not recall any pair that looked as stifling as these two did last night and promise to look like given their pasts. Obviously, Smart and White were of similar ilk, but Brogdon was like a third starter with regard to playing time, which meant less time together for Smart and White than I anticipate for the current two.
2. Elite 6; Brown. Along the lines of what I mentioned in the Opening Night Game Thread, the top 6 is so good, and so deep, that it's arguable that the highest paid player in the NBA is the 5th most important guy on this team. Yes, I KNOW. It was one night. There will be nights when Brown carries them. But if you had to lose one player to injury, and I gave you the choice, would you choose any of Tatum, Porzingis, Holliday or White instead of Brown? Yep, it's not really a fair question because they play different positions and fulfill different roles. And yes, that they are so deep through 6 is why we have the luxury of asking such a question.
3. Egos. One of the reasons why the 2007-8 team was so remarkable was that the big 3 all sublimated their egos as necessary and seemingly ignored personal numbers. Or did so enough. I think one of the biggest unknowns is whether this team will be able to do the same. Will players have a "I need to get mine" aspect? There were a few times last night when it seemed like that happened. And the ball movement was not always great. Of course, that could be down to it being the first game and these guys not really having much chemistry so far. But there's a reason why Doc Rivers and Phil Jackson got so much credit for blending teams full of stars. Will these players buy in? Can Joe push their buttons as needed? My strong sense is that they will. Other than White, whose play says he gets the team concept as much as anyone, they all are in a very good place financially and contract wise. And all are saying all the right things. But this is still not an area that can be taken for granted and whether they can focus on Ws and not their own numbers is going to be a huge swing factor in the outcome.
4. Bench. Does anyone think that 7-9 is going to remain Hauser, Kornet and Pritchard for very long? Hauser will not go scoreless very often and has the capacity to pump in buckets. Pritchard too. But the bench has to contribute more or the top 6 will wear down, they very likely will, there will very likely be an addition or two over the course of the year, one ore more of the DNPs from last night are going to contribute and the only one I am confident will be in the rotation come April is Pritchard.
5. Porzingis. Nothing about last night really surprised me. But damn he's fun to watch. Between the blocks, unusual combo and agility and height, and outside shooting (including the line drive-ish trajectory of his shots), it really is true that we have not seen many guys like him. And I don't recall seeing him smile as much when he was a visitor.
6. Team D. I think there is reason to be optimistic that this team will play very good team defense this year. Yes, the Knicks missed a ton of shots last night. Many makable ones. But it's also true that the Cs looked to be swarming and all over the NYers in a way that reminded me of the defense that the Cs played during the Udoka year. None of the "starting six" are guys who get picked on often. It's tempting to look toward Al, given his age, among other things, but that would be a stretch in my view.
7. Hero Ball. Along the lines of point 3, it's going to be very important that the ball not stagnate and the offense not reduce into a series of "hero ball" moments. That happened at times last year and the prior season, it's very common as a whole in the NBA, and both Tatum and Brown seem at times to decide that it's time to score by themselves. Make no mistake, being able to create your own offense is often necessary. But I hope they will be a team that works for the best shot, no matter who has done what so far in the game, and that they will not settle for a series of one on ones. I think they will in fact not do either excessively, but to me it will be one of the keys of the season.
8. Tatum. Is he still improving? It's impossible to know off one game, of course. He looked very smooth, strong and confident last night. But then again, he did last year so much of the time. I don't know if he has to be better than last year in order for them to win a title, as some have suggested. For me, this is a two-fer. Will he be better? And does he need to be? I tend to think that he doesn't need to be given the talent around him. But it would be nice!
9. Smart's Leadership. I think this is one of the most overrated topics. Meaning I am not worried about it I think the players on this team will fill in the gaps, as needed. And we all know that Marcus took some shots and did some things that made us crazy. But many have said it's an issue. I' don't see it.
10. Joe. The Coach's use of TOs and his penchant for using players in a very uneven way (going from being benched to playing huge minutes to being mostly benched) were two huge issues in my book. The heavy reliance on 3s was another. How Mazzulla matures, and whether having HIS assistants will make him more able to excel, will be big issues. I have no real reason to learn positively other than trust in Brad's instincts, which I have. And I guess the fact that he has a year under his belt in the top spot. Here's hoping.
