2017-18 Celtics Season Thread

Guy just called into 98.5 and described him perfectly (I'll assume he meant offensively) . . .

He's a round of golf (for most of us). Terrible, for the most part. Then you get that one shot that brings you back.

I have always been a bit skeptical of the +/- stat in the NBA as it has always confused me. Now after looking at the box score from last night when Horford had a great game all around and extremely efficient offensively but his +/- is only +2. I simply have no faith in that stat.

Ok I swear I wrote and thought that before finding this article... if you didn’t notice it didn’t see that part of the game you need to read this and watch the clips... small sample size for sure but it fits with what Stevens has said and Semi’s scouting report... this guy has legit stopper potential and he seems to be able to shoot the 3.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbssports.com/nba/news/how-a-second-round-pick-helped-celtics-beat-giannis-antetokounmpo-and-the-bucks/amp/

The plus minus stat is 100% legit.  It's simply how the team performed while he played, they were plus 2 lastnight with Horford on the court.  When you watch the game simply record the box scores every time a player enters and leaves a game.  That will give you his plus minus stat.  Plus minus is a team stat, it's how the team did with Horford on the court.  It's not just how good Horford did. 

As CelticsHub (@dangercart) suggests, improvement by (and subsequent trust in) the likes of Semi and Theis, along with a potential ceiling on this season (ie no Hayward could limit what this team can ultimately be this year) could make Morris a nice trade chip.

As an example only, he suggests something like Thibs getting antsy about making the playoffs and trading Bjelica (salary) and Patton (project big) for Morris.

Well the reason would be if you have redundant parts with assets you have (defensive swing) and they can get you an asset you don't have (developing big).

That being said, the post was more a follow up on how the development of and trust in those players might have additional benefits to the long range future of the team.

I hear ya and I understand the reason and why you would target a project big. But that whole thing really seemed forced. Don’t forget depth is good. We are lucky to have so much of it after reading what we did and losing Hayward. But without Morris we are screwed with another injury.

I have a feeling we are going to really like Morris. My hope is they do limit his playing time during the regular season to give more minutes to young guys then play him more in the playoffs. (similar to how they did with Green last year only on a much different scale). Like Morris would get 17-23 mins a game now.

Confirmed with BRobb that DPE can be used on a pending RFA.

The Cavs are a mess. I really wonder how good Lue as a coach is. Wade had to remove himself from starting lineup because he was so bad. Lue seems to have no idea how to make the pieces fit.

For example the Cavs loss to the Nets. They started Thompson at C and Love at PF. Going against a crappy center and a PF that's really a SF. Guess what, Thompson was one of the biggest minus in the boxscore. Love can play center in todays NBA against a ton of teams. Love at C, Crowder at PF would have been a much better option for Cavs against the Nets. Instead they started Crowder at SG. Thompson to me is like Baynes, his playing time should be based off the team you are playing. They play the Pelicans next, you will need Thompson at Center for that game.

I disagree with the notion that Love can play center against anyone nowadays, I really don't think he can. But anyway, if that was the plan, then stick with it. Maybe guys will get used to their roles, maybe the team will rally around it, this is not the playoffs yet, you don't need a quick hook. But Lue can't help himself it seems. As much as I dislike Love at the 5, it's nowhere near the epic level of inappetence of playing Crowder at the 2. He can't guard the 2. If you're doing that and the other wing is a bit faster then go for it if you need, but Lebron at the 3? Any of their other guards playing point? Nah.

Cavs suck, if not for one epic hot streak of f*ckballing goodness, Lue would have been fired ages ago.



Maybe it's just me but I really don't trust the Wizards. They have 0 depth and if anyone in their starting line-up gets even slightly injured they're toast.

 The length and athleticism has been a boost to both defense and rebounding. Impressive to see how good the D is this early considering the youth and inexperience playing together.
 Beginning to think Tatum is in the starting rotation from here on out. Morris will be a great addition to the 2nd unit. Good test coming up with the Spurs.

A small sample size, but, Brown has been very inconsistent. Does Semi take minutes from anyone? Defense and rebounding look much better than anticipated. Match ups as always will be the key. Wizards , Celtic's and cav's are the best 3 teams. Smart on wall and brown on beal will be very interesting. I can see Tatum and horford being the scorers against the wizards. The Celtic's are going to get lots better as the season progresses. I think it is going to be a fun season.