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Post by rjp313jr on Oct 31, 2017 7:22:21 GMT -5
Ojeleye won’t be taking anyone’s real minutes but he could be used as a stopper at certain points 22 minutes tonight. Don't fall asleep on him, there is a player in there. I’m not asleep on him; I really like him and am on record as saying he can be a really good player in this league. Say good Jae Crowder good. Possibly even better as he’s more athletic and I think taller. That being said they blew out the Spurs, he basically played the entire 4th quarter while they sat guys. The minutes in the close games will tell us something. Speaking of close games, there may be a certain matchup where he gets big minutes in a close game because they use him to matchup with someone. Hell, he could be the guy they turn to on LeBron at some point. I just expect his minutes to be extremely up and down. |
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Post by rjp313jr on Oct 31, 2017 7:24:15 GMT -5
I heard on Comcast that the DPE could be used to acquire a guy like Noel later in the season. I don't know how the DPE works or how Noel has anything to do with it, but there it is. That’s because Noel is in the last year of his deal. Sign a one year contract. However, after watching the toughness of Baynes and Theis combined with their soft touches, does anyone think Noel is the type of guy this team needs? Soft big who can jump and block shots but not shoot? I’ll pass - unless one of those guys got hurt. |
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Post by jmei on Oct 31, 2017 8:03:39 GMT -5
Ojeleye has looked good defensively so far, but I'm skeptical that he'll be used as any sort of stopper this year. There are very few rookies who are capable of defending top-tier NBA wings, and Ojeleye didn't come out of college with that reputation has has quickness and athleticism limitations.
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Post by Don Caballero on Oct 31, 2017 8:22:40 GMT -5
Ojeleye has looked good defensively so far, but I'm skeptical that he'll be used as any sort of stopper this year. There are very few rookies who are capable of defending top-tier NBA wings, and Ojeleye didn't come out of college with that reputation has has quickness and athleticism limitations. Rationally I agree with you, but he looked damn good and I love how he sets his feet perfectly and stands his ground stoutly. I don't think he'll be a stopper this year, but I definitely think he has a future with the team. |
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Post by rjp313jr on Oct 31, 2017 10:47:51 GMT -5
Ojeleye has looked good defensively so far, but I'm skeptical that he'll be used as any sort of stopper this year. There are very few rookies who are capable of defending top-tier NBA wings, and Ojeleye didn't come out of college with that reputation has has quickness and athleticism limitations. I don’t disagree with any of this. I just think that’s the only way he gets minutes from someone else. A couple things of note tho: 1. In a small sample this year he looks the part. 2. He’s an older rookie so his body is more mature as should be his mind. 3. Despite him being an older rookie there’s only 1 true year of scouting on him as he only played one full college season and it was in the AAC which means reports were likely to be “cooler” on him. I’m not banking on him being a stopper this year for reasons you mentioned, but him being one would be how he’d get bigger minutes. If he’s not, he won’t. |
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Post by umassgrad2005 on Oct 31, 2017 11:58:25 GMT -5
Ojeleye has looked good defensively so far, but I'm skeptical that he'll be used as any sort of stopper this year. There are very few rookies who are capable of defending top-tier NBA wings, and Ojeleye didn't come out of college with that reputation has has quickness and athleticism limitations. I don't think he plays a huge role because his offensive game looks so so, needs to learn to play off the ball. At the same time he has no limitations athletically. He is a freak athlete. Everything you need for him to one day be a stopper on D. |
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Post by rjp313jr on Nov 1, 2017 6:05:55 GMT -5
Okafor’s option was not exercised by the Sixers so he will now be an unrestricted free agent after this year. He’s trying to work a buyout with the Sixers. It’s funny, part of me doesn’t even want him, but then I remember we have Brad Stevens and he’s great at getting a lot from players so I would like to see what he can do with a guy like Okafor. I’m a huge Duke fan so I have an affinity for him but there’s a lot not to like about I’m.
I mean look at Kyrie play defense this year... remember when he couldn’t do that?
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Post by ryan24 on Nov 1, 2017 10:39:12 GMT -5
Okafor’s option was not exercised by the Sixers so he will now be an unrestricted free agent after this year. He’s trying to work a buyout with the Sixers. It’s funny, part of me doesn’t even want him, but then I remember we have Brad Stevens and he’s great at getting a lot from players so I would like to see what he can do with a guy like Okafor. I’m a huge Duke fan so I have an affinity for him but there’s a lot not to like about I’m. I mean look at Kyrie play defense this year... remember when he couldn’t do that? He is a big who can score. Defense and rebounding are not particularly strong. Where would you fit him into the rotation? I would also think he would be looking for starter's minutes. Probably not a fit with the Celtic's. But who knows. |
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Post by ryan24 on Nov 1, 2017 11:06:45 GMT -5
Ojeleye has looked good defensively so far, but I'm skeptical that he'll be used as any sort of stopper this year. There are very few rookies who are capable of defending top-tier NBA wings, and Ojeleye didn't come out of college with that reputation has has quickness and athleticism limitations. I don't think he plays a huge role because his offensive game looks so so, needs to learn to play off the ball. At the same time he has no limitations athletically. He is a freak athlete. Everything you need for him to one day be a stopper on D. Lot of roles on the Celtic's are in a state of flux. Lots of young 1st year players learning how to play off the ball. In college they were the man on their team so they saw the ball a lot. Semi has deferred many times on taking shots. He along with tatum and Brown are learning where they fit in. Kyrie is trying to figure out how to use them. He is most definitely a freak athlete. He most definitely plays good D so that alone will keep him in Brad's good graces. Is he a stopper? Too early to tell. Right now he appears to be in the regular 8-9 man rotation. When Morris comes back he will change that rotation. How that affects Semi will be interesting. It is a long grueling season and this is only a one week window. |
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Post by rjp313jr on Nov 1, 2017 11:12:00 GMT -5
Okafor’s option was not exercised by the Sixers so he will now be an unrestricted free agent after this year. He’s trying to work a buyout with the Sixers. It’s funny, part of me doesn’t even want him, but then I remember we have Brad Stevens and he’s great at getting a lot from players so I would like to see what he can do with a guy like Okafor. I’m a huge Duke fan so I have an affinity for him but there’s a lot not to like about I’m. I mean look at Kyrie play defense this year... remember when he couldn’t do that? He is a big who can score. Defense and rebounding are not particularly strong. Where would you fit him into the rotation? I would also think he would be looking for starter's minutes. Probably not a fit with the Celtic's. But who knows. Well they have an open roster spot so fitting him isn’t a problem. Who’s minutes does he take? I don’t know that’s why I’m not clamoring for him but he’s really talented so it would be interesting to see if Stevens could maximize it. |
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Post by rjp313jr on Nov 1, 2017 11:13:35 GMT -5
Anyone read Team Stream? They really need to stop posting anything that guy Joshua Bateman writes. He’s quite possibly the worst writer I’ve ever read... I mean at least proof read you stuff. But beyond that every post is just a series of two sentence paragraphs that are so choppy and terrible to read. He comes up with good subject matter he just can’t write about it to save his life.
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Post by voiceofreason on Nov 1, 2017 20:17:54 GMT -5
If you are athletic enough to be in the NBA and be decent offensively you are capable of playing D. D is about desire and intensity for the most part, you just have to want it. I said the same thing years ago when some were saying the same about Pierce and Allen. The thing is that players who are relied on to produce offense and always have tend to coast on D, partly to save energy for O. There is no reason that these same players can't excel defensively when motivated. Defense is about heart and desire if you already have the athleticism. I think Stevens and the C's are proving this to be true.
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Post by philarhody on Nov 1, 2017 20:22:28 GMT -5
Abdel Nader is much worse at basketball than I thought.
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Post by rjp313jr on Nov 2, 2017 5:51:37 GMT -5
Abdel Nader is much worse at basketball than I thought. Call me crazy but I actually like the guy. He’s no where near ready for a role but he’s got talent and his track record is of a guy who improves his game each year. I bet he’s going to be one of those guys that a few years from now you wonder where he came from because he just slowly improved. He’s not comfortable yet and he plays like it. The that disappoints me is Yabusele |
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Post by rjp313jr on Nov 2, 2017 5:56:25 GMT -5
If you are athletic enough to be in the NBA and be decent offensively you are capable of playing D. D is about desire and intensity for the most part, you just have to want it. I said the same thing years ago when some were saying the same about Pierce and Allen. The thing is that players who are relied on to produce offense and always have tend to coast on D, partly to save energy for O. There is no reason that these same players can't excel defensively when motivated. Defense is about heart and desire if you already have the athleticism. I think Stevens and the C's are proving this to be true. I agree with this for the most part and this is why I said this about Kyrie. We’d seen glimpses of him playing great defense in the playoffs when he really wanted to so I knew he could. Size and strength does play a role which is why Thomas can never be anything but a poor defender. Kyrie has been excellent on the defensive end; honestly, he’s been excellent overall in my mind all things considered. I hope he loves it here and resigns longterm because him and Stevens are a match. |
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Post by ryan24 on Nov 2, 2017 6:06:24 GMT -5
He is a big who can score. Defense and rebounding are not particularly strong. Where would you fit him into the rotation? I would also think he would be looking for starter's minutes. Probably not a fit with the Celtic's. But who knows. Well they have an open roster spot so fitting him isn’t a problem. Who’s minutes does he take? I don’t know that’s why I’m not clamoring for him but he’s really talented so it would be interesting to see if Stevens could maximize it. In using the word fit I was not talking about a roster spot. I was more talking about would he get starter minutes? I think he will be looking for starter minutes and I do not see that with the Celtic's. He will be looking for a big contract next season. Although looking at what umass has pointed out, there is not a lot of money available out there. I also seem to remember that the Celtic's had a couple of opportunities to get okafor and Danny passed. If he will play defense and rebound for Brad he will be an upgrade over theis and Baynes because of his scoring ability. The last question is how tough is he and will he give the team the same grit that theis and baynes do? |
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Post by rjp313jr on Nov 2, 2017 6:12:06 GMT -5
The rebounding has been excellent this year. Such a noticeable difference. They just out rebounded the Kings 52-26... that’s insane even though the Kings suck.
Here’s the deal though, they aren’t doing it just from one guy or by getting a guy that doesn’t fit their system. Guys like Noel and Chandler don’t fit the Celtics system so adding them for their rebounding was probably never high up on the Celtics wish list. Baynes and Theis are perfect dirt dog, athletic, efficient unselfish fits to the system. They don’t clog things up, have good hands and can score enough.
Tatum, Rozier and Brown are all very good to great rebounders for their positions too.
If they can be a very good rebounding team without sacrificing their system, they can go a lot further than we expected. They are 32-3 in last 35 games in which they win the rebound
battle. The key has been without sacrificing their system.
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Post by ryan24 on Nov 2, 2017 6:13:05 GMT -5
If you are athletic enough to be in the NBA and be decent offensively you are capable of playing D. D is about desire and intensity for the most part, you just have to want it. I said the same thing years ago when some were saying the same about Pierce and Allen. The thing is that players who are relied on to produce offense and always have tend to coast on D, partly to save energy for O. There is no reason that these same players can't excel defensively when motivated. Defense is about heart and desire if you already have the athleticism. I think Stevens and the C's are proving this to be true. I agree with this for the most part and this is why I said this about Kyrie. We’d seen glimpses of him playing great defense in the playoffs when he really wanted to so I knew he could. Size and strength does play a role which is why Thomas can never be anything but a poor defender. Kyrie has been excellent on the defensive end; honestly, he’s been excellent overall in my mind all things considered. I hope he loves it here and resigns longterm because him and Stevens are a match. Totally agree with all of this. It looks encouraging that kyrie will stay. He is the lead guy on the ground floor with a very young exciting group of players. |
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Post by ryan24 on Nov 2, 2017 6:15:11 GMT -5
The rebounding has been excellent this year. Such a noticeable difference. They just out rebounded the Kings 52-26... that’s insane even though the Kings suck. Here’s the deal though, they aren’t doing it just from one guy or by getting a guy that doesn’t fit their system. Guys like Noel and Chandler don’t fit the Celtics system so adding them for their rebounding was probably never high up on the Celtics wish list. Baynes and Theis are perfect dirt dog, athletic, efficient unselfish fits to the system. They don’t clog things up, have good hands and can score enough. Tatum, Rozier and Brown are all very good to great rebounders for their positions too. If they can be a very good rebounding team without sacrificing their system, they can go a lot further than we expected. They are 32-3 in last 35 games in which they win the rebound battle. The key has been without sacrificing their system. Well said. |
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Post by rjp313jr on Nov 2, 2017 6:21:02 GMT -5
Well they have an open roster spot so fitting him isn’t a problem. Who’s minutes does he take? I don’t know that’s why I’m not clamoring for him but he’s really talented so it would be interesting to see if Stevens could maximize it. In using the word fit I was not talking about a roster spot. I was more talking about would he get starter minutes? I think he will be looking for starter minutes and I do not see that with the Celtic's. He will be looking for a big contract next season. Although looking at what umass has pointed out, there is not a lot of money available out there. I also seem to remember that the Celtic's had a couple of opportunities to get okafor and Danny passed. If he will play defense and rebound for Brad he will be an upgrade over theis and Baynes because of his scoring ability. The last question is how tough is he and will he give the team the same grit that theis and baynes do? I don’t know that there is a fit but the talent is worth the look. The Celtics has a chance to trade Smart for him and said no. The Sixers won’t buy him out at this point because they don’t want to give him away for free. He’s not worth anything more than a second round pick. I wouldn’t even trade Nader for him because there’s no point. Maybe Kadeem Allen... if I were the Sixers I’d probably want Shane Larkin (I’m sure they want Rozier or Smart but Okafor literally has no trade value - the Sixers screwed up that asset six ways to Sunday). Some of this is because of blow outs so minutes have been down in some games, but check out these average shots per game numbers... the team is so unselfish and moves the ball that there aren’t a lot of shots for anyone, but touches for Everyone...  |
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Post by rjp313jr on Nov 2, 2017 6:25:01 GMT -5
The kings are far away from being a good team even though that have some good young players. Makes me feel good that at the very least their pick in 2019 should be top 10.
Oh and since Tatum is who he is; it really doesn’t matter since it’s all gravy and I would be happy had they just taken him first overall.
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Post by pedrofanforever45 on Nov 2, 2017 6:51:10 GMT -5
The Celtics could use a talent like Okafor off the bench for another scoring option.
I wouldn't want him starting over Baynes though and Okafor kind of puts me off with the way he complains about minutes. That's what would make me pause if I'm the Celtics if I'm trying acquire him.
He is a local kid though, which is nice. Maybe he likes that part of it, and that's the reason he buys in coming here.
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Post by rjp313jr on Nov 2, 2017 7:04:48 GMT -5
The Celtics could use a talent like Okafor off the bench for another scoring option. I wouldn't want him starting over Baynes though and Okafor kind of puts me off with the way he complains about minutes. That's what would make me pause if I'm the Celtics if I'm trying acquire him. He is a local kid though, which is nice. Maybe he likes that part of it, and that's the reason he buys in coming here though. He’s not a local kid... basically from Chicago but was born in Arkansas. Noel is the local kid as is Noah Vonleh, the kid from Haverhill who Charlotte drafted and he’s now in Portland. I agree with his attitude but he had a great one at Duke and worked hard there so I feel like Stevens and the Celtics culture has a CHANCE to get thru to him. Don’t underestimate how much culture, especially, in the NBA can affect a player. Plus, I can hardly blame him. The Sixers drafted this kid 3rd overall, had terrible teams who were tanking and botched his development. Feels, from afar, that they were never in his corner or gave him a chance. |
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Post by voiceofreason on Nov 2, 2017 7:54:23 GMT -5
If the C's can get Okafor for next to nothing it is worth a shot IMO. Not long ago he had a very productive rookie season and has obvious offensive skills. Heck he isn't even 22 yet and he is being written off, makes no sense.
The Sixers have been a mess the whole time he has been there so yes I agree a change of scenery and the Stevens culture in Boston could be exactly what he needs. He most likely will never be much of a stretch 5 but that doesn't mean he can't be productive in the C's system. Maybe he can't but if he doesn't cost much what is the risk?
In regards to his attitude I have to think his mind set would be that he has a lot to prove. He has had to deal with a lot of adversity and that has a way of maturing an individual.
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Post by jmei on Nov 2, 2017 9:52:58 GMT -5
Jaylen's ability to post up guys on the wings and then drive past them and score at the basket has been a nice addition to his game. If he continues to develop his ability to create offense for himself, he looks increasingly Paul George-ish.
Theis has been great. Defense, rebounding, pick-and-roll finisher. He's developed some real nice chemistry on offense with Smart.
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