2019-20 Boston Celtics Season

When Andrew Wiggins was 21 he averaged 24 points on almost 20 shots a game with two assists a game. When Paul George was 21 he averaged 17 points on less than 15 shots with 4 assists a game. George was the better, more efficient player then and he is now.

You can look at every great wing and see that they don't force shots. Especially mid range shots that they cannot make.

This year on a good offensive team, Tatum is averaging almost 18 shots a game while barely shooting 40 percent from the field.

I like some of the things I've seen from Tatum this year. But his being "aggressive" by settling for bad midrange shots is not one of them. It's a cause for concern, not applause.

No one is arguing Tatum is beyond criticism, but it’s almost like people want the perfect guy right away. He needs to figure it out. People complain he’s too passive or too aggressive. Can’t have it both ways.

Also, complaint about his mid-range seems odd to me. His percentage of midrange has gone down to just 20% of his shots this year when last year it was almost 27%. Those have been replaced completely by 3 pointers.

It will be interesting to see how the shots are divvied up when they are all healthy and rolling.

I don't get the Tatum criticism overall, espically the mid-range crap. He's learning how to become a scorer and it's going to take time. He's 21 years old. Most players like him play on crappy teams and no one notices anything. He just needs to find the middle ground and it will happen.

Bigger issue has been D without Williams and Smart. This team won't be very good trying to just outscore other teams.

Plus our bench hasn't been great. Which is a big issue because Stevens uses his whole bench.

Exactly, and he along with GH, JB and Kemba all have the ability to get to the rim. At some point the FG%s will improve along with the offensive efficiency. They are getting better at dishing off the drive and breaking down the D. As good as they have been they have a lot of room to improve on both sides of the ball and from most of the roster. They could use a run of good health also.

Good point about the defense. One of the issues with the "mid-range crap" is the effect it has on defense. A missed mid-range shot or attempt at the rim is more likely to lead to points going the other way than a three point attempt. This is part of why Hayward has been so good because he is money inside the paint while still efficient from 3.

This team has the ponies to compete this year. But might lose Hayward in the off-season and then could be in real trouble. 

Like I said, most of his shots come within the flow of the game and are not bad shots he just hasn't been hitting. How many layups has he missed this year, how easy has it been for him to get to the rim, how many bad shots a game 2. He will do what JB is starting to do also, the game will slow down for them over the next season and that is when the C's will be ready to contend. Four star players playing together and A mini DG in Smart to bring the defensive intensity when needed.

When was the last time a team had 4 guys average 20 points/game each and play tough D?

Well if he doesn't come back what does that do to their cap and ability to spend it on another player. I don't know all of the rules on cap space and all that goes along with it.

Also with his problems since joining the C's what is his value? Does he sign LT for less AAv?

The NBA salaries have gotten out of control in my opinion. Chris Paul with a AAV over 40 million for his age 34, 35, 36 seasons is a curse for any team. Every guy who looks like he could be a star gets close to max $ before even he produces like one. I guess it is just a sign of how much money is being generated but when you max out on the wrong guys you screw  the team. Jaylen is looking great this year but that is a fat contract he got before actually putting up the numbers, JS

I'm going to assume you mean "capable of averaging 20pts a game" bc:

1. Walker (23.1), Tatum (20.6), Brown (19.3) and Hayward (17.5) are not all averaging 20ppg
2. When all 4 have been healthy (5 games), Hayward has averaged under 16 ppg. So even if they did, it would likely be bc there are large gaps where only 3 of them are active for games.

Games Played Together (sorry, it's actually 6 games):

Game 1: Walker (12), Brown (8), Hayward (25), Tatum (21)
Game 2: Walker (22), Brown (25), Hayward (15), Tatum (25)
Game 3: Walker (32), Brown (19), Hayward (9), Tatum (15)
Game 22: Walker (22), Brown (20), Hayward (14), Tatum (19)
Game 23: Walker (44), Brown (18), Hayward (9), Tatum (16)
Game 24: Walker (29), Brown (8), Hayward (19), Tatum (15).

So they've actually only had 1 game where even 3 players got over 20PPG. Now that's not to say that they would all have to play together all the time for your statement to be true. That's definitely not my point here. But this trend would certainly suggest the decreased likelihood that 4 20PPG scorers will happen.

To further the point, in the 6 games played together:

- 1 of the 4 took fewer than 10 shots in 3 of them.
- 1 took exactly 10 2 times
- 1 took 12 once

So 1 player of the 4 is clearly deferring when they are all active for the same game. That trend is likely to continue as they play together more (it would be very difficult for it not too).

So while the real point is that they have 4 guys who are capable of scoring at a high clip (even if not yet consistently), the fact that (at one point) they had 4 so close to 20PPG is more contextual than historical.

Given this talk about contracts and age, last summer when Al left I wasn't that unhappy as I didn't want the C's to hamstring themselves by giving him too much for too long. Which the Sixers did, now they have spent all their space on 4 guys with little left over for anyone else. They have a great core for now but their hands are tied if everything doesn't go right, like can Embiid stay healthy or how much does AL fall off. Al's deal isn't terrible but part of me is glad Danny sees things the same way, especially with Boston having JB and JT for the long run.

A few years from now when they are in their prime is when this team should be peaking. Other than Lebron most guys fall off in their 30's. On top of that considering the money has grown so much how many of these rich guys will be motivated to give it their all as they age? At some point complacency becomes a factor for many living that life style.

Your point on resigning GH is why I asked about cap space if they didn't sign him. I might be living in a dream world but I hope GH embraces the C's and his coach and signs a reasonable extension, taking into consideration he didn't do much for 2 years of it.