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Post by umassgrad2005 on Feb 16, 2021 16:05:33 GMT -5
Kemba Walker for his career took 24.9% of his shots within 3 feet. With the injury that dropped to 19.8% last year. This year he's at 10.4%. He's taking many more pull-up jumpers than actually going to the basket. That's not a good sign. It's the same trend Thomas had after his injury, he dropped to 6.6% last year and why nobody wanted him. He lost what made him so good as a small player. So for me if we want to see if Walker is getting back to being Walker it's all about him going to the basket. He'll never been close to what he once was if he's only at 10.4%. He won't get the three throws and he won't collapse the D and open up the three point line. Nevermind players will start to guard his shot more if they don't fear him driving by him. Let's hope he's just taking it easy and working his way back.
I'm certainly worried though, because he was at 13.4% in last year's playoffs. That's the biggest sign for small PGs that they are losing their quickness.
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Post by rjp313jr on Feb 16, 2021 19:55:45 GMT -5
I know the +/- numbers don’t mean a ton, but. Nesmith has had good positive numbers the last 2 games even last game when they played like crap and it wasn’t garbage time pushed those numbers mix. At the very least it’s encouraging and it’s good for him to get more minutes
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Post by rjp313jr on Feb 16, 2021 20:02:30 GMT -5
You think guys look at Jokic and his Dad bod with no muscle definition and get annoyed at how good he is? He looks like the out of shape guy in the sleeveless T at the Y playing ball, only he’s a Hall of Fame level player in the NBA.
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wcp3
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Post by wcp3 on Feb 16, 2021 20:04:07 GMT -5
Gotta love Stevens too waiting for the lead to disintegrate to 5 before calling a timeout. Such incompetence as an in-game coach.
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Feb 16, 2021 20:45:25 GMT -5
I remember watching Jokic as a rookie at the garden thinking he was so unathletic and clunky with his footwork
I mean I wasn’t wrong about him being unathletic but he may be the most purely skilled big in my 20 years of watching the NBA as a fan. A unicorn of a player
Also timelord is playing his ass off
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Post by Don Caballero on Feb 16, 2021 21:21:11 GMT -5
Nesmith with a team high +20 and he definitely looked like he belonged out there.  |
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cdj
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Post by cdj on Feb 16, 2021 21:22:22 GMT -5
Nesmith and Fast PP with the best +\- today
Really liked Nesmith’s game today. He was playing like a valuable rotation player. Can’t say enough good things about PP.
Edit: Don beat me to it lol
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Post by umassgrad2005 on Feb 16, 2021 21:36:45 GMT -5
Good game overall, yet man Kemba was getting abused on D.
Nesmith certainly looks better, yet he's still got a ways to go. Just keep getting better!
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Post by cdj on Feb 16, 2021 23:13:27 GMT -5
Starting to get on-board with Pritchard in the starting lineup as the primary facilitator- he just constantly makes the right play. Plus the effort on D is a constant
The bench could use some scoring and Kemba can give them plenty of that. Would probably feast on second units too
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Post by dangermike on Feb 17, 2021 0:24:46 GMT -5
Loving Brown... again- he should get at least a vote or 2 for MVP if he somehow keeps this efficiency up. That being said- the Celtics aren't beating the Lakers or the Nets (or anyone else decent) in a 7 game series. You have to improve the team/players who could be traded, and then trade ANYTHING that isn't nailed down other than Tatum, Brown, Smart... but maybe not, PP, and maybe Theis. Thompson has looked serviceable of late- not great but not a black hole for a team with injured bigs looking for a playoff push. Same goes for Kemba- someone must want guard scoring at the deadline - Mavericks/Denver/Maybe Utah w/ another injury or something. You gotta get out of these bigger contracts and grow the youth to support the Jays or else we'll be looking at a bunch of ECF appearances at the end of this era and we'll all be disappointed. The NBA never awards half measures. We should bide our time until it's a better opportunity to pounce.
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Post by philarhody on Feb 17, 2021 6:58:16 GMT -5
Nesmith’s effort level is elite on the defensive end. He also has a really good combination of foot speed and length on defense that makes him an awesome close out defender.
This rotation against the Wizards at the 3:18 mark of the clip is insane.
Notice, Nesmith prevents Tatum from being back cut by meeting Bertans at the rim as the weak side rim defender. Then he rotates around the court and mirrors Beal and stifles his drive. Then he acts as the weak side rim defender again to prevent a Neto make at the rim, only to close out once Neto hits Lopez in the corner. And this is the same possession.
That’s the best defensive play I’ve seen a rookie make this season. I’m sure Vassel or Halliburton have some clip that would rival it. But wow.
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Post by rjp313jr on Feb 17, 2021 7:08:50 GMT -5
Nesmith’s effort level is elite on the defensive end. He also has a really good combination of foot speed and length on defense that makes him an awesome close out defender. This rotation against the Wizards at the 3:18 mark of the clip is insane. Notice, Nesmith prevents Tatum from being back cut by meeting Bertans at the rim as the weak side rim defender. Then he rotates around the court and mirrors Beal and stifles his drive. Then he acts as the weak side rim defender again to prevent a Neto make at the rim, only to close out once Neto hits Lopez in the corner. And this is the same possession. That’s the best defensive play I’ve seen a rookie make this season. I’m sure Vassel or Halliburton have some clip that would rival it. But wow. One thing we know about Nesmith is he’s a hard worker. He seems to also have a good head on his shoulders. If you work hard and have the right attitude you can and will likely improve. He’s obviously got talent too so I’m starting to feel better about him for the long term. I can’t see him taking the leaps we need during the season to be the guy we’d need him to be in the playoffs but it’s encouraging. People forget there has been no practice this year. |
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Post by rjp313jr on Feb 17, 2021 7:16:04 GMT -5
Loving Brown... again- he should get at least a vote or 2 for MVP if he somehow keeps this efficiency up. That being said- the Celtics aren't beating the Lakers or the Nets (or anyone else decent) in a 7 game series. You have to improve the team/players who could be traded, and then trade ANYTHING that isn't nailed down other than Tatum, Brown, Smart... but maybe not, PP, and maybe Theis. Thompson has looked serviceable of late- not great but not a black hole for a team with injured bigs looking for a playoff push. Same goes for Kemba- someone must want guard scoring at the deadline - Mavericks/Denver/Maybe Utah w/ another injury or something. You gotta get out of these bigger contracts and grow the youth to support the Jays or else we'll be looking at a bunch of ECF appearances at the end of this era and we'll all be disappointed. The NBA never awards half measures. We should bide our time until it's a better opportunity to pounce. I think this is a little over dramatic. Listen, they haven’t been good as a team, we all agree there. They also need to improve their bench, one way or another. When the bench plays well the team plays well. That being said, they also just need to play well as a group and that starts defensively. When they’ve been a cohesive unit and rotated and put pressure on the ball they’ve been a very good team this year. Those moments have just been few and far between. Having their guys in and out of the lineup and no practice time surely hasn’t helped. This team went to game 7 of the ECF last year and the biggest change was Hayward who wasn’t actually there and when he was he was a shell of himself. Kemba was also a shell then... the biggest difference right now is their execution as a group and Smart being out. I refer back to what UMass said a few posts ago and what I’ve also been saying. They should look to make a deal, but the right deal. Deals that help now and long term. I wouldn’t sacrifice the long term for instance upgrades - like a first for PJ Tucker. |
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Post by voiceofreason on Feb 17, 2021 8:49:57 GMT -5
I think what we are seeing with this team proves how valuable Smart is. That intensity level just hasn't been there. Also a bit of a reminder that the J's are young and still growing into being true superstars.
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Post by mobaz on Feb 17, 2021 9:54:32 GMT -5
I think what we are seeing with this team proves how valuable Smart is. That intensity level just hasn't been there. Also a bit of a reminder that the J's are young and still growing into being true superstars. Kemba's knee is a problem. Just like Hayward's injuries were a problem. Just like Kyrie's attitude was a problem. Just like Horford's aging was a problem. Just like IT's hip was proven to be a problem. The quest to field a 3 star team has been cursed. I really want Kemba to work, because he seems like a genuinely good dude who is a great teammate and would be just as happy dishing 10 assists as he is scoring 25, and he didn't get his due at Charlotte. But I see no hope he's going to be full strength this season, and maybe not again. I hope that Hayward's bounce-back provides hope, but UMASS' points about shots near the hoop are very worrying. If he can't confidently drive to the basket, it's a problem. |
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Post by wcp3 on Feb 17, 2021 11:20:23 GMT -5
I think what we are seeing with this team proves how valuable Smart is. That intensity level just hasn't been there. Also a bit of a reminder that the J's are young and still growing into being true superstars. The defense was still not very good when Marcus was healthy. He obviously makes any team better defensively because he’s so good on that end, but I think Celtics fans overrate his value a bit. He won’t make any defense good by himself, not the way that KG did at least. It really comes down to this team not having enough talent at the moment. Danny needs to upgrade this roster, and it would be a disaster if he waited until the offseason to do so. |
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Post by rjp313jr on Feb 17, 2021 13:07:04 GMT -5
I think what we are seeing with this team proves how valuable Smart is. That intensity level just hasn't been there. Also a bit of a reminder that the J's are young and still growing into being true superstars. Kemba's knee is a problem. Just like Hayward's injuries were a problem. Just like Kyrie's attitude was a problem. Just like Horford's aging was a problem. Just like IT's hip was proven to be a problem. The quest to field a 3 star team has been cursed. I really want Kemba to work, because he seems like a genuinely good dude who is a great teammate and would be just as happy dishing 10 assists as he is scoring 25, and he didn't get his due at Charlotte. But I see no hope he's going to be full strength this season, and maybe not again. I hope that Hayward's bounce-back provides hope, but UMASS' points about shots near the hoop are very worrying. If he can't confidently drive to the basket, it's a problem. The numbers going to the hoop are a concern but it’s small samples surrounding an injury. What were they prior to his injury last year? If they were lower then too, he was still super effective so they may not be as concerning. He may just be playing differently as the third option. But yes they are something to keep an eye on. Also, I don’t know that you need 3 true stars... Lakers just won with 2... the Clippers have 2. The only current 3 star team are the Nets. |
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Post by umassgrad2005 on Feb 17, 2021 14:17:57 GMT -5
Kemba's knee is a problem. Just like Hayward's injuries were a problem. Just like Kyrie's attitude was a problem. Just like Horford's aging was a problem. Just like IT's hip was proven to be a problem. The quest to field a 3 star team has been cursed. I really want Kemba to work, because he seems like a genuinely good dude who is a great teammate and would be just as happy dishing 10 assists as he is scoring 25, and he didn't get his due at Charlotte. But I see no hope he's going to be full strength this season, and maybe not again. I hope that Hayward's bounce-back provides hope, but UMASS' points about shots near the hoop are very worrying. If he can't confidently drive to the basket, it's a problem. The numbers going to the hoop are a concern but it’s small samples surrounding an injury. What were they prior to his injury last year? If they were lower then too, he was still super effective so they may not be as concerning. He may just be playing differently as the third option. But yes they are something to keep an eye on. Also, I don’t know that you need 3 true stars... Lakers just won with 2... the Clippers have 2. The only current 3 star team are the Nets. I have no way of breaking down that data because it's not in the game longs that you can breakdown, it only yearly data. Yet even playing while Injured he was basically at 20% last year, he's at 10% this year. Nevermind he doesn't look good, he's not blowing by guys and he knows it an issue. He was so pissed off on his drive late in that game yesterday. It was so awkward, old Kemba gets an easy basket and a FT, this Kemba was lucky to get two FTs. We can certainly hope he bounces back, yet we are running out of time. He should be in game shape by now, he's getting more rest than everyone else. An even bigger worry is that happy go lucky guy is starting to disappear. Teams are noticing it, all three of Denver's PGs went right at Walker all game long in a way I haven't seen before. It's one thing when it's Murray, yet Campo and Hampton were also. By the four quarter Murray was throwing down one handed dunks. |
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Post by cdj on Feb 17, 2021 19:54:29 GMT -5
Nesmith has been blocking shots in transition, I’ve counted 3 and then 1 that didn’t count due to a charge
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Post by cdj on Feb 17, 2021 20:08:49 GMT -5
Jaylens awful quarters involve him getting 4 assists so that’s a neat development
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Post by rjp313jr on Feb 17, 2021 20:15:06 GMT -5
Nesmith leading team in +/- again and has second most minutes
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Post by cdj on Feb 17, 2021 20:26:44 GMT -5
Jaylen isn’t even close, can build a condo w these bricks
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Post by wcp3 on Feb 17, 2021 21:16:07 GMT -5
This is one of the softest defensive teams I’ve seen in a long time.
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Post by umassgrad2005 on Feb 17, 2021 21:27:44 GMT -5
I want someone to ask Stevens why Green over Pritchard.
Danny can we get some PGs so we don't have to use Tatum/Brown?
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Post by cdj on Feb 17, 2021 21:31:05 GMT -5
Jeff Teague is the worst
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