2020-2021 Celtics Season

No worries. You aren't being rude in disagreeing with me....wrong maybe, but not rude.😊

The Celtics, as constituted, are under talented by anyone's measure. Even at full strength, this year they are an early playoff casualty. Danny knows this. The once victimized, panned, maligned and way off the grid Nets will beat us to the finals. So what happened to the best laid master plans?

Granted hindsight is better than 20:20. But our recent FA acquisitions have not replaced similar losses.

Losing Hayward for nothing (yet) when apparently a favorable trade was on the table hurt.

Our recently drafted guards Edwards, Waters, Pritchard, plus Walker would be standouts in the land of Lilliputia. Unfortunately in the NBA they are defensive liabilities and their respective offensive capabilities do not, will not adequately compensate. Walker may be permanently damaged goods. Could his injury have been forseen?

Losing Rosier was hurtful. Did we misjudge his talent?

True, 19 yr old self proclaimed "sniper" Nesmith and 'wherefore art thou Romeo' may someday emerge as capable backups....just not today or early tomorrow.

Smart is valuable for his selflessness and defensive tenacity. Theis is a good second string, space the floor small ball 6' 8" 'center'. Thompson has some bulk, tries hard and can rebound. Stop there. Grant W. and Ojele...ok yeah, those guys.

We are really left with Jalen and Jayson as core standouts...At 24 and 22 they will get better but presently as our anchors, they are second team all-stars and need to produce nightly at high level. Opposing teams are keying on them knowing that the rest of the team can't make them pay consistently. Ball movement is woefully stagnant as J & J try to shoulder a too heavy load with un-celtic like one on three plays. Our TPE is limited to a 23M player...upper middle guy...not a star. Looking ahead Jalen has an opt out in 2022 (?).

Trades WILL happen. I think that Theis, Smart, Timelord, Walker have some value in trade. Nesmith and Romeo....perhaps for a second tier team a few years away. Pritchard, not really. He is what he is...a small, scrappy guy who has maxed his inherent talent.

Not Chicken Little, but we need substantial changes to be good in the next couple of years.

You have to wonder if you consider Russell Westbrook. He's certainly not my first choice, yet he would solve a bunch of issues. Let's be frank, those are your options with Walker right now. Heck I don't even know if the Wizards would do that to save some money and I damn sure wouldn't send a pick to take on that contract. I'd fell better about it, if I felt Stevens could mold veterans like he does with young guys. At the same time maybe Westbrook is finally at the point in his career where he'd buy in.

Kemba Walker balled like a man on a mission tonight. But seriously, that Sabonis 3 at the end can fck right off lol.

 Let me remind you that the C's were in 3 of the last 4 ECF with very different rosters. And you can add Rozier and Rondo to the list of great Danny picks. Also in regards to Smart, great teams need a guy who does what he does. He is a bargain for what he brings and their are not 5 guys in the league better at what he adds in intensity, don't forget how young the J's are and his affect on them. 

I do agree on the misses though and the FA thing has been terrible. So much bad luck there but I don't really put that on Ainge, injuries and all, I expect Kemba to be better soon, hopefully. Don't forget also that Sac and Memphis both played above expectations that could/should have been much better picks, which DA had in trades. For years now we have been talking about him fleecing other GM's like in the Tatum trade. It takes some balls to trade the #1 for the 3 and get the better player, he has vastly won most of his trades.

So sure the roster is under performing for the first time in 5 years but I think it is a blip. Due to being young, not practicing, injuries, covid  and bad luck it is a lost year so far.

Bro a guy settling for long range shots means he isn't in top condition to take it to the rim constantly. We saw that with Embiid a lot in the past. Why is a guy like that ever shooting from the outside? Because he wasn't totally in shape and banging inside is exhausting.

So you really think Embiid battling inside, is really anything like Tatum taking it to the rim? He's taking less three's, about the same long two's, the big difference is within 3 feet versus 3-10 feet. The amount of energy need for those shots is about equal. I think it's the offense and he doesn't feel he's getting the calls he should. Yet the same not in top condition guy is playing some of the best D on Doncic I've ever seen? All while the coach has him playing a career high in minutes?

You can tell in two seconds when Embiid isn't in shape, he doesn't move as well and his D is horrible. A lot of those jumpers were because of Simmons over the years, space the floor for him.

Have you noticed anything off about Tatum physically before/after Covid?

You know what will wear out a young guy like Tatum? Having your coach want you to be the #1 scorer, creator, defender while playing iso ball. 2018 with ball movement Tatum got easy lanes to the Basket. Lot easier to score, lot less energy when teams play team basketball. Yet we keep getting away from that, it's like the 2-3 zone made Stevens change everything.

Percentage of two point FG assisted 56.5, 49.7, 43.3 and 38.5% this year. Three point FG assisted 92.4, 85.3, 54.5, and 35.1. Those are his averages over his first four years.

Last year 43.3% and 54.5% to this year 38.5% and 35.1%

There are two ways to solve this teams issues. They don’t involve size, Magic Johnson. Well, I guess one might.

The first way is through scheme. Make no mistake about it, this is one of the most talented rosters in the NBA. You have three NBA level bigs in Thompson Theis, and Williams (and honest to God, Tacko has played like an NBA big too), three starting caliber point guards in Smart, Walker and Pritchard, two superstar wings in Tatum and Brown, and some middling backup wings behind them in Nesmith and Ojeleye. And yet, the Celtics have ridden their two stars into the ground through a bunch of ball pounding, isolation, nonsense. I would take a hard look at implementing more of a triangle offense, where the primary ball handler is not tasked with initiating and everyone becomes a secondary due to off ball movement and screening. The bigs are good enough playmakers to make this work, and I think you would end up putting Jayson and Jaylen in far better positions to score in the midrange and close to the basket, see MJ and Kobe Bryant.

The other way to solve this issue is to attain a playmaking big and play inside out. When the Rockets won their championships, they did it by setting playoff three point records around Olujuwan, who actually wasn’t even a great playmaker but simply demanded so much attention it left Horry/Cassell/Kenny Smith/MarioEllie open around the perimeter. Jokic is obviously not available.

The other two options are one sell the farm type and a second squeeze something out of him type. The first is Karl Anthony Towns, and I would give up everything but Jaylen, Jayson, and Smart for him, and would think about Jaylen in a straight swap. Towns is a transcendent offensive force, and is a solid-plus as a post defender, important in the East. He would probably get torched against Brooklyn’s isolation hellscape, but would also beat the crap out of them down low. Three plus perimeter defenders would be a must with Towns, but if he can stay healthy, he is on an Embiid/Jokic level as an offensive center. It would take a bounty to get him, and I think it would be worth it.

The second option is Draymond Green. Draymond has made a nice living getting great looks for Steph and Klay over the past decade. He’s past his prime, but is still an awesome playmaker as a big and can fit every defensive scheme. If he doesn’t cost too much (Kemba to a third team and a pick swap?), I think he could help this team a lot. He has a lot of eff you about him which can be annoying. But on a team of nice kids, it might be just what the doctor ordered.

If that's the case, why are we playing him 35+ minutes/game? He's been a shadow...

An arthritis hampered Walker doesn't play back to backs and Timelord's minutes are constrained perhaps in part due to his hip edema issues...last year and this. If Tatum is truly compromised, he should be shut down or limited...in deference to his health..team record be damned.

Occam's razor bro, which is more likely? Stevens asked Tatum to take a lot of mid range jumpers just to piss you off and that's why Tatum thinks he still has the covid OR that Tatum is actually still not fully 100% which makes him settle for long range shots?

Ok well I’m not going to argue with the thoughts in your head but the COVID talk from Tatum is more than a week old it didn’t just pop up after the loss to the Hawks.

Also, if you can’t talk the difference between fatigue of a long workout and an illness then I’m happy for you that you’ve never experienced an illness that saps your energy.

Wait so you believe Tatum isn't 100% and thus that supports Stevens putting him in a role where he does more than he has ever done? Sure if that's true, it would support change, less minutes and taking things off his plate, not adding more onto it.

I stand by my comments that his recent play is the result of a role change. The numbers show he's never done more iso. Tatum is a great player, yet he's not Brown. Playing team ball is going to make it easier for him to get to the rim. Players getting the defense out of position and him taking advantage of that, versus him just going iso right at the D.

I 100% believe if he wasn't going to the Basket because he lacks energy, he'd be taking a lot of easy shots. Instead he's creating those crazy hard shots in the 3-10 foot range that require a massive amount of energy. Which has been an issue with him in the past, he did the same thing with Irving when they played a heavy iso offense.

You watch the 4th quarter of the Lakers, Pelicans and Mavericks games and think he lacks energy? Sorry I just don't see it and shame on Stevens if that is true for what he's making him do.

It's a different type of season, with more games jam packed together in a way that players aren't used too. Yeah I get damn skeptical when Doc Rivers starts talking about Covid as the reason Seth Curry can't maintain an almost 60% rate from 3 point range.