2020-2021 Celtics Season

lmao this dude is gonna set the site record for getting this meme used on him (if he hasn't already)

To be fair, the salary cap at the time forced Presti’s hand. Knowing this, Houston traded for Harden without giving up much of anything. OKC chose the wrong guy (Westbrook should have been shipped).

That's really not true, as they'd go over the tax line a bunch after that. It was more he picked Ibaka for fit over the better player.

In regards to the team defense I want to point out that Brown and Tatum did the same thing that Nesmith and Romeo have done to get on the court as young players. They were known for coming in and playing really tough D to get their minutes. As time has gone by their offense blossomed and now they are the #1 and 2 scorers, which makes it hard to also be as tough on D as they don't have the same energy and intensity on that end. This is why I am optimistic that come the playoffs we will see an uptick on that end, they just can't maintain that energy level all season. At the same time it is great to see a guy like Nesmith step up and be effective on both ends as it adds to the depth and takes pressure off the J's. Hopefully Romeo sees this and starts playing with more confidence also as this has been the problem with the other bench guys, they play good D but don't add much offensively.

This is also why I am not in favor of moving Smart, sure his shot selection can be a problem at times but what he brings on D is what puts this team over the top. His intensity raises the bar for everyone and that is what this team lacks at times, when they play great D they win. That is their identity and he is the leader in creating that. At least he shoots better than he used to and he is one of the better passers. Like I said above, the C's need guys like Romeo to step up and be more than just D off the bench. This team could surprise come the playoffs if they are healthy.

This team falls in love with hard shots and way too many three pointers, while forgetting to attack the rim for long stretches. I will blame the PG play because it comes and goes with this team. Lack of practices likely plays a role, they do usually get better in the playoffs. Yet it is an issue and I'm not talking anyone single game, I'm talking about the team over the whole year.

Marcus Smart is 4th in FG attempts on this team even after missing a bunch of games, while being one of the worst shooters on the team. That applies even if you adjust minutes and look at per 36 stats, only Parker and Edward's shoot more. Meaning guys like Pritchard and Fournier take less shots per minute than Smart does. That's just too many shots for a guy like him given the talent around him. He needs to shot less and focus on D and passing. I want more assists than shot attempts from him. His shooting numbers likely go up if he just takes good shots.

Per 36 minutes Smart takes 6.6 three's while shooting 33.6%, Pritchard 6.7 41.7%, Fournier 6.6 39.2%, Nesmith 6.0 38.2%. There's a huge issue when Smart is taking three's at a level of guys that are really good three point shooters when he's way below average. Outside of our centers and Langford, everyone else is better than him. I'm sorry yet that's just a crazy amount of three's from Smart. Cut that down to like 4 per 36 minutes and he'd be a much more efficient player. If he's has to take shots, take more two point shots going to the rim where he's been very good at drawing fouls.

I don't really want to trade Smart. Yet he's a rare breed, most defense first players don't take the amount of shots he does and shoot the percentage he does. Not a doubt in my mind Tatum and Brown just keep improving. Yet for all the great streaks Smart has had, there hasn't really been much improvement with his 3 point shot. I won't complain about great shooters having an off night, yet Smart isn't a great shooter. He needs to focus on his strengths on offense, passing and rebounding. If he won’t, he's always going to be holding back the team offense.

I could care less about Brown going 6-22 given the season he's having last game, I do care that Smart went 4-14. That's the bigger problem. That he took 9 three point shots. I don't mind Brown taking 9 three point shots went he's almost at 40% for the year, yet that's crazy for Smart.

Tacko had 4 blocks in 5 min and put Bamba in a blender lol

I think Marcus has shown a willingness to defer and he’s even talked about it. However, he’s also confident in his abilities to score and not one to sit back and not try and make an impact. The fact is they’ve played the majority of this year without their best players and scorers so the team had needed Marcus to shoot a lot more for he majority of the year. It’s easy for us to sit here and criticize him for not turning it on and off at the exact right points but that’s a skill to be learned. I believe we’ve seen him get better in that regard.

Pritchard and Nesmith are rookies and it’s only been the last few weeks that Nesmith has even started to contribute. They’ve been without Walker and Fournier for the majority of the year and it seems like every time we get someone back 2 or 3 others are missing. If Marcus is still here next year and the team has a healthy grouping of guys like Tatum, Brown, Walker, Pritchard and Nesmith and maybe even Fournier then I’ll criticize Marcus for shooting too much if that’s warranted, but the reality is he’s been playing with way too many non scorers this season and we’ve needed him to shoot and score.

Has talent been an issue every year? 

huh? he essentially shoots 50% from 2 and 40 from 3... like even if hes taking bad shots by your standards, they are going in at a very high level. 

Smart really isn't a young player anymore, he's turned 27, in his seventh year in the league and his per 36 minute numbers are very similar. Like his assists have gone from 5.5 to 6.3 per 36 minutes in four years. You always see stretches, yet Smart thinks he's a great scorer and shooter. Last two years 7.4 and 6.5 three's per 36 minutes, career high numbers. We'll see, I don't have your faith which was why I made that post.

Tatum is a borderline case to make ALL-NBA this season. I mean he has a strong case but so do a lot of other guys and even though, I personally think it’s a joke that LeBron and Durant will make it, they will and I think it’s a joke that Embiid is eligible at F vs just C...

The questions are, will Tatum make it and do we want him to? Not making it both saves the Celtics a lot of money and motivates Tatum.

I've looked at every year, I mean I gave examples from the last four years. His numbers don't change based on talent. There's no Rozier type massive difference between being a bench guy and starter. Nothing jumps out at all, there's zero evidence he'll become a different player if he has elite talent around him. Heck he's had a ton of talent around him most of his career.

I don't want to trade him, I want him to become the best player he can. A guy that plays to his strengths, yet we still have a guy that struggles being a PG versus SG. He wants to be the SG and hasn't been able to get away from that. He has games and stretches for years now. Yet it's a consistent battle and you don't know which player you'll get each game. It's crystal clear which one fits this team, yet his love of shooting too many three's goes all the way back to his College days. You kinda thought he might have improved at one point, yet second half of last year through playoffs and this year has put an end to that.

So if you want to shake things up, yeah he's a guy I'd look at. He also has only one year on his deal and you have to worry some team does something stupid and gives him a big deal. It's not that I want to trade him, it's more is he the right fit and I look at trading him before even thinking about Brown. I mentioned trading Brown is like trading Harden over Ibaka. Well I see Smart as like Ibaka and I won't make that mistake.

If Smart is every going to adjust, he has the perfect opportunity right now going into the playoffs. He's surrounded by a ton of scorers and shooters without an Irving. So I truly hope you're right because if we get Smart the PG for the whole playoffs this team could be scary.