The TL comp to Horford is laughable. Great passer? TL has 29 career assists over 1.5 seasons (55 games)Who is this guy? I'd be terrified if he was my team's GM:
I think his point was that Theis was also not very playable early on, and that there’s a big learning curve for bigs.The TL comp to Horford is laughable. Great passer? TL has 29 career assists over 1.5 seasons (55 games)
Seems like everyone forgets how damn efficient Kanter was before getting injured (+he rushed back, played injured - because they were thin up front).
Kanter as a back-up 5 playing against 2nd string centers for $5MM is a no-brainer. Add some bench 3pt shooting and he'd be even more effective.
I'd love for TL/VP to work but TL is unreliable & VP was a non-event.
Is there any doubt that he is working right now? If the season restarts I expect we will see improvement from him just from digesting and working on what he's learned so far this season.The one I didn’t get was every single person being down on Grant.
Like he’s far from a sure thing, but if he ever learns to shoot 3s at volume, his value skyrockets. And he has the exact profile of the type of guy who tends to add a 3 eventually.
Possibly NBA scouting is still somehow stuck on the tweener thing, even after countless counterexamples?
He’s apparently living with Kemba in NC, so likely he’s had gym access the whole time.Is there any doubt that he is working right now? If the season restarts I expect we will see improvement from him just from digesting and working on what he's learned so far this season.
Even if Langford learns to shoot, which of Tatum and Brown is he going to play over?Interesting Keith Smith article, interviewing rival teams about the Celtics.
https://www.celticsblog.com/2020/5/14/21258527/outside-thoughts-on-the-boston-celtics-jayson-tatum-jaylen-brown
In contrast to Hollinger, most everyone still employed by NBA teams is medium to high on Langford, but think he’ll be blocked playing in Boston. I don’t see how that happens if he learns to shoot, but it could be an issue otherwise.
Maybe because his boss keeps asking why he can't find players like that.That one Eastern Conference scout is really not all that impressed.
Yeah, the Celtics (and most teams) treat the 2-4 as interchangeable positions, so Langford would replace one of Smart or Hayward. By the time Langford is ready, the former is going to get expensive and the latter is going to get old.Even if Langford learns to shoot, which of Tatum and Brown is he going to play over?
I would think that if Langford becomes a shooter, the guy on the outside looking in is Hayward. So you could eventually run a lineup of:
PG - Kemba or his replacement
SG - Brown
SF - Langford
PF - Tatum
C - whomever
Tatum is a little small for that role in a traditional sense, but in today's NBA he's probably just fine there. There really is no "PF" spot anymore anyway....that's just a convenient way of putting them on a list.
Or if Boston finds a way to turn Hayward into a wing that can similarly run the offense Langford’s shown sufficient quickness to guard the 1 spot. Or they go with a 1-4 alignment of Langford/Smart/Tatum/Brown and achieve the same result.Even if Langford learns to shoot, which of Tatum and Brown is he going to play over?
I would think that if Langford becomes a shooter, the guy on the outside looking in is Hayward. So you could eventually run a lineup of:
PG - Kemba or his replacement
SG - Brown
SF - Langford
PF - Tatum
C - whomever
Tatum is a little small for that role in a traditional sense, but in today's NBA he's probably just fine there. There really is no "PF" spot anymore anyway....that's just a convenient way of putting them on a list.
I was thinking of guards Langford really shoudn;'t match up against defensively. E.g. - Fox might be a bit of a challnege for him. And there are a couple other super quick folks. Can we expect team defense to allow Langofrd to match up against those quick 1's?Or if Boston finds a way to turn Hayward into a wing that can similarly run the offense Langford’s shown sufficient quickness to guard the 1 spot. Or they go with a 1-4 alignment of Langford/Smart/Tatum/Brown and achieve the same result.
I guess thats my point - (agreeing with you) that he shows enough potential as a defender to consider him potetially capable of being assigned most ball handlers.As no one's matching up against the D'Aaron Foxes of the world I wouldn't worry about it too much.
He’s a wing defensively who will end up guarding 1-3 and 4 on switches.Is Langford necessarily a wing? He looks to me like a promising ballhandler, although still very RH-dominant. I can imagine him being slotted in behind Walker and Smart as point guard depth.
Langford certainly has the physical skills to guard most point guards, although his inexperience shows when he lunges for ball fakes. He's still just 20 years old, and nothing cures inexperience like... experience.
I'll go even higherYeah, the Celtics (and most teams) treat the 2-4 as interchangeable positions, so Langford would replace one of Smart or Hayward. By the time Langford is ready, the former is going to get expensive and the latter is going to get old.
tldr; I'm as high on Langford as he is on weed
Before COVID-19 stoppage, Brad was using Romeo a bit more to close games.I agree i liked what I saw from his D in short minutes last year.
There is a history with Brown and Tatum earning their time with thier D (and terry too, who was more intense defensively prior to his final season here) and growing into more complete players from there. Maybe thats a roadmap langford can not only hear form the coach but the players too... Which is to say I think the culture is in place and therefore weight the sample more than its size woudl otherwise indicate it should be.
No way Middleton is above Walker.If the reference is to Celts vs Bucks it would make sense...rankings something like
Giannis
Tatum
Brown/Middleton
Middleton/Brown
Walker
Hayward
Bledsoe/Smart
Smart/Bledsoe
One could credibly argue slots 2,3, 5,6,7 are Celts
Maybe not in your green heart but statistically, he is a better player. Its pretty clear whether its shooting or defense.No way Middleton is above Walker.
There's more to basketball than defense and 3pt shooting. Middleton isn't an elite defender anyway.Maybe not in your green heart but statistically, he is a better player. Its pretty clear whether its shooting or defense.
Depending on the metric, such as PIPM (hi London!) you can make a case that Middleton is a top 10 player and certainly in the top 20.
Plus he is terrifying if you are a Cs fan. I still have PTSD watching him go full Curry on Boston during that series.
I agree that Middleton is a very, very good player and would probably help the 20/21 team more than JB but long term, I'd much prefer to have JB. JB still has room to improve and I have no doubt he will. Combine his work ethic with his off court leadership and he's a guy I want to be the face of the franchise.Brown for Middleton is kind of a no brainer if you ignore age and control.
Smart for Bledsoe is closer than people might think but I think you would be hard pressed to find a Cs fan to do it. But that might be true of Bucks fans too.
Middleton is a slightly more efficient shooter but Kemba is a far better offensive player overall (dominates the advanced stats). Over the last 5 years:Middleton is both a better offensive and defensive player than Kemba, and also younger if we're talking a longer term than just this year.
A lot of those numbers are skewed by the fact that Kemba had much higher usage the first 4 years of that sample because he was the unquestioned #1 guy on his team while Middleton was the clear #2. You're right though, I was more focusing on just this year, where Middleton has taken a big leap forward in his efficiency and Kemba is basically having a slightly lower usage version of the same year he had last year.Middleton is a slightly more efficient shooter but Kemba is a far better offensive player overall (dominates the advanced stats). Over the last 5 years:
PPG: Kemba 22.5, Middleton 18.9
APG: Kemba 5.5, Middleton 4.1
TS%: Middleton: .575, Kemba .564
PER: Kemba: 21.0, Middleton: 17.5
OWS: Kemba: 27.7, Middleton: 16.4
OBPM: Kemba: 4.6, Middleton: 1.2
VORP: Kemba: 19.8, Middleton: 8.2
Kemba is far better at creating for himself and others, while also turning the ball over less frequently. Middleton is currently(?) having by far his best season, and even then they are almost even looking at the advanced numbers.
Having a higher usage rate over those first 4 years while having an identical TS% (.566 to .563) and a better turnover rate (12.3% for Middleton, 10% for Kemba) is a huge point in Kemba's favor. There isn't much of an argument for Middleton over Kemba that isn't based 100% on this season alone, which is pretty clearly a career year for Middleton. He's still a poor man's Klay Thompson, while Kemba was an AS game starter.A lot of those numbers are skewed by the fact that Kemba had much higher usage the first 4 years of that sample because he was the unquestioned #1 guy on his team while Middleton was the clear #2. You're right though, I was more focusing on just this year, where Middleton has taken a big leap forward in his efficiency and Kemba is basically having a slightly lower usage version of the same year he had last year.
It helped that like the 6 best guards in the nba this year are all in the westHaving a higher usage rate over those first 4 years while having an identical TS% (.566 to .563) and a better turnover rate (12.3% for Middleton, 10% for Kemba) is a huge point in Kemba's favor. There isn't much of an argument for Middleton over Kemba that isn't based 100% on this season alone, which is pretty clearly a career year for Middleton. He's still a poor man's Klay Thompson, while Kemba was an AS game starter.
I wonder if there will be some leaked videos of Ben Simmons lay-up drills getting himself back to mid-season form.
for the PLAYOFFS:So assuming complete health — and acknowledging the top six of the starters plus Smart — how would you rank Brad’s circle of trust from #7-#16 on the roster as the season ends and the playoffs commence?
I think that Wanamaker and Grant are going to get minutes regardless of opponent, so I have them 7/8. Starting with Kanter at #9, usage will become more matchup dependent, and I’d expect Brad to call on physically mature veterans like Ojeleye (#10) and Green (#11) before potentially immature youngsters like Time Lord (#12) and Langford (#13), with the deep bench comprised of Edwards (#14) and Poirier (#15) along with the two-ways Waters (#16) and Fall (#17).7, 8, and 9 is some combination of Wanamaker, Kanter, and GWilliams. Once the playoffs start I could see Kanter's minutes plummeting. After that I am less sure. I think Romeo has passed Green on the depth chart, but has he passed Semi in Brad's eyes? At the bottom we have RWilliams, Edwards, and Poirer. I assume that Waters and Fall will be joining the team as well, but I haven't actually read anything about how guys on 2 way contracts are affected by the changes.