Celtics Regular Season thread

Cesar Crespo

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Didn't see one.

Avery Bradley is looking really good early. The rest of the team is playing as you'd expect.
 

Caspir

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I thought Brown looked really good from what I saw, but admittedly I was mostly paying attention to him moving around on offense. Bradley wad great last night, and they're fun to watch, but the bench coughing up leads is annoying.
 
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Cellar-Door

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I tougher Brown looked really good from what I saw, but admittedly I was mostly paying attention to him moving around on offense. Bradley wad great last night, and they're fun to watch, but the bench coughing up leads is annoying.
I'm not that worried about it. Olynyk and Smart are by far our best bench players.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Didn't see one.

Avery Bradley is looking really good early. The rest of the team is playing as you'd expect.
Are you implying that Bradley playing well wasn't expected?

Only reason I ask is that I kept hearing (not necessarily here) how Bradley's rise was a surprise as if he came out of nowhere. The reason he went 19th was due to him being a tweener without a perimeter shot to play the 2 and without the handle to play the 1.

As the topic of "upside" has been discussed and misunderstood forever this was the prototypical "high upside" pick by Ainge. Bradley, similar to someone like Wade Baldwin (one reason I love Baldwin's upside), had all the athletic traits to be an elite player......the freakish length, speed, quickness, first step, explosiveness, he had it all. You can't teach these trait and "if" Bradley developed his improveable skills, primarily perimeter shooting and ball handling in his case, then the sky was the limit. It is also why I'm so high on Jaylen Brown and really liked this pick.

People forget how highly Avery was regarded coming out of high school with some having him the #1 overall recruit even over Wall. Here was one:

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/playerrankings/_/class/2009/order/true
 
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DannyDarwinism

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Are you implying that Bradley playing well wasn't expected?

Only reason I ask is that I kept hearing (not necessarily here) how Bradley's rise was a surprise as if he came out of nowhere. The reason he went 19th was due to him being a tweener without a perimeter shot to play the 2 and without the handle to play the 1.

As the topic of "upside" has been discussed and misunderstood forever this was the prototypical "high upside" pick by Ainge. Bradley, similar to someone like Wade Baldwin (one reason I love Baldwin's upside), had all the athletic traits to be an elite player......the freakish length, speed, quickness, first step, explosiveness, he had it all. You can't teach these trait and "if" Bradley developed his improveable skills, primarily perimeter shooting and ball handling in his case, then the sky was the limit. It is also why I'm so high on Jaylen Brown and really liked this pick.

People forget how highly Avery was regarded coming out of high school with some having him the #1 overall recruit even over Wall. Here was one:

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/playerrankings/_/class/2009/order/true
I expected him to play well, but he's gone a bit beyond that. And it's not just that he's hitting his shots, he looks really comfortable and in control out there, which is the most encouraging thing for me. Since he's been around for so long, it's easy to forget that he hasn't even turned 26 yet. He's a good case study for developing a really young draft pick. Maybe there's hope for James Young yet...


probably not though.
 

teddykgb

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I expected him to play well, but he's gone a bit beyond that. And it's not just that he's hitting his shots, he looks really comfortable and in control out there, which is the most encouraging thing for me. Since he's been around for so long, it's easy to forget that he hasn't even turned 26 yet. He's a good case study for developing a really young draft pick. Maybe there's hope for James Young yet...


probably not though.
Bradley has a few weeks like this every season. Let's not get crazy. He will probably get injured or cold and revert to the player he has always been within a reasonable time frame. Just enjoy the hot periods when they come.

From watching, hes enjoying the increased space but mostly he's making shots. He hasn't developed some new capability that suggests he's going to make a huge leap, imo.

My biggest concern from the early going is that this team is incredibly perimeter oriented. This is the NBa now but they do an awful lot of work to get 3s. And when they are leaking these leads their offense is still to take these shots. There have been a few brutal decusions to take bad shits when things were getting away from them. None of this is criminal but if they want to be a finals type of tram they need to learn how to value possessions especially when they need to stop a run
 

Fishy1

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Are you implying that Bradley playing well wasn't expected?

Only reason I ask is that I kept hearing (not necessarily here) how Bradley's rise was a surprise as if he came out of nowhere. The reason he went 19th was due to him being a tweener without a perimeter shot to play the 2 and without the handle to play the 1.

As the topic of "upside" has been discussed and misunderstood forever this was the prototypical "high upside" pick by Ainge. Bradley, similar to someone like Wade Baldwin (one reason I love Baldwin's upside), had all the athletic traits to be an elite player......the freakish length, speed, quickness, first step, explosiveness, he had it all. You can't teach these trait and "if" Bradley developed his improveable skills, primarily perimeter shooting and ball handling in his case, then the sky was the limit. It is also why I'm so high on Jaylen Brown and really liked this pick.

People forget how highly Avery was regarded coming out of high school with some having him the #1 overall recruit even over Wall. Here was one:

http://www.espn.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/playerrankings/_/class/2009/order/true
Don't see that implication in his post at all. I think we're all with you: it's just wonderful to see his hard work paying off. The improvements he's made this year -- especially with regards to his passing -- are really substantial. The deal he is on is incredible value given those improvements. It's been really incremental with him: last year his handle was much more competent, but this year he seems to be comfortable running an offense.

As for Jaylen: he's just relentless going to the basket, but he's also been controlled thus far, showing not only explosiveness but a repertoire of hesitation moves and fade aways that are going to make him fucking impossible to guard. The level of difficulty on a lot of his shots thusfar have been high, and he's showing he can make them.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Are you implying that Bradley playing well wasn't expected?
No, he's a good player. He's just playing better than expected to date. When people discuss trades, usually people always bring up Bradley as the most likely to go. Considering he's still only 25, him improving over last year isn't unfathomable and makes him a borderline all star. Maybe we should be keeping him.
 

jimv

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......revert to the player he has always been within a reasonable time frame.....
I don't understand this. Bradley has improved a great deal and has lifted his floor above the D-only, offensively challenged liability he was entering the league. He won't be reverting back to that. Perhaps this is his ceiling, but he's 26, works on his game and will be a free agent at the age of 28, its not unreasonable to think further improvement is possible
 

Koufax

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Last year was Bradley's breakout year. He went from a shooting guard who couldn't shoot to one who could. Add to that some defensive prowess and you've got a very good player.
 

jimv

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Bradley's shooting improvement goes back to the 13-14 season, 39.5% on 3pters that season
 

Rook05

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Crowder left on crutches last night. Hopefully Horford's back soon.

I'm curious how Brad Stevens is going to address the early habit of giving up big leads. Granted it's only the first week of the season, but he can't be happy having to bring his starters back in after going up big in the fourth.
 

jmm57

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I only watched intermittently (World Series!), but was there an obvious reason that Jaylen had his minutes cut last night? I figured he'd get a lot of run after Crowder went down. Was it Smart? Poor play? Bad fouls?
 

Jed Zeppelin

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I only watched intermittently (World Series!), but was there an obvious reason that Jaylen had his minutes cut last night? I figured he'd get a lot of run after Crowder went down. Was it Smart? Poor play? Bad fouls?
Classic rookie-style foul trouble.
 

HomeRunBaker

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I love Zizic's footwork and timing......very good mechanics and a great body. His athleticism is deceivingly good too. Next step is developing a face-up jumper or his upside could be a rich mans Pachulia-type. That's not a bad thing but this kid is close to being really really good. It's nice to have a rotational big already in the bag heading into the next couple years.
 

ElcaballitoMVP

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I love Zizic's footwork and timing......very good mechanics and a great body. His athleticism is deceivingly good too. Next step is developing a face-up jumper or his upside could be a rich mans Pachulia-type. That's not a bad thing but this kid is close to being really really good. It's nice to have a rotational big already in the bag heading into the next couple years.
Yeah, I can see a more athletic Pachulia-type. Do the dirty work, block some shots, rebound and get some easy buckets by the basket. I really like how agile he is for his size. He's got some work to do defensively in the pick and roll, but he can make up for some struggles simply with his athleticism.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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I love Zizic's footwork and timing......very good mechanics and a great body. His athleticism is deceivingly good too. Next step is developing a face-up jumper or his upside could be a rich mans Pachulia-type. That's not a bad thing but this kid is close to being really really good. It's nice to have a rotational big already in the bag heading into the next couple years.
Good sign that he's shooting 78% from the line on over 8 attempts per game.
 

BigSoxFan

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I love Zizic's footwork and timing......very good mechanics and a great body. His athleticism is deceivingly good too. Next step is developing a face-up jumper or his upside could be a rich mans Pachulia-type. That's not a bad thing but this kid is close to being really really good. It's nice to have a rotational big already in the bag heading into the next couple years.
Particularly since watching Tyler Zeller is not a fun experience.
 

Pxer

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I only watched intermittently (World Series!), but was there an obvious reason that Jaylen had his minutes cut last night? I figured he'd get a lot of run after Crowder went down. Was it Smart? Poor play? Bad fouls?
4 fouls in 8 minutes. A couple were questionable, but, welcome to the league, rook.
 

Cellar-Door

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Crowder left on crutches last night. Hopefully Horford's back soon.

I'm curious how Brad Stevens is going to address the early habit of giving up big leads. Granted it's only the first week of the season, but he can't be happy having to bring his starters back in after going up big in the fourth.
Probably not much to address until they're closer to being healthy. First 3 games w/o Smart and Olynyk, last night without Olynyk/Horford/Crowder. Jerebko is a concern, but these bench units hopefully shouldn't be getting many minutes after the next two weeks.
 

HomeRunBaker

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This is that strange time of year when the D-League (please stop calling it the NBDL they changed the name in 2005!) teams are now practicing and eligible players are assigned to their affiliate to get a hard practice in that they wouldn't otherwise get with the NBA teams in full game and travel mode. Today, the Celtics sent Olynyk and Demetrius Jackson "down" then following practice called them back up to the Celtics. The Spurs did this twice in the past week with Dejounte Murray as the Jazz did with Joel Bolomboy.
 

jimv

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New starting lineup - Olynyk and Smart in, Zeller and Brown out - seemed to result in a far more competitive 1st quarter vs the Knicks. Granted there were still rebounding issues but that's part of the package with this team

Does Stevens keep it this way for the time being?
 

HomeRunBaker

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New starting lineup - Olynyk and Smart in, Zeller and Brown out - seemed to result in a far more competitive 1st quarter vs the Knicks. Granted there were still rebounding issues but that's part of the package with this team

Does Stevens keep it this way for the time being?
Well you can't really change it after a 20+ win that followed a pair of blowout losses.
 

jimv

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Well you can't really change it after a 20+ win that followed a pair of blowout losses.
That was my thinking as well. Horford is on the roadtrip and will return soon, so the starting lineup will get reshuffled in any case
 

Cellar-Door

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Olynyk does a lot of the things Horford does (all worse except shooting) when they can have both play big minutes and move Jerebko and Zeller into much smaller roles this team is going to be much better.

I'm still concerned about the rebounding, but not much to be done about it until January likely.
 

DannyDarwinism

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I wonder where Bradley's rebounding settles in this year. His career best is a 6.9% rebounding rate, and he's at 12% now. Paul Pierce's career high was 11.6%, for reference. He'll obviously regress some, but it still looks like something he'll improve significantly.

Nice game from James Young, and hopefully something to build on.
 
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jimv

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The amount of love that useless hack Kelly Olynyk gets in here will never cease to amaze me.
Let's not forget KO went for 19 and 7 (3 of 5 on 3pointers) vs the Knicks just last week. Admittedly he sucked against the Warriors (and he had a lot of company in that regard), the matchups weren't favorable

He's a useful role player which means Stevens has to find the right situations in order for him to succeed.Difficult to do with Horford and Crowder out and you're playing the most talented team in the league
 

Fishy1

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Another sub-double-digit quarter last night, this time at the beginning of the third quarter. First unit let themselves get rolled.

As for the bench: the problem with the bench is not, as far as I can tell, that there's a lack of offensive production, but that there are always guys out there who consistently give up buckets. Zeller's worse at just about everything than Kelly; Brown and Terry keep missing rotations.

And fuck Gerald Green. One more vote for Terry Rozier taking his role as "spurtability" meister or whatever the fuck Brad called Gerald. Terry ought to be doing the chucking Green is: there's mounting evidence that he's going to be a very good 3-pt shooter and he's starting to put that first step to good use.

Avery Bradley's having a career year counting stats wise, but he wasn't good at a ton as a defender to begin with and now I'm not seeing him do even a quarter of the ball-hawking that he used to. If he's not doing that, he's just a guy who fights hard over screens, but that you can shoot over, and who gets lost ball-watching sometimes, and is really not much a help defender at all.

Still having fun watching this team, but I'm happy Danny doesn't have any illusions about how good they are. Anyone can go.
 

the moops

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Holy balls folks. They played the best team in the league while missing two of their three best players. How fucking well do you expect them to do when Amir Johnson and Kelly Olynyk are your starting frontcourt? And because of missing two of their best players they are forced to try and go small with a Smart/Avery/Thomas backcourt against a team that runs small ball better than anyone?
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Well with Durant, GSW is suddenly not that small anymore. It was pretty ludicrisp to watch Bradley trying to guard him.

I was hoping Brad would put Jaylen on Durant just like he did with LBJ - and tell JB that he doesn't have to worry about anything other than defense on Durant. Maybe it wouldn't have worked given the way GSW is able to force switches but it wasn't like anything else was working particularly in Q3.
 

the moops

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They still have Brown working on defensive rotations and positioning. I think it may be short sighted to tell him to just stick to one man in what was an inevitable loss anyway.
 

Eddie Jurak

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Holy balls folks. They played the best team in the league while missing two of their three best players. How fucking well do you expect them to do when Amir Johnson and Kelly Olynyk are your starting frontcourt? And because of missing two of their best players they are forced to try and go small with a Smart/Avery/Thomas backcourt against a team that runs small ball better than anyone?
This.
 

ifmanis5

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That's because the Detroit game is more important. 'lil Zeke.
Yeah, I'm sure Stevens figured to cut losses and rest up for a game he could actually win 24 hours later. It's unusual to see a coach called out publicly though, much less Brad who is pretty highly regarded.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Let's not forget KO went for 19 and 7 (3 of 5 on 3pointers) vs the Knicks just last week. Admittedly he sucked against the Warriors (and he had a lot of company in that regard), the matchups weren't favorable

He's a useful role player which means Stevens has to find the right situations in order for him to succeed.Difficult to do with Horford and Crowder out and you're playing the most talented team in the league
This is pretty much the point I've been making for awhile now. Brad has utilized Kelly off the bench in favorable matchups much like how Doc used Big Baby and Leon Powe which is why none of these players saw major minutes when they were in Boston. These players performance in limited minutes isn't exposed due to their usage and we saw how Baby was exposed when he was forced to play big minutes when injuries happened both here and in LA. This is why Kelly always will be a limited minute bench player.
 

moondog80

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At what point do we say Marcus Smart should just never shoot the ball unless it's a layup? That wide open 10 footer he missed down 4 with 2+ minutes left, my mediocre 11 year old hits that 60% of the time. It was embarrassing listening to Tommy and Mike cover up for him, saying the shot wasn't as easy as it looked. 140 NBA games worth of 35.7% FG. And now he's 8 for 17 from the line this year. SO much for "fixing his shot" this summer.
 
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