Analysis of Celtics Games, '21-'22 Season

reggiecleveland

sublime
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 5, 2004
27,957
Saskatoon Canada
I really like the shots Tatum and Brown took at the end of the game and overtime. They both got in thepaint and set their feet and got space to finish. They blwe another lead, but nice to comeback and get a win.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
I really like the shots Tatum and Brown took at the end of the game and overtime. They both got in thepaint and set their feet and got space to finish. They blwe another lead, but nice to comeback and get a win.
It was only a 12-pt lead….4 possessions. To be fair how can one expect to withstand a run from a team starting Keifer Sykes and Duane Washington Jr in the backcourt?
 

Eddie Jurak

canderson-lite
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2002
44,475
Melrose, MA
Another incredibly ugly game, but I'll take an ugly win over an ugly loss any day.

This game was 42-39 Celtics at the half, which gives a goos sense of how ugly it was. The Celtics found some rhythm in the third quarter, pushign their lead to 12 (60-48) with 3:37 left in the quarter. A 5 minute scoring drought for Indiana helped a lot. Indiania snapped their drought at 3:06 left in the third that finally got them their 50th point, then cut the lead to 8 by the end of the 4th (68-60). Indiana continued to eat away at the margin, finally taking advantage of a 2:30 scoring drought by the Celtics to pull ahead 76-75 with just under 6 minutes left. The rest of regulation was an ugly back and forth, then the Celtics had the better of the OT though could never really pull away.

Nine man rotation used today, including some Enes Kanter minutes (7, in the first half). He came in and caught two airballed shots and scored on maybe his first 2 possessions, then scored another basket when either Tatum or Brown was trapped on the perimeter leaving the lane open. Then Indiania started to attack him and he left the game, never to return.

Marcus Smart got hurt (thigh contusion) and left the game not to return. He was generally ineffective even when he did play. He shot 4-11 from the field (though 2-4 from three) for 11 points in 23 minutes. Only one assist, one steal, 5 turnovers. This was an ugly game, the Celtics offense did not run well while he was playing. He was on for most of the little stretch in the third where the Celtics build their lead up to 12 and was a +9 overall.

Dennis Schroder was no better. 21 minutes, 0-4 from the field, scored 5 points from the line but missed three free throws. He did have 5 assists vs one turnover. Schroder came in with the Celtics up 9 in the third (57-48) and left a tie game (81-81), and was a -9 overall.

For the second game in a row, Ime avoided the Smart/Schroder pairining in the back court. But with Schroder having played about 12 straight minutes from the 3rd quarter into the 4th and Smart unavailble, Ime needed a different option. What he went with was a no PG lineup - almost all of the last 9 minutes of this game, including end of regulation and OT, was played by a lineup of Rob, Grant, Tatum, Brown, and Richardson. This group outscored Indiana 21-18 to come away with the OT win. The offensive flow with this group did not look great, but it also did not look great with Smart or Schroder at the point.

Rob had a nice double-double, 14-12, mostly on putbacks as opposed to lobs. He added an assist, 3 blcks, and 4 steals. Steals are an underappreciated part of Rob's game. On the other hand, he has no one on one game to speak of, whether posting up or facing up. Literally none. When he gets the ball in a one on one situation, he quickly gets rid of it. Often times he gets rid of the ball quickly because he knows where the ball needs to go, but in post up situations it is more like "I don't want to be here."

Grant had a poor shooting night that helped Indy climb back into and stay in this one. One of 6 from the field, 1 of 4 from three. With the game tied 81-81, Grant missed a short baseline jumper - not a three. Easy shot he should have made. With 2 minutes to go in OT, Brown feeds him for a corner three that puts the Celtics up five, his only made baskey of the game. On the following posession, he misses a corner three that would have pushed the lead up to 6. His one basket was a huge one though.

Tatum had a rough shooting night, going 7-21, including 0-7 for three. He salvaged his line by getting to the line a lot, where he shot 10-11. Second on the team with 24 points and added 12 rebounds, though he also had 8 turnovers. However, he hit the tying basket with 1.8 seconds left in regulation, scored to put the Celtics up 5 with 1:02 left, and hit a pair of free throws with 2.5 seconds left to put the Celtics up three.

Brown had a big game, scoring 26 on 11-26. He struggled from 2 (8-20), but went 3-6 from three. He added 15 rebounds and a team-leading 6 assists. He scored 5 points in the OT, Tatum 4, Grant 3. The Celtics had 4 made baskets in the OT, with Brown scoring 2 and assisting on 2.

Worth noting:

This wasn't a good team and the Celtics ought to be better than struggling to win. But, from a different point of view. This was a must win because another loss would have been an embarrassment akin to blowing the Knicks game. This time, at least, they needed to come through in the clutch and they did.

Rob, Jaylen, Jayson played huge minutes tonight (all between 41 and 44). Part of this was that the game went to OT. Viewed as a single game in isolation this is OK, but Ime cannot continue to ride the key guys this hard night in, night out and expect not to pay a price. Maybe part of the inability to compete late in games is overuse. They need to find a way to get more out of the bench. Langford we can trust to defend, which has been the name of the game in these past 2 wins. Josh Richardson can play more minutes than he has and is also a very good defensive wing. (He got 37 tonight). But he averages 26, and that is an number that can go up.
 
Last edited:

wade boggs chicken dinner

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 26, 2005
30,482
For the second game in a row, Ime avoided the Smart/Schroder pairining in the back court. But with Schroder having played about 12 straight minutes from the 3rd quarter into the 4th and Smart unavailble, Ime needed a different option. What he went with was a no PG lineup - almost all of the last 9 minutes of this game, including end of regulation and OT, was played by a lineup of Rob, Grant, Tatum, Brown, and Richardson. This group outscored Indiana 21-18 to come away with the OT win. The offensive flow with this group did not look great, but it also did not look great with Smart or Schroder at the point.
Txs for summary.

Interesting that Ime went with JRich down the stretch rather than DS, although DS wasn't playing all that well and Ime's really trying to get some wins. JRich committed two fouls on defense that lead to 5 points on defense - both fouls were minor but clearly fouls and the second one was on a 3P with the Cs up four in OT which really can't happen - but JRich also hit a really big mid-range shot down the stretch when the Cs were down 4 and JRich couldn't get the ball to JT and JB.

I thought GW played very good defense notwithstanding his offensive struggles.

Ime finally put his two "best" shooters next to the Jays and TL down the stretch and they pulled it out. Not trying to say there is any causation between the two events, at least for this ugly game.
 

Eddie Jurak

canderson-lite
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2002
44,475
Melrose, MA
Ime finally put his two "best" shooters next to the Jays and TL down the stretch and they pulled it out. Not trying to say there is any causation between the two events, at least for this ugly game.
So here is who scored those 20 points once Ime went to the no-point lineup:

Jayson: 8
Jaylen: 5
Grant: 3
Josh: 2
Rob: 2

It clearly was not points from Grant and Josh that made the difference, but, maybe, if it is Smart and Schroder on the court instead of Grant and Josh, Jayson and Jaylen don;t score as much.

Two other points:

1. Tatum outscored Jaylen 8-5 here, but right before Ime deployed this lineup, the Celtics were down by 3 and Jaylen hit a tying three. So, 8 each for the Jays during the Celtics final 23 points.

2. Seven made baskets over this stretch: Tatum 3, Brown 2, Grant 1, Richardson 1. Of the 7, 3 were assisted, all by Brown. If you count the Brown tying 3, that is 8 made baskets, 3 each by Brown and Tatum, Schroder assisting on the Brown 3, Brown involved in 6 of the 8.
 

Fishy1

Head Mason
SoSH Member
Nov 10, 2006
5,867
Tatum was quite bad last night, despite the fourth-quarter heroics. There's no way they survive that game unless he takes all those free throws, because otherwise shooting 0-7 on 3's and 33% from the field is usually a disaster. But in general he's been a hell of a lot better since November.

Taking a quick look through Jaylen game logs, I think that was his first game without a turnover all year. 17 assists in two games: he has 81 all year. Indiana is bad, but they were playing quite hard last night. I was impressed by his composure with the ball, but wouldn't be surprised if we didn't see it again for a while.

I liked the Grant + Richardson lineup, if only because those guys have been hitting shots. If Al finds his three pointer, I'd rather him out there than Grant.

Al has played less than 30 minutes 4 out of the last six games after playing 34 and 37 in his return against the Clippers and Minnesota. I think shrink-wrapping him is the right move. I'm concerned about the minutes everyone else is playing and hope if they go on a roll that we see more minutes for the bench. But given how thoroughly mediocre this team has been all year, I'm not sure that ever happens.
 

CreightonGubanich

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 13, 2006
1,378
north shore, MA
There's a part of me that thinks the entire problem with this team is that they don't shoot well enough. I know that's not true. There's real issues defensively, and they have problems with shot selection and an inability to create open looks in the first place due to a lack of playmakers. But man, could they use a Malik Monk or a Bobby Portis offensively. Rob doesn't shoot, Horford's been bad, Tatum's been off this season, Smart, Schroder and Richardson are bad shooters.

Like, take Romeo Langford. I think he's an NBA rotation player. But Ime can't play him, in part, because there's not enough shooting around him.
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,083
There's a part of me that thinks the entire problem with this team is that they don't shoot well enough. I know that's not true. There's real issues defensively, and they have problems with shot selection and an inability to create open looks in the first place due to a lack of playmakers. But man, could they use a Malik Monk or a Bobby Portis offensively. Rob doesn't shoot, Horford's been bad, Tatum's been off this season, Smart, Schroder and Richardson are bad shooters.

Like, take Romeo Langford. I think he's an NBA rotation player. But Ime can't play him, in part, because there's not enough shooting around him.
All of this is exactly why Nesmith is so disappointing to me. He was drafted with this very issue in mind and just hasn’t met the challenge. The book isn’t written on him but it’s getting late early with him.

I’d be all in favor of trading Langford for a more one-dimensional shooter rotting on someone’s bench.
 

Eddie Jurak

canderson-lite
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2002
44,475
Melrose, MA
Tatum was quite bad last night, despite the fourth-quarter heroics. There's no way they survive that game unless he takes all those free throws, because otherwise shooting 0-7 on 3's and 33% from the field is usually a disaster. But in general he's been a hell of a lot better since November.
This is a weird way to characterize Tatum’s game.

He has a terrible three point shooting night, 0 for 7.

He was also aggressive in taking the ball to the basket, which led to a good line from inside the arc: 7 of 14 (50%), plus 10 of 11 from the line is very good.

Adding it all together I’d say he had a good game despite awful distance shooting, not a very bad one of not for the free throws - they don’t come about by accident.
 

PedroKsBambino

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Apr 17, 2003
31,187
On shooting, a big critique one could have of Ainge over the last handful of years (and how much is him vs Stevens we don't know) is the persistent choice of defense and strength over shooting as the NBA overall has gone the other way.

Overall, of course, they are not wrong to seek complete players. They had shooters in Kyrie, Hayward who chose to leave. Their two best players are also their best shooters. It is not that they are anti-shooter...but I do think they've consistently failed to have enough spacing.

They've tried to adjust a bit- they've focused some bargain-basement shopping on the Strus and Hauser profile to try and replicate Duncan Robinson. They drafted Nesmith, who profiled as a shooter. But they still haven't gotten there.
 

Cesar Crespo

79
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2002
21,588
On shooting, a big critique one could have of Ainge over the last handful of years (and how much is him vs Stevens we don't know) is the persistent choice of defense and strength over shooting as the NBA overall has gone the other way.

Overall, of course, they are not wrong to seek complete players. They had shooters in Kyrie, Hayward who chose to leave. Their two best players are also their best shooters. It is not that they are anti-shooter...but I do think they've consistently failed to have enough spacing.

They've tried to adjust a bit- they've focused some bargain-basement shopping on the Strus and Hauser profile to try and replicate Duncan Robinson. They drafted Nesmith, who profiled as a shooter. But they still haven't gotten there.
They could have had Matthews too but went with Jabari.
 

CreightonGubanich

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 13, 2006
1,378
north shore, MA
On shooting, a big critique one could have of Ainge over the last handful of years (and how much is him vs Stevens we don't know) is the persistent choice of defense and strength over shooting as the NBA overall has gone the other way.

Overall, of course, they are not wrong to seek complete players. They had shooters in Kyrie, Hayward who chose to leave. Their two best players are also their best shooters. It is not that they are anti-shooter...but I do think they've consistently failed to have enough spacing.

They've tried to adjust a bit- they've focused some bargain-basement shopping on the Strus and Hauser profile to try and replicate Duncan Robinson. They drafted Nesmith, who profiled as a shooter. But they still haven't gotten there.
It seems like they've come to the conclusion that one-dimensional shooters who can't play defense aren't a good fit for this team. They've never shown much interest in the Davis Bertans types. That might be a function of the long line of defensively challenged point guards they've had over the past few years, I'm not sure. And of course shooters who can actually play defense come at substantial premium. But I agree that spacing is a real problem for this team. I'd love to see what a small ball lineup with Tatum at center could do, with Jaylen guarding the opposing big and Tatum playing the weakside help defender/rim protector role, but they don't have the personnel to do it. The point would be to surround those two with shooters and play five-out, but you run out of shooters pretty quick. If you don't have them, what you give up defensively makes it untenable.
 

cardiacs

Admires Neville Chamberlain
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
2,993
Milford, CT
Have they started GWill along with TL, J's, and Smart and with Horford available off the bench yet?
If not, they should try and see how it goes.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
This is a weird way to characterize Tatum’s game.

He has a terrible three point shooting night, 0 for 7.

He was also aggressive in taking the ball to the basket, which led to a good line from inside the arc: 7 of 14 (50%), plus 10 of 11 from the line is very good.

Adding it all together I’d say he had a good game despite awful distance shooting, not a very bad one of not for the free throws - they don’t come about by accident.
I just watched the game and yeah it’s surprising to read how bad Tatum was when he had a pretty awesome floor game. It was interesting that when Ime brought Grant in to try and check Sabonis, who they were beginning to involve in every possession be it PNR or post-up, it was for Schroder and not J-Rich. Matchups allowed it as the Pacers were using Lance over a smaller guard plus J-Rich gives you better 3-pt shooting. I liked the move a lot as it was the ideal matchup on both ends. I also liked how Ime used Kanter in the “Boban-role” of coming in for a few baskets before your opponent realizes they need to adjust by attacking on the other end and then get him out before he can hurt you.

We are still not good squeaking by a lottery team at home with one of their key guys down the stretch having been on his couch two weeks ago but it’s a win……albeit not a very encouraging one.
 

RorschachsMask

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 23, 2011
5,199
Lynn
The eight turnovers were bad for Tatum, though the lack of spacing certainly didn’t help. The 0-7 from deep was bad, and annoying because like Scal said, at least 3 or 4 of them were dead on, just hit back rim.

But he played great defense (his advanced defensive stats have significantly rebounded from last season, FWIW), drove to the rim 22 times, which puts a ton of pressure on the defense. And yeah he only had one assist, but he had 9 potential assists. Over the last two games he has 17 potential assists, but only two actual. It wasn’t a great game by any means, but one of the situations where it was better than the stats. Even as bad as he was shooting, the Pacers still ran a variation of the box and one on Tatum down the stretch and in OT.
 
Last edited:

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,111
Santa Monica
There's a part of me that thinks the entire problem with this team is that they don't shoot well enough. I know that's not true. There's real issues defensively, and they have problems with shot selection and an inability to create open looks in the first place due to a lack of playmakers. But man, could they use a Malik Monk or a Bobby Portis offensively. Rob doesn't shoot, Horford's been bad, Tatum's been off this season, Smart, Schroder and Richardson are bad shooters.

Like, take Romeo Langford. I think he's an NBA rotation player. But Ime can't play him, in part, because there's not enough shooting around him.
For all my/our hand wringing about 2BIGz, excessive minutes, IME rotations. The #1 problem with this team is 3pt%. As you noted, they have consistently not been very good at it. Game in, game out. I define "very good" as hitting over 40% from 3 as a team in a game. They have done it twice all season. I imagine they are dead last in that simplistic stat. As we all can surmise this has a negative knock-on effect, bad defensive opponents can just pack the lane and not challenge the perimeter. I do believe the three problems bolded above have aided in the poor 3pt shooting. The Celtics rank 24th in the NBA in 3pt%. Improve that one stat, with this team's defense, and the winning will come. IMO one of the solutions IME has now is to play Grant/JRich more, less Horford/TL combo and sprinkle in PP with the 2nd unit.

In addition to that Brad needs to add a ballhandler that can distribute/shoot 3s. The in-season Coby White pipe dream is probably dead, along with Monte Morris.

Two teams that have excessively good 3pt shooting, Charlotte/Atlanta, desperately need defense. Maybe there is a trade there.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
For all my/our hand wringing about 2BIGz, excessive minutes, IME rotations. The #1 problem with this team is 3pt%. As you noted, they have consistently not been very good at it. Game in, game out. I define "very good" as hitting over 40% from 3 as a team in a game. They have done it twice all season. I imagine they are dead last in that simplistic stat. As we all can surmise this has a negative knock-on effect, bad defensive opponents can just pack the lane and not challenge the perimeter. I do believe the three problems bolded above have aided in the poor 3pt shooting. The Celtics rank 24th in the NBA in 3pt%. Improve that one stat, with this team's defense, and the winning will come. IMO one of the solutions IME has now is to play Grant/JRich more, less Horford/TL combo and sprinkle in PP with the 2nd unit.

In addition to that Brad needs to add a ballhandler that can distribute/shoot 3s. The in-season Coby White pipe dream is probably dead, along with Monte Morris.

Two teams that have excessively good 3pt shooting, Charlotte/Atlanta, desperately need defense. Maybe there is a trade there.
Yup, it’s a make or miss league. Of the bottom 12 teams in 3-pt shooting pct the only two with winning records (and barely) are Denver and Dallas…….one has last years MVP and the other has this years pre-season MVP favorite.
 

NomarsFool

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 21, 2001
8,156
Unfortunately, Rob is obviously not going to take 3s, and Horford, this season, has been a disaster from 3. So, if Ime is going to play both of them together (or one of them with Freedom), they have 2 guys on the floor who won't take a 3 (Freedom/Rob) and a 3rd the other team is perfectly happy to see take a 3 (Horford). The 2 big lineup is a big contributor to the lack of spacing and that is basic coaching. I'm not sure why they can't use Langford here - he has shown an ability to hit a 3 when left all alone and plays excellent defense.
 

Cellar-Door

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
34,457
Unfortunately, Rob is obviously not going to take 3s, and Horford, this season, has been a disaster from 3. So, if Ime is going to play both of them together (or one of them with Freedom), they have 2 guys on the floor who won't take a 3 (Freedom/Rob) and a 3rd the other team is perfectly happy to see take a 3 (Horford). The 2 big lineup is a big contributor to the lack of spacing and that is basic coaching. I'm not sure why they can't use Langford here - he has shown an ability to hit a 3 when left all alone and plays excellent defense.
I mean also their PGs can't shoot, which makes 3 of the 5 and means even when you go 1 big you still have 2 guys who can't shoot at the same time, rather than the 3 that they start the game with
 

Cellar-Door

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
34,457
And Tatum's been dreadful this year. So 4.
I guess the rosy view would be.....
If guys go back to career average it's only 2 (PGs plus TL), but setting up a team where you expect 2 bad 3pt shooters and 1 averagish one (Horford, though at PF I'm not sure 35% is even average anymore) is not a way to win in the modern NBA
 

Auger34

used to be tbb
SoSH Member
Apr 23, 2010
9,271
There's a part of me that thinks the entire problem with this team is that they don't shoot well enough. I know that's not true. There's real issues defensively, and they have problems with shot selection and an inability to create open looks in the first place due to a lack of playmakers. But man, could they use a Malik Monk or a Bobby Portis offensively. Rob doesn't shoot, Horford's been bad, Tatum's been off this season, Smart, Schroder and Richardson are bad shooters.

Like, take Romeo Langford. I think he's an NBA rotation player. But Ime can't play him, in part, because there's not enough shooting around him.
Ime’s hook with young players is incredibly fast.
I hesitate to bitch too much about any of our young guys (Pritchard, Nesmith, Romeo) because they’re given 0 room to fail and improve. I’m not saying that any of them are lighting the world on fire but there are a lot of “rotation players” around the league who aren’t crushing it…that’s why they are 8th and 9th men
 

reggiecleveland

sublime
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 5, 2004
27,957
Saskatoon Canada
Unfortunately, Rob is obviously not going to take 3s, and Horford, this season, has been a disaster from 3. So, if Ime is going to play both of them together (or one of them with Freedom), they have 2 guys on the floor who won't take a 3 (Freedom/Rob) and a 3rd the other team is perfectly happy to see take a 3 (Horford). The 2 big lineup is a big contributor to the lack of spacing and that is basic coaching. I'm not sure why they can't use Langford here - he has shown an ability to hit a 3 when left all alone and plays excellent defense.
The forwards just need to score better, shoot better. Simple, but not easy to fix. Romeo is doing his backup job well, but don;t think him replacing a big is a solution.

Romeo is not very big. He isn't going to guard the same guys as the bigs. He and Horford are scoring at similar efficiency, while Al is scoring a lot more (13.5 to 9 to 9.5 per 36 min). Romeo is not very hard to guard. He takes up the same space on the floor as Tatum and Brown and has been a decent backup to the wing. He is doing okay getting the same catches, guarding the same guys as they are. A tweak to the lineup where he plays more makes them bad on offence for a different reason.
 

Cesar Crespo

79
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2002
21,588
Romeo was given a real chance and was given minutes. For some reason, he lost his spot in the rotation after his best game. I'm thinking maybe because he missed the game after. Now Ime thinks he can't really depend on Langford to be able to play on any given game. He has also been pretty bad, so there's that.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
and Brown's % has also seen a noticeable decline from the last 2 seasons

its as if something happened since the summer to sap this teams' 3pt shooting% (they were 10th last season)
Aside from the holdovers having a dip this year (consistent with the league as a whole), the lineup last year saw Teague’s 46% in the first half and Fournier’s 46% down the stretch. Replacing them with Schroder’s 33% knocks it down even further.
 

CreightonGubanich

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 13, 2006
1,378
north shore, MA
It's so hard to separate the bad shooting from everything else, too. With bad shooters spacing the floor around Brown and Tatum, the defense collapses around them quicker and the driving lanes to the hoop go away. Those two, while not great playmakers, are going to look a lot worse kicking the ball to Smart or Richardson in the corner, or Schroder up top, than if they had actual shooters to pass to. Bad outside shooting leads to long rebounds which leads to easy transition buckets for the other team.

It's just hard to see the solution. I'd trade Schroder for anything I could get and play Pritchard more. More Grant, less Horford and TL together. Put the ball in Richardson's hands more in primarily bench lineups, essentially playing Pritchard as the floor-spacing 2 guard. But those are just tweaks. Good shooters who are terrible defensively probably aren't the answer; we'd just trade one problem for another. Choosing not to sign Fournier to that contract was the right call.

I'd sell the kingdom if it let me bring Bradley Beal or Dame Lillard on board to play off the two Jays.
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,111
Santa Monica
Aside from the holdovers having a dip this year (consistent with the league as a whole), the lineup last year saw Teague’s 46% in the first half and Fournier’s 46% down the stretch. Replacing them with Schroder’s 33% knocks it down even further.
the whole league is down, that damn NEW BALL

but the C's are down even more. Fournier's/Teagues # of attempts/games played wasn't large. Replacing TT/DT with more Al/TL should have added space (if played separately). Kemba was never a highly efficient 3pt shooter (36%) but we'd take that shooting from the point in a heartbeat
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,111
Santa Monica
They could have had Matthews too but went with Jabari.
yea Jabari over Mathews + not taking Delon for TT were two questionable moves by Brad.

With rosters decimated numerous times this season, both players could have added production. The talent margins are very thin in the NBA, the Miami Heat have exhibited how important it is to get 1-15 right along with the 2-ways (& they've done it while throwing away a roster spot on Haslem). The Celtics have not played the end of roster game well for a while
 

Lazy vs Crazy

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
6,410
It's so hard to separate the bad shooting from everything else, too. With bad shooters spacing the floor around Brown and Tatum, the defense collapses around them quicker and the driving lanes to the hoop go away. Those two, while not great playmakers, are going to look a lot worse kicking the ball to Smart or Richardson in the corner, or Schroder up top, than if they had actual shooters to pass to. Bad outside shooting leads to long rebounds which leads to easy transition buckets for the other team.

It's just hard to see the solution. I'd trade Schroder for anything I could get and play Pritchard more. More Grant, less Horford and TL together. Put the ball in Richardson's hands more in primarily bench lineups, essentially playing Pritchard as the floor-spacing 2 guard. But those are just tweaks. Good shooters who are terrible defensively probably aren't the answer; we'd just trade one problem for another. Choosing not to sign Fournier to that contract was the right call.

I'd sell the kingdom if it let me bring Bradley Beal or Dame Lillard on board to play off the two Jays.
Beal is shooting .298 from 3 this year. Lillard is .324. Nor really an upgrade in shooting there.
 

CreightonGubanich

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 13, 2006
1,378
north shore, MA
Beal is shooting .298 from 3 this year. Lillard is .324. Nor really an upgrade in shooting there.
I'm comfortable calling both those guys a massive upgrade in shooting if they were playing with Tatum and Brown.

You're right that they're having down years, but both are being asked to do too much in their current situations. Both Beal and Lillard have pretty good track records of shooting efficiently at volume. Both career 37% shooters, Beal at 6 attempts per game and Lillard around 8. For context, after Brown and Tatum, the next three shooters on the team by number of attempts are Smart, Horford, and Schroder at around 4.5 attempts each. Nobody else takes more than 4 3PA per game.
 

Cellar-Door

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
34,457
yea Jabari over Mathews + not taking Delon for TT were two questionable moves by Brad.

With rosters decimated numerous times this season, both players could have added production. The talent margins are very thin in the NBA, the Miami Heat have exhibited how important it is to get 1-15 right along with the 2-ways (& they've done it while throwing away a roster spot on Haslem). The Celtics have not played the end of roster game well for a while
Both were likely partially financial. Jabari definitely was about having a body on a non-guaranteed deal you could cut to open a space. ATL and MEM deals cut another 1.5M over what taking Wright would (and netted a 2nd but meh).
i agree though, I'd much rather have Wright and Carsen than Bruno, Hernangomez and I feel like they could have found ways to get under the tax anyway.
 

PedroKsBambino

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Apr 17, 2003
31,187
It's so hard to separate the bad shooting from everything else, too. With bad shooters spacing the floor around Brown and Tatum, the defense collapses around them quicker and the driving lanes to the hoop go away. Those two, while not great playmakers, are going to look a lot worse kicking the ball to Smart or Richardson in the corner, or Schroder up top, than if they had actual shooters to pass to. Bad outside shooting leads to long rebounds which leads to easy transition buckets for the other team.

It's just hard to see the solution. I'd trade Schroder for anything I could get and play Pritchard more. More Grant, less Horford and TL together. Put the ball in Richardson's hands more in primarily bench lineups, essentially playing Pritchard as the floor-spacing 2 guard. But those are just tweaks. Good shooters who are terrible defensively probably aren't the answer; we'd just trade one problem for another. Choosing not to sign Fournier to that contract was the right call.

I'd sell the kingdom if it let me bring Bradley Beal or Dame Lillard on board to play off the two Jays.
To the above, the weaker-than-average overall passing and the weaker-than-average overall shooting amplify each other in a bad way. I personally feel the lack of a consistent offensive scheme amplifies those both as well.

They have two very good one-on-one scorers, a good one on one scorer in Schroder, and some useful if not great complimentary offensive players (Smart, for his shooting flaws, does other stuff fairly well offensively as a 4th-5th guy, as do Al and TL given he never misses a shot, and Richardson is versatile and competent offensively). They need more, but they also need the top 7 to fit better together than they do in terms of passing, spacing, and shooting.
 

Deathofthebambino

Drive Carefully
SoSH Member
Apr 12, 2005
41,946
This is a weird way to characterize Tatum’s game.

He has a terrible three point shooting night, 0 for 7.

He was also aggressive in taking the ball to the basket, which led to a good line from inside the arc: 7 of 14 (50%), plus 10 of 11 from the line is very good.

Adding it all together I’d say he had a good game despite awful distance shooting, not a very bad one of not for the free throws - they don’t come about by accident.
If Jaylen put up a 7/21 (0/7 from deep) game, with 1 assist and 8 turnovers, half this board would be posting about trading him off. Instead, with Tatum, we say he played good, because he got to the line and made his layups.

I'm not giving anyone on this team credit for good defense, when they were playing against a team that was missing wide open shots all day, because they suck at basketball.
 

Eddie Jurak

canderson-lite
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2002
44,475
Melrose, MA
If Jaylen put up a 7/21 (0/7 from deep) game, with 1 assist and 8 turnovers, half this board would be posting about trading him off. Instead, with Tatum, we say he played good, because he got to the line and made his layups.

I'm not giving anyone on this team credit for good defense, when they were playing against a team that was missing wide open shots all day, because they suck at basketball.
Maybe? I, for one, would view Tatum's game differently if he had not been getting to the line, and I would take not of a 10-11 at the line from Jaylen during a bad shooting game.

But since you bring up turnovers, it is worth noting how many Brown had last night: zero.
 

Cellar-Door

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
34,457
If Jaylen put up a 7/21 (0/7 from deep) game, with 1 assist and 8 turnovers, half this board would be posting about trading him off. Instead, with Tatum, we say he played good, because he got to the line and made his layups.

I'm not giving anyone on this team credit for good defense, when they were playing against a team that was missing wide open shots all day, because they suck at basketball.
I mean, he shot poorly and turned it over a lot, he didn't play that well. On the other hand.... getting to the line and making your FTs is really important in the NBA as it helps offset poor shooting. Without so many TOs I'd have said Tatum had a quite good game. He rebounded and defended well, he offset his poor shooting by drawing fouls to score decently efficient (1.14 PPFGA vs Browns 1.0). The turnovers were a mess, otherwise he had a good night for bad shooting
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 26, 2005
30,482
There's real issues defensively, and they have problems with shot selection and an inability to create open looks in the first place due to a lack of playmakers. But man, could they use a Malik Monk or a Bobby Portis offensively. Rob doesn't shoot, Horford's been bad, Tatum's been off this season, Smart, Schroder and Richardson are bad shooters.
What issues defensively are you talking about? The Cs I would presume are in the top 5 of defense and Ime said before the game last night that the Cs are ranked in the top 3 in half-court defense.

In my mind, the #1 problem the Cs have is turnovers. Cut those down and that lets the defense set up and will cover up some measure of offensive ineptness.

On shooting, a big critique one could have of Ainge over the last handful of years (and how much is him vs Stevens we don't know) is the persistent choice of defense and strength over shooting as the NBA overall has gone the other way.
I dunno. Ainge drafted PP and Edwards and Nesmith who are shooters and he picked up Strus. I kind of get picking Green over Strus since they thought they were a title contender and Strus got injured anyways so I doubt that would have made a difference.

Also, I'm guessing GW was drafted because they figured he could extend his range to 3P.

RL obviously wasn't a shooter but he was the high-reward, high-risk that so many people want.

And the Cs just cut a guy who was shooting .500 from 3P (granted only 16 attempts) but if Parker pretty much meets the definition of one-dimensional player.
 

Fishy1

Head Mason
SoSH Member
Nov 10, 2006
5,867
This is a weird way to characterize Tatum’s game.

He has a terrible three point shooting night, 0 for 7.

He was also aggressive in taking the ball to the basket, which led to a good line from inside the arc: 7 of 14 (50%), plus 10 of 11 from the line is very good.

Adding it all together I’d say he had a good game despite awful distance shooting, not a very bad one of not for the free throws - they don’t come about by accident.
I'm basically in agreement, even if my post was unclear on that front. Nonetheless, I don't think it's that odd to characterize it as a bad game for Tatum's standards: it's good that Tatum is trying to get to the rack and getting fouled, it's good that he's shooting well from inside the arc -- missing all of your three pointers and turning the ball over that much is also clearly bad. This team needs Tatum to shoot better from beyond the arc. Not a terribly novel opinion but yet another game which quickly turns into a blowout if Tatum makes even a few of his threes. Luckily I think he's already in the middle of a correction, as he's been shooting much better in the last month or two.

Interested to see how often Tatum is getting to the line like this: three times he's had ten or more free throws, twice he's had nine, etc. His increased FTR is a great sign.

Maybe? I, for one, would view Tatum's game differently if he had not been getting to the line, and I would take not of a 10-11 at the line from Jaylen during a bad shooting game.

But since you bring up turnovers, it is worth noting how many Brown had last night: zero.
Something I noted upthread in the post you quoted but evidently didn't read all of. ;) Also worth noting it's the only time he's done it all season.
 

Cesar Crespo

79
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2002
21,588
Anyone have any theories as do why JRich's assist %, apg and everything to do with assists are way down this year? Besides new team?

If he could get back to the 4.1 he averaged in 18-19 while continuing to shoot at his current clip, it would go a long way. Previous 5 seasons, his assist rate was 14.2%. He's at a career low 8.3% this year. He hasn't been under 12% since his rookie year (9.7%).

Also, outside of Jayson, Jaylen and Schroder, no one on this team get a consistent amount of shots each night. On any given night, those 3 will combine for 60%+ of FGA. There are only 4 players averaging over 10 FGA a game. While that's not super uncommon, the other teams doing it have Harden and Durant, their 3rd and 4th players are more effective (Vucevic, Ball) or the shots are dispersed more evenly, and among better shooters.

Memphis is sort of built like the C's in that Bane and Morant are highly effective while Brooks and Jackson aren't. Unlike the Celtics, Memphis is 1st in ORebounds, 1st in blocks, 1st in steals. It would be interesting to see what Memphis would look like with Jonas but they are 29-14 right now so hard to argue against that move.
 

Cesar Crespo

79
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2002
21,588
And Marcus Smart's last 24 games: .417/.333/.833, 12.8 points, 5.4 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 steals.

Over his last 5, he's 12/28 from 3, .429. He's up to .304 from 3 for the year. It's his first time being over .300 since Game 3, having raised his 3 point by .023 points in those 5 games.
 

Fishy1

Head Mason
SoSH Member
Nov 10, 2006
5,867
And Marcus Smart's last 24 games: .417/.333/.833, 12.8 points, 5.4 assists, 4.2 rebounds, 1.6 steals.

Over his last 5, he's 12/28 from 3, .429. He's up to .304 from 3 for the year. It's his first time being over .300 since Game 3, having raised his 3 point by .023 points in those 5 games.
Add that to his general improvement in 2-pt efficiency (alongside an increase in volume from there) and we could see a career year from Smart if he gets hot from three the rest of the year.

Wouldn't bet on it though.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,096
Anyone have any theories as do why JRich's assist %, apg and everything to do with assists are way down this year? Besides new team?

If he could get back to the 4.1 he averaged in 18-19 while continuing to shoot at his current clip, it would go a long way. Previous 5 seasons, his assist rate was 14.2%. He's at a career low 8.3% this year. He hasn't been under 12% since his rookie year (9.7%).

Also, outside of Jayson, Jaylen and Schroder, no one on this team get a consistent amount of shots each night. On any given night, those 3 will combine for 60%+ of FGA. There are only 4 players averaging over 10 FGA a game. While that's not super uncommon, the other teams doing it have Harden and Durant, their 3rd and 4th players are more effective (Vucevic, Ball) or the shots are dispersed more evenly, and among better shooters.

Memphis is sort of built like the C's in that Bane and Morant are highly effective while Brooks and Jackson aren't. Unlike the Celtics, Memphis is 1st in ORebounds, 1st in blocks, 1st in steals. It would be interesting to see what Memphis would look like with Jonas but they are 29-14 right now so hard to argue against that move.
J-Rich’s role in Boston doesn’t at all resemble what it was during his big year. Most of his stuff now is off the ball as a spot-up shooter. He isn’t a playmaker in our offense as he was 3 years ago……even though Dragic was technically the PG he ran off screens a lot as the offense ran through J-Rich.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 26, 2005
30,482
Anyone have any theories as do why JRich's assist %, apg and everything to do with assists are way down this year? Besides new team?
By recollection, seems like JRich also gets the ball a lot when the shot clock is winding down (after Jays or DS has made a move) so he's kind of forced to shoot the ball.

His USG% is the lowest it's been since his rookie year and down from his peak in MIA (20.9% to 16.7%).
 

Cesar Crespo

79
SoSH Member
Dec 22, 2002
21,588
TL's last 10 games: 32.9 minutes, .779/--/.813, 11.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 3.3 blocks, 1.2 steals, 1.2 TO, 2.7 PF.

Al's last 7 games: 28.2 minutes, .292/.167/.875, 5.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.3 blocks, 0.6 steals, 1.6 TO, 1.9 PF. In those 7 games, he scored 9, 4, 9, 4, 7, 3, 3.

I don't think Al is cooked but I think he's an 18-20 minute player.
I also disagree with people who say TL plays too much. 41 minutes last game was a bit much but it was an OT game.

Thing is, last 2 games, Al played 20 and 23 minutes. JRich played 29:30 and 37:30. Hopefully it's a trend.

Grant is 4/21 from 3 over his last 6. Over his last 5: 24.8 minutes, .238/.222/1.000, 3.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.0 blocks, 1.0 TO, 1 PF. That's pretty brutal. Hopefully he bounces out of it soon.

Team should be playing Kanter more.
 

Cellar-Door

Member
SoSH Member
Aug 1, 2006
34,457
TL's last 10 games: 32.9 minutes, .779/--/.813, 11.9 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 3.3 blocks, 1.2 steals, 1.2 TO, 2.7 PF.

Al's last 7 games: 28.2 minutes, .292/.167/.875, 5.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.3 blocks, 0.6 steals, 1.6 TO, 1.9 PF. In those 7 games, he scored 9, 4, 9, 4, 7, 3, 3.

I don't think Al is cooked but I think he's an 18-20 minute player.
I also disagree with people who say TL plays too much. 41 minutes last game was a bit much but it was an OT game.

Thing is, last 2 games, Al played 20 and 23 minutes. JRich played 29:30 and 37:30. Hopefully it's a trend.

Grant is 4/21 from 3 over his last 6. Over his last 5: 24.8 minutes, .238/.222/1.000, 3.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.0 blocks, 1.0 TO, 1 PF. That's pretty brutal. Hopefully he bounces out of it soon.

Team should be playing Kanter more.
Team should be playing small more. Enes should play some against very specific matchups and none against most teams.