2019-2020 Celtics Regular Season Thread

Kliq

Member
SoSH Member
Mar 31, 2013
22,838
The fact that we didn't get at least one minute of Tacko vs Boban during Wednesday's game was a crime.
 

lovegtm

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2013
12,240

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
54,114
In terms of realistic deals out there right now, I’m most interested

Nice for seeding, but I prefer playing teams at full strength. Feel like it forces better habits as opposed to playing down.
In today's NBA, we don't see as much of that as you would think. Brad's already said that after the new year, we'll start resting players.
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,368
Santa Monica
Nice for seeding, but I prefer playing teams at full strength. Feel like it forces better habits as opposed to playing down.
Another scheduling quirk, Toronto is the only above .500 team they play over the next 10 games.

30 wins is in play at the halfway mark.

Load up on wins now, so they can selectively rest players in the 2nd half of the season
 
Last edited:

lovegtm

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2013
12,240
Another scheduling quirk, Toronto is the only above .500 team they play over the next 10 games.

30 wins is in play at the halfway mark.

Load up on wins now, so they can selectively rest players in the 2nd half of the season
Yeah, with the way the schedule and the East are breaking (Toronto hurt, Philly inconsistent, Indy without Victor), I'm inclined now to go for it a bit more in the regular season to get the #2 seed. There's real value in putting off the Milwaukee matchup as long as possible, and also hoping that Milwaukee/Philly have to meet in round 2.
 

lovegtm

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2013
12,240
What do people think it would take in terms of draft assets to get Poeltl from San Antonio? His salary matches with Poirier.
 

NomarsFool

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 21, 2001
8,255
I know it seems sort of cheap, but I'm relishing the potential opportunity of beating Toronto twice over the next week or so while they are hurt and getting an advantage in that head to head matchup for seeding.

I know home court isn't the be all and end all, but the Celtics do seem to play better at home and home games are just more fun as a fan. So, I appreciate winning during the regular season. So, let's hope the C's can go on a bit of a run here against these weaker opponents.
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,368
Santa Monica
What do people think it would take in terms of draft assets to get Poeltl from San Antonio? His salary matches with Poirier.
agreed, Poeltl is my trade binky right now. VP/ Charlotte 2nd-rounder would be a nice deal for the Spurs for their back-up Center, who is an RFA at seasons end. Milwaukee pick? that may be a bridge too far. I can't imagine any other NBA team would offer a first for Poeltl

Poeltl would be a good third wheel for a 3-headed Center monster. Brad has a knack for getting the most out guys like him. He's very efficient according to ON/OFF, ORtg/DRtg, DBPM, RPM. He's 7'1", young (24), with playoff experience. As we saw last season, all it takes is a few injuries to some key players (KD/Klay) and Championship aspirations can come true for a top 5 team (Toronto).
Plus a Kanter or Theis injury would cripple the Celtics this season. Counting on TL being healthy is a fools errand at this point IMO.

Also, Poeltl is a potential cheap signable option in the off-season. Even though there is a dearth of free agents this summer, teams aren't looking to spend big on 5s that play 15-20mpg. I could see teams ignoring Poleltl in restricted free agency (similar to Marcus Smart). The new NBA market inefficiency is cheap, veteran 5s. Load up on several of them at $5MM/each.

I've moved off Nerlens Noel. OKC is playing well enough to not move him. He doesn't really have the bulk. Boston area issues? That being said, I'd still grab him if Poeltl isn't available and a 2nd is all it took for NN.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/poeltja01.html
 
Last edited:

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,368
Santa Monica
I know it seems sort of cheap, but I'm relishing the potential opportunity of beating Toronto twice over the next week or so while they are hurt and getting an advantage in that head to head matchup for seeding.

I know home court isn't the be all and end all, but the Celtics do seem to play better at home and home games are just more fun as a fan. So, I appreciate winning during the regular season. So, let's hope the C's can go on a bit of a run here against these weaker opponents.
The East will be bunched up from seed 2-6. Load up on wins now so guys can rest weeks before the playoffs. Drawing the 7th seed (Nets?) in round 1 instead of getting a Pacer, Raptors or Heat team would be helpful.
 
Last edited:

lovegtm

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2013
12,240
agreed, Poeltl is my trade binky right now. VP/ Charlotte 2nd-rounder would be a nice deal for the Spurs for their back-up Center, who is an RFA at seasons end. Milwaukee pick? that may be a bridge too far. I can't imagine any other NBA team would offer a first for Poeltl

Poeltl would be a good third wheel for a 3-headed Center monster. Brad has a knack for getting the most out guys like him. He's very efficient according to ON/OFF, ORtg/DRtg, DBPM, RPM. He's 7'1", young (24), with playoff experience. As we saw last season, all it takes is a few injuries to some key players (KD/Klay) and Championship aspirations can come true for a top 5 team (Toronto).
Plus a Kanter or Theis injury would cripple the Celtics this season. Counting on TL being healthy is a fools errand at this point IMO.

Also, Poeltl is a potential cheap signable option in the off-season. Even though there is a dearth of free agents this summer, teams aren't looking to spend big on 5s that play 15-20mpg. I could see teams ignoring Poleltl in restricted free agency (similar to Marcus Smart). The new NBA market inefficiency is cheap, veteran 5s. Load up on several of them at $5MM/each.

I've moved off Nerens Noel. OKC is playing well enough to not move him. He doesn't really have the bulk. Boston area issues? That being said, I'd still grab him if Poleltl isn't available and a 2nd is all it took for NN.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/p/poeltja01.html
Interesting, I'd be totally fine giving up a late 1st for Poeltl with the intention of re-signing him at around $5-7M/year.
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,368
Santa Monica
Interesting, I'd be totally fine giving up a late 1st for Poeltl with the intention of re-signing him at around $5-7M/year.
the spread between Milwaukee 1st-rounder and the 2nd rounder is pretty thin. Its more semantics, right?

San Antonio looks bad enough after the Kawhi deal, it may take the headline of grabbing a first-rounder and a Euro player for Poeltl for them to stomach it.
 

lovegtm

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2013
12,240
the spread between Milwaukee 1st-rounder and the 2nd rounder is pretty thin. Its more semantics, right?

San Antonio looks bad enough after the Kawhi deal, it may take the headline of grabbing a first-rounder and a Euro player for Poeltl for them to stomach it.
2nd rounder is the worse of Knicks/Nets, so it'll be around 45-50. Turning late 1sts into roleplayers is generally a meh, but the 2020 Celtics are a special case in that regard.
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,368
Santa Monica
2nd rounder is the worse of Knicks/Nets, so it'll be around 45-50. Turning late 1sts into roleplayers is generally a meh, but the 2020 Celtics are a special case in that regard.
ugh, I thought they were getting the Knicks 2nd rounder. I stand corrected. That's quite a bit different.

If Danny had an inkling the free agency element played out at $5-7MM/per it really works. nighthob will probably spoil it with a "Poeltl is getting 4yrs/$60MM" and blow up that thesis ;)

The Celtics are loaded to the rafters with young players developing and future picks. Losing a late first-rounder for the 2020 season + signability for a role player is somewhat justifiable but makes me want to wait until January.
 

lovegtm

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2013
12,240
ugh, I thought they were getting the Knicks 2nd rounder. I stand corrected. That's quite a bit different.

If Danny had an inkling the free agency element played out at $5-7MM/per its justifiable. nighthob will probably spoil it with a Poeltl is getting 4yrs/$60MM and blow up that whole thesis ;)

The Celtics are loaded to the rafters with young players developing and future picks. Losing a late first-rounder for the 2020 season for a role player is somewhat justifiable but makes me want to wait until January.
Young centers in RFA really aren't getting paid. Sabonis is good as hell and didn't even get Ryan Anderson money (He really should have waited imo: Atlanta would have paid him). Looney got about 5 per, and that was before the injuries started.
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,368
Santa Monica
Young centers in RFA really aren't getting paid. Sabonis is good as hell and didn't even get Ryan Anderson money (He really should have waited imo: Atlanta would have paid him). Looney got about 5 per, and that was before the injuries started.
off-tangent, there was a rush of guys signing at the end there (Murray, Hield, Sabonis Brown). It makes me wonder if the Player Agents got queasy with whispers of the China situation hurting the 2020 cap.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
54,114
Waters will be active for game tomorrow, Tacko will not. Stevens wants Waters quickness.
 

lovegtm

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2013
12,240
Waters will be active for game tomorrow, Tacko will not. Stevens wants Waters quickness.
Yeah, makes sense. I watched Toronto’s comeback against Dallas, and it was triggered by a lot of gimmicky full court press and a bit of zone. Good ball-handling and quickness will be important.
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,368
Santa Monica
Yeah, makes sense. I watched Toronto’s comeback against Dallas, and it was triggered by a lot of gimmicky full court press and a bit of zone. Good ball-handling and quickness will be important.
smart move bringing up Waters.

This organization has been on point since June 20th

maybe you're right and Tremont is our future VanVleet
 

benhogan

Granite Truther
SoSH Member
Nov 2, 2007
20,368
Santa Monica
Watching this game is making me less inclined to want the Celts to trade for a center. Milwaukee has all the beef you want to match up with Embiid, and it just doesn't matter. You need speed, help at the right times, and good rotations to beat him imo. You need Marcus Smart.
With so much turnover in the offseason and the C's outperforming the most optimistic of preseason projections, I'd expect they don't do anything drastic (or bizarre like trading for Love/TT).

Maybe something on the edges like a 3rd string Center if TL continues to be hobbled. VP has missed so much development time, he's almost a sunk cost. Brad doesn't ask much from the Centers, but if they lost Theis or Kanter it would add unnecessary stress to their BIG 4+. I'd be fine with Tacko as the deep depth 5, so if Danny doesn't "feel inclined to trade for a 3rd string Center" that's also fine.

The schedule is about to get busy and Brad has said he will start some sort of load mgmt/rest starters in January. Expect to see some weird rotations and the teams' deep depth play out.

The Celtic road to 2020 championship contention is all about BIG 4+ health, a continued progression from the Jay's, and other teams having bad luck with health.


BIG 4+ = Kemba, Tatum, Brown, Hayward +Smart
 

Eddie Jurak

canderson-lite
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 12, 2002
44,742
Melrose, MA
Wanamaker has been struggling quite a bit of late. Once Smart gets back he can hopefully slide into more of a lesser role. If they ended up with long term injury issues to their core 5, I think the upgrades they would most need would be to Wanamaker or Semi, moreso than to the centers.
 

NomarsFool

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 21, 2001
8,255
The one article out recently was talking about the Celtics needing further wing depth, because "what if the Celtics lost Brown or Tatum?" Well, if they lost one of those guys, their championship hopes are toast. So, I agree, some modest depth at center would be helpful - because I'd hate for this group to have a lost year because Theis or Kanter got hurt.
 

scottyno

late Bloomer
SoSH Member
Dec 7, 2008
11,342
The one article out recently was talking about the Celtics needing further wing depth, because "what if the Celtics lost Brown or Tatum?" Well, if they lost one of those guys, their championship hopes are toast. So, I agree, some modest depth at center would be helpful - because I'd hate for this group to have a lost year because Theis or Kanter got hurt.
If the Cs need more wing depth then it's literally impossible to have enough. Hayward has been every bit as good as them, missed 16 games, and they went 12-4. Smart's missed 8 and they're 6-2. No team in the league has more wing depth than them.
 

HomeRunBaker

bet squelcher
SoSH Member
Jan 15, 2004
30,347
The one article out recently was talking about the Celtics needing further wing depth, because "what if the Celtics lost Brown or Tatum?" Well, if they lost one of those guys, their championship hopes are toast. So, I agree, some modest depth at center would be helpful - because I'd hate for this group to have a lost year because Theis or Kanter got hurt.
That was Hollinger's piece and his reasoning made zero sense. You make in-season trades to fill a need or to upgrade a position......Hollinger wrote sentence after sentence of drivel while addressing neither.
 

lovegtm

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2013
12,240
The Celtics and the Bucks are interesting to me, because I don't quite buy that their net ratings are representative of what they are in the playoffs, and in certain matchups in particular. In the Bucks' case, it's because running up against one Giannis-stopper completely takes them out of their identity. With the Celtics it feels like they have too many moving parts, all of which have to be humming just right.

They're both going to pile up a lot of wins though, because the regular season net ratings are for real. They both stomp lesser teams, hard.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Dec 24, 2002
48,688
The Celtics and the Bucks are interesting to me, because I don't quite buy that their net ratings are representative of what they are in the playoffs, and in certain matchups in particular. In the Bucks' case, it's because running up against one Giannis-stopper completely takes them out of their identity. With the Celtics it feels like they have too many moving parts, all of which have to be humming just right.

They're both going to pile up a lot of wins though, because the regular season net ratings are for real. They both stomp lesser teams, hard.
27773
 

Saints Rest

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
I think it’s safe to say that the Celts don’t have a Top-10 in the NBA player. But might it also be true that they have four or even 5 in the top 50 or so?
Is that enough to win it all?
What was the last team without a top-10 player to win it all? The 2004 Pistons?
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,252
I think it’s safe to say that the Celts don’t have a Top-10 in the NBA player. But might it also be true that they have four or even 5 in the top 50 or so?
Is that enough to win it all?
What was the last team without a top-10 player to win it all? The 2004 Pistons?
I would say 2014 Spurs. At that point, 38 year-old Duncan was no longer a top 10 player and don’t think 22 year-old Kawhi had reached that level just yet.
 

BigSoxFan

Member
SoSH Member
May 31, 2007
47,252
Yes but 22 year old KL was finals MVP over at least a couple players who were considered Top-10.
He was definitely emerging but not yet a Top 10 player. Either way, I think this is the model. A bunch of top 20-40 guys and strong role players. Celtics bench might need one more veteran piece.
 

lovegtm

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2013
12,240
He was definitely emerging but not yet a Top 10 player. Either way, I think this is the model. A bunch of top 20-40 guys and strong role players. Celtics bench might need one more veteran piece.
Yeah, Kawhi wasn't a top-10 player himself (not a primary scorer yet), but he was able to effectively turn other top-10 players into non top-10 players with his defense. That's a model the Celtics can definitely try to emulate.

First, of course, they need to maybe get a rebound against Toronto, but hey, baby steps.
 

lovegtm

Member
SoSH Member
Apr 30, 2013
12,240
As long as they don't go all 2018-2019 on us, I thought last night's loss was helpful. It felt like everyone had started reading their own press clippings, and every time it got close, they thought they'd just blow Toronto away with superior talent. Doesn't work that way in the NBA, so was a good memento mori game imo.