2019-2020 Celtics Regular Season Thread

wade boggs chicken dinner

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Yeah, I remember this possession. It had little to do with size, and everything to do with absolutely no effort. I think I turned the game off after that specific possession, because if they weren't going to care, I wasn't either.

Size/rebounding isn't so much this team's issue (statistically and eye test). Perimeter defense/offense/effort is where they live or die. On that note, I'm also concerned they don't have enough shooting--that will kill them against long, athletic teams like Milwaukee and Philly that can take away their usual physical dominance on the wing.
Well it had at least a little to do with size - after all, NO has pretty good size with Favors and Ingram and Zion and even Ball and Holliday at the guard position - but I just watched the last three quarters of the game last night, and you were right about the effort. Well maybe not effort but there were a ton of mental mistakes that lead to wide open shots.

According to BRef PbP, NO got 6 offensive rebounds in one possession. It looks like the starters (DT, GH, JB, KW, and MS) were in for the first two ORbs, and Wanamaker sub'd for Kemba before the last 4 ORbs.
 

lexrageorge

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Kudos for great win on the road against a team that had lost only twice at home (to both LA teams). Coach Stevens was Playoff Brad and played his starters to win a key game against an opponent whom they will be fighting for playoff positioning. I'm not that interested in hearing how Miami was on a B2B; the Heat had a 5 game home stand and had a relatively easy win against Orlando the prior night.

After coming off that gruesome loss to the Pelicans, the team showed some mental toughness to beat a quality opponent. Sorry for game threading, but sometimes individual games mean more than the box score, and this was one of them.

Getting a pure shooter to come off the bench should be one of Ainge's priorities; seems easier to me to find such a player that would fit than trying to chase the mercurial "big" dragon.
 

ifmanis5

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How many games have they played this season when all five of their most important players (Hayward, Kemba, Smarf, The Jays) were all healthy and in the lineup on the same night? Has to be single digits if at all.
 

Jimbodandy

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It does seem like JB has regressed a little bit since the start of the season (not every game, but definitely some). It's a long season, and I can imagine generating the intensity for these mid-season games can be difficult.

You look back at some of the great Celtics teams and you really have to marvel how they were able to do it night in and night out. That '86 Celtics team that went 40-1 at home. Unbelievable. That '07 team that had all those amazing streaks and runs.
JB has been battling ankle and thumb/wrist injuries for a couple of weeks.
 

Jimbodandy

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Kudos for great win on the road against a team that had lost only twice at home (to both LA teams). Coach Stevens was Playoff Brad and played his starters to win a key game against an opponent whom they will be fighting for playoff positioning. I'm not that interested in hearing how Miami was on a B2B; the Heat had a 5 game home stand and had a relatively easy win against Orlando the prior night.

After coming off that gruesome loss to the Pelicans, the team showed some mental toughness to beat a quality opponent. Sorry for game threading, but sometimes individual games mean more than the box score, and this was one of them.
It was good to see CBS draw a line in the sand and come hard at Miami in this one. It was a playoffs-tight rotation with no fucking around (quick TOs to kill runs, vehement coaching from the sideline). The team responded. And yes, it was a nice palate cleanse after the NOP game.
 

DJnVa

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Apparently Monday afternoon around 4 pm, Langford was in Maine, eating dinner when he got word the Celtics wanted him in Miami. He couldn't make a 5 pm flight out of Maine, so he Uber'd to Logan for 8 pm flight, got in around midnight, crashed around 1 am, then had 10 am meetings, then didn't get off the bench.

So I just want to say--we've all had business trips like that.
 

lovegtm

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Apparently Monday afternoon around 4 pm, Langford was in Maine, eating dinner when he got word the Celtics wanted him in Miami. He couldn't make a 5 pm flight out of Maine, so he Uber'd to Logan for 8 pm flight, got in around midnight, crashed around 1 am, then had 10 am meetings, then didn't get off the bench.

So I just want to say--we've all had business trips like that.
They really need to figure out a development plan for Langford. He's been mostly healthy for a few months now and just isn't getting Maine or Boston time. Even when he got time in Maine, it felt like he was still doing a lot of sitting in the corner/secondary ball-handling, rather than getting on-ball reps.

I guess on the plus side the time spent observing seems to have helped his defense in the limited minutes we've seen.
 

tmracht

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Apparently Monday afternoon around 4 pm, Langford was in Maine, eating dinner when he got word the Celtics wanted him in Miami. He couldn't make a 5 pm flight out of Maine, so he Uber'd to Logan for 8 pm flight, got in around midnight, crashed around 1 am, then had 10 am meetings, then didn't get off the bench.

So I just want to say--we've all had business trips like that.
Been there done that, I guess the equivalent for me was when I rushed from Atlanta to DC to give a demo then the company sent the equipment to NYC?

Have they said if Romeo will continue onto Golden State or will he head back to Maine? Red Hawks are off until Friday though when they are on the Twitch feed.
 

Lazy vs Crazy

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I know when news came out Darren Collison was coming bace everyone said he's be doing to one of the LA teams. He'd be so perfect here. Hope Danny pulls out all the stops.
 

Cesar Crespo

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I really don't think there's much of a difference between playing in Maine and getting DNP-CDs in the NBA, with that said, Langford is the one player I'd rather not see with the DNP-CD. They could probably find minutes for him but that's more a testament to how shallow the team is after the first 7 to 9 players (Wanamaker and Williams being 8 and 9, the first 7 are obvious).

I'd like to see Langford get a consistent 10 mpg in the NBA but I'd also like to see Grant Williams start getting 25 minutes a night as well. There's only so many minutes. You can always make minutes, but it's at the expense of someone else you might like.

The more I see of Grant Williams, the more I like him. Can't wait to see him next year. I don't know about his ceiling but his floor is pretty high.
 

NomarsFool

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With the playmakers we have on the team in Hayward and Smart, would it really be so much of a problem to have Romeo replace Wannamaker? Obviously Brad seems to think so, but as a fan I'd certainly like to see that.
 

Cesar Crespo

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With the playmakers we have on the team in Hayward and Smart, would it really be so much of a problem to have Romeo replace Wannamaker? Obviously Brad seems to think so, but as a fan I'd certainly like to see that.
I think so. I'd rather see what Waters can do in that role. I'd rather the team have a true back up PG even with Hayward and Smart on the team, as much as I don't like Wanamaker. Plus, he's *not* as bad as he looks. At least that's what I tell myself and what the numbers suggest.
 

Cesar Crespo

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If what Waters is doing in the G league even remotely transfers over to the NBA, he's a perfect fit for the Celtics roster. A point guard who can guard the quicker guards and hit the 3 at an above average clip with medium to high volume.

Big if, but I want to see him get a chance. If his contract doesn't become an issue, I'll be disappointed. Unless it's because they gave him a 5-10 game run and he was dreadful.
 

InstaFace

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I really don't think there's much of a difference between playing in Maine and getting DNP-CDs in the NBA, with that said, Langford is the one player I'd rather not see with the DNP-CD. They could probably find minutes for him but that's more a testament to how shallow the team is after the first 7 to 9 players (Wanamaker and Williams being 8 and 9, the first 7 are obvious).
Whoa whoa, slow down there. With a DNP-CD, you're not getting any better. You're in some practices, sometimes, with some players who are much better than you. But in Maine, you at least have a chance to prove you're better than all the other second-tier depth players. If they need Romeo on the bench some night when they're a little worried about the physical condition of their main 3 guards, that's fine, but unless he's needed as a big-club insurance policy on a given night, I want him in Maine trying to make his moves work in actual games, trying to implement the defensive scheme in actual games, getting reps.

As for the team's shallowness, it's worth noting that Wanamaker has functionally the same number of MPG as Kanter (and a lot more in total since Kanter missed some time). He's fully in the rotation. Meanwhile, Granite is 8 minutes shy of Kanter's totals on the season, and it doesn't look like it'll be long before he's considered a regular (even crucial) part of the rotation. Given our massive depth at wing, I'd much rather devote previous spare game minutes to developing our depth at guard (and/or preserving our health at guard), so in any semi-blowout situation I'd love to see Romeo reducing the overall load on Kemba and Smart.

Finally, how many teams would Javonte Green be getting bigger minutes for? I realize he has 4 professional seasons in Europe and is much closer to being a finished product, so you might not be as invested in seeing his upside, but as our 4th or 5th wing he's really not bad relative to the other contenders I see out there. You think he wouldn't have a bigger role on one of the top-heavy superteams like the Lakers? I think we've got a few luxuries at the back end of our roster, notwithstanding the fact that we lack some alpha second-unit scorer.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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If healthy, the best and tightest version of this roster replaces Wanamaker with a true sniper who won't completely FUBAR the defensive rotations, leaving primary ballhandling duties in any possible 5-man unit (again, if healthy) to Kemba, Hayward, Smart, and Tatum, with at least two of them on the floor at all or most times.
 

Jimbodandy

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If what Waters is doing in the G league even remotely transfers over to the NBA, he's a perfect fit for the Celtics roster. A point guard who can guard the quicker guards and hit the 3 at an above average clip with medium to high volume.

Big if, but I want to see him get a chance. If his contract doesn't become an issue, I'll be disappointed. Unless it's because they gave him a 5-10 game run and he was dreadful.
I can only conclude that BW is a sunk cost, and they're keeping Waters as depth in Maine. I'm not sure about the 3pt delta tbh, but Waters does the point guard shit just fine and can actually cover people.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Whoa whoa, slow down there. With a DNP-CD, you're not getting any better. You're in some practices, sometimes, with some players who are much better than you. But in Maine, you at least have a chance to prove you're better than all the other second-tier depth players. If they need Romeo on the bench some night when they're a little worried about the physical condition of their main 3 guards, that's fine, but unless he's needed as a big-club insurance policy on a given night, I want him in Maine trying to make his moves work in actual games, trying to implement the defensive scheme in actual games, getting reps.

As for the team's shallowness, it's worth noting that Wanamaker has functionally the same number of MPG as Kanter (and a lot more in total since Kanter missed some time). He's fully in the rotation. Meanwhile, Granite is 8 minutes shy of Kanter's totals on the season, and it doesn't look like it'll be long before he's considered a regular (even crucial) part of the rotation. Given our massive depth at wing, I'd much rather devote previous spare game minutes to developing our depth at guard (and/or preserving our health at guard), so in any semi-blowout situation I'd love to see Romeo reducing the overall load on Kemba and Smart.

Finally, how many teams would Javonte Green be getting bigger minutes for? I realize he has 4 professional seasons in Europe and is much closer to being a finished product, so you might not be as invested in seeing his upside, but as our 4th or 5th wing he's really not bad relative to the other contenders I see out there. You think he wouldn't have a bigger role on one of the top-heavy superteams like the Lakers? I think we've got a few luxuries at the back end of our roster, notwithstanding the fact that we lack some alpha second-unit scorer.
Players developed getting DNP-CDs long before the G league existed. I think for a player like Romeo it actually is beneficial because he's very raw but for guys like Edwards and Waters? Not really. It just lets them dominate inferior competition.
 

NomarsFool

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What I don't like about the G-league is I don't think they really play defense there. I've barely watched any, so I'm not at all an expert, but to me - the biggest obstacle to Romeo's success is learning how to play defense for Brad. I don't think he's going to learn that in Maine. I also would think there is generally a higher level of coaching with the Celtics, than with Maine. I'd think they have more and better coaches with the Celtics than with the G-league team.
 

lexrageorge

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What I don't like about the G-league is I don't think they really play defense there. I've barely watched any, so I'm not at all an expert, but to me - the biggest obstacle to Romeo's success is learning how to play defense for Brad. I don't think he's going to learn that in Maine. I also would think there is generally a higher level of coaching with the Celtics, than with Maine. I'd think they have more and better coaches with the Celtics than with the G-league team.
I think the team has decided that Langford is unlikely to be a contributor this season, aside from spot/emergency duty. Too raw, and they don't want to destroy his confidence by seeing him get beat for an easy basket in a critical game situation.

The Celtics are going to be on the road a lot without a lot of practice time over the next several weeks. And the coaching staff is going to be dedicated to working with the key rotational guys during that period. The Maine coaches can still ensure that Langford is working on the right mechanics and basic positioning.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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What I don't like about the G-league is I don't think they really play defense there. I've barely watched any, so I'm not at all an expert, but to me - the biggest obstacle to Romeo's success is learning how to play defense for Brad. I don't think he's going to learn that in Maine. I also would think there is generally a higher level of coaching with the Celtics, than with Maine. I'd think they have more and better coaches with the Celtics than with the G-league team.
It's not that they don't play defense, it's that there aren't any decent big men. Pretty much everyone can beat the other guy off the dribble so without rim protectors, defenses break down pretty quickly.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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I can only conclude that BW is a sunk cost, and they're keeping Waters as depth in Maine. I'm not sure about the 3pt delta tbh, but Waters does the point guard shit just fine and can actually cover people.
I don't understand all the criticism BW gets here. For a 3rd PG, he's generally been productive. Brad obviously trusts his defense. Sure he's not super quick but he's big and strong enough to give a credible effort against a decent variety of opponents and the way Brad switches, that is pretty important.

Sure it was great that he shot 41% from 3P last year. But I guess one way to look at it is this: he's currently shooting 32.3% from 3P. My guess is that his season percentage will end up higher than that so he'll shoot better the rest of the way than he did up to now.
 

Cesar Crespo

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I don't understand all the criticism BW gets here. For a 3rd PG, he's generally been productive. Brad obviously trusts his defense. Sure he's not super quick but he's big and strong enough to give a credible effort against a decent variety of opponents and the way Brad switches, that is pretty important.

Sure it was great that he shot 41% from 3P last year. But I guess one way to look at it is this: he's currently shooting 32.3% from 3P. My guess is that his season percentage will end up higher than that so he'll shoot better the rest of the way than he did up to now.
Because he's been more than third PG due to injuries so we've been overexposed to watching him. He has the 7th most minutes on the team.
 

lovegtm

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Well, that's not BW'S "fault," and given the way the minutes have gone, I think BW is probably better suited in that role than, say, Shane Larkin.
I agree with you, but I think Cesar's point is that we've had to see BW in a role that's too big for him and so people are (a bit irrationally) frustrated at his performance. I agree that he's better than Larkin, mostly because of size/defensive versatility.
 

bigq

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I like Wanamaker in the 3rd PG role better than Rozier. In my view Wanamaker has better court vision, is a better distributer, draws more fouls, shoots better from the floor, plays better defense and meshes better with the 2nd unit. Rozier last year seemed to too often pound the ball with his head down until the shot clock wound down before launching a bad shot. Wanamaker has cooled off from a hot start but I think he is quite serviceable in the role he is in.
 

Jimbodandy

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I don't understand all the criticism BW gets here. For a 3rd PG, he's generally been productive. Brad obviously trusts his defense. Sure he's not super quick but he's big and strong enough to give a credible effort against a decent variety of opponents and the way Brad switches, that is pretty important.

Sure it was great that he shot 41% from 3P last year. But I guess one way to look at it is this: he's currently shooting 32.3% from 3P. My guess is that his season percentage will end up higher than that so he'll shoot better the rest of the way than he did up to now.
I have no huge beef with Wanamaker. He does everything ok. And you make a good point about the switches. I think that BW is bottom tier at staying in front of 1s, but he does play bigger against 2s and 3s in switches than a guy like Waters probably would.

I like that Waters is more dynamic and definitely has a defense profile at 1 that plays better, but Wanamaker can handle girthier guys.

My sunk cost point wasn't a slander on BW. Just pointing out cutting BW for Waters would kill their depth, and they have to pay BW either way.
 
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RedOctober3829

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This is a key stretch for this team. Tonight it’s Philly but then next week it’s Atlanta twice and Orlando. Better take care of business because after that it’s at OKC and Houston and home for the Clippers the following week. Then after the ASB it’s a Western trip with Minnesota, Lakers, Utah, and then back home to play Houston to finish out the month.
 

Cesar Crespo

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I agree with you, but I think Cesar's point is that we've had to see BW in a role that's too big for him and so people are (a bit irrationally) frustrated at his performance. I agree that he's better than Larkin, mostly because of size/defensive versatility.
Yeah. If he was in his regular role, I don't think anyone's talking about him.
 

RSN Diaspora

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No Kemba, no Kanter tonight. Theis is gonna need to have a career night, Smarf is gonna need to not spend half the game heaving up five-pointers, and CBS better have a plan to keep Embiid from dominating in the paint. Oh, and Hayward/Tatum/Brown will all have to log major minutes and work in sync.

Pretty goddamned tall order.
 

mostman

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“Knee soreness”

No Walker no Enes - 76ers again get a hobbled Celtics team. This would be a massive win if they pull it off.

I wonder if that knee has been bothering him for a while. The last two games his performance has been reduced.
 

mcpickl

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Because he's been more than third PG due to injuries so we've been overexposed to watching him. He has the 7th most minutes on the team.
Wanamaker is still the third PG, and it's a spot I don't think they need to upgrade. He's been playing so much because they have no wing depth, so rather than Smart playing most of the the backup PG minutes he's being pushed up into more wing minutes. Brad is basically choosing to overexpose Wanamaker in heavier minutes rather thsn Ojeleye/Grant Williams.

The Celtics badly need another wing/forward they can trust. That would be far and away the first thing I'd be targeting at the trade deadline.
 

Cesar Crespo

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Wanamaker is still the third PG, and it's a spot I don't think they need to upgrade. He's been playing so much because they have no wing depth, so rather than Smart playing most of the the backup PG minutes he's being pushed up into more wing minutes. Brad is basically choosing to overexpose Wanamaker in heavier minutes rather thsn Ojeleye/Grant Williams.

The Celtics badly need another wing/forward they can trust. That would be far and away the first thing I'd be targeting at the trade deadline.
I want Grant Williams to get heavier minutes but maybe I'm on an island. I know people want Langford to get minutes (I'm one), but if it was one or the other, I'm giving more minutes to Grant. I think Williams could actually contribute come playoff time. Langford, not so much. It would be more about next year.

I think this team needs a 3 point shooter/scorer off the bench, position doesn't really matter. I agree with you though than Wanamaker isn't the problem at 3rd string PG. I wouldn't mind seeing what we have with Waters and see if maybe he's an upgrade over Wanamaker and possibly provide some scoring but I wouldn't spend resources to upgrade from Wanamaker. I think he'll have a pretty minimal role come playoff time so I'm not sure why you upgrade that.

The problem is we've seen too much of Wanamaker. That's not his fault.
 

mcpickl

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I want Grant Williams to get heavier minutes but maybe I'm on an island. I know people want Langford to get minutes (I'm one), but if it was one or the other, I'm giving more minutes to Grant. I think Williams could actually contribute come playoff time. Langford, not so much. It would be more about next year.

I think this team needs a 3 point shooter/scorer off the bench, position doesn't really matter. I agree with you though than Wanamaker isn't the problem at 3rd string PG. I wouldn't mind seeing what we have with Waters and see if maybe he's an upgrade over Wanamaker and possibly provide some scoring but I wouldn't spend resources to upgrade from Wanamaker. I think he'll have a pretty minimal role come playoff time so I'm not sure why you upgrade that.

The problem is we've seen too much of Wanamaker. That's not his fault.
He's such a non-threat to shoot that it's tough to put him on the court with one of Theis/Kanter, it really crushes their offensive spacing. Then it's even tighter if he's on in a unit with Smart/Wanamaker at the point instead of Kemba. Down the road when he's more comfortable maybe he'll shoot enough to be in a playoff rotation, but I don't think he can be this season.
 

benhogan

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Agree that a wing, that can shoot, would be worth trading for. That would lessen BW's role (w/Smart playing less wing). Bertans or Bjelica (less expensive/signed for next season) would be interesting.

If Danny does nothing, I hope Brad goes with Grant (not Semi). The odds of #18 are long this season and believe it's about 2021 and beyond. The development minutes would be worth it.

cherry-pick alert Since Grant started 0-25 from 3, he has gone 14-35 (40%) over the last 24 games. While challenged offensively, his on/off is a +5.5 and adv off/def/net rating is an impressive 110/99.9/+10.1 so he doesn't kill the Celtics when he is playing. His efficiency numbers with Theis are good, and great with Kanter, so I'd rather have GW play the 4.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Once again, the issue with Wanamaker isn't the third PG role. Furthermore, I think mcpickl is correct in that Stevens has had some bad choices to make given injuries and has opted to use Wanamaker more for the reasons cited.

The problem is that for two solid months now, his production has been terrible. Across, 28 games (~60% of his season), he is shooting 37.1% from the field, 27.5% from deep, averaging ~2.5 APG and his defense has fallen off while averaging ~18.8 MPG. Stevens even scaled back his minutes of late, presumably in part because of his struggles.

I don't think the C's need to upgrade Wanamaker but his role is one where they can be opportunistic if a better version somehow becomes available by next Thursday.
 

mcpickl

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Agree that a wing, that can shoot, would be worth trading for. That would lessen BW's role (w/Smart playing less wing). Bertans or Bjelica (less expensive/signed for next season) would be interesting.

If Danny does nothing, I hope Brad goes with Grant (not Semi). The odds of #18 are long this season and believe it's about 2021 and beyond. The development minutes would be worth it.

cherry-pick alert Since Grant started 0-25 from 3, he has gone 14-35 (40%) over the last 24 games. While challenged offensively, his on/off is a +5.5 and adv off/def/net rating is an impressive 110/99.9/+10.1 so he doesn't kill the Celtics when he is playing. His efficiency numbers with Theis are good, and great with Kanter, so I'd rather have GW play the 4.
This is part of the issue though. It's not just the percentage from three, it's the volume. Even ignoring the awful beginning, he's making just over one three every other game in those last 24 games. Come playoff time when your opponent is really game planning for you, he'll be ignored on the perimeter. Having him on the floor with a center that will also be ignored on the perimeter is going to leave a lot less space to operate offensively.
 

Cesar Crespo

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This is part of the issue though. It's not just the percentage from three, it's the volume. Even ignoring the awful beginning, he's making just over one three every other game in those last 24 games. Come playoff time when your opponent is really game planning for you, he'll be ignored on the perimeter. Having him on the floor with a center that will also be ignored on the perimeter is going to leave a lot less space to operate offensively.
He said if they did nothing, he'd want Brad to go with Grant over Semi. Do you disagree with that? Semi doesn't exactly have the volume thing going for him either.

If your choice is Grant or Semi, who you going with?
 

mcpickl

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He said if they did nothing, he'd want Brad to go with Grant over Semi. Do you disagree with that? Semi doesn't exactly have the volume thing going for him either.

If your choice is Grant or Semi, who you going with?
Probably Semi, but it doesn't really matter. They're both bad options.

If either one of them are in their playoff rotation, it won't be a long postseason.

I'd be really surprised in the Celtics don't upgrade that spot.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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lovegtm

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View: https://twitter.com/wlohaty/status/1223820287256485888?s=20

Another perspective...

View: https://twitter.com/chrisgrenham/status/1223787178725122048?s=20


Also, if it helps Wanamaker play like he did against the 76ers, I will continue pointing out how horrible December and January were. In all seriousness, if he just gets back to October/November BW or last year's version, that will help a lot. Hopefully whatever has been bothering him is in the past.
Wanamaker has a decent track record at this point (including overseas) of being a competent 3-point shooter, especially given that his role on the Celtics (when everyone is healthy) is to hit open looks and drive closeouts. His awful December/January were most likely a nagging injury we haven't heard about or variance--you don't suddenly forget how to shoot at age 30. He is what he is, and plays good defense within scheme. Doubt he's going anywhere.
 

reggiecleveland

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What I don't like about the G-league is I don't think they really play defense there. I've barely watched any, so I'm not at all an expert, but to me - the biggest obstacle to Romeo's success is learning how to play defense for Brad. I don't think he's going to learn that in Maine. I also would think there is generally a higher level of coaching with the Celtics, than with Maine. I'd think they have more and better coaches with the Celtics than with the G-league team.
I disagree. I worked with gleague guys last summer, then scouted some ncaa guys. Many of the ncaa guys will be better players than the GL guys,but they can't play pro style d. Ballscreen coverages alone are so much more complex, these guys often need to learn a lot about team d.

I watched Gonzaga summer scrim, and while most of those kids were headed to better pro careers than the guys we had, on our Cebl team, we would have thrashed them playing pro rules.

The GL has a ton of upside guys with major flaws, but most have offensive ability and put up some big numbers . But the coaches there are working their asses off on d, just many of the players are inexperienced so there are a lot of breakdowns as guys learn.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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BW, SO, and GW went a combined 9/15 from the field (3/8 from 3P land) and 10/12 from the FT line for a combined 31 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists, and 3 steals. Plus, as Brad said, both GW can guard multiple guys allowing Cs to switch on perimeter.

They also each got a highlight moment.

It's almost as if someone printed the last page of this thread and posted it in their lockers.
 

Eddie Jurak

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Once again, the issue with Wanamaker isn't the third PG role. Furthermore, I think mcpickl is correct in that Stevens has had some bad choices to make given injuries and has opted to use Wanamaker more for the reasons cited.

The problem is that for two solid months now, his production has been terrible. Across, 28 games (~60% of his season), he is shooting 37.1% from the field, 27.5% from deep, averaging ~2.5 APG and his defense has fallen off while averaging ~18.8 MPG. Stevens even scaled back his minutes of late, presumably in part because of his struggles.

I don't think the C's need to upgrade Wanamaker but his role is one where they can be opportunistic if a better version somehow becomes available by next Thursday.
I think he's just overexposed as a top-8 guy, but would be fine as a top-10 guy.
 

Eddie Jurak

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Thinking about the win over Philly, I am wondering if Kemba being out sort of helped them in one distinct way: in meant that they didn't give a single minute to a player under 6'3", and, of course, Marcus Smart is way better than your typical 6'3" in defending bigger players. That meant that Jaylen got a lot more of his time at guard than he would have if Kemba were playing.

Does being bigger (and more competitive against size) in the point and wing part of the lineup help compensate for being undersized at C and throughout the lineup, as the Celtics are whent hey match up with Philly?