2022-2023 General Celtics thread

Eddie Jurak

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This blows my mind, but I just realized I don't know if I know the NBA's rules on an injured player like Gallo. Does he have to be one of the 15 roster spots? I'm kinda surprised the NBA doesn't have an IR, seems a bit dated. I know there is the hardship rule but I thought that was if multiple players were unavailable. What are the team options with him and the roster? After watching today I have 13 guys with rosters spots, then the 2 2ways, not including Gallo
He stays as one of the 15, though the Celtics could get some type of hardship exemotion (probably not what it is actually called) if they were in dire straits due to a number of injuries.
 

benhogan

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He stays as one of the 15, though the Celtics could get some type of hardship exemotion (probably not what it is actually called) if they were in dire straits due to a number of injuries.
https://celticswire.usatoday.com/2022/09/02/nba-boston-celtics-dpe-for-gallo/

$3.2M DPE...which is next to useless to the Celtics since they already own several much larger TPEs. + Gallinari still hits the cap.

It probably forces the C's to use the entire 15-man roster instead of going with 14 + two 2-ways
 

Eddie Jurak

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https://celticswire.usatoday.com/2022/09/02/nba-boston-celtics-dpe-for-gallo/

$3.2M DPE...which is next to useless to the Celtics since they already own several much larger TPEs. + Gallinari still hits the cap.

It probably forces the C's to use the entire 15-man roster instead of going with 14 + two 2-ways
Different issue. Not talking about cap relief here, but roster spot relief. Celtics have relied on this on occasion in the past, but one injured player would not be enough.
 

benhogan

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Different issue. Not talking about cap relief here, but roster spot relief. Celtics have relied on this on occasion in the past, but one injured player would not be enough.
OK, during COVID the NBA upped the active roster to 15 + 2 ways. They can draw from Maine or sign UFA to 10-day contracts.
BUT they are far from that.

Gallo won't dress or be on the active roster

https://nba.nbcsports.com/2020/12/03/report-nba-to-expand-active-game-roster-to-15-due-to-covid-19/
 

Sam Ray Not

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The first preseason game was a real turnoverfest for the Celtics, but despite the TOs they crushed Charlotte, carrying a 20 point lead for most of the game and just destroying Charlotte in the garbage 4th.

Interesting things:

With center injuries, the Celtics went "small" with Al at the 5 and White starting with Smart in the backcourt. Then in the second half they went bigger, starting Vonleh instead of White. They also played a weird lineup for a couple of minutes that had Tatum and Brown as the bigswith Smart, White, and Brogdon. Having a backcourt with that kind of size gives the Celtics some flexibility.

As a team, for the game, the Celtics had 41 assists on 48 made baskets, shot 22 of 47 from three. The only bad thing was the 23 turnovers.

Brown shot well and scored 24, Tatum shot poorly and scored 16, both turned it over a lot. Al tuned up flawlessly with 8 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists in 17 minutes. Smart was Smart, turned it over 4 times.

The bench guys were more interesting:

Brogdon came in for the last 5-6 minutes of the first half and looked rusty. Turned the ball over twice. Then he settled down and had 6 assists in the second quarter, including setting up threes from the likes of Hauser and Grant.

Grant looked to be a little quicker when driving it than he has previously shown. Didn't play much (13 minutes) but scored 8 points and added 4 assists including a couple of nice passes.

Sam Hauser did what he was supposed to do: shoot the lights out, hitting 4 of 5 threes (all catch and shoot attempts). He also drove and had a nice lob for a Kabangele finish, and made a nice cut for a layup (his only 2 point attempt).

Mfiondu Kabangele entered the game late in the first half and immediately picked up an offensive foul trying to set a screen. Then he entered the game in the second half and was immediately called for a (defensive) goaltend. But he also scored 10 points on 4-4 shooting that included an offensive reound and difficult putback, finishing a lob from Hauser, and hitting a three.

Payton Pritchard drilled his first 3 but did not shoot well after that, but did pick up 5 sssists in 17 minutes.

Last but not least, JD Davison. He played the last 6 (admittedly preseason garbage time) minutes and just looked great. He pushed the ball, saw the floor, got to his spots on the floor, and played D. He shot 2-3 from the field (the miss being a layup that rolled off the rim) and finished with 4 points and 4 assists. A couple of nicely thrown lobs. While he was pushing it and looking to drive, he knew where his teammates were and how to get them the ball. I think NBA preseason play is a step up from NBA summer league play, and Davison seems to be the type of player who benefits from that. Anyway, great value with the #53 pick. I still think he's a project who will spend most of his time in Maine this year, but I think they might have something with this kid.

Great stuff.

Meaningless preseason game alert, but I think the thoroughness of the beatdown may serve to remind people that for all the sturm und drang about the Cs' "disastrous" last month, (1) Gallo was a fragile role player (and probably 90% replaced by Griffin); (2) Rob is awesome but also fragile, and was probably gonna miss 20-40 games in any case, so you might as well frontload his time off; and (3) Udoka v. Mazzulla in terms of actual coaching ability could easily end up a push.

Beyond that: all the core guys are young and should be expected to improve incrementally, except Horford, who takes great care of his body, and is not ancient (1.5 years younger than LeBron, fwiw). And the Brogdon addition could be huge.

TLDR: they're still clearly in the Big 4 title favorites with GS, MIL, and LAC (with PHI, DEN and possibly BKN knocking at the door).
 
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mcpickl

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https://celticswire.usatoday.com/2022/09/02/nba-boston-celtics-dpe-for-gallo/

$3.2M DPE...which is next to useless to the Celtics since they already own several much larger TPEs. + Gallinari still hits the cap.

It probably forces the C's to use the entire 15-man roster instead of going with 14 + two 2-ways
One big difference between a DPE and a TPE is that the DPE can also be used for a signing while the TPE can't.

If the Celtics apply for it, I don't believe they have yet but I'd assume they will, and it's granted I wouldn't expect them to use it now anyway. You'd still have to pay tax on anyone signed, and in terms of older vets it's not much more than the minimum anyway.

It could be very useful after the deadline in buyout season. Having that little bit extra over being able to only offer the minimum could be a tiebreaker in getting a guy to choose Boston.
 

JakeRae

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One big difference between a DPE and a TPE is that the DPE can also be used for a signing while the TPE can't.

If the Celtics apply for it, I don't believe they have yet but I'd assume they will, and it's granted I wouldn't expect them to use it now anyway. You'd still have to pay tax on anyone signed, and in terms of older vets it's not much more than the minimum anyway.

It could be very useful after the deadline in buyout season. Having that little bit extra over being able to only offer the minimum could be a tiebreaker in getting a guy to choose Boston.
Yep. This is probably the only real use for that exception, if it is both obtained and used.

Also, carrying Gallinari on the roster isn’t a big deal. It wasn’t that long ago NBA teams only had 13 roster spots and no 2-ways, so there’s really no reason for anyone to worry that we might be able effectively down 1 spot this year. I mean, the Warriors had Wiseman not playing all last year, and Klay out most of the year, plus other injuries and it wasn’t a problem for them.
 

benhogan

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One big difference between a DPE and a TPE is that the DPE can also be used for a signing while the TPE can't.

It could be very useful after the deadline in buyout season. Having that little bit extra over being able to only offer the minimum could be a tiebreaker in getting a guy to choose Boston.
good point
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Yep. This is probably the only real use for that exception, if it is both obtained and used.

Also, carrying Gallinari on the roster isn’t a big deal. It wasn’t that long ago NBA teams only had 13 roster spots and no 2-ways, so there’s really no reason for anyone to worry that we might be able effectively down 1 spot this year. I mean, the Warriors had Wiseman not playing all last year, and Klay out most of the year, plus other injuries and it wasn’t a problem for them.
If the Heat can make it deep into the post season while carrying eight extra three and optional D wings and a statue of Udonis Haslem, it feels kind of silly to worry about Gallinari's slot.

Once again, its not 100% certain that Galinari won't return by the playoffs. Its certainly not the base case but its possible. If so, even a hampered Danilo is likely to be better than anyone else available for that roster spot.
 

RorschachsMask

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I wasn’t sure where to put this, so a mod could move it elsewhere, if needed. First off, obviously nobody should feel like they have to donate. The stepdad has been a regular poster with me on a Celtics forum for 10+ years, we all knew that his son was born with down syndrome and cerebral palsy, but like the gofundme says, has lived a relatively healthy life thus far. Earlier this year in our discord, Allen (stepdad) told us that his son was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, and they’ve basically drained everything they had to pay the medical bills, and now are struggling to hold on while they pay for at home treatment/equipment. Anything that could gets donated would help, no matter how small, it adds up.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-with-troys-leukemia-treatment-and-recovery?utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter
 
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Eddie Jurak

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The Celtics lost this on the scoreboard, but the reality is that the starters and regular bench guys ruined the Raptors for the better part of 3 quarters and then the deeper bench guys got routed in the end.

A few notable things from the game:

1. First quarter Jaylen Brown continues to be a thing. He led the team with 23 points (in 27 minutes) and did a ton of that damage early.

2. Jayson Tatum went for 18 points on 6 of 16 shooting. The shooting numbers loked bad because he shot 0 for 7 from three. BSJ's John Karalis commented positively about Tatum, though, noting that he sees signs what must have been offseason points of focus in Tatum's driving game - specifically, taking more direct routes to the basket on drives. Also 6-7 from the line, 10 rebounds, 4 assists.

3. Malcolm Brogdon as 6th man has been devastatingly effective so far. It was really him coming in that changed the game from even to Celtic runaway. Another 9 assists. He's getting the ball to Grant and Hauser in places to score from. You really see the offensive value he brings, especially against second units.

4. Marcus Smart looked rough offensively early on. (Brogdon being onnthe team is going to trigger another round of "Marcus is not really a PG" talk because Brogdon is clearly the better offensive player of the two. But, Marcus settled down and played better after the first.

5. Sam Hauser was the surprise star of the game for the Celtics. In 26 minutes he scored 22, plus 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Early on, playing with the regulars, he made his impact by knocking down catch and shoot threes, often assisted by Brogdon. For the game, he shot 5 of 8 from three. Later, with the deep bench unit, he was getting clean looks from three and he started driving closeouts. At a pivotal moment late in the game, he drove and was called for a charge, but it was overtuned on replay and became an "and 1" because the defender was just barely not set when Hauser jumped. Anyway, I don't imagine he'll be doing too much of that against NBA regulars, but if the shooting stroke stays he'll have a rotation role.

6. Grant again showed some signs of quickness on drives. He uses the threat of pulling up from 3 to freeze defenders and then drive past them.

7. Up and down game for Payton Pritchard. He shot 7-14, 3-8 from three, plus 5 assists. But he was the PG of the deep bench unit that lost the game and was a -25 in 17 minutes. He did have to play with the deep bench group and before that he got some minutes with a weird Grant at the 5 lineup.

8. The unit that played the last ~7 minutes of regulation and the OT was Pritchard, Hauser, Kabangele, Brodric Thomas, and Justin Jackson. And that group was -15. Thomas and Jackson combined to shoot 0 for 10, 0 for 7 from three. Pritchard and Hauser kept them in it. Kabangele had one nice finish as the roll man with Pritchard but was otherwise a non-presence (13 minutes played and not a single rebound).

9. Only 10 turnovers, a major improvement over the first game.

10. A DNP for JD Davison, who I would have liked to see at the end. I like him a lot but he's still a long term project with an uncertain future.

Stepping back, with everone healthy this team has the potential to have an incredible rotation.

  • Starters: Rob, Horford, Tatum, Brown, Smart
  • 6th man: Brogdon
  • Rotation: White, Grant, Hauser
That's 9 and I don't see a need to go deeper than that except situationally.

While he is out, Rob will be "replaced" by a mix of Kornet, Blake, and smaller lineups. I don't think Kabangele is ready for prime time but the Celtics may use his fouls in certain situations.
 

lovegtm

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My biggest takeaway is that the team is not missing a beat defensively with Ime gone. Communication, switching, help are all really good with the main guys.
 

128

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Stepping back, with everone healthy this team has the potential to have an incredible rotation.

  • Starters: Rob, Horford, Tatum, Brown, Smart
  • 6th man: Brogdon
  • Rotation: White, Grant, Hauser
That's 9 and I don't see a need to go deeper than that except situationally.

While he is out, Rob will be "replaced" by a mix of Kornet, Blake, and smaller lineups. I don't think Kabangele is ready for prime time but the Celtics may use his fouls in certain situations.
The playoffs are a different matter, but I won't be surprised if Blake Griffin is in the rotation, even when Rob is back.
 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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8. The unit that played the last ~7 minutes of regulation and the OT was Pritchard, Hauser, Kabangele, Brodric Thomas, and Justin Jackson. And that group was -15. Thomas and Jackson combined to shoot 0 for 10, 0 for 7 from three. Pritchard and Hauser kept them in it. Kabangele had one nice finish as the roll man with Pritchard but was otherwise a non-presence (13 minutes played and not a single rebound).
Cabin Jelly didn't get a rebound because TOR must have shot at least 80% against that unit. The problem is that TOR's bench was so long that they just drove into the lane and basically hit uncontested 12 footers time and time again. TOR's bench unit included Josh Jackson for some reason.
 

Fishy1

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Couple of other observations, interested if others felt the same way.

Kabengele works hard, but he's not a great leaper. Whereas Charlotte was pretty thin inside, I thought he struggled with all the length of Toronto's bench.

Pritchard obviously not a good lead guard. Great to have him as depth though. A little bit of ball-handling, a little bit of passing, very good shooting. But the difference in how hard it was for him to get his shot off versus Hauser's quick release and length was pretty obvious last night.
 

HoyaSoxa

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So is there a trade to be made to get F/C depth in return for PP? Would also be open to a bigger upgrade in return for White, but I think he ends up being important depth for potential injuries to Smart and Brogdon.

Also, am I correct that there is no way to bring back Theis if he were to be bought out? I ran into him and his wife in Needham a few weeks ago, so he must still have a house here.
 

Saints Rest

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Yes. I think they will go 10 deep in season even when healthy.
Agreed. And with injuries and rest days, you probably need 12.

Using old-world terminology:
PG: Smart, Brogdon, White (with 2 of these likely getting some run together, keeping PP on the bench)
SG: Brown, Pritchard (as noted above, PP seems to fit better as the off-guard)
SF: Tatum, Hauser
PF: Horford, GWilliams, Griffin (with 2 of these likely getting some run together, keeping Kornet on the bench)
C: RWilliams, Kornet
 

Jed Zeppelin

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If Hauser is truly an NBA-level sniper with the open looks he should see on this roster, it could go a long way to softening the blow of losing Gallo who came with his own question marks around defense. Certainly not as well-rounded an offensive player but if he can bring the shooting, it's not as big a downgrade as we might have imagined.
 

lovegtm

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If Hauser is truly an NBA-level sniper with the open looks he should see on this roster, it could go a long way to softening the blow of losing Gallo who came with his own question marks around defense. Certainly not as well-rounded an offensive player but if he can bring the shooting, it's not as big a downgrade as we might have imagined.
I know Gallo is much better as a playmaker and attacking switches, but with Brogdon in the mix, at a certain point I'm fine with just the shooting. And, as you say, Hauser's defense is probably a bit better than Gallo's at this point too.
 

Imbricus

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Right after the end of this clip, Scal said, "The bench loves it!" However, I had to verify that because I was certain he said "bitch".
Ha! That's exactly what I heard too -- "The bitch loves it." So I guess it wasn't just me.

Separately, a Globe story today had a good line in it that kind of discounted the crappy fourth quarter last night. It went along the lines of, "If you were worried about a pairing of Kabengele, Brodric Thomas and Justin Jackson, this game showed you were right." As if we'll ever see that group on the floor in a regular season game, or even another preseason game, I suspect. Jackson is the first one of that trio I'd ship out.
 

Eddie Jurak

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Getting the night off tonight: Tatum, Smart, Horford, Brogdon.

Celtoc debut: Blake

Starters: White, Brown, Hauser, Grant, Vonleh
 

Jimbodandy

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I'm bummed that there was no Eddie Report tonight, but I hope that he had a nice night with friends or something.

I don't care what anyone says--Hauser is for real. That is all.
 

Imbricus

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Hauser is definitely for real. He was even chatting and joking with White on the bench. He looked terrible when he got caught trying to defend a few one-on-one drives, but overall his defense seemed adequate. He blocked a shot and had a pass deflection in the matter of a minute or so. One thing: he does tend to disappear under the boards, on rebounds, so the Celts may not be able to count on him for much there, despite his decent height. I don't think he has the muscle to box out too many people.

I thought Griffin looked pretty bad, overall. But it may have been partly that this was a preseason game, with a new team. He tended to look like one of those semi-clueless big end-of-the-bench guys who can't jump and doesn't move very well. Nobody was buying his feints on offense. But I thought he made a few nice passes and was a bit surprised to see in the box score he had nine rebounds during his 16 minutes.

I'm interested to see what happens with Pritchard. It really helped when he ran the offense; he was definitely a stabilizing force. He hit a few threes. But he also got swallowed up a few times inside, as he tried to create offense close to the basket. I've been a Pritchard fan, but he's just looking like the odd man out this year, and I don't think he's going to be happy with his new diminished role. He would seem a prime candidate to get flipped for a rotation big who brings some rim-running defense and rebounding. But if Brogdon goes down with an injury, the calculus could change.

Guys I have no qualms about dumping: Thomas, Samanic, Layman, Jackson. Jackson in particular irritates me. He has a knack for blowing easy shots and is a bit of a gunner. He did have some success from three last night, but then was 0-8 from the field on Wednesday. We could pick up some G league talent at midyear that's better than those guys.
 

Eddie Jurak

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I watched, but decided to wait until morning to post my thoughts.

As I've been doing in the preseason, less a recap than some observations.

The Celtics sat 4 of their top 5 healthy players: Tatum, Borgdon, Horford, Smart. Kornet was still out injured. However, Blake made his Celtic debut. Charlotte, as far as I can tell, played all their starters. (LaMelo Ball fouled out after 30 minutes. Rozier played 29.) The Celtics started White, Brown, Hauser, Grant, and Vonleh.

Charlotte just blew the Celtics out in the first quarter, 35-22, on the strength of LaMelo Ball (15 points 3 assists) and a Celtic turnover fest. The Celtics offense, such as it was, was mostly White (8 points), Brown (7 points), and Pritchard (5 points off the bench in the final 1:10).

Boston settled down and came back to win, with some good play from a number of guys up and down the roster. They had 20 turnovers for the game, but at least 9 were in that first quarter.

Individual players:

Noah Vonleh started and led the team in minutes with 31. He had a double-double (14-13) on 6 of 8 shooting, plus 2 assist, 1 steal, but 4 turnovers and 4 fouls. He was a big part of the problem in the first quarter and part of the solution the rest of the way. I think his spot on the team is locked up and he will be in the mix for Rob's minutes.

Blake Griffin played center while Vonleh was on the bench. (Kabangele did not play at all). How did he look? Athletically speaking, he looked awful. It's not just that he is a "below the rim" player at this point in his career, it's also that he has no explosive movements whatsoever. Sam Hauser, also a below the rim guy, is more explosive. Blake kept getting the ball in situations where you expect him to be able to create a shot for himself (maybe just a short shot or a layup, not a windmill dunk like the Blake of old) and... he just couldn't. He also shot poorly (1 of 6 for the game, 1 of 4 from 3) and had a couple of tunrovers. But, he got himself to the line and hit free throws (4-4), rebounded, and made a few good passes (2 assists, but could have had more). His line in 16 minutes was 7 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 turnovers, and he was fouled several times. If he knocks down one more three he's almost at a double double. Anyway, he's got very little left in the tank, but maybe enough to be in the mix for some minutes at center while Rob is out.

Sam Hauser was a little less on fire in this game than the first 2, but he still shot 3-7 from three for 9 points and added 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and a block, with one turnover. During the chaotic first quarter he did nothing useful, but once the Celtics had settled down he was able to get himself open for some catch and shoot threes and hit them. He tried one pullup three and missed. For Sam Hauser, chaos is most definitely not a ladder.

Jaylen Brown and Derrick White were both very good. Brown scored 19 in 25 minutes. White was as aggressive as I have ever seen him early on and finished with 18 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists in 24 minutes.

Grant played 28 minutes and was OK, 9 points 6 rebounds, but only one 3 attempt (miss) and 3 tunrovers. Like Hauser, Grant isn't a chaos is a ladder guy.

Pritchard had a poor shooting game (6 of 15, 3 of 8 from three), but had 15 points and 7 assists in 27 minutes. He tried to thrive in the chaos, with mixed results.

Not much to say about the scrubs. Jake Layman (16 minutes), Brodric Thomas (15 minutes), Luka Samanic (4 minutes)didn't show much of anything. The one who did, Justin Jackson, scored 16 points in 23 minutes thanks to some hot three point shooting (4 of 8) after being ice colds in the previous game. If the Celtics are going to sign one of their camp guys to be their 15th player, I think it will probably be Jackson. But I would not be shocked if they went with 14 or gave the last slot to someone cut by another team. Can they send Jackson to Maine without another team snapping him up? Probably. Is it a huge loss if he does get snapped up? No. Unless they just like the guy for less than obvious reasons (e.g., practice body), I think they probably just offer him a place in Maine.

JD played only thr last 6 minutes, and did not look as good as he had in his first game. But he was OK. 6 minutes, missed his only shot (on a drive), had an assist and a block. He closed out the scoring for Boston with a drive and lob to Vonleh. I suppose he is another option for the 15th roster spot if the Celtics really like him and think now is the time to lock him in to a regular deal. But I doubt it. Even if they wanted to do that, they would likely be better off just keeping 14 players with JD on a 2-way deal for now.
 

benhogan

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why does 3 for 7 from three feel like an off-shooting night for the Howitser ?

salary cap-wise I believe the C's are better off with JD on the roster.
 

Eddie Jurak

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Aren’t howitzers known historically for their short range and lack of accuracy? Not sure the nickname fits.
 

jmcc5400

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Blake’s complete loss of athleticism was notable. He received one entry interior pass rolling to the hoop near the restricted area that would have been a highlight film cram 5 years ago. I didn’t expect *that*, but I did expect him to take it to the rim. Instead he kind of stopped and shot an ugly fadeaway.
 

RorschachsMask

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Jaylen definitely spent the summer knowing he’d be on ball less, because of the Brogdon move. He looks like a different guy as a movement shooter. I’d guess that at least 75% of his looks so far are either coming off a screen, or catching the ball on the move towards the paint. Was really noticeable last night, his usage was only 27%, with Tatum, Smart, and Brogdon all sitting.

Seems to be a point of focus, and it’s the best way to maximize Jaylen. Of course there will be some ISO and PnR mixed in, but in the preseason he’s been playing kind of a Klay role. Makes the offense better, and more unpredictable, IMO.
 
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Eddie Jurak

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I think the Celtics roster is set and they will go with 14.

C: Al, Kornet, Blake, Vonleh, Rob (injured), Kabangele (two way)
PF: Tatum, Grant, Gallinari (injured)
SF: Brown, Hauser
SG: White, Pritchard
PG: Smart, Brogdon, Davison (two way)

I think Brogdon will be 6th man all the way.

But I think that Mazzulla will opt for talent over size, meaning that Horford will start at the 5 and White will start rather than starting Al at the 4 with one of the centers. Maybe that will be a situational thing and they will start some fouls against Philly or whatever, but none of the centers is a better player than White.
 

RorschachsMask

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Auger34

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The Tatum+bench lineups should be unstoppable this year. Some combination of Brogdon, White, Pritchard, Grant, Hauser, and Blake out there with him. Don’t like the use of scrub in this tweet, but still.

View: https://twitter.com/MikeAdxx/status/1579539856128364544?s=20&t=SPxA3Og1kWt1swErspD61Q

Also, this is amazing for our offense.

View: https://twitter.com/NBA_University/status/1579565795461726208?s=20&t=7VfJHI2gwm8weFebb5K82w
It looks like Brogdon wasn’t playing?

From what I can tell it was White-Brown-Hauser-Grant-Horford vs. Pritchard-Tatum-Blake-Justin Jackson and Kabengele?
 

RorschachsMask

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It looks like Brogdon wasn’t playing?

From what I can tell it was White-Brown-Hauser-Grant-Horford vs. Pritchard-Tatum-Blake-Justin Jackson and Kabengele?
Yeah no Brogdon there, probably just testing out different player combinations. It’s Vonleh as the 5, which I think he could get some real minutes for this team until Rob is back.
 

lovegtm

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Apr 30, 2013
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Blake locker room chemistry MVP. First he was at the BC game with Grant and others, now this.

View: https://twitter.com/steve_hewitt/status/1579650200901398528?s=20&t=EAWWpKzrHidXlLL_Hwddbg
I've been saying it for a week or two now in different forms ("Mazzulla will replace Ime better than we thought", "team seems really cohesive on offense and defense"), but the vibes on this team are very, very good so far.

I think Ime did a good job fixing the culture initially, but the players seem to have internalized the culture themselves now.
 

Eddie Jurak

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I've been saying it for a week or two now in different forms ("Mazzulla will replace Ime better than we thought", "team seems really cohesive on offense and defense"), but the vibes on this team are very, very good so far.

I think Ime did a good job fixing the culture initially, but the players seem to have internalized the culture themselves now.
It seems weird to me how ready people are to throw Stevens stealthily under the bus. It was the right time for him to step aside and Udoka was a good in-court hire who made a difference, but saying the Celtics culture was broken seems like an unnecessary dunk on someone who did a great job here even if he ultimately wasn't the right guy to take the next step.
 

benhogan

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It seems weird to me how ready people are to throw Stevens stealthily under the bus. It was the right time for him to step aside and Udoka was a good in-court hire who made a difference, but saying the Celtics culture was broken seems like an unnecessary dunk on someone who did a great job here even if he ultimately wasn't the right guy to take the next step.
is anyone throwing Coach Brad under the bus? That team, Brad's last season as HC, was in transition, battling injuries, dealing with multiple COVID outbreaks, and not improving defensively.

Everyone around here agrees that Brad made some shrewd roster moves, as President, that had a lot to do with the "culture change" last season.

Brad gets and deserves a lot of the credit for this team going from competitive to pre-season title favorites in 12 months
 

joe dokes

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is anyone throwing Coach Brad under the bus? That team, Brad's last season as HC, was in transition, battling injuries, dealing with multiple COVID outbreaks, and not improving defensively.

Everyone around here agrees that Brad made some shrewd roster moves, as President, that had a lot to do with the "culture change" last season.

Brad gets and deserves a lot of the credit for this team going from competitive to pre-season title favorites in 12 months
I don't detect any underbusing. I think its fair to say (or guess) that Stevens recognized that he might not be the right coach to change the on-court culture; or, at a minimum, someone else could be better at it. That Udoka-led culture change, along with Stevens's personnel moves, helped the team get to another level.
 

Jimbodandy

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Of course we have no proof of anything, but I think that joe and ben hit the nail on the head here. We heard enough quotes to piece some things together, conceding that it's still speculation.

For young players, Brad's approach really worked well. Constant teaching is always good, of course. But Brad's "never criticize a guy's shot selection, or you undermine his confidence" mindset had an expiration date. Once the Jays, around whom this team is built, hit a point where they knew which shots to take and not take and where to be on defense, what they wanted was a coach who would enforce that and demand accountability from everyone else. Brad is an authentic guy. Him taking off the professorial, non-judgmental hat and putting on the hardo, "WTF are we doing there hat" would have been a bridge too far for guys who grew up with him. That's the type of culture change that we're talking about here. Not chemistry stuff. Just "new sheriff in town" kind of thing. And with Brad kicking upstairs, the guys can always get a dose of Mr. Rogers when they need one.
 

Eddie Jurak

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I don't detect any underbusing. I think its fair to say (or guess) that Stevens recognized that he might not be the right coach to change the on-court culture; or, at a minimum, someone else could be better at it. That Udoka-led culture change, along with Stevens's personnel moves, helped the team get to another level.
The poster I was responding to said "Ime did a good job fixing the culture," which to me implies that the culture was broken when he got here.
 

HomeRunBaker

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The poster I was responding to said "Ime did a good job fixing the culture," which to me implies that the culture was broken when he got here.
I wouldn’t say that it was “broken” but we certainly lacked an identity. I suppose in that regard it can be defined as broken in a way.
 

HomeRunBaker

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AJ Reeves signed to Exhibit 10 contract: https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2022/10/11/celtics-sign-aj-reeves-exhibit-10-contract/.

Maybe it's just coincidence, but Brad seems to have signed a lot of local guys (Layman, Vonleh, Reeves, etc.) to tryout for the Cs.
Reeves has been an enigma. He was one of Providence’s highest profile signings in their modern history and shot out of the gate early in his freshman year. I recall a conversation I had with my older brother about whether we could get him to return for his sophomore year as he had lottery pick written all over him. NBA size, NBA shot.

Then his shot disappeared.
Then he had injuries.
Then he defended with less intensity than you see in pickup games.
Then he was out of shape having putting on weight.

Now he’s receiving checks from the Celtics.