2022-2023 General Celtics thread

bsan34

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It fits OK with at least one metric: the Celtics are 26th in the league in 4th quarter scoring.
Fair response! I personally think that’s a CJM figuring it out problem (and that’s what worries me most going into the playoffs).

The Tatum piece is probably more a “he might still be a year away from his peak” than a competitiveness issue.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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They also aren’t a great defensive team. They are 7th in the conference in points allowed, the only winning team that allows more points is the Nets. Brooklyn is 11-17 against winning teams. Of course, we know the C’s can be a good defensive team, they just haven’t been for much of the year.
 

jmcc5400

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They also aren’t a great defensive team. They are 7th in the conference in points allowed, the only winning team that allows more points is the Nets. Brooklyn is 11-17 against winning teams. Of course, we know the C’s can be a good defensive team, they just haven’t been for much of the year.
They're 4th in the NBA in points allowed per 100 possessions. They're a good defensive team, they're just not the defensive wrecking crew they were last year (and it remains to be seen if they can approach that level).
 

Light-Tower-Power

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They're 4th in the NBA in points allowed per 100 possessions. They're a good defensive team, they're just not the defensive wrecking crew they were last year (and it remains to be seen if they can approach that level).
Some of that hinges on TL but I think some of it is them playing the regular season at a more typical effort level than they were last year when they went on their run to close out the season. The core of this team (JB, JT, Marcus, Al, Brogdon) aren't really young guys anymore and have racked up a bunch of playoff experience. They know how to prepare. I am very confident that at playoff pace and intensity the defensive effort picks up. We saw it toward the end of the fourth quarter against the Knicks when they applied the clamps and walked the lead down. I don't mind that they play defense on demand during the home stretch here if it keeps them fresher for the playoffs.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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They're 4th in the NBA in points allowed per 100 possessions. They're a good defensive team, they're just not the defensive wrecking crew they were last year (and it remains to be seen if they can approach that level).
What’s the explanation for why they are so much better per possessions than overall? I assume that’s a function of giving up more possessions than other teams?. They are giving up a lot of shots- fourth highest in the league and are next to last in steals.
 

RorschachsMask

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What’s the explanation for why they are so much better per possessions than overall? I assume that’s a function of giving up more possessions than other teams?. They are giving up a lot of shots- fourth highest in the league and are next to last in steals.
They are 4th in overall defensive rating, as well.
 

Euclis20

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What’s the explanation for why they are so much better per possessions than overall? I assume that’s a function of giving up more possessions than other teams?. They are giving up a lot of shots- fourth highest in the league and are next to last in steals.
The Celtics are first in defensive rebound % and 8th best in offensive turnover % (meaning they are pretty good at limiting opponent possessions). Without digging too deep, the number of overtime sessions they've played certainly has an impact here, as they are 1st in minutes played per game. They don't play at a particularly fast pace (21st in the league), which both hinders their offense and helps their defense.
 

Petagine in a Bottle

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The Celtics are first in defensive rebound % and 8th best in offensive turnover % (meaning they are pretty good at limiting opponent possessions). Without digging too deep, the number of overtime sessions they've played certainly has an impact here, as they are 1st in minutes played per game. They don't play at a particularly fast pace (21st in the league), which both hinders their offense and helps their defense.
Thanks- that makes sense.
 

CoffeeNerdness

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Just recalling an underrated poor play from the other night that got lost in the shuffle; with 12 seconds left the C's lockdown on the inbounds pass and force a desperation backcourt heave that for some reason Jaylen goes all out and chases leaving himself in position to give Mitchell his only realistic out by pegging Jaylen with the ball. If he hangs back and plays middle linebacker he could have cut down any desperation passing angles. Not sure what he was thinking there besides that he had a chance at somehow getting the loose ball or that if Mitchell gained possession he could swarm him, but it seemed pretty clear from that the ball headed OB to the C's or Mitchell would have to make a low percentage pass as he's flying past the baseline.
 

128

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Just recalling an underrated poor play from the other night that got lost in the shuffle; with 12 seconds left the C's lockdown on the inbounds pass and force a desperation backcourt heave that for some reason Jaylen goes all out and chases leaving himself in position to give Mitchell his only realistic out by pegging Jaylen with the ball. If he hangs back and plays middle linebacker he could have cut down any desperation passing angles. Not sure what he was thinking there besides that he had a chance at somehow getting the loose ball or that if Mitchell gained possession he could swarm him, but it seemed pretty clear from that the ball headed OB to the C's or Mitchell would have to make a low percentage pass as he's flying past the baseline.
Good call. That might have sealed a win for Boston.
 

Cellar-Door

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View: https://twitter.com/HPbasketball/status/1633541964623941633?s=20


Found this interesting. Actually kind of fits the eye test. The Smart/Jaylen backcourt pairing (so basically Smart at 1, Jaylen at 2, any combination at 3-5) has struggled on both ends. Adding Tatum shores it up some but not enough. They just haven't worked well against quick players in particular, and I think they have to strongly consider minimizing those minutes. Maybe get more of Jaylen at the 3 going, and occasionally play White over Smart, especially when Tatum is in the game.
 

NomarsFool

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The White vs. Smart question has been tough this season. I feel like the team overall seems to play better with White on the floor, but at the same time, Marcus Smart does have a real knack for coming up with big plays. That's not to say that White doesn't have big plays, he does as well - but (and I'll admit I often haven't been a big Smart fan) he really does seem to come up with big steals or charges drawn or whatever in big-time situations.
 

Deathofthebambino

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It fits OK with at least one metric: the Celtics are 26th in the league in 4th quarter scoring.
That metric has a ton of noise though.

If you go into a 4th quarter with a big lead and take your foot off the gas, you're going to score less. If you pull your starters with 3-4 minutes left, you'll score less. If you're playing from behind and going run and shoot, you'll score more.

The C's are tied for 27th at 26.2 points.

Denver is 22nd at 26.7.

The Bucks are 8th, at 27.5

Cleveland is 20th at 27.0

Philly is 11th at 27.4.

The top 5 in fourth quarter scoring at the Lakers, Pacers, Kings, Jazz and Clippers.

There just isn't much there to make any judgments about them.
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Eh. Mostly it was that the Blazers suck; it was All-Star game D by the early third quarter and they just don’t really have scoring threats outside of Dame.

No idea what’s happened to Nurkic, but he looked like a complete stiff.

Still, good win and fun to see JD and his hair out there at the end.

And I admit that while the Nuggets are in coasting mode, it still makes me feel a little better to see them get roasted at home by the Bulls last night. NBA’s a long season…
 

HomeRunBaker

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Eh. Mostly it was that the Blazers suck; it was All-Star game D by the early third quarter and they just don’t really have scoring threats outside of Dame.

No idea what’s happened to Nurkic, but he looked like a complete stiff.
Nurkic had been out for over a month with a calf injury and this was his first game back. It takes time to return to game speed from this injury, espeically for a big, as you can’t do any type of impact cardio work at all during recovery with this injury.

Agreed on the Blazers offering little resistance after winning two straight on their long road trip and mailing one in.
 

BigSoxFan

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Nurkic had been out for over a month with a calf injury and this was his first game back. It takes time to return to game speed from this injury, espeically for a big, as you can’t do any type of impact cardio work at all during recovery with this injury.

Agreed on the Blazers offering little resistance after winning two straight on their long road trip and mailing one in.
That was a good call (I missed it...d'oh).
 

MyDaughterLovesTomGordon

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Nurkic had been out for over a month with a calf injury and this was his first game back. It takes time to return to game speed from this injury, espeically for a big, as you can’t do any type of impact cardio work at all during recovery with this injury.

Agreed on the Blazers offering little resistance after winning two straight on their long road trip and mailing one in.
Ah. That makes sense. I came in for the second half and his minutes were brutal.
 

lovegtm

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This seems to be a lot of words to say that:

1. The Celtics are pretty good, but not a dominant contender
2. The NBA has a ton of parity this year
3. Tatum needs to be at an MVP level for the team to be a contender, and he just hasn't been for some time

On the plus side, Milwaukee and Philly are probably the matchups where TL matters the least, so I am holding off writing any obituaries, even if he's never that guy.

I really think that, come summer, we might see Brad use his salary as a match to get a more reliable center. It has 3 years left, but some team might take a flier on talent and not treat it as a pure sunk cost.
 

lars10

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This seems to be a lot of words to say that:

1. The Celtics are pretty good, but not a dominant contender
2. The NBA has a ton of parity this year
3. Tatum needs to be at an MVP level for the team to be a contender, and he just hasn't been for some time

On the plus side, Milwaukee and Philly are probably the matchups where TL matters the least, so I am holding off writing any obituaries, even if he's never that guy.

I really think that, come summer, we might see Brad use his salary as a match to get a more reliable center. It has 3 years left, but some team might take a flier on talent and not treat it as a pure sunk cost.
Could you show your work on item #3? Specifically the ‘for some time’ part.. specifically looking at his numbers as compared to the other mvp candidates.. are you saying he has to be the absolute best mvp candidate? Over his last ten games he’s playing above his season averages. He may not be a consensus mvp but he’s averaging above 30 ppg and his assists numbers are much higher than his season average…and his rebounds have been above that number as well.

I think the injuries are far more important than anything on your list.. the Celts have maybe had their full lineup for a handful of games all season. They’ve been down multiple starters in a lot of games in the second half of the season..yet they’ve been competitive in almost every game. With their full complement of players they’re potentially very dominant.. even in the recent string of games they’ve lost the most disappointing part was they were ahead by a lot in a number of them.. even down multiple players.
 

Auger34

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Since the beginning of Feb Tatum’s been very inconsistent

Only a 14 game span but he’s had 5 incredible games (last night, Cleveland 3/1, Detroit 2/15, Charlotte 2/10, Brooklyn 2/1), 5 outright stinkers (NYK 2/27, 2/23 IND, 2/12 MEM, 2/8 PHI and 2/3 PHX. All games he shot below 40%) and 4 games that were somewhere in between. (NYK 3/5, PHI 2/25, BKN 3/3, and DET 2/6).

Of the definite playoff teams faced, he’s had 1 incredible game, 4 stinkers and 2 decenpretty good games.

Considering the competition level of this sample size I think it’s fair to say that while he’s been very good he hasn’t been MVP level in this period of time.
 

jezza1918

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Since the beginning of Feb Tatum’s been very inconsistent

Only a 14 game span but he’s had 5 incredible games (last night, Cleveland 3/1, Detroit 2/15, Charlotte 2/10, Brooklyn 2/1), 5 outright stinkers (NYK 2/27, 2/23 IND, 2/12 MEM, 2/8 PHI and 2/3 PHX. All games he shot below 40%) and 4 games that were somewhere in between. (NYK 3/5, PHI 2/25, BKN 3/3, and DET 2/6).

Of the definite playoff teams faced, he’s had 1 incredible game, 4 stinkers and 2 decenpretty good games.

Considering the competition level of this sample size I think it’s fair to say that while he’s been very good he hasn’t been MVP level in this period of time.
If my math is correct, in the 3 games Ive bolded (2 of which you listed as in between, and another you listed as stinker), his basic counting stats were:
35ppg on 40.5% shooting
11.3 Rebounds/game
6.66 Assists/game with 3 turnovers/game, so a better than 2:1 assist:TO ratio.

I get game context matters, but I think even with the somewhat poor shooting numbers in those games those are overall strong performances. Maybe not in your "incredible category," but certainly all-star level no?

edit: not trying to be combative, just seems like if an individual player on another team put up those numbers against us over a month long span we'd be collectively saying "boy that guy shreds us." Willing to be told differently, going with my gut a bit here.
 

lovegtm

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If my math is correct, in the 3 games Ive bolded (2 of which you listed as in between, and another you listed as stinker), his basic counting stats were:
35ppg on 40.5% shooting
11.3 Rebounds/game
6.66 Assists/game with 3 turnovers/game, so a better than 2:1 assist:TO ratio.

I get game context matters, but I think even with the somewhat poor shooting numbers in those games those are overall strong performances. Maybe not in your "incredible category," but certainly all-star level no?

edit: not trying to be combative, just seems like if an individual player on another team put up those numbers against us over a month long span we'd be collectively saying "boy that guy shreds us." Willing to be told differently, going with my gut a bit here.
Tatum is a really good player, so even his stinkers end up kinda ok.

That said, when I see Giannis and Embiid put up those kinds of numbers in bad eyetest games against the Celtics, I generally come out thinking "yeah, he put up some pointz, but didn't play well and was a big reason they lost."

That's how I feel about Tatum right now. He's not impacting the game the way he does when he's at his best, and I see other star players get contained in that way too at times.
 

jezza1918

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Tatum is a really good player, so even his stinkers end up kinda ok.

That said, when I see Giannis and Embiid put up those kinds of numbers in bad eyetest games against the Celtics, I generally come out thinking "yeah, he put up some pointz, but didn't play well and was a big reason they lost."

That's how I feel about Tatum right now. He's not impacting the game the way he does when he's at his best, and I see other star players get contained in that way too at times.
Thanks, makes total sense. Ill add that interestingly enough the "gamescore" metric on BBRef actually rates the 3 games I cited as slightly better than the one he played last night. But that might say more about their attempt at a catchall metric than anything else.
 

Pablo's TB Lover

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The Celtics are not a perfect team, and have a number of problems, some of them potentially serious.

Close and late just really hasn't been one of them.
In fact, that ATO play Jayson to Al for the potential winner was a great non-iso look. I just haven't calibrated to whether Coach Joe is as good as Brad or Ime on end of game sets, since he calls a TO so sparingly on those final possessions.
 

jasail

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Good team to get right against. The Blazers don't play a lick of defense and the C's got whatever they wanted. Hopefully, that gives them some swagger going into this road trip where each game should be winnable there is a lot of travel. I'd prefer they close strong and find their playoff identity rather than try and find it against the Heat in the first round.
 

jezza1918

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That metric has a ton of noise though.

If you go into a 4th quarter with a big lead and take your foot off the gas, you're going to score less. If you pull your starters with 3-4 minutes left, you'll score less. If you're playing from behind and going run and shoot, you'll score more.

The C's are tied for 27th at 26.2 points.

Denver is 22nd at 26.7.

The Bucks are 8th, at 27.5

Cleveland is 20th at 27.0

Philly is 11th at 27.4.

The top 5 in fourth quarter scoring at the Lakers, Pacers, Kings, Jazz and Clippers.

There just isn't much there to make any judgments about them.
A bit more on the noise you refer to from Team Rankings...just using the best 3 teams record wise (Mil, Den, Bos), here is where they rank in terms of overall scoring margin:
(2) Bos +5.4
(3) Denver +4.2
(4) Mil +4.1
Here are their respective rankings in 1st quarter margin:
(1) Den +3.3
(2) Bos +3.0
(3) Mil +2.3
and 4th quarter margin:
(9) Mil +0.9
(12) Bos +0.4
(17) Den -0.1

It seems to me that some of what you allude to (big lead, pulling starters, etc), is borne out a bit with above rankings. Im not trying to claim they actually lit the world on fire in 4th quarters, but just not sure how much it matters? I mean yes, if they execute fully manned in 4th quarters like they did against Cleveland this week they wont go far in the playoffs. That just hasn't been the actual case for the bulk of this season.
 

RorschachsMask

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I'd actually like to see that graphed out over the year, since what people are saying isn't necessarily that it's iso heavy compared to other teams, but that it's iso heavy compared to our memory of it in the first ~40% of the season.
So it’s not the same as that graph, but for the season, the Celtics are 10th in the league in clutch time assist %, and 5th since January 1st. 6th in clutch assist to turnover ratio for the season, 11th since January 1st, though the difference is only from 1.94 to 1.85.

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/clutch-advanced?DateFrom=01/01/2023&DateTo=03/09/2023&dir=A&sort=AST_PCT
 

lars10

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Since the beginning of Feb Tatum’s been very inconsistent

Only a 14 game span but he’s had 5 incredible games (last night, Cleveland 3/1, Detroit 2/15, Charlotte 2/10, Brooklyn 2/1), 5 outright stinkers (NYK 2/27, 2/23 IND, 2/12 MEM, 2/8 PHI and 2/3 PHX. All games he shot below 40%) and 4 games that were somewhere in between. (NYK 3/5, PHI 2/25, BKN 3/3, and DET 2/6).

Of the definite playoff teams faced, he’s had 1 incredible game, 4 stinkers and 2 decenpretty good games.

Considering the competition level of this sample size I think it’s fair to say that while he’s been very good he hasn’t been MVP level in this period of time.
Just to try and fully understand your post.. put the stats for each game listed. One thing I would say is that when he's not scoring his assist and rebound numbers are up.. which would seem good.

Incredible games:
Cleveland 3/1 - 36 min, 41 pts (13-21), 11 reb, 8 Asst
Detroit 2/15 - 34 min, 38 pts (15-24), 9 reb, 7 Asst
Charlotte 2/10 - 37 min, 41 pts (13-21), 4 reb, 4 Asst
Brooklyn 2/1 - 29 min, 31 pts (12-19), 9 reb, 4 Asst

Stinkers:
NYK 2/27 - 37 min, 14 pts (6-18), 7 reb, 9 Asst
2/23 IND - 42 min, 31 pts (9-25), 12 reb, 7 Asst
2/12 MEM - 38 min, 16 pts (3-16), 7 reb, 3 Asst
2/8 PHI - 37 min, 12 pts (5-15), 8 reb, 9 Asst
2/3 PHX - 38 min, 20 pts (3-15), 6 reb, 5 Asst

In Between:
NYK 3/5 - 49 min, 40 pts (12-20), 11 reb, 6 Asst
PHI 2/25 - 36 min, 18pts (7-17), 13 reb, 6 Asst
BKN 3/3 - 38 min, 22 pts (10-23), 13 reb, 5 Asst
DET 2/6 - 39 min, 34 pts (11-24), 11 reb, 6 Asst

The main thing I'm seeing when looking at the stats is that Tatum has not been getting to the line in a lot of the last 9 games. In three of those games he had over ten FTs... but in the other 6 he's been: 2-4, 2-2, 1-1, 1-2, 1-2, 2-2.

Giannis has had one game all season where he only shot 4 FTs...almost every game is above 8.
Doncic has two games with only 4.
Surprisingly Jokic doesn't shoot a lot of FTs and has 5 games in the last few with under 4 FTs
Embiid has one game under 4FTs..second game of the season.

Not sure what that means, but the eye test is telling me Tatum isn't driving to the basket as much and isn't going to the hoop in the same way as he was in the beginning of the season. Wonder if he's trying to protect his wrist.
 

ManicCompression

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Incredible games:
Cleveland 3/1 - 36 min, 41 pts (13-21), 11 reb, 8 Asst
Detroit 2/15 - 34 min, 38 pts (15-24), 9 reb, 7 Asst
Charlotte 2/10 - 37 min, 41 pts (13-21), 4 reb, 4 Asst
Brooklyn 2/1 - 29 min, 31 pts (12-19), 9 reb, 4 Asst

Stinkers:
NYK 2/27 - 37 min, 14 pts (6-18), 7 reb, 9 Asst
2/23 IND - 42 min, 31 pts (9-25), 12 reb, 7 Asst
2/12 MEM - 38 min, 16 pts (3-16), 7 reb, 3 Asst
2/8 PHI - 37 min, 12 pts (5-15), 8 reb, 9 Asst
2/3 PHX - 38 min, 20 pts (3-15), 6 reb, 5 Asst

In Between:
NYK 3/5 - 49 min, 40 pts (12-20), 11 reb, 6 Asst
PHI 2/25 - 36 min, 18pts (7-17), 13 reb, 6 Asst
BKN 3/3 - 38 min, 22 pts (10-23), 13 reb, 5 Asst
DET 2/6 - 39 min, 34 pts (11-24), 11 reb, 6 Asst
Why are the highlighted games "in-between" when they're almost identical to the incredible games?
 

RorschachsMask

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I think the eye test can trick everyone at times, myself included.

From opening night until 2/1/23, Tatum drove to the rim 10.9 times per game, and shot 50.5%, getting to the line 2.1 times a game. He did shoot 70.5 in the restricted area over this time, and 38% in the non restricted paint area.

Since February 1st? He’s driven to the rim 12.6 times per game, has shot 50%, and is getting to the line 3.3 times per game. Over those 14 games, he’s down to 66.3% in the RA, but up to 44% in the non restricted paint area.

Where I’ve seen the biggest drop-off has been defensively, until last night when he was dominant on that end.
 
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Auger34

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Why are the highlighted games "in-between" when they're almost identical to the incredible games?
My mistake on the highlighted Detroit game but the stat line Lars put for the highlighted Knicks game is wrong.

He took 30 shots not 20 (12-30). I think it’s fair to say it’s not an incredible game with that level of efficiency
 

Auger34

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If my math is correct, in the 3 games Ive bolded (2 of which you listed as in between, and another you listed as stinker), his basic counting stats were:
35ppg on 40.5% shooting
11.3 Rebounds/game
6.66 Assists/game with 3 turnovers/game, so a better than 2:1 assist:TO ratio.

I get game context matters, but I think even with the somewhat poor shooting numbers in those games those are overall strong performances. Maybe not in your "incredible category," but certainly all-star level no?

edit: not trying to be combative, just seems like if an individual player on another team put up those numbers against us over a month long span we'd be collectively saying "boy that guy shreds us." Willing to be told differently, going with my gut a bit here.
In the Indiana game he went 9-25 from the field and 3-12 from 3. Maybe my wording was too harsh but thats a very inefficient night.

And again the standard that it’s being compared to is MVP level. As I said in the original post, in that sample size of game he’s been very good but not quite MVP level
 

lars10

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My mistake on the highlighted Detroit game but the stat line Lars put for the highlighted Knicks game is wrong.

He took 30 shots not 20 (12-30). I think it’s fair to say it’s not an incredible game with that level of efficiency
Apologies.. I tried to be careful and get all the numbers correct, but I must’ve mistyped that since I was putting the numbers in by hand and not copying/pasting.
 

benhogan

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Tatum is a really good player, so even his stinkers end up kinda ok.

That said, when I see Giannis and Embiid put up those kinds of numbers in bad eyetest games against the Celtics, I generally come out thinking "yeah, he put up some pointz, but didn't play well and was a big reason they lost."

That's how I feel about Tatum right now. He's not impacting the game the way he does when he's at his best, and I see other star players get contained in that way too at times.
My biggest criticism of Tatum isn't his game-to-game shooting variance. It's after a missed lay-up/shot + a non-foul call he's preoccupied with Ref barking instead of transition D. I know that can be pretty standard stuff from NBA superstars, but it's become a habit and hurts the team's defense several times a game. It tarnishes his MVP case since one of Tatum's superpowers (& how he could steal MVP votes in years to come) is his elite perimeter defense.
 

Imbricus

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Ref barking instead of transition D
Yeah someone needs to find a way to quantify the impact this has on a team. Once that's done, maybe players will take it more seriously. Call it "Ref Distraction Impact," or RDI.
 

NomarsFool

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Yeah someone needs to find a way to quantify the impact this has on a team. Once that's done, maybe players will take it more seriously. Call it "Ref Distraction Impact," or RDI.
How about % of time a player is the last player back on defense? Not exactly the same thing, of course, but that'd be an interesting statistic.
 

benhogan

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Yeah someone needs to find a way to quantify the impact this has on a team. Once that's done, maybe players will take it more seriously. Call it "Ref Distraction Impact," or RDI.
Ha...RDI = not getting back on D (or not communicating on D with your teammates)*

with PACE on offense exploding across the league it's only natural that transition defense is even more valuable/important. A decent catchall for this IMO is a combination of +/- per 100 & On-Off after 1200 minutes.

It's probably the reason why Derrick White is a savant here. The dude pushes PACE on offense & is disruptive on defense, especially in transition. His RDI is zero, not sure he has ever received a T

Maybe taking it further you could look at Derrick's On-Off impact on the opponent's ORtg

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/w/whitede01/on-off/2023


*BTW - this isn't literal & there is a fair amount of sarcasm with this post
 

Deathofthebambino

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I don't care if someone scores 31 points and 40 points, if it's requiring 25 and 30 shots to get there.

If Tatum goes 9/25 or 12/30 in playoff games, odds are the C's will lose those games no matter how many rebounds or assists he gets. Unless of course, Jaylen goes off and Al keeps shooting 60% from 3.
 

jezza1918

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 19, 2005
2,608
South Dartmouth, MA
I don't care if someone scores 31 points and 40 points, if it's requiring 25 and 30 shots to get there.

If Tatum goes 9/25 or 12/30 in playoff games, odds are the C's will lose those games no matter how many rebounds or assists he gets. Unless of course, Jaylen goes off and Al keeps shooting 60% from 3.
I don’t disagree for the record. In the context of the original post I was responding to I was just questioning how he grouped the games. It seems to me, on a very big picture level, the Celtics are the favorites when Tatum is playing at a first team all nba level…but anything short of that it will be an absolute grind against quite a few teams. One thing that might offset Tatum not playing like a top 5 guy is Joe Mazz applying some regular season lessons in the playoffs? I’m using a “?” Intentionally since it’s just a gut feeling.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,059
Hingham, MA
Last year:
9-18 (W)
5-16 (W)
13-29 (W)
9-16 (W)
6-18 (L)
10-20 (W)
4-19 (L)
11-24 (W)
12-29 (L)
17-32 (W)
7-14 (W)
10-21 (L)
8-13 (W)
3-14 (L)
8-16 (W)
7-20 (W)
9-12 (L)
9-21 (W)
3-17 (W)
8-19 (L)
9-23 (W)
8-23 (L)
10-20 (L)
6-18 (L)

Overall in losses: 39.4%
Overall in wins: 44.8%

In general he didn't shoot well in the playoffs last year. He did have a couple stinkers that the Celts won. He also had some pretty good games that the Celts lost. I think the Celts are better / deeper than last year so I think the burden on Tatum is actually slightly less than last year but YMMV.