I explained your theory to my son as the game started and CE was getting early time and looked like a genius as he bombed off dribble shots and played great overall.
It appears that his best usage might be in similar sets that they run for Kemba when the latter is on the bench.
To finish this thought, I'm rewatching the 3rd quarter now, and Kennard was basically just face-guarding Carsen, in a way that really opened up the floor. If he commands that type of attention going forward, he's suddenly an interesting player. And yes, as @pjheff noted, that's very similar to how they use Kemba off-ball sometimes (drawing the face-guard to open up room for JT/JB).
Kemba/Carsen is fine against the right team. It worked well against the Clips, since Kawhi is the only post threat, and he’s still a workmanlike rather than elite passer, so you can scram out.
The funny thing is that I'm not sure what face-guarding CE when he sits in the corner is going to do. It's not like the Cs are looking to get him the ball so he can throw up contested 3Ps. In lineups with JT and KW, the only time CE's going to get the ball is if it's in rotation and thus far he has not been a great catch-and-shoot shooter.
has Carsen passed Teague in your rotation?
I'd like to see Carsen on the floor with Smart. I really like Edwards effort on going over screens and playing physical with PGs on the perimeter. He adds a little ball pressure. If I squint I could see Carsen's defense being a slight positive (better than Teague) in the right rotation.
Yeah, he’s pretty obviously passed Teague in both my and Brad’s hearts. As you note, his increased usage strongly suggests that he’s shooting well in practice.
Semi Ojeleye has also returned to earth. I was all for him getting more minutes to see if he could keep us his play, but he could not. So I'd be reducing his role again too.
Did you watch the game? It was 108 to 104 with 3:10 left in the fourth. It looks like a blowout now after the wheels came off the last few minutes, but it was within reach most of the game.
The defensive communication was as bad as I've ever seen. TL was utterly useless at that end. A few times that Grant or Jaylen overplayed one side, to influence their guy to a specific area, but the help just wasn't there. The guy whose job it was to pick up was doing something else entirely. Often that was RWill. He was unplayable despite being active on offense. They also really miss Smart IMO.
Do you mean the second half? Because JT and KW started the game together so unless I misunderstanding what you wrote (totally possible), don't see how JT and KW played only 3 minutes together.
It never even crossed my mind that there was someone else on the Cs with the initials JT.
I like trades where we get all the best players and get rid of our biggest problem too
hold out for Luka
Yeah, the Kings get to unload Barnes and Bagley and all it costs them is Haliburton? Totally unrealistic. They need to be including some first round picks...
I wouldn't. Porzingis has a pretty horrifying contract given his defense has fallen off a cliff and he's a mediocre non-stretch big at this point.
Someone (probably Scal) was talking early in the game about passing being a Stevens point of emphasis before the game. They knew that Toronto was going to throw extra guys at the Jays and dare Semi et al. to punish them for it. And they did.
Agreed with all of the post. Bolded the part for those that are confused with the roster construction. The bold needs to be printed out, and laminated. That's exactly how a balanced Celtic lineup looks with Brown and Tatum.
Moves still need to be made by the trade deadline and a wing would be nice. BUT building Kemba's value & moving him is the priority move for this season/Summer. You don't want to move 2 draft picks and use the cap on Harrison Barnes when the biggest issue BY FAR with this team is Kemba.
Completely agree on JB. I think he's had two games in a row with unlucky bounces. They looked like good shots, that just didn't happen to fall.
It's funny you say this because now that I think about it, I think Brad was doing exactly this. TT was the big that could play D and screen, and DT was the 38% 3P shooter - but in this case, he's hitting 46%.
Yeah I get the theoretical appeal of Theis at the 4, but as we’ve seen, he’s just not fast enough and everything feels clunky.
