Celtics in 18-19

vicirus

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Jul 17, 2005
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If there’s a reason for optimism going into the playoffs, the Ringer posted an article today that’s Exhbit A for an up-and-down, underperforming team to make a run to the finals:

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2019/4/3/18293135/new-york-knicks-1998-99-patrick-ewing-larry-johnson

It chronicals the 98-99’ Knicks who barely snuck into the playoffs as an 8th seed and made a run to the finals. The parallels between that team and this one are pretty incredible. It was a strike shortened season, so if they had played all 82, they probably would have been a 4-5 seed. They were an incredibly talented team that couldnt quite gel during the regular season, guys in and out of the line-up due to injuries, and star players struggling to accept bench roles. Sound familiar?

I remember that team really well as I was a fan of LJ when he was a Hornet, and went crazy when he hit the 4 point play. That Knicks team is kind of a best case example for how this Celtics team might pull it together. Here’s to hoping we actually end a dynasty in the finals though.
 

uk_sox_fan

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It's interesting how the last couple of changes in playoff seeding rules have affected the Celtics incentives for tomorrow night's game @ Ind (both teams have the same record, meaning the winner of the game will likely have the higher seed - if Boston wins they would have to lose to Orl and Was with the Pacers beating Brk and Atl for the Pacers to take the higher seed. If Indiana wins the C's would win the tie-breaker if they catch Ind in the standings over the last 2 game).

Taking the scenario where Boston wins tomorrow and holds on for the higher seed this is how the playoffs would look under the last 3 rules for seeding:

Rule in 2005 and 2006 playoffs: Division winners get top 3 seeds, best records among 5 best non-division winners take seeds #4 - #8
  • #5 Bos @ #4 Phi with the winner likely @ #1 Mil in the Conf Semis
  • #6 Ind @ #3 Orl or Mia with the winner likely @ #2 Tor in the Conf Semis
net effect: Big incentive to lose Friday to 'earn' reward of much easier 1st round and easier 2nd round opponents

Rule in 2007 - 2016 playoffs:
Division winners guaranteed at least a top 4 seed with teams #1 - #4 seeded by record regardless of place within division
  • #5 Bos @ #4 Orl or Mia with the winner likely @ 1 Mil in the Conf Semis
  • #6 Ind @ #3 Phi with the winner likely @ #2 Tor in the Conf Semis
net effect: Definite incentive to win Friday as much easier 1R opp more important than harder 2R

Rule in 2017 playoffs - present: Best 8 teams in conference seeded in order of record regardless of whether division winner or not
  • #5 Ind @ #4 Bos with winner likely facing #1 Mil in Conf Semis
net effect: playing for home court advantage in 1R only. Opponents the rest of the way won't change whether 4th or 5th.
 

CoffeeNerdness

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The problem as I see it, and I've said it before, is if Brad benches Morris, it's going to turn into a shitshow.
Great. Let it happen. Bench him then suspend or terminate him when he causes a shit storm and let him be someone else's playoff problem.

I don't actually buy the scenario that Brad is scared though. I think he's just glacially slow to make meta adjustments. As much as I dislike Morris he does have fit the profile of a nice bench scoring option, so his initial insertion into the starting lineup was honestly kind of shocking. Hopefully in the playoffs Morris is only playing 15 - 20 mins a game off the bench and reacquires his early season scoring touch. If he's still starting/playing 25-30 come playoff time then Brad will look like the worst kind of manager/coach- the one who refuses to make adjustments in the face of obvious data.
 

benhogan

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Great. Let it happen. Bench him then suspend or terminate him when he causes a shit storm and let him be someone else's playoff problem.

I don't actually buy the scenario that Brad is scared though. I think he's just glacially slow to make meta adjustments. As much as I dislike Morris he does have fit the profile of a nice bench scoring option, so his initial insertion into the starting lineup was honestly kind of shocking. Hopefully in the playoffs Morris is only playing 15 - 20 mins a game off the bench and reacquires his early season scoring touch. If he's still starting/playing 25-30 come playoff time then Brad will look like the worst kind of manager/coach- the one who refuses to make adjustments in the face of obvious data.
I agree with all of this except the bolded.

At the time of the starting lineup change, Hayward was clearly not ready and Jaylen was lost. MaMo was shooting 50/43/90 the first 2 months and Brad still dreamed of playing small 95% of the time.

NOTE it was still the wrong move since they should have made the obvious move that they finally made a few weeks ago.
 

sezwho

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I agree there is concern about mamo taking the team down if jaylen starts over him. I think brads plan is to start Horford and Baynes now that they are healthy, then move Jaylen ahead of Morris off the bench.
 

benhogan

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Morris out tomorrow. Feeling much better about winning.
100%...Hopefully, they bring Marcus Morris back slowly and limit his minutes upon his return...Brad preaches defense and ball movement, both things MaMo is terrible at. CBS/Ainge have probably wanted to cut his minutes while not hurting MaMo's image/potential free agency. This injury couldn't have occurred at a better time. It will be absolutely criminal to start MaMo or see him play more minutes than Jaylen Brown or Gordon Hayward.

Since I'll get zero pushback on the above, I'll go even further. CBS/Ainge have failed to develop/play a Theis/Horford pairing enough vs. playing a Horford/MaMo (1134 minutes) combo way too much this season. It's not shocking to see Al Horford (at the 4) playing his best basketball of the season with the recent lineup changes. We'll see quite a bit of Turner, Young, Sabonis and Leaf in the first round, it would have helped to play Theis/Horford more than 16 minutes or Horford/TL more than 9 minutes (even Horford/Ojeleye has seen 110 minutes) this season in the case Baynes gets injured/foul trouble.
 

DJnVa

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Oops. Celtics, per a twitter promotion, responded to a fan asking for an Anthony Davis #23 jersey

 

wade boggs chicken dinner

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100%...Hopefully, they bring Marcus Morris back slowly and limit his minutes upon his return...Brad preaches defense and ball movement, both things MaMo is terrible at. CBS/Ainge have probably wanted to cut his minutes while not hurting MaMo's image/potential free agency. This injury couldn't have occurred at a better time. It will be absolutely criminal to start MaMo or see him play more minutes than Jaylen Brown or Gordon Hayward.

Since I'll get zero pushback on the above, I'll go even further. CBS/Ainge have failed to develop/play a Theis/Horford pairing enough vs. playing a Horford/MaMo (1134 minutes) combo way too much this season. It's not shocking to see Al Horford (at the 4) playing his best basketball of the season with the recent lineup changes. We'll see quite a bit of Turner, Young, Sabonis and Leaf in the first round, it would have helped to play Theis/Horford more than 16 minutes or Horford/TL more than 9 minutes (even Horford/Ojeleye has seen 110 minutes) this season in the case Baynes gets injured/foul trouble.
Here's a stat for you. The Al, Baynes, KI, MS, and JT lineup has played - according to nba.com - 13 games and 59 minutes. They have a NRtg of 31.0. That is third in the league for any five-man lineup that has played 58+ minutes.

(Oddly enough, it's behind two DET lineups: .Griffin / Ellington / Jackson / Drummond / Kennard = +40.1 in 67 minutes and Griffin / Smith / Galloway / Drummond / Kennard = +35.4 in 78 minutes. 4th = . Holiday / Mirotic / Moore / AD / Payton (+29.3 in 71 minutes) and 5th = Iguodala / KD / Steph / Klay / Green (+29.1 in 178 minutes)).

But to me the weirdest stat - and I'm still not convinced NBA.com is correct about this - is that #1 five-man lineup for BIS by minutes played is Al / KI / MaMo / Smart / Tatum = 585 minutes (NRtg = 6.0). The next most played lineup only has 145 minutes and that is Al / GH / KI / JB / JT (NRtg = -1.4). No other lineup has played more than 100 minutes together all season.

It will be interesting to see what the playoffs bring.
 

Imbricus

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The Al, Baynes, KI, MS, and JT lineup has played - according to nba.com - 13 games and 59 minutes. They have a NRtg of 31.0. That is third in the league for any five-man lineup that has played 58+ minutes.
Small sample size but it does pass the smell test. I watched this lineup earlier this week. It's big enough that the Celts don't get beaten up on defense inside as much, some pressure is taken off Al, and Baynes is in a better position for rebounds and putbacks. If Brad isn't seeing the merits of this lineup, he isn't seeing. I like it when the team goes bigger.
 

saintnick912

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I remember seeing the other lineup more in the first games when GH and JB were both struggling, so the negative is not surprising in that context.
 

Red Averages

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In the Cavs series last year, Stevens typically played non-Baynes starters ~40 minutes a game and only used Morris/Smart from the bench. In the Bucks series he had a 4 man bench going, but only for ~15 min a game.

Pretty confident he'll make the proper adjustments again.

Very excited for the playoffs. Given how matchup focused it can get, feels like Stevens finally has a number of tools to use to adjust - and feel confident in their ability to play together given how many combos he's used throughout the regular season.
 

BigSoxFan

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At this point I'd rather see Wanamaker. He actually plays in control, has decent vision, and isn't a chucker. Rozier is clueless.
I wouldn’t fight that. I’d actually love to see this team with both guys removed from the equation. I hate them and they stink.
 

benhogan

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Hey

Here's a stat for you. The Al, Baynes, KI, MS, and JT lineup has played - according to nba.com - 13 games and 59 minutes. They have a NRtg of 31.0. That is third in the league for any five-man lineup that has played 58+ minutes.

(Oddly enough, it's behind two DET lineups: .Griffin / Ellington / Jackson / Drummond / Kennard = +40.1 in 67 minutes and Griffin / Smith / Galloway / Drummond / Kennard = +35.4 in 78 minutes. 4th = . Holiday / Mirotic / Moore / AD / Payton (+29.3 in 71 minutes) and 5th = Iguodala / KD / Steph / Klay / Green (+29.1 in 178 minutes)).

But to me the weirdest stat - and I'm still not convinced NBA.com is correct about this - is that #1 five-man lineup for BIS by minutes played is Al / KI / MaMo / Smart / Tatum = 585 minutes (NRtg = 6.0). The next most played lineup only has 145 minutes and that is Al / GH / KI / JB / JT (NRtg = -1.4). No other lineup has played more than 100 minutes together all season.

It will be interesting to see what the playoffs bring.
YES. Nice pick up Wade. The advanced metrics are stark and glaring
(as they were last season when Baynes/Horford played together).

Aron Baynes does exactly what is needed with those four other players:
1. defense at the rim by taking charges and boxing out
2. moves the ball to our best offensive players
3. sets excellent screens for our most efficient offensive players (Kyrie, Horford, Tatum, Hayward, Brown)
4. plays physical with high energy on both ends of the floor
5. hits FTs and can hit wide open 3s, so not an offensive black hole

The Celtic's real secret sauce? Kyrie, Horford, Tatum, and Smart*. Those four are tremendous at what they do. So a lot of that high rating is due to those four. Don't get me wrong Baynes is the perfect compliment to them and is a big part of that huge 31.0 NRtg.

What I would have liked for CBS/Ainge to do is try to re-create another "Baynes-type" player. My candidates were/are Theis and TL. Since the "Baynes role" is playing physical, setting screens, taking charges, playing under the hoop with high energy he is naturally exposed to a higher probability of injury. This is why I didn't want Al Horford in that role (hence the worn down to a nub). Horford is too important and too skilled to be doing all that dirty work. If you don't think Theis or TL measure up to Baynes type, Danny should have dealt MaMo or Rozier for a player that could play that back up role (they are usually cheap).

A healed Gordon Hayward and rejuvenated Jaylen Brown fit in with the special four of Kyrie/Horford/Smart/Tatum. Those 6 should be rotated and can be used in a small ball unit if the matchup/game situation fits. So I'm not totally against small ball. Those 6 would never have their minutes impacted by playing Baynes ~25mpg and Thies/TL ~10mpg.

The players minutes most impacted?
Markus Morris and Terry Rozier. In order to play the small ball, that CBS craved, he needed ball movement. MaMo and Terry need not apply. In addition to that Marcus Morris has been the worst defensive player for the Celtics for two seasons running. We all watch the games and can see his missed assignments, not helping around the rim, and the stats back that up.

As far as MaMo working with Kyrie/Horford/Tatum/Smart group, you could stick HRB with those 4 and it would be a net positive ;)

*Kyrie/Horford/Tatum/Smart have played together a team-leading 716 minutes off rating 116.3 / def rating 105.3 / NRtg 11. So when you stick Marcus Morris with those four it goes down to a 113.2 / 107.3 / 6. You can plainly see how MaMo's minutes with those four immediately KILLS the Celtics production on offense and defense.


https://stats.nba.com/lineups/advanced/?Season=2018-19&SeasonType=Regular Season&TeamID=1610612738&GroupQuantity=4&sort=MIN&dir=1
 
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sezwho

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Baynes
Horford
Tatum
Smart
Kyrie

Brown
Hayward
Theis
Rozier

No more Morris. Ever.
+Timelord!

I'm getting the idea I'm the only one who saw this last season, but I thought he made contributions on defense in the playoffs. I admit its not looking likely, but I think its possible Morris could still check a physical player (not Embid ) but maybe Kawhi or Simmons for a few minutes off the bench.
 

lovegtm

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The Celtic's real secret sauce? Kyrie, Horford, Tatum, and Smart*. Those four are tremendous at what they do. So a lot of that high rating is due to those four. Don't get me wrong Baynes is the perfect compliment to them and is a big part of that huge 31.0 NRtg.
....

A healed Gordon Hayward and rejuvenated Jaylen Brown fit in with the special four of Kyrie/Horford/Smart/Tatum. Those 6 should be rotated and can be used in a small ball unit if the matchup/game situation fits. So I'm not totally against small ball. Those 6 would never have their minutes impacted by playing Baynes ~25mpg and Thies/TL ~10mpg.
Worth noting that those 6 players (with the exception of Kyrie) are all strong, physical, long, and hard to target on switches except in limited doses. That's the recipe for successful "small" ball--have everyone be big.

Morris fits into that on paper, but he doesn't execute the defense well enough to live up to that.

It's hard for me to fault Danny much for not trading Morris. He was killing it as a complementary player to the "Big 4", and really only tailed off in the weeks prior to the trade deadline. In December, he had a legitimate All-Star case. I think Brad can see he's a pumpkin now, and has been adjusting without overreacting.

There's really no reason for Rozier to ever play outside of some specific matchup that I can't think of atm, given that Hayward, Kyrie, and Smart can all bring the ball up the floor effectively.
 

mauf

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Wow, I've been gone for a month, and it appears we're still having the same debates. I've been saying it almost all year. MaMo, and to a lesser extent, Rozier, are killing this team. MaMo is playing the 4th most mpg on the team at 27.9, and Rozier is sitting at 8th at 22.9mpg. Baynes isn't even in the top 8. You simply can't play 8 guys 22.9mpg in today's NBA and expect to win all the time. The only two C's averaging more than 30mpg are Kyrie (33.1) and Tatum (31.3). The top teams in the league don't do this, and they have more blowouts than we do. Golden State has 6 guys averaging more than 18.9mpg. Durant/Thompson/Curry all play more than Kyrie, who leads the C's by far. The 5 starters in Houston all average at least 32.1mpg. The 76ers have 5 guys averaging at least 31.4mpg. Kawhi/Lowery/Siakam average 34.2/33.9/32.0....

The problem as I see it, and I've said it before, is if Brad benches Morris, it's going to turn into a shitshow. I think he's the real leader/cancer in that clubhouse, and Brad is now afraid of upsetting him, for fear of losing the room. We've seen Morris go after Jaylen a few times this year, so putting Morris back in the 2nd unit with Jaylen will probably be a disaster, and benching Morris for Jaylen won't go over well. God, I want Morris to break his fucking leg so bad. And Terry Rozier should be playing 10 fucking minutes a night. 10, in blowouts.
You we’re starting to win me over, but I’m back on #teambrad after last night’s game.

If you shortened the rotation earlier in the season, GH the guy you would’ve stapled to the bench, not MaMo, who was one of our five best guys for a good chunk of the season. Maybe GH would’ve worked his way back into form with fewer minutes, but I don’t think that’s a given.

Brad left a few wins on the table over the course of the season with his rotations, but it wouldn’t have made any difference. I’d rather be #4 than #3, and tighter rotations wouldn’t have closed the gap with Milwaukee or Toronto. Now we’ve gotten to see what everyone is capable of doing; Brad’s decision to sit MaMo on the bench last night (he played 24 minutes, but a lot of those were late) shows he’s seeing what the rest of us are. We’ll have the right guys on the floor when it counts, and none of them are overworked.

On the other hand, another way to shorten the regular-season rotation would’ve been to trade Rozier for a token return in an addition-by-subtraction move, and I’m still not sure Danny shouldn’t have done that. I think I’d rather have Wanamaker out there when Kyrie isn’t — Terry is clearly the better baller, but Wanamaker embraces his role and doesn’t take bad shots.
 

benhogan

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Worth noting that those 6 players (with the exception of Kyrie) are all strong, physical, long, and hard to target on switches except in limited doses. That's the recipe for successful "small" ball--have everyone be big.

Morris fits into that on paper, but he doesn't execute the defense well enough to live up to that.

It's hard for me to fault Danny much for not trading Morris. He was killing it as a complementary player to the "Big 4", and really only tailed off in the weeks prior to the trade deadline. In December, he had a legitimate All-Star case. I think Brad can see he's a pumpkin now, and has been adjusting without overreacting.

There's really no reason for Rozier to ever play outside of some specific matchup that I can't think of atm, given that Hayward, Kyrie, and Smart can all bring the ball up the floor effectively.
100%. excellent pickup. long and physical works when going "small"

I'd also really like this "two BIG lineup" and "Twin Tower" narrative to end. It's complete BS and a passive insult to an extremely versatile Al Horford, he's part of our 6 most talented, interchangeable players. Horford is a long, skilled 4 that passes, shoots, posts up smaller wings, and is a defensive stopper that helps in the middle and on the perimeter. He doesn't play like or resemble the classic NBA BIG. He made the All-Star team on the back of his play as a 4 last season. He has been his most efficient as a Celtic playing the 4 with Amir Johnson and Aron Baynes at center. He can guard a smaller 5 and the "stretch 5" label applies, but using him there against a BIG 7' is limiting. Pigeonholing him into the center position 95% of the time this season was silly and I'm glad that era is over.
 
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wade boggs chicken dinner

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You we’re starting to win me over, but I’m back on #teambrad after last night’s game.

If you shortened the rotation earlier in the season, GH the guy you would’ve stapled to the bench, not MaMo, who was one of our five best guys for a good chunk of the season. Maybe GH would’ve worked his way back into form with fewer minutes, but I don’t think that’s a given.

Brad left a few wins on the table over the course of the season with his rotations, but it wouldn’t have made any difference. I’d rather be #4 than #3, and tighter rotations wouldn’t have closed the gap with Milwaukee or Toronto. Now we’ve gotten to see what everyone is capable of doing; Brad’s decision to sit MaMo on the bench last night (he played 24 minutes, but a lot of those were late) shows he’s seeing what the rest of us are. We’ll have the right guys on the floor when it counts, and none of them are overworked.

On the other hand, another way to shorten the regular-season rotation would’ve been to trade Rozier for a token return in an addition-by-subtraction move, and I’m still not sure Danny shouldn’t have done that. I think I’d rather have Wanamaker out there when Kyrie isn’t — Terry is clearly the better baller, but Wanamaker embraces his role and doesn’t take bad shots.
Absolutely agree that Brad does not try to maximize wins and puts guys in different situations to see how they respond. Should be helpful when games count.

As for bolded, ORL is right sitting #6 and the Cs are 0-2 against them. The next game against them will be interesting to see. I think they have the most talent of the bottom 3 teams so would much rather face IND than ORL.
 

lovegtm

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Absolutely agree that Brad does not try to maximize wins and puts guys in different situations to see how they respond. Should be helpful when games count.

As for bolded, ORL is right sitting #6 and the Cs are 0-2 against them. The next game against them will be interesting to see. I think they have the most talent of the bottom 3 teams so would much rather face IND than ORL.
I'm totally fine with either, although I do feel pretty good now about my prediction a couple weeks back that the Pacers would be a great opponent because of their lack of scoring, and because everyone tries in the playoffs.

The real question is round 2. I still would rather get Milwaukee first, as good as they are. Toronto really scares me with the pieces they have and how they're rounding into form.
 

RedOctober3829

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Bruins home schedule is Thurs/Sat/Fri/Tuesday. I'd say this could be a potential schedule if C's have home court. From what I remember, they like to spread out the games in the first round.

Game 1: Sunday
Game 2: Wednesday
Game 3: Saturday
Game 4: Monday
Game 5: Thursday
Game 6: Saturday
Game 7: Monday
 

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Bruins home schedule is Thurs/Sat/Fri/Tuesday. I'd say this could be a potential schedule if C's have home court. From what I remember, they like to spread out the games in the first round.

Game 1: Sunday
Game 2: Wednesday
Game 3: Saturday
Game 4: Monday
Game 5: Thursday
Game 6: Saturday
Game 7: Monday
FWIW, last year's first round was Sun/Tues/Fri/Sun/Tues/Thu/Sat. I doubt they'll spread it out as much as you're guessing.
 

mcpickl

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I'm really interested to see if the Celtics sign someone to their last roster spot before the final regular season game on Tuesday.

There were rumors around the trade deadline that they may sign someone to the taxpayer MLE with a non-guaranteed second year that they could guarantee if they needed it for salary ballast for a possible AD trade.

Think it will be a real sign they are serious about going after AD, or another big time player, if they sign someone like Thomas Robinson or something before Tuesday night.
 

benhogan

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I'm really interested to see if the Celtics sign someone to their last roster spot before the final regular season game on Tuesday.

There were rumors around the trade deadline that they may sign someone to the taxpayer MLE with a non-guaranteed second year that they could guarantee if they needed it for salary ballast for a possible AD trade.

Think it will be a real sign they are serious about going after AD, or another big time player, if they sign someone like Thomas Robinson or something before Tuesday night.
If Kyrie stays and they land AD (for Tatum, picks, Yabu, etc) what does the Celts rotation look like in your estimation? Do they restructure Horfords' deal?
 

InstaFace

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Wasn't there talk about trying to get under the luxury tax for this year, to push out repeater status a year farther? That turns on what the annualized payroll is on the last day of the league season, doesn't it? Tax level kicks in at $123.7M, we're at $125.5. Cutting or trading Yabusele gets it done, I think.
 

HomeRunBaker

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I'm really interested to see if the Celtics sign someone to their last roster spot before the final regular season game on Tuesday.

There were rumors around the trade deadline that they may sign someone to the taxpayer MLE with a non-guaranteed second year that they could guarantee if they needed it for salary ballast for a possible AD trade.

Think it will be a real sign they are serious about going after AD, or another big time player, if they sign someone like Thomas Robinson or something before Tuesday night.
If the Celtics do this I'd expect it to be someone who has been with the organization in Maine all year as a nice gesture similar to what was done a couple years ago with Chris Babb rather than a player without previous ties to the organization.

Edit: Oooops, pulled up Maine's season stats and didn't realize we had signed Robinson there for a few games.
 

mcpickl

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Wasn't there talk about trying to get under the luxury tax for this year, to push out repeater status a year farther? That turns on what the annualized payroll is on the last day of the league season, doesn't it? Tax level kicks in at $123.7M, we're at $125.5. Cutting or trading Yabusele gets it done, I think.
Yes, but that's pretty much out the window. Can't trade Yabusele since it's after the deadline. Cutting him doesn't get you there either, someone would have to claim him otherwise he stays on the Celtics books. Possible he's claimed, but seems unlikely.


If the Celtics do this I'd expect it to be someone who has been with the organization in Maine all year as a nice gesture similar to what was done a couple years ago with Chris Babb rather than a player without previous ties to the organization.

Edit: Oooops, pulled up Maine's season stats and didn't realize we had signed Robinson there for a few games.
Yeah, this is why I chose Robinsons name. Feel like it's at least possible they could've told him they planned to sign him at the end of the year to get him up to Maine.
 

mcpickl

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If Kyrie stays and they land AD (for Tatum, picks, Yabu, etc) what does the Celts rotation look like in your estimation? Do they restructure Horfords' deal?
This is up to Horford I'd say. If he's willing to opt out of 30M next year for longer term and a lower salary, maybe 3/65 or 4/80, I'd guess the Celtics would be willing.

If Kyrie leaves, Celtics might be more likely to just let Al play out the last year at 30M since their ceiling as a contender will be lower.

If in your example the Celtics kept Kyrie, and got AD for Tatum+picks/flotsam, I'd guess rotation would be Kyrie/Smart/Hayward/Horford/AD starting with Jaylen, Baynes, a 3rd guard signed with the taxpayer MLE, probably a veteran minimum or two, then rookies(and Robert Williams if not in AD deal) for the last handful of spots. Rozier, Morris and probably Theis let go.
 

NomarsFool

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I think I'd rather have only 4 players on the court than see Chuck Morris heaving up the ball at a 25% clip anymore.
 

benhogan

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This is up to Horford I'd say. If he's willing to opt out of 30M next year for longer term and a lower salary, maybe 3/65 or 4/80, I'd guess the Celtics would be willing.

If Kyrie leaves, Celtics might be more likely to just let Al play out the last year at 30M since their ceiling as a contender will be lower.

If in your example the Celtics kept Kyrie, and got AD for Tatum+picks/flotsam, I'd guess rotation would be Kyrie/Smart/Hayward/Horford/AD starting with Jaylen, Baynes, a 3rd guard signed with the taxpayer MLE, probably a veteran minimum or two, then rookies(and Robert Williams if not in AD deal) for the last handful of spots. Rozier, Morris and probably Theis let go.
Thx. That's an absurd rotation. We are just getting a glimpse of a healed/Utah Gordon. The MLE and Vet mins have to be a defense, team-first, grinder types. We should have plenty of scorers.

Mods need to start the "The way too early, 2019-20 Celtic Roster" thread:)
 
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DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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Tatum--shin contusion? Sounds like he should be fine.

Smart--oblique bruise is what they are calling it. If that's the case it's better than a strain, which is usually a few week type of thing.
 

CoffeeNerdness

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SoSH Member
Jun 6, 2012
8,713
Are obliques usually a few weeks outside of baseball though? Seems like a muscle that specifically hinders swinging a bat.
 

JCizzle

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Dec 11, 2006
20,530
Tatum--shin contusion? Sounds like he should be fine.

Smart--oblique bruise is what they are calling it. If that's the case it's better than a strain, which is usually a few week type of thing.
This gave me a mild panic attack re: Tatum

 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
SoSH Member
Dec 16, 2010
53,840
Are obliques usually a few weeks outside of baseball though? Seems like a muscle that specifically hinders swinging a bat.
Twitter docs (I know, I know) said if it's a strain it's usually a few weeks, and that word from Stevens was they didn't think it was. Should know more today.
 

Imbricus

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Jan 26, 2017
4,810
Jesus, is that injury report real or half made up because they want to rest the starters and give Washington the win?
 

TripleOT

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Jul 4, 2007
7,758
Strangely, I'm looking forward to watching whatever dregs of a lineup is run out there tomorrow night against the Wiz.

Yabu, TL, Semi, Rozier, Wanamaker, with RJ Hunter and Dozier off the pine, in a very tight seven man rotation.

If the Celtics lose, and the Pacers win, Clips win, and Spurs win, all four team tie for the 18th pick, with 34 losses. How do they determine non-lottery draft positioning of teams with the same record? The Celtics could end up with 18 and 19 if things work out.