Celtics (3-0) vs Grizzlies (3-0) Vegas SL Game #4 7/11/19

[Sophomore]

Well, I took a lot of heat for arguing that TimeLord is still a long ways off, especially his team defense, defensive positioning, and rebounding. I don't want to speculate that someone lit a fire under him about fundamentals: boxing out, avoiding ball watching (but I'm going to), but today was a significantly different performance.

I'm not ready to say he deserves to start or get more than 10-13 minutes a game, but he has certainly made me feel more confident that he will at least hold his own against the average NBA big man.

9.5/10 for today.

Sorry I missed the game. From the box and highlights he had a much improved performance. Great to see.

[tazzmaniac]

So, are people ready to lay off Timelord for awhile and recognize his tremendous potential?

Also love me some GWill and Edwards. GWill was a steal. Nobody thought he'd be shooting like this from deep.

Also like Waters, but he's a bit too much of a chucker for my liking.

I love TIMELORD every time he steps on the court!

TIMELORD was my binkie that draft so glad to hear he looked good.  He'd be even further along if he'd gotten meaningful, consistent minutes last season. 

[Celtics4ever]

Well, I took a lot of heat for arguing that TimeLord is still a long ways off, especially his team defense, defensive positioning, and rebounding. I don't want to speculate that someone lit a fire under him about fundamentals: boxing out, avoiding ball watching (but I'm going to), but today was a significantly different performance.

The talent is there is just a question of whether he can capitalize on it and a lot of that is between the ears.

[JBcat]

This is def the best Celtics summer league team that I have watched.  They are really playing together as a team, sharing the ball, going after rebound and making def plays.  So fun to watch!

And we don’t even have our top draft pick Langford playing!

[Green-18]

Grant Williams has been the  +/- leader in every game so far!  I'm very excited to see how he performs with, and against, NBA talent in the pre-season.  The transition should be relatively smooth, given that he will be playing on one of the more talented teams in the Eastern Conference.

Scal is getting way ahead of himself by suggesting that Williams will be a starter less than half way through the season.  That said, I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he earns 15-20 MPG off the bench.  I like the idea of the lineup below, assuming that Hayward returns to form. 

Smart
Jaylen
Hayward
Williams
Williams   

[TheBig3]

Kemba won’t be coming off the bench

[Green-18]

Kemba won’t be coming off the bench

That wasn't meant to be a starting lineup.  It's a group I could see playing together for short stretches.   

[Surferdad]

Well, I took a lot of heat for arguing that TimeLord is still a long ways off, especially his team defense, defensive positioning, and rebounding. I don't want to speculate that someone lit a fire under him about fundamentals: boxing out, avoiding ball watching (but I'm going to), but today was a significantly different performance.

The talent is there is just a question of whether he can capitalize on it and a lot of that is between the ears.

THIS.  The big difference this year is his confidence.  You can see him actually trying to make moves in the low post (who knew?) or otherwise just taking it right to the defense.

He'd be even further along if he'd gotten meaningful, consistent minutes last season.

Well clearly there was a reason, he was simply not ready and also had to improve his endurance.  Some guys just develop more slowly and/or struggle with the demands of NBA life.  Then add that there's a lot learn about defense at the center position and it's completely understandable about his minutes last season.

I'm not ready to say he deserves to start or get more than 10-13 minutes a game, but he has certainly made me feel more confident that he will at least hold his own against the average NBA big man.

I like to think of Williams III as a rookie and expect he will get this type of rookie-level minutes this upcoming season.  Barring any team injuries I predict he starts less than 10 games this season.

[ConnerHenry]

Let's also give a shout-out to the coaching staff. Watching this team play, looks like they've been together for a long time. Great ball movement, players are rotating and supporting each other

[Celtics4ever]

That wasn't meant to be a starting lineup.  It's a group I could see playing together for short stretches.   

Man, I have seen some people BSing in my day but that statement takes the cake.   Be a man and admit you forgot.

[Sophomore]

That wasn't meant to be a starting lineup.  It's a group I could see playing together for short stretches.   

Man, I have seen some people BSing in my day but that statement takes the cake.   Be a man and admit you forgot.

Fwiw, I read the first post and understood him to be talking about a second line before he explained it. Previous sentence said Williams would be earning time off the bench, then he gave a lineup you’d expect to see in the middle of the game when most starters rested.

[Green-18]

That wasn't meant to be a starting lineup.  It's a group I could see playing together for short stretches.   

Man, I have seen some people BSing in my day but that statement takes the cake.   Be a man and admit you forgot.

Fwiw, I read the first post and understood him to be talking about a second line before he explained it. Previous sentence said Williams would be earning time off the bench, then he gave a lineup you’d expect to see in the middle of the game when most starters rested.

Exactly...as if I'm going to forget we have both Tatum and Kemba.  Not to mention that I see Kanter earning the starting role on opening night.  Thank you for having my back on this one.  I even mentioned the idea of this lineup in another thread.  Even before today I mentioned the idea of Grant Williams earning a significant role of the bench.  I also caught flack for suggesting that he could be a regular rotation player. 

[Green-18]

That wasn't meant to be a starting lineup.  It's a group I could see playing together for short stretches.   

Man, I have seen some people BSing in my day but that statement takes the cake.   Be a man and admit you forgot.

Not sure why this is annoying me so much, but here's a recent post, written by ME, just to show you that I actually follow the Boston Celtics.......

TP for an excellent post.  You highlighted legitimate concerns that have nothing to do with attitude or chemistry.  Stevens needs to find a way to get these guys to play with a sense of purpose, even when they don't have the ball in their hands.  I'll post my thoughts on individual players.

Kemba Walker: He's been ball dominant out of necessity.  The good news is that Walker posted excellent catch and shoot percentages (46% beyond the arc from 2015-17) until Nicholas Batum started to break down.  Batum was the primarily facilitator for the Hornets during his prime.  Walkers' off-ball percentages began to decline in unison with Batums' usage rate. 

We saw flashes of Kemba running off screens when he torched us last season.  I'm optimistic that Brad will run more sets that free up Walker away from the ball.  Most importantly, Walker will show a willingness to execute the game plan on a nightly basis.

Gordon Hayward: I see Hayward becoming the primary facilitator within the offense.  This can work as long as he regains most of his pre-injury scoring ability.  It's difficult to facilitate from the perimeter if the defense doesn't view you as a scoring threat.

Jaylen Brown:  There's no secrets with Brown.  He can drive, catch and shoot, finish in transition, and hit fade away jumpers from 10-12 feet.  Unfortunately, he's yet to show an ability to read defenses and make the right basketball play with any level of consistency.  He isn't deserving of more touches until he improves in this area.

Jayson Tatum:  As others have mentioned, Tatum needs to get away from the iso mid-range jumpers.  A small dose of mid-range shots is fine, as long as he's shooting over smaller defenders from his sweet spots.  Aside from that, Tatum needs to get stronger and attack the basket with a sense of urgency.

[CelticSince]

Well, I took a lot of heat for arguing that TimeLord is still a long ways off, especially his team defense, defensive positioning, and rebounding. I don't want to speculate that someone lit a fire under him about fundamentals: boxing out, avoiding ball watching (but I'm going to), but today was a significantly different performance.

I'm not ready to say he deserves to start or get more than 10-13 minutes a game, but he has certainly made me feel more confident that he will at least hold his own against the average NBA big man.

9.5/10 for today.

He always has good court awareness on both side, rarely make mistakes, almost always in position, direct team defense
You just need to pay attention

But yeah the box out is new, i don't know why though

[hwangjini_1]

That wasn't meant to be a starting lineup.  It's a group I could see playing together for short stretches.   

Man, I have seen some people BSing in my day but that statement takes the cake.   Be a man honest and admit you forgot.

see? no longer misogynistic.