Full Ainge press conference - media day

[gouki88]

Most likely opening day line up IMO

Smart/Brown/Tatum/GWilliams/Theis

With Teague/Semi/RWilliams/Thompson getting most if the bench minutes

Hot take: When Kemba comes back Grant Williams is playing so well he stays in the starting line up.

I'd be surprised to see Grant and Theis start together, as I'm not sure how well Thompson and RWill would coexist

[Tr1boy]

Here are also link

Brad Stevens media
https://youtu.be/JPUgtnpmaQE

Tatum media
https://youtu.be/t40e6j4xfx0

[Hoopvortex]

I wanna focus on 2 quotes from Danny.

(when asked whether he's looking to make more additions to the roster because of the Kemba and Romeo injuries)

(...) This will be an opportunity for Marcus to play some PG again for us like he did some last year and did a very good job and Jeff Teague and Payton Pritchard and Tremont Waters (...) Aaron (Nesmith) may get an opportunity to play early in the season too. I understand those aren't perfect situations where you just bring guys in without summer league, without training camp, but we'll see what we have. I'm excited for it.

Long story short, Danny was talking about our PG depth and for some reason he felt the need to talk about Nesmith. Seems like Nesmith will see plenty of playing time early in the season.


(when asked about Tristan Thompson)

(...) he's seen a lot, and I think he's a hard working guy like I said, so I think he'll add a lot. There's a lot of value to having him on our bench, ehm I shouldn't say on our bench, on our team and in our locker room.

Based on the above 2 quotes, I would expect our starting lineup on opening night to look like this

PG: Smart
SG: Brown
SF: Nesmith
PF: Tatum
C: Theis

Quote 1: Another interpretation is he named every backup guard except Edwards 🤔

He actually did name Carsen, but it got left out of the quote.

[Vermont Green]

This is where getting Thompson over Millsap hurts.  With Millsap, we could have plugged him in as a floor spacing PF.  Thompson/Theis just isn’t a great combo.

Millsap or someone who can play his style would be a good fit to play along side Thompson or someone else when we do play with 2 bigs.  My hope is that we can get something like what Millsap would give us out of one or a combination of Theis, GWilliams, or Ojeleye.  I am not saying play all the time with 2 bigs, just that we need to have a more viable options to play with 2 bigs than we did last season.

Now if Kemba misses extended time, I think we see even more of the 2 big line up.  I think Theis could be a decent poor man's Millsap.  Probably he is more suited to that than trying to play center in a one big line up (remember, Theis did shoot 39% from 3 on low volume in 2018-19).  Big talent drop from healthy Kemba to Theis though (or anyone else we plug in to replace Kemba).

[PhoSita]

Brad's gonna lean early on the guys who were a part of the playoff push.

I would expect Smart, Grant, and Theis to be the starters at the beginning of the year alongside Tatum and Brown.

There'll be opportunities for Teague, Pritchard, and Nesmith to get time early on, which is good.  An important early season objective will be to sort out which guys are going to be able to contribute to winning important games and which probably won't.

[Tr1boy]

Brad's gonna lean early on the guys who were a part of the playoff push.

Not a given imo

Or Ainge is going to ask for more chances for the younger players

Pritchard and Nesmith, Langford all need longer looks.  Either they advance quicker or enough to get other teams interested. So the Celts can make some big splash at the deadline

Last thing Brad should do is rely on the remaining playoff guys minus Kemba.  And let the bench accumulate dust

[Tr1boy]

This is where getting Thompson over Millsap hurts.  With Millsap, we could have plugged him in as a floor spacing PF.  Thompson/Theis just isn’t a great combo.

Millsap or someone who can play his style would be a good fit to play along side Thompson or someone else when we do play with 2 bigs.  My hope is that we can get something like what Millsap would give us out of one or a combination of Theis, GWilliams, or Ojeleye.  I am not saying play all the time with 2 bigs, just that we need to have a more viable options to play with 2 bigs than we did last season.

Now if Kemba misses extended time, I think we see even more of the 2 big line up.  I think Theis could be a decent poor man's Millsap.  Probably he is more suited to that than trying to play center in a one big line up (remember, Theis did shoot 39% from 3 on low volume in 2018-19).  Big talent drop from healthy Kemba to Theis though (or anyone else we plug in to replace Kemba).

weren't the Celts interested? 

It seems like it was going to be either Millsap or Thompson

[Vermont Green]

This is where getting Thompson over Millsap hurts.  With Millsap, we could have plugged him in as a floor spacing PF.  Thompson/Theis just isn’t a great combo.

Millsap or someone who can play his style would be a good fit to play along side Thompson or someone else when we do play with 2 bigs.  My hope is that we can get something like what Millsap would give us out of one or a combination of Theis, GWilliams, or Ojeleye.  I am not saying play all the time with 2 bigs, just that we need to have a more viable options to play with 2 bigs than we did last season.

Now if Kemba misses extended time, I think we see even more of the 2 big line up.  I think Theis could be a decent poor man's Millsap.  Probably he is more suited to that than trying to play center in a one big line up (remember, Theis did shoot 39% from 3 on low volume in 2018-19).  Big talent drop from healthy Kemba to Theis though (or anyone else we plug in to replace Kemba).

weren't the Celts interested? 

It seems like it was going to be either Millsap or Thompson

I have no idea.  I am sure there was interest but I don't know if they took Thompson because they couldn't get Millsap or because they just wanted Thompson.  Denver had Bird rights to Millsap so they could offer more than the MLE, making it hard for the Celtics or anyone to beat the offer.  I never really considered Millsap someone we would expect to get.

[Jvalin]

The Heat were starting Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson last season. Nunn was an undrafted rookie, yet he was their starter on opening night. Robinson came off the bench that night. He was also undrafted, but he had played 15 games for the Heat during the previous season.

Nesmith is a lotto pick. Why on earth can't he start on opening night?

Btw, I believe Duncan Robinson is a pretty good comp for Nesmith. Robinson is a better passer. Nesmith is a better defender. Both of them are elite shooters and off-ball specialists.

[colincb]

Brad's gonna lean early on the guys who were a part of the playoff push.

Not a given imo

Or Ainge is going to ask for more chances for the younger players

Pritchard and Nesmith, Langford all need longer looks.  Either they advance quicker or enough to get other teams interested. So the Celts can make some big splash at the deadline

Last thing Brad should do is rely on the remaining playoff guys minus Kemba.  And let the bench accumulate dust

Agree. I also think Danny's going to figure out how he's going to cull the herd. Some of these guys have to show up or be moved, so he can make decisions for the trade deadline and next offseason. Next year is all in.

[colincb]

This is where getting Thompson over Millsap hurts.  With Millsap, we could have plugged him in as a floor spacing PF.  Thompson/Theis just isn’t a great combo.

Millsap or someone who can play his style would be a good fit to play along side Thompson or someone else when we do play with 2 bigs.  My hope is that we can get something like what Millsap would give us out of one or a combination of Theis, GWilliams, or Ojeleye.  I am not saying play all the time with 2 bigs, just that we need to have a more viable options to play with 2 bigs than we did last season.

Now if Kemba misses extended time, I think we see even more of the 2 big line up.  I think Theis could be a decent poor man's Millsap.  Probably he is more suited to that than trying to play center in a one big line up (remember, Theis did shoot 39% from 3 on low volume in 2018-19).  Big talent drop from healthy Kemba to Theis though (or anyone else we plug in to replace Kemba).

weren't the Celts interested? 

It seems like it was going to be either Millsap or Thompson

I have no idea.  I am sure there was interest but I don't know if they took Thompson because they couldn't get Millsap or because they just wanted Thompson.  Denver had Bird rights to Millsap so they could offer more than the MLE, making it hard for the Celtics or anyone to beat the offer.  I never really considered Millsap someone we would expect to get.

They did pursue him:

https://nesn.com/2020/11/nba-rumors-celtics-pursuing-paul-millsap-following-gordon-hayward-departure/

...but, he wanted to stay put because of family:

Adam Himmelsbach@AdamHimmelsbach·Nov 21

Per sources, it came down to a family decision for Millsap as he chose Nuggets over Cs. Didn’t want to uproot family.

[Roy H.]

This is where getting Thompson over Millsap hurts.  With Millsap, we could have plugged him in as a floor spacing PF.  Thompson/Theis just isn’t a great combo.

Millsap or someone who can play his style would be a good fit to play along side Thompson or someone else when we do play with 2 bigs.  My hope is that we can get something like what Millsap would give us out of one or a combination of Theis, GWilliams, or Ojeleye.  I am not saying play all the time with 2 bigs, just that we need to have a more viable options to play with 2 bigs than we did last season.

Now if Kemba misses extended time, I think we see even more of the 2 big line up.  I think Theis could be a decent poor man's Millsap.  Probably he is more suited to that than trying to play center in a one big line up (remember, Theis did shoot 39% from 3 on low volume in 2018-19).  Big talent drop from healthy Kemba to Theis though (or anyone else we plug in to replace Kemba).

weren't the Celts interested? 

It seems like it was going to be either Millsap or Thompson

I have no idea.  I am sure there was interest but I don't know if they took Thompson because they couldn't get Millsap or because they just wanted Thompson.  Denver had Bird rights to Millsap so they could offer more than the MLE, making it hard for the Celtics or anyone to beat the offer.  I never really considered Millsap someone we would expect to get.

Millsap was our first choice.  It was between Denver and us.  He ultimately stayed in Denver because he didn’t want to disrupt his family.  As soon as Millsap made his decision, the Thompson signing was reported.

Getting Millsap and then an experienced center like Dedmon would have been ideal.

[tstorey_97]

I think Nesmith will develop in time. If you study his college work, you'll see he is not "fast" on defense and will need work there.

He has a terrific shot, but, also does not have a "quick release".

My point is opposing coaches will attack him and he will need to develop against rotation players rather than NBA starters.

His shooting is outstanding.

Smart starts with Brown and Tatum
Teague and Theis and Thompson and Grant with some Semi are all reliable NBA players who won't be defensive liabilities.

We all hope Robert makes the jump that will get him minutes in the front court.

Simply don't know if Stevens will give Nesmith and Pritchard minutes. I hope they do get chances so they can...

 ....shoot the freaking lights out!

[Boise To Boston]

Because those guys had full college seasons, summer league, training camp, and a full pre season to get ready for Game 1. 

The Heat were starting Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson last season. Nunn was an undrafted rookie, yet he was their starter on opening night. Robinson came off the bench that night. He was also undrafted, but he had played 15 games for the Heat during the previous season.

Nesmith is a lotto pick. Why on earth can't he start on opening night?

Btw, I believe Duncan Robinson is a pretty good comp for Nesmith. Robinson is a better passer. Nesmith is a better defender. Both of them are elite shooters and off-ball specialists.

[Vermont Green]

Because those guys had full college seasons, summer league, training camp, and a full pre season to get ready for Game 1. 

The Heat were starting Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson last season. Nunn was an undrafted rookie, yet he was their starter on opening night. Robinson came off the bench that night. He was also undrafted, but he had played 15 games for the Heat during the previous season.

Nesmith is a lotto pick. Why on earth can't he start on opening night?

Btw, I believe Duncan Robinson is a pretty good comp for Nesmith. Robinson is a better passer. Nesmith is a better defender. Both of them are elite shooters and off-ball specialists.

Also Duncan Robinson is 26 (25 when he started the season last season) and Nunn is 25.  Nesmith is 21 and Pritchard is 22.  No one is suggesting that there is a rule that says they can't start but just that the likelihood is pretty low in any season and in particular this season.

With Walker and Langford out, I think the most likely 5th starter, assuming Theis is a starter is Thompson, GWilliams, or Ojeleye.  I would also not be entirely surprised if it was Teague but I see this as less likely.  I know, not a lot of great options.