Lots of thoughts on this Celtics team, so I'll do a 'rollie mass'
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First thing is that I don't agree with people saying they see the 3 games played as an extension of the pre-season. I was worried when I saw them play those pre-season games, but to me the team has looked very different when the games were for real. Even though we won by a lucky bankshot it was still a great victory to beat a Bucks team where all their stars (Giannis, Middleton, Holiday) had a good game. Then against the Nets we stayed with them for 2 quarters and then Durant and Irving took over. That's just a talent difference. I don't blame Stevens or the team, for now we just have to accept that. The Pacers game we could have won, so the thing that concerns me the most is end of game execution on offense. It was awful during the playoffs and that issue hasn't been solved.
We played some very strong teams, so I don't worry about our record yet. I believe as long as Brown or Tatum won't sustain a significant injury the Celtics will make the playoffs. Probably more in the 5-8 range than a top seed, but that's what I expected beforehand anyway. Cleveland and Orlando have a nice start going 3-0, but they will cool off.
So far the Celtics have played close to their ability in my book. There isn't another gear as long as Kemba is not available. We lost our two best playmakers (Hayward in free agency, Walker injured) and that's staring us in the face. Tatum is not a point forward like James, Doncic, Simmons, Butler, DeRozan, Hayward, Ingram or even Middleton. Tatum has shown the potential to become an elite scorer, but he needs someone to set up the table. And it doesn't look like Smart is able to do that. One thing I like is that Smart hasn't tried to take over games, I was afraid he'd see himself as the 3rd go-to-guy and shoot way too much, but in FGA/36min he's remarkably last of our 10-men-rotation.
I'm not advocating for an immediate change in the starting line-up. I actually like the approach by Stevens to play bigger. We don't want to always have to make adjustments to cover for being undersized at multiple positions. It fits into the switchable defense that Stevens orchestrates. I'd like to see more before we change things up. But we do have general problems with playmaking, shooting and transition defense.
Theis is a guy who needs to do more and if he can't then we should trade him. I have been contemplating about the need to trade him for a while, he has had a career year and we can still capitalize on his value as an underrated player on a bargain contract before we'll have to pay him 8-12 million in the off-season. Some team like Denver or Dallas could use a cheap back-up center.
Overall I'm quite positive about what we've seen so far. We're learning a lot. I liked the Pritchard pick and I'm loving it now because his college game seems to completely translate to the NBA. He's got great range, superb handle and is fearless. Now I do wonder how Nesmith can't get any minutes, while our wing depth in quality is one of the worst in the league. Ojeleye and Grant Williams don't offer much production. Grant has a good BBIQ, unfortunately that only means that Grant is always in the right position to watch his man score. He doesn't have the reach, athletism or skill to bother them. His ceiling is an end of rotation player.
Now Timelord is a different story. In previous posts I have been raving about his potential to become a good starting center. Yesterday he finally got the trust of his coach in crunch time and he certainly didn't disappoint. Timelord put us in a position to win the game. He had two steals, a block and also a great pass to an open Tatum. In fact that last play should have been made by Teague. I was surprised how good Teague has looked so far, because the Wolves fans I spoke said he was a very frustrating player to watch. But these missed passes may be the reason why our opinion on Teague could change.
The chance to win was there and then you have Tatum taking a stepback three while only being down one point. That's an awful decision. Where have the brilliant ATO plays been lately? Stevens used to be a maestro of setting up plays. Tatum is looking selfish like Irving, who always wanted the ball for the final possessions. He's not that superstar who can take the team on his back. In fact I don't believe Brown is far of Tatum's level, despite the narrative. Anyway the offense is a work in progress. Unless we trade for Harden I highly doubt we'll be a top 10 offense this season.
Topic: Rody thoughts 29-12-2020 (Read 1614 times)