Will we have 9 or 5 good players come PO?

[Androslav]

Hi guys, I haven't posted in a while, I wanted to share some thoughts on our squad after 7 seen games.

After a successful POs where we lost in ECF, I noticed that what we missed to go even further.
We need more quality players on our roster. We made ECF with basically 4 and a half players (J&J, Smart, Kemba, and Theis). That is a long way to go from my number 9, a number of good players that I think u need to have on your roster to win it all.

Tatum and Brown are fantastic, playing at an All-NBA, improving each year.
But their supporting cast leaves a lot desired now as was the case in the PO.

However, I won't slander DA for it. J&J duo was always his vision of a long-term rebuilt.
He tried to rebuild on steroids, and it failed. It was a worthy risk, with a lot of upsides and less downside. The mid-phase of it with the addition of Kyrie and Hay hasn't extracted the wanted results. Mainly due to KI's immaturity, physical and mental health, and Hays physical health.
So now we are back to what in the 2018 ECF, build around young wings. I don't have any regular-season expectations. Loss in Detroit doesn't bug me at all. If we go 42-30, I won't have a problem with it. Just as long as we are working on surrounding our duo with the right talent.

Come PO time if we have 9 guys that can play - we are a true contender.
On the other hand, if we have just 5 like last year - we are just cuter than most.

Safer bets to do well in PO:
Brown
Tatum
Kemba
Smart
Thompson
Theis

Hopeful PO contributors (my guess +):
RW 3 +
PP +
Teague
Ojeleye +
Nesmith
GW
Romeo
A player we get via trade exception +

We need to get 3/8 from the list below. It is not probable, but it is possible.

Wish you all a good and successful year!

EDIT: Theis added, tnx!

[Somebody]

Theis isn't a safe bet to be a good PO contributor?

[GreenWarrior]

We have 2 good players and that's it. And then you have smart, thompson and maybe theis. Everyone else after that should be considered unreliable and you're better off having no expectations from.

[ETNCeltics]

Hi guys, I haven't posted in a while, I wanted to share some thoughts on our squad after 7 seen games.

After a successful POs where we lost in ECF, I noticed that what we missed to go even further.
We need more quality players on our roster. We made ECF with basically 4 and a half players (J&J, Smart, Kemba, and Theis). That is a long way to go from my number 9, a number of good players that I think u need to have on your roster to win it all.

Tatum and Brown are fantastic, playing at an All-NBA, improving each year.
But their supporting cast leaves a lot desired now as was the case in the PO.

However, I won't slander DA for it. J&J duo was always his vision of a long-term rebuilt.
He tried to rebuild on steroids, and it failed. It was a worthy risk, with a lot of upsides and less downside. The mid-phase of it with the addition of Kyrie and Hay hasn't extracted the wanted results. Mainly due to KI's immaturity, physical and mental health, and Hays physical health.
So now we are back to what in the 2018 ECF, build around young wings. I don't have any regular-season expectations. Loss in Detroit doesn't bug me at all. If we go 42-30, I won't have a problem with it. Just as long as we are working on surrounding our duo with the right talent.

Come PO time if we have 9 guys that can play - we are a true contender.
On the other hand, if we have just 5 like last year - we are just cuter than most.

Safer bets to do well in PO:
Brown
Tatum
Kemba
Smart
Thompson

Hopeful PO contributors (my guess +):
RW 3 +
PP +
Teague
Ojeleye +
Nesmith
GW
Romeo
A player we get via trade exception +

We need to get 4/8 from the list below. It is not probable, but it is possible.

Wish you all a good and successful year!

You left out Theis.

Having 9 would be great, but if we'd had 6 last year, we'd have made the finals. Personally, I think we can do it with 8, but we're gonna need a wing, an FA, Nesmith, Romeo, someone, to step up and give us solid minutes behind the Js.

[smokeablount]

TP and welcome back.  I agree with your post, better depth is needed.  The NBA may be moving from the Big 3 model blueprint, to 2 All NBA'ers and a winning bench. 

Hopefully the Celtics can get some of these young guys some burn this season and help them level up some. Romeo, Robert, and PP would be the guys that I would bet on.

[slamtheking]

I don't think anyone disagrees that we need depth, not just bodies that can sit on the sidelines.  Teague and Thompson definitely help in that regard but the loss of Hayward will really hurt (regardless of the lack of time spent on the court the past 3 years) and having Kemba's unknown health situation hanging over the team doesn't help either. 

that said, I think by the end of the season we'll have that deeper team, the question will be will we have enough top end talent that can come through in the clutch for us in close playoff games.   

Brown, Tatum, Smart, Kemba, Theis, Thompson, Teague are 7 I think we can be fairly confident will make contributions in the playoffs (I know, Kemba's an assumption at this point).  I do think that by the playoffs, Timelord and Pritchard will be solid contributors so you're at 9.  If Semi can show last night wasn't an aberration with his shooting, he can give us a few solid minutes per game (another big if there).  GWill has to get back on track to at least where he was at the end of last season to be a contributor.  Anything from Romeo would be gravy. 

In a perfect storm of positivity, we could have 12 players that could give us something come playoff time.  In a tailspin of negativity, we might only get consistent top play from the J's with Kemba out, Theis/Thompson/Timelord giving us nothing on offense/defense/rebounding, Teague playing badly, Pritchard playing like a rookie and Smart trying to overdo it and coming up short each time.

The big question is whether our top 3 are good enough to put us over the top to win the close games. 

[Phantom255x]

Getting a good PF (or playmaking SF/PF) with the TPE would do wonders for this team.

Then assuming health, you could have a starting lineup of Kemba/Brown/Tatum/TPE/Thompson, with Smart/Theis/Teague/Pritchard/Timelord off the bench. Guys like Ojeyele and G-Will would be like our 9th and 10th guys on the team. Accounting for potential injuries and such, that's fine.

Unfortunately in last year's bubble with the injuries, it basically made it so guys like Wanamaker and Ojeyele were our first few guys off the bench, which simply isn't good.

[Jvalin]

The way I see it, depth is mostly important during the regular season. Not so much during the postseason. Look no further than the Lakers. They had a mediocre supporting cast, yet they won the title cause of LeBron and Davis.

[Csfan1984]

Expect 5. There hasn't been a year without an injury for a C's playoff run since 2008. Someone always goes down.

[johnnygreen]

Come playoff time, I expect the starters to be Kemba, Smart, Brown, Tatum, and Thompson. The majority of the bench minutes will come from Teague and Theis. I think other guys will contribute minutes, but far reduced compared to Teague and Theis.

On a side note, Danny quietly had a fantastic offseason with the signings of Thompson and Teague. Losing Hayward will obviously hurt, but he was out with injuries a lot and even when he was on the court, it seemed like his role was undefined. Thompson will be a upgrade over Theis come playoff time. Not only is he a better rebounder, but he gets the respect from the referees, which is something Theis may never get for some unknown reason. I would like to see Teague become a reliable bench scorer, which he is more than capable of doing.

[Jvalin]

On a side note, Danny quietly had a fantastic offseason with the signings of Thompson and Teague. Losing Hayward will obviously hurt, but he was out with injuries a lot and even when he was on the court, it seemed like his role was undefined. Thompson will be a upgrade over Theis come playoff time. Not only is he a better rebounder, but he gets the respect from the referees, which is something Theis may never get for some unknown reason. I would like to see Teague become a reliable bench scorer, which he is more than capable of doing.

I would argue that we had a pretty disappointing offseason. Both Thompson and Teague are uninspiring signings. Thompson is just a solid role player. Teague may not even be better than Pritchard. Most importantly, we didn't have a backup plan in case Hayward wanted to walk. Imo, we are considerably worse than we were last season (at least on paper). Losing Hayward is a big deal. We miss his passing ability. At times, I feel like the rest of our players are watching Tatum and Brown taking turns on offense. Hopefully, Tatum will transform into a Point Forward this season. After all, he recorded a career high 12 assists yesterday!

[PhoSita]

I feel sure we'll be in a bad spot come playoff time if we're relying on Jeff Teague, Semi Ojeleye, or Javonte Green to play meaningful minutes.  Same is probably true of Langford, since he'll just be too green due to lack of reps.

I trust Grant Williams to be a contributor provided he plays in lineups that have multiple scorers.

Pritchard has already gained the trust of the coaching staff and I expect him to be on the floor at important times during a playoff run.  Crazy to say that so soon, but I think it's true.


Rob Williams certainly has the production and the talent to be a playoff contributor.  Not sure if he avoid mental mistakes enough to be in there.  Also a question if he will stay healthy enough.



I definitely feel that even when Kemba is healthy, the team is going to need 1-2 additional seasoned, reliable role players at the 2/3 and 3/4.  Guys with size who can play team defense, rebound, and nail an open three.


My fingers are crossed that if and when Houston trades Harden, the Celts can use the TPE to snag Tucker.  He'd be perfect.

[PhoSita]

Both Thompson and Teague are uninspiring signings. Thompson is just a solid role player.

I dunno man, Thompson is so clearly exactly what this team has needed for a long time.  Really solid on the boards inside, and what's more he can actually catch the ball within 5-10 feet of the basket and finish even if there's a big defender already there.  Gives you a lot of what Kanter did offensively without Kanter's radical defensive downside.

I think TT is a pretty major addition, even though I agree that he is a role player.

[Moranis]

I disagree with the premise that Boston is a true contender if it has 9 quality players.  I mean Utah had that last year and lost in the 1st round.  The playoffs have always been about the need for top tier talent and Boston just doesn't have that, so whether it has 2, 5, or 15 quality players makes no difference since the guys at the top aren't good enough.

[Phantom255x]

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