What's with this slump?

[Fierce1]

It's a slump, they're losing to bad teams as well as good. The record vs. good teams/bad teams is irrelevant.

Unless you're Milwaukee or the Lakers, you probably don't have a great record against teams with winning records. Toronto is basically 1 game behind us, they have a terrible record against teams with winning records, Miami is 1 game ahead of us, they have a better record against teams with winning records. Does Miami having more losses against Teams like Orlando make them better than us? Likewise, does Toronto having fewer losses against teams like Atlanta make them better than us? As the great Bill Parcells said, 'you are what your record says you are'.

We've proven we can beat good teams. We've beaten Milwaukee, Miami, Denver, and came within an eyelash and a few bad calls of beating LAC on their floor.

The comments in these threads are so myopic. "Big man" "shooter off the bench" etc. Would those things be nice? Certainly. But they're not going to matter when Jaylen Brown gets torched by Marcus Morris' brother, or Gordon Hayward goes 1-10, and really, nothing is going to matter when a team is shooting 60%+ against us.

We're losing because Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Gordon Hayward (and in some cases, Marcus Smart) are not doing their jobs on either end of the court. Blaming it on anything else is just fantasy.

There's just too much pressure put on those guys.

All the NBA knows the Celts are just about wing players.

Contain the Celtic wing players and the Celtics lose.

I think it's very obvious that's what opposing teams are doing to the Celts right now.

The Celts are a one trick pony, no diversity on offense.

Relying solely on wing players and Kemba's 3-point shooting is not enough.

Celts don't need a big man?

I don't remember a decade where the Celts won a championship without a quality big man.

[Fierce1]

We're losing because Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Gordon Hayward (and in some cases, Marcus Smart) are not doing their jobs on either end of the court. Blaming it on anything else is just fantasy.

I agree with this.  These 3 guys have let this team down - especially Hayward.  These are guys responsible for the slow starts and inconsistent effort.   

They haven’t been very consistent lately but to say they’ve let the team down is so wrong. Brown/Tatum have carried the team basically for the early stretch of the year.

People are going nuts. It’s a slump. It happens. They were on pace for like 58 wins. They were going to hit a rough patch at some point. Doesn’t mean they have to blow up the entire roster and I don’t think Ainge will.

The same issues that we were talking about before the season (center depth, bench production) are still issues. I do t think they need to be blockbuster moves but some veterans on that roster who know their roles would help them.

You don't have to blow up the entire roster.

One example is trading Hayward will get you Drummond and Derrick Rose.

That's just one player getting traded.

Again, that's just an example.

Ainge can do something about the problem, making the Celts a more balanced team.

This is not asking to blow up the team.

[Fafnir]

Man its really sad that for many fans looking the part is more important than how well you play.

[Fafnir]

I think they're just getting a bit run down. Also the chemstry and flow has become a bit frayed as they have had one starter or the other missing a pretty much every game for a while. They haven't been able to build a solid feel for a while because of it.

I also think that the upcoming all-star buzz and voting is effecting Tatum/Brown somewhat. Both guys firmly believe they belong and I think that's weighed on them some.

[Fierce1]

Man its really sad that for many fans looking the part is more important than how well you play.

I don't think it's about looking the part, it's about balance and being fundamentally sound.

[Fafnir]

Oh some of its also shooting luck. Say what you want about their bad defense, but the Hawks play teams every night and they often don't give up 70% from 2 like Detroit shot or 9/10 from three like the bucks shot to start last night.

Its a make or miss league and when you don't have your best stuff it matters a lot if the other team is a std. dev. higher than their norm.

[Sophomore]

We're losing because Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Gordon Hayward (and in some cases, Marcus Smart) are not doing their jobs on either end of the court. Blaming it on anything else is just fantasy.

I agree with this.  These 3 guys have let this team down - especially Hayward.  These are guys responsible for the slow starts and inconsistent effort.   

They haven’t been very consistent lately but to say they’ve let the team down is so wrong. Brown/Tatum have carried the team basically for the early stretch of the year.

People are going nuts. It’s a slump. It happens. They were on pace for like 58 wins. They were going to hit a rough patch at some point. Doesn’t mean they have to blow up the entire roster and I don’t think Ainge will.

The same issues that we were talking about before the season (center depth, bench production) are still issues. I do t think they need to be blockbuster moves but some veterans on that roster who know their roles would help them.

You don't have to blow up the entire roster.

One example is trading Hayward will get you Drummond and Derrick Rose.

That's just one player getting traded.

Again, that's just an example.

Ainge can do something about the problem, making the Celts a more balanced team.

This is not asking to blow up the team.

I'm open to trading Hayward for a big man, but not that one. What does he do better than Kanter - at five times the price? Nothing he showed me in two games against the Cs. He's not a better rebounder, maybe he's a little better as a defender. Maybe. He certainly didn't show much offensive game, if that's what you're after - largely playing against the guys he'd replace.

I also really doubt Detroit wants that deal, or that they'd add Rose as a throw-in.

If you want big-man help, I think you need a better scenario.

[Fafnir]

Man its really sad that for many fans looking the part is more important than how well you play.

I don't think it's about looking the part, it's about balance and being fundamentally sound.

The Celtics are getting plenty of good production from their 5s and also are holding up on the glass. You just keep yelling about it because they aren't taller.

The parts of the team that are struggling aren't the big men!

[Sophomore]

Gordon has been really inconsistent. He does have good games - it's just that his next game is often pretty bad. Wonder if he's struggling with his role the way Jaylen did at the start of last year, and if he'd be better coming off the bench where he could be the focus of the offense.

[Fierce1]

I think they're just getting a bit run down. Also the chemstry and flow has become a bit frayed as they have had one starter or the other missing a pretty much every game for a while. They haven't been able to build a solid feel for a while because of it.

I also think that the upcoming all-star buzz and voting is effecting Tatum/Brown somewhat. Both guys firmly believe they belong and I think that's weighed on them some.

You can tell there's too much wing power.

When all 5 of the core 5 players, Kemba, Tatum, Brown, Hayward, and Smart are healthy, only 3 usually have good games.

Again, a sign of imbalance.

[Donoghus]

Oh some of its also shooting luck. Say what you want about their bad defense, but the Hawks play teams every night and they often don't give up 70% from 2 like Detroit shot or 9/10 from three like the bucks shot to start last night.

Its a make or miss league and when you don't have your best stuff it matters a lot if the other team is a std. dev. higher than their norm.

Yeah, it's really been magnified the past two games because, on the opposite end, the Celtics have just been ice cold in stretches so when you have the other team shooting 60-70%, the difference is glaring.

[Donoghus]

I think they're just getting a bit run down. Also the chemstry and flow has become a bit frayed as they have had one starter or the other missing a pretty much every game for a while. They haven't been able to build a solid feel for a while because of it.

I also think that the upcoming all-star buzz and voting is effecting Tatum/Brown somewhat. Both guys firmly believe they belong and I think that's weighed on them some.

You can tell there's too much wing power.

When all 5 of the core 5 players, Kemba, Tatum, Brown, Hayward, and Smart are healthy, only 3 usually have good games.

Again, a sign of imbalance.

There's no such thing as "too much" wing power.    Starting trading wings for big men and people will be clamoring how the Celtics need wing strength.

The "lack of depth" of big men is being overplayed on these boards.  They've actually been pretty solid this season.  The current issues facing this team are streaky shooting and poor defense.  Plus just crappy luck that other teams are lighting it up.  There's also the fatigue aspect, youth, and malaise from a long season.

[Fafnir]

Oh some of its also shooting luck. Say what you want about their bad defense, but the Hawks play teams every night and they often don't give up 70% from 2 like Detroit shot or 9/10 from three like the bucks shot to start last night.

Its a make or miss league and when you don't have your best stuff it matters a lot if the other team is a std. dev. higher than their norm.

Yeah, it's really been magnified the past two games because, on the opposite end, the Celtics have just been ice cold in stretches so when you have the other team shooting 60-70%, the difference is glaring.

Yeah Hayward just bricking a ton of open threes early sapped a lot of the life out of the team. A big part of the Bucks defense is that they target to give the open 3s generated to the shooters who are not only worse, but aren't great at knocking down looks if they aren't in a rhythm already.

Hayward/Smart fit that bill, so did Al Horford last year. Al wasn't going to just take 10 open 3s in a quarter even if you just gave them on a silver platter most nights.

[Fierce1]

I think they're just getting a bit run down. Also the chemstry and flow has become a bit frayed as they have had one starter or the other missing a pretty much every game for a while. They haven't been able to build a solid feel for a while because of it.

I also think that the upcoming all-star buzz and voting is effecting Tatum/Brown somewhat. Both guys firmly believe they belong and I think that's weighed on them some.

You can tell there's too much wing power.

When all 5 of the core 5 players, Kemba, Tatum, Brown, Hayward, and Smart are healthy, only 3 usually have good games.

Again, a sign of imbalance.

There's no such thing as "too much" wing power.    Starting trading wings for big men and people will be clamoring how the Celtics need wing strength.

The "lack of depth" of big men is being overplayed on these boards.  They've actually been pretty solid this season.  The current issues facing this team are streaky shooting and poor defense.  Plus just crappy luck that other teams are lighting it up.  There's also the fatigue aspect, youth, and malaise from a long season.

Celts have been solid in the regular season for the last couple of seasons.

But solid only means 1st round or 2nd round playoff exit.

Spending 34m per year for Kemba means Ainge and the Celts are serious about contending.
So just being solid is not enough.

If the goal is just to make the playoffs and let the Jays develop then there was really no need to sign Kemba.

But signing Kemba and eventually becoming a tax payer means the Celts are serious about winning.
And to win in the NBA, you have to be great!

[LilRip]

Outside of Kemba, we don’t have a guy who can get (or manufacture for others) an easy bucket. We have guys who can score under duress. I’d like to believe that Tatum, Brown, Hayward (and Kemba) can all convert low percentage shots better than most players. But someone who can just get a bucket when you need one?

When the playoffs start, I fully expect teams to really key into Kemba (ala Kyrie) to beat us.