The Matchup

[Moranis]

I feel a lot in this series like i did in 2008 against the Lakers.

That Laker club was very good but slightly fraudulent. They could certainly score but didn't have the horses to stay with us athletically. Radmonovic, Gasol, old Derek Fisher, Vujacic, etc. Solid players, but when push comes to shove they couldn't get the big stops or the big loose balls.

With Bynum and Artest they squeaked out a win against us 2 years later - I don't think it's a coincidence that those were both good defenders.

The Warriors have some similar problems. As long as we don't come unglued we will win this series.

The Warriors have 3 Hall of Fame players, a deep bench and a very good coach. Don’t see how they are fraudulent at all. I think the C’s take the series in 6 or 7 games, due to their size, strength and defense, but it’s going to be a dog fight. Golden State was by far the most talented team in the West.

I think describing Klay and Draymond as "Hall of Fame" players doesn't capture how far off their peak they are

I'm not sure Dray is really that far off his peak.  He was never a good offensive player and he hasn't lost much defensively.  Klay is definitely not the same level of defensive player, but he is still more than capable offensively to get very hot.

[Phantom255x]

Man I thought Theis would be playable this series but evidently not.

The problem though unfortunately isn't even just the matchups, but how Theis actually looks out there. He literally looks clueless most of the time and like he has no idea what the situation is or what to do when he gets the ball. I don't even think it matters who he's facing from GSW, even if it were a smaller guard he'll look lost and make a boneheaded play.

Am I crazy for thinking we're better off just going small more often and even playing Nesmith a little bit for stretches. Nesmith I feel can at least fly around and hustle for rebounds too, which Theis can't do but also we need someone like that for when someone attempts a long 3 and misses, leading to a rebound that's not at the rim 

[Goldstar88]

Man I thought Theis would be playable this series but evidently not.

The problem though unfortunately isn't even just the matchups, but how Theis actually looks out there. He literally looks clueless most of the time and like he has no idea what the situation is or what to do when he gets the ball. I don't even think it matters who he's facing from GSW, even if it were a smaller guard he'll look lost and make a boneheaded play.

Am I crazy for thinking we're better off just going small more often and even playing Nesmith a little bit for stretches. Nesmith I feel can at least fly around and hustle for rebounds too, which Theis can't do but also we need someone like that for when someone attempts a long 3 and misses, leading to a rebound that's not at the rim

I think Theis will be better next year and hopefully Nesmith as well. Between Brown, Smart, White and Pritchard there is no reason for Aaron to see the court. If Theis plays, it should be very limited, just to give Al or Rob a breather. Maybe 8mpg.

[Ed Monix]

Via ESPN:

Game 1 viewership up 37 percent from last year.

It averaged nearly 12 million viewers across ABC and ESPN2.

[RockinRyA]

Man I thought Theis would be playable this series but evidently not.

The problem though unfortunately isn't even just the matchups, but how Theis actually looks out there. He literally looks clueless most of the time and like he has no idea what the situation is or what to do when he gets the ball. I don't even think it matters who he's facing from GSW, even if it were a smaller guard he'll look lost and make a boneheaded play.

Am I crazy for thinking we're better off just going small more often and even playing Nesmith a little bit for stretches. Nesmith I feel can at least fly around and hustle for rebounds too, which Theis can't do but also we need someone like that for when someone attempts a long 3 and misses, leading to a rebound that's not at the rim

I think Theis will be better next year and hopefully Nesmith as well. Between Brown, Smart, White and Pritchard there is no reason for Aaron to see the court. If Theis plays, it should be very limited, just to give Al or Rob a breather. Maybe 8mpg.

Theis is usable vs certain teams. But with his decreased mobility his weakness is now more apparent, making him unplayable vs some teams.

[Moranis]

Man I thought Theis would be playable this series but evidently not.

The problem though unfortunately isn't even just the matchups, but how Theis actually looks out there. He literally looks clueless most of the time and like he has no idea what the situation is or what to do when he gets the ball. I don't even think it matters who he's facing from GSW, even if it were a smaller guard he'll look lost and make a boneheaded play.

Am I crazy for thinking we're better off just going small more often and even playing Nesmith a little bit for stretches. Nesmith I feel can at least fly around and hustle for rebounds too, which Theis can't do but also we need someone like that for when someone attempts a long 3 and misses, leading to a rebound that's not at the rim

I think Theis will be better next year and hopefully Nesmith as well. Between Brown, Smart, White and Pritchard there is no reason for Aaron to see the court. If Theis plays, it should be very limited, just to give Al or Rob a breather. Maybe 8mpg.

Theis is usable vs certain teams. But with his decreased mobility his weakness is now more apparent, making him unplayable vs some teams.

And Horford is old and inconsistent.  It is why a long term PF is the most pressing need this summer.

[Phantom255x]

Someone mentioned this on Reddit, but is there a chance Udoka put in the bench guys with 10 mins to go in the game sort of as an "eff you" to the league for how they reffed the game, especially the first half. I mean I can't imagine ratings would be flourishing if you have a whole quarter of mostly nobodies (Kornet, Theis, Hauser, Stauskas, Fitts, the Warriors 3rd stringers, etc.) 

[CelticsWhat35]

Someone mentioned this on Reddit, but is there a chance Udoka put in the bench guys with 10 mins to go in the game sort of as an "eff you" to the league for how they reffed the game, especially the first half. I mean I can't imagine ratings would be flourishing if you have a whole quarter of mostly nobodies (Kornet, Theis, Hauser, Stauskas, Fitts, the Warriors 3rd stringers, etc.)

I can’t imagine that was on his mind.  The game was over and the players need rest where they can get it.

[hpantazo]

Someone mentioned this on Reddit, but is there a chance Udoka put in the bench guys with 10 mins to go in the game sort of as an "eff you" to the league for how they reffed the game, especially the first half. I mean I can't imagine ratings would be flourishing if you have a whole quarter of mostly nobodies (Kornet, Theis, Hauser, Stauskas, Fitts, the Warriors 3rd stringers, etc.)

I can’t imagine that was on his mind.  The game was over and the players need rest where they can get it.

Oddly enough, the Warriors had Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Jordan Poole in there a long while after we putt in our deep bench. Risking injury to those guys, especially Klay, was stupid.

[Vermont Green]

Man I thought Theis would be playable this series but evidently not.

The problem though unfortunately isn't even just the matchups, but how Theis actually looks out there. He literally looks clueless most of the time and like he has no idea what the situation is or what to do when he gets the ball. I don't even think it matters who he's facing from GSW, even if it were a smaller guard he'll look lost and make a boneheaded play.

Am I crazy for thinking we're better off just going small more often and even playing Nesmith a little bit for stretches. Nesmith I feel can at least fly around and hustle for rebounds too, which Theis can't do but also we need someone like that for when someone attempts a long 3 and misses, leading to a rebound that's not at the rim

The Celtics' "small" line ups are not a big issue for us against GSW.  We would definitely not see Theis at all if RWill wasn't hurt and GWill was playing better.  Theis has not looked great but in the finals, he is -10 in 20 minutes while Grant is -19 in 37 minutes.  So Grant is no better.

We have actually been pretty good when playing with Horford as the 1 big (+9 in about 15 minutes).  RWill as a 1-big is +17 in about 17 minutes.

Again, I think the only reason we are seeing Theis is that Rob is hurt and Grant has been no better.  In the playoffs, the "scrubs" tend to play better at home.  I think Rob is hurt and that isn't going to change but it would be nice if Grant came out and hit some shots.  If Grant plays better, we may not see Theis at all.

[Moranis]

Someone mentioned this on Reddit, but is there a chance Udoka put in the bench guys with 10 mins to go in the game sort of as an "eff you" to the league for how they reffed the game, especially the first half. I mean I can't imagine ratings would be flourishing if you have a whole quarter of mostly nobodies (Kornet, Theis, Hauser, Stauskas, Fitts, the Warriors 3rd stringers, etc.)

I can’t imagine that was on his mind.  The game was over and the players need rest where they can get it.

Oddly enough, the Warriors had Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, and Jordan Poole in there a long while after we putt in our deep bench. Risking injury to those guys, especially Klay, was stupid.

No idea why Draymond or Poole was out there, and I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I agreed with Mark Jackson on the broadcast.  He surmised the reason Klay was still in the game was to see if he got his stroke back and got a bit of rhythm for the rest of the series.  He hasn't shot well and the extra reps in what wasn't exactly tough basketball may have been to try and get his legs going again.