Jabari? UPDATE: Jabari!

[Roy H.]

So he doesn’t usually make up for his poor defense with great offense (like say IT4 or Kyrie did).

While this is true, he doesn’t have to.  Those guys were MVP candidates.  Parker will be useful if he simply contributes good offense.  He doesn’t need to be great or elite.

[nickagneta]

A coach needs a bench to be like a toolbox. A whole bunch of different tools, some being in that box to do only specific jobs. So I don’t have an issue with all offense/no defense guys similar to not having issues with all defense/no offense guys. It’s up to the coach to use those tools properly.

My question before yesterday was whether Parker could still be that all offense/no defense guy. We knew he had no defense, last night showed that, but since leaving Atlanta, he had barely played and when he did he appeared to be overweight, not moving around well and his offense looked as it had taken a major step backwards.

If used right, like last night, and put into player groupings that hide his defensive deficiencies, he could be a nice addition. Now let’s see if Stevens continues to use him right and if Parker can consistently do what he did against the Warriors.

Completely agree. People who are trashing my “atrocious defense” posts aren’t also seeing that I have the same sentiment as this.

Jabari’s offense is much-needed and I’m willing to live with some bad defense to get this offensive punch in the right situations.

As a micro-example, look at the Golden State game. His defense was terrible. But without his offense, Boston loses that game.

And he was +6 in 16 minutes.  One game, small sample but all this clamoring about how bad his defense was, we came out ahead when he was on the court.  Semi is a really good defender but offers no offensive threat.  You live with that when you need to.  Parker is a offensive threat with limited defense.  Teams will exploit that but let’s see how much.  We are talking about the third or fourth off the bench role (Fournier, then RWilliams, then Pritchard?).  Looking for an upgrade over what we have gotten from Grant and Semi.

I am really happy with what I saw from Parker after 1 game with respect to that role.  I think his defense will improve some as he gets used to playing within our team defense schemes.  If we get something close to game 1 plus even a little bit better defense, he is going to be a big help.  If he goes 1-8 and plays bad defense, not so much.  He has not even practiced with the team and pretty much walked off the plane on to the court.  There were “moments” on rotations and close outs that weren’t great but as I said, I thought he looked great overall in game 1.  I will reassess as needed in a couple of weeks but for now, I am thrilled with the addition.

As you sort of intimate, the problem with Parker isn’t that he is bad defensively (he is), it is that he isn’t super efficient offensively.  So he doesn’t usually make up for his poor defense with great offense (like say IT4 or Kyrie did).  He was super efficient against the Warriors so his defense was made up for, but when he has a more typical Smart like offensive game, he probably won’t make up for his poor defense.

Parker’s quite efficient within his shot profile. He’s predominantly a 2 point shooting power forward. Over the last two seasons (2019 and 2020), he shot 57.3% on 2 point attempts. That would tie him with Kyrie for 35th out of 126 qualifiers this season. If he qualified by his number of attempts, he would be 9th out of 22 PFs below Durant and above Barnes. He hasn’t been a passable 3 point shooter since he left MIL for whatever reason (I suspect it’s related to his injuries, but who knows). I don’t know that CBS can improve his shot profile like other players he’s coached.

Smart’s very inefficient within the arc (45.7% over the same period, which is awful), but passable as a 3 point shooter. But if you look at their respective FG%, which includes both shots, Parker shot 49.9% the last two years vs. Smart’s 37.5% (both are consistent with their career averages).

It doesn’t take away from your point about their respective defense, but Parker’s less likely to have the droughts that Smart regularly suffers and if Parker’s inside the arc, it’s a good shot. You want him to shoot, and he’s always been a volume shooter. Smart, not so much, and less is more.

One caveat, it’s tough to compare Parker to other players because of his injury/recovery history, so inevitably you have to cherry-pick his stats to separate his MIL numbers vs. his post-MIL numbers.

All good stuff colin but my concern is in Brad's offensive scheme Parker will be set into a corner, slot, be be expected to shoot that three pointer if it's kicked out to him. And he is a terrible three point shooter.

I am not sure if Stevens will utilize him as a top of the key screener on a pick and roll/pop or to use him as a post up mismatch, which is where his strengths on scoring will be.

Brad set up one called post play for him after a timeout, which was exactly how he needs to be used. Everything else he got were garbage man points on offensive rebounds that I feel any of our bigs would have gotten if they were in the same position.

I hope his offense is used more like that post up play and not relegated to corner threes or crashing the offensive glass

[tstorey_97]

Great posts here, thank you.

Playoff game three against Philly 3rd quarter Celtics up by two points, "benches are in" Embiid and Harris are resting.

Tatum
Fournier
Thompson
Pritchard
Grant

Ok, will Stevens put Parker in here? He's got "offense" right there already. Maybe the team "needs a spark"?

I don't see Jabari playing much because Stevens is freaked out on matchups and who is "attacking" who and look at Robert and how long it took for Stevens to give him minutes because his D needed work.

The 9th guy on the Celtic's bench doesn't get minutes in the playoffs and if he does, he can switch onto any opponent on defense and survive.

He's a spark, he's a vet, he's got size and can dribble and stuff which is cool. Tight playoff game? He's behind Grant and Semi.

[hwangjini_1]

So he doesn’t usually make up for his poor defense with great offense (like say IT4 or Kyrie did).

While this is true, he doesn’t have to.  Those guys were MVP candidates.  Parker will be useful if he simply contributes good offense.  He doesn’t need to be great or elite.

true. parker already has done more for the celtics than the player he replaced - Mo "da valkyrie" Wagner. this is already a win and any extra is great.

great thread so far with lots of thoughtful posts. if if if parker had a light go on and knows that is could b his final nba stop, then maybe he can enter the Brad Machine (TM) and be transmorgified into a better player.

then the celtics pick his contract up for year 2. i hope this all works out for both sides.

[liam]

Great posts here, thank you.

Playoff game three against Philly 3rd quarter Celtics up by two points, "benches are in" Embiid and Harris are resting.

Tatum
Fournier
Thompson
Pritchard
Grant

Ok, will Stevens put Parker in here? He's got "offense" right there already. Maybe the team "needs a spark"?

I don't see Jabari playing much because Stevens is freaked out on matchups and who is "attacking" who and look at Robert and how long it took for Stevens to give him minutes because his D needed work.

The 9th guy on the Celtic's bench doesn't get minutes in the playoffs and if he does, he can switch onto any opponent on defense and survive.

He's a spark, he's a vet, he's got size and can dribble and stuff which is cool. Tight playoff game? He's behind Grant and Semi.

He puts 6 hard fouls on Simmons in 3 minutes....

[Moranis]

So he doesn’t usually make up for his poor defense with great offense (like say IT4 or Kyrie did).

While this is true, he doesn’t have to.  Those guys were MVP candidates.  Parker will be useful if he simply contributes good offense.  He doesn’t need to be great or elite.

I think it is far more important for a role player to not cost you a game because of atrocious defense.  The problem with Parker is that he doesn't have any really elite skills.  He is a terrible 3 point shooter.  He can't handle the ball well.  He can't initiate an offense.  He can score pretty well from 3' to the basket, but that is about it.  When you are a role player, if you are bad at something, then you better darn well make up for it with an elite skill.  Like you could live with Korver or Redick's terrible defense, because they were elite shooters.  Parker is an improvement on Wagner, but I'm not sure that says much. 

[Roy H.]

So he doesn’t usually make up for his poor defense with great offense (like say IT4 or Kyrie did).

While this is true, he doesn’t have to.  Those guys were MVP candidates.  Parker will be useful if he simply contributes good offense.  He doesn’t need to be great or elite.

I think it is far more important for a role player to not cost you a game because of atrocious defense.  The problem with Parker is that he doesn't have any really elite skills.  He is a terrible 3 point shooter.  He can't handle the ball well.  He can't initiate an offense.  He can score pretty well from 3' to the basket, but that is about it.  When you are a role player, if you are bad at something, then you better darn well make up for it with an elite skill.  Like you could live with Korver or Redick's terrible defense, because they were elite shooters.  Parker is an improvement on Wagner, but I'm not sure that says much.

Very few role players, especially those that come off the bench, have an elite skill.

Jabari gets buckets.  That’s his skill, and he does it better than most of the guys on our team.

[Celtics4ever]

The question is why does CBS bury him in the second half so much.   We could clearly use some of that scoring here and here.

I think it is far more important for a role player to not cost you a game because of atrocious defense.  The problem with Parker is that he doesn't have any really elite skills.  He is a terrible 3 point shooter.  He can't handle the ball well.  He can't initiate an offense.  He can score pretty well from 3' to the basket, but that is about it.  When you are a role player, if you are bad at something, then you better darn well make up for it with an elite skill

This literally is Grant Williams in a nutshell as well except he can't score which Parker can and does not possess an elite skill.  Parker can score.  But your comments about role players literally applies to 75% of our bench and we are lacking in those elite skill guys across the board in terms of bench production.

I think we had a nice 10 point lead at one point in the first half with Parker as PF not C then we never went back to it.  Must have been too big of a line up  for Brad as it was a Thompson 6-9.  Tatum 6-9. Parker 6-8, Brown 6-7 and Pritchard and hurt his small ball sensibilities.

And he was +6 in 16 minutes.

He is a big upgrade over Semi and Grant.   I mean he basically gets the same numbers as both of them together in a fraction of the time.  It is laughable that guys harp on his defense and give Grant a free pass who is pretty crappy on D and possesses not one elite skill or merit and does not produce at a good level for the minutes played.

[gouki88]

The question is why does CBS bury him in the second half so much.   We could clearly use some of that scoring here and here.

His conditioning is terrible right now

[Redz]

He's got a real quick first step.  That seems to get him scoring opportunities pretty easily.  The finishing part is the trick.  We shall see.  I think he definitely has a place on this team if/when we get to see the full roster suited up.

[Roy H.]

He's got a real quick first step.  That seems to get him scoring opportunities pretty easily.  The finishing part is the trick.  We shall see.  I think he definitely has a place on this team if/when we get to see the full roster suited up.

I agree.  And, Brad has emphasized that this move is really about next year.  If he commits himself in the off-season, we could have an actual reliable bench player.

[Sophomore]

He's got a real quick first step.  That seems to get him scoring opportunities pretty easily.  The finishing part is the trick.  We shall see.  I think he definitely has a place on this team if/when we get to see the full roster suited up.

I agree.  And, Brad has emphasized that this move is really about next year.  If he commits himself in the off-season, we could have an actual reliable bench player.

It’s definitely got me interested.

To me he’s also quicker off the floor than I expected for a guy with knee injuries. I don’t see a problem there, when he’s close to the basket. He seems to have a lot more trouble covering ground and changing direction in space. No idea if that can improve with some health and strength training. But whoever was working w Kemba seems to have done a good job, so maybe they should get together. Kemba is a different player than 3 months ago, just considering the way he moves.

[Celtics4ever]

His conditioning is terrible right now

Looking at his minutes it is exactly 16 mpg both games.  I don't know if it is by design or not.

[Vermont Green]

His conditioning is terrible right now

Looking at his minutes it is exactly 16 mpg both games.  I don't know if it is by design or not.

It is hard to judge these two games as there have been so many people out but 16 min to me seems like a good start.  He has been productive in those minutes, more productive than the likely alternatives, so I see no reason to reduce this.   16 min is about what Pritchard has been playing.  I hope he continues to play well enough to earn at least these minutes and maybe it inches up a little to 18-20.  There will be more competition for these minutes once the full team, including Fournier, are back, but based on two games, he should continue to get minutes.

[knuckleballer]

A bit of trivia I just heard that I think is interesting.  Jabari and Semi were both freshmen together at Duke.