Semi Ojeleye is more valuable to this team than Marcus Smart.

It would be nice to have Terry Rozier back.

Quote from: Neurotic Guy on January 16, 2021, 06:53:02 AM

Semi Ojeleye is more valuable to this team than Marcus Smart.

It would be nice to have Terry Rozier back.

Yes on Terry ! Lol
What do we do when a bad team offers Semi a $60M contract? It might be the same with Timelord and Romeo - start showing their potential in year 4 and next year we can’t keep them

I don't think a 26 year old wing who's averaging less than 18MPG will get 60M in his next contract.

Semi > Romeo

Unpopular opinions

I got plenty of those.

- As things stand right now, we cannot afford to use the TPE on a star player with a hefty contact. The C's would have 4 max/close-to-max contracts + Smart + Thompson + 9 more players. The luxury tax would explode through the roof in 2021/22. If we want to absorb a hefty long-term contract with the TPE, we gotta trade Kemba for cap relief.

- We should trade Kemba and rebuild the team on the fly around the Js. Problem is, I don't think we can get fair value for him at the trade deadline cause of his knee issue. Hopefully, we'll sell high on him during the offseason.

- We don't need a PF. I would argue that Tatum is the best small-ball PF in the NBA (given than LeBron is mostly playing at SF this season). He's more explosive than the vast majority of his opponents at PF, which gives him a massive advantage on the offensive side of the ball. Not to mention, he's an elite rebounder at the swing positions.

- Timelord is a bad fit in our defensive system. The way our PnR defense works, Theis/Thompson meet the opposing ball handler at the level of dribble hand off and deny penetration. Timelord ain't got the lateral quicks to play D on the perimeter, hence he drops back and protects the rim. To put it another way, whenever Timelord is on the court, we have to change our defensive system. The C's are built around Tatum and Brown. They are both versatile defenders who can guard multiple positions. If we want to maximize their effectiveness, we gotta be starting a big man who can switch ball screens on the perimeter.

- Smart is a ball handler, not a SG. His best offensive skills are his passing and ball handling. The way I see it, he's a PG on offense and a wing on defense.

- If I were Danny, my top 2 targets going into the trade season would have been De'Andre Hunter and Chris Boucher. I'd be willing to part ways with Smart + minor asset for Hunter + Dunn. The Hawks need an elite defender to put next to Young. Smart fits the bill. I'd also be willing to part ways with Thompson or Theis+minor asset for Boucher. Baynes ain't exactly setting the world on fire in Toronto. It's possible that the Raps will explore the market for a vet starting Center.

I'm not sure of current "unpopular" opinions here, but, I don't think there are that many folks who believe the Celtics will be playing for a title THIS year.

Before the season started, we all debated and somewhat agreed on these basic facts...

With this lineup:

Walker
Smart
Brown
Tatum
Thompson

Pritchard
Teague
Theis
Semi
Robert
Grant

The Celtics are an improved team over last year for a number of important reasons.

The team is much deeper. If any of the bench guys listed above have to start? The team is still very strong. If any of these guys are in a game six with 34 seconds on the clock in a tie game are you very concerned?

This team has a better defense than last year. It is better because the team is deeper. The bench players actually have time on the court "together" where they can build some cohesion. I'm not talking about blowouts. When the four benchers are on the court with Tatum in the second quarter they are 90% better than anything we had on the court last year. Not even close. Watch the games.

The J's are better than last year.

It is not about statistics. Go look at the state of MLB with their over reliance on stats. It's a disaster. Red Auerbach had more success than any other in NBA history because of how he BUILT teams. 

It is how the personnel interact in the full range of game situations.

Can this team beat the Lakers? Am I just full of rainbows and lollipops? Today, they are a longshot, but not a longshot for the ECF.

Look at the rotations from the bubble. Stevens ran a 7 man rotation more often than not. The J's were 40 MPG+ night in and night out. It was imbalanced.

Another point worth looking at unpopular or not? The Celtics are underdogs. They've been written off by the new structure of the ECF.
There isn't a head coach anywhere who could ask for anything better than having a team that is playing for all the $$ with "no pressure".
 
The "popular opinion" is this team "needs another player."

In my "unpopular opinion"...they don't.

My unpopular opinion seems to be my belief that the Celtics need a PF more than anything else (not the only need but the biggest need).  My ideal line up this year would be:

Walker (healthy and playing like he was 12 months ago)
Brown
Tatum
A legit PF
Thompson

With a bench of Teague, Pritchard, Smart (but playing starter minutes), Langford (healthy), Theis, Oleleye, Williams, Williams.

To me, PF is like tight end in football where wings are WR and centers are offensive linemen.  You don't always have to play with a TE, you can have 5-WR sets for certain circumstances, but your team is better if you have a good TE who can block but also create an offensive threat that the defense has to account for.

Some TE are more WR than OL and some TE are more OL than WR, just like some PF are more wing and some are more center.  But you need a good TE just like you need a good PF.  Putting a WR out there, even a good-sized one, and calling him a TE does not make him a TE much like putting Tatum out there and calling him a PF does not make him a PF.

Anyway, that is my opinion and it sure seems to be unpopular.

Kemba will return healthy and play at the same level he was at last year prior to the All-Star game.