How many minutes Semi Ojeleye gets.
In the NBA or the G-League?
In the NBA.
It sounds like you, like many people, are sleeping on him. It's not surprising, given his draft position and his low profile.
What about the G-League? Well, it's rare for a rookie to be as ready as Semi is to play NBA defense, and he has the strength and leverage (as Brad said recently) to guard bigger players; and the Celtics badly need players who can do that. So it wouldn't be too surprising if he never plays in Maine, despite the Celtics' depth and his rookie status. It would be less surprising if he cracks the rotation come January/February.
There was a recent thread on him here; the arguments against him were not about his game, but rather indirect ones of the nature of: Coach K must have seen something...; he had a lowly draft status, therefore...; his age, therefore low ceiling...; summer league is meaningless...; etc.
He was the best athlete in the Combine, has a repertoire around the basket, shoots with range, can make a play. Great NBA body. Character and work ethic are off the chart.
Hardly. I'm a big fan of the guy and wanted us to draft him for the reasons you stated, it's just that, well, coaches say stuff like that all the time and it never means anything.
You don’t have to take Stevens’ word for it. The immediate context was the SL game with the Lakers - Zizic was losing contact with Zubac, couldn’t contain him, got beat down the floor, etc. Semi came in and simply shut Zubac down - stayed up in him while tracking him on D, pushed him where he wanted him, stayed vertical, stripped him without fouling, etc., etc. Ojeleye is impressively strong (as well as quick and athletic!).
…Semi has a rather tough road to even get on the court, imo. First, you've got the logjam at the forward positions between Hayward, Morris, Brown (if he plays there this year in certain lineups), Tatum, and Yabu, so there won't be a ton of minutes to go around at those positions, anyway…
Excellent point.
Regarding Brown: there’s a good chance, I think, that we’ll see Irving/Smart/Brown lineups - similar to last year, and in fact Rozier/Smart/Brown lineups, which we did see last year. Definitely, Brown’s minutes affect Ojeleye’s.
The opportunity for Semi is as a swing behind Morris. Tatum doesn't have the bulk, Yabusele is recovering from surgery (though hoping to be ready for the season). Theis perhaps.
…and second, Stevens has no intention of not giving Tatum every opportunity to succeed - at least, imo - …
I’m sure you’re right.
Last year Brad found a ton of developmental minutes for Jaylen Brown, from the beginning of the season, which paid dividends later on, when they needed him in the starting lineup and especially in the playoffs. It would be shocking if Stevens did not carve out similar opportunities for Tatum.
… Terry Rozier still hasn't become a staple of Stevens' substitution patterns …
He was Thomas' primary backup (not Smart), and he averaged rotation minutes (17.1). He was almost always on the floor with Smart, in fact. Terry can guard 1’s but he’s not great creating with the ball in his hands, so someone else needs to run the offense while he’s in (the more he can advance in running the offense this summer, the better for him). It seems to me that he still has a role to play this season - with Hayward on board and an emerging Brown, there’ll be more shot-creation happening for Terry to complement. Having said that, the minutes crunch that you’re pointing to here might well affect him.
It's easy to imagine pairing him with Irving, so that Kyrie doesn't have too tough a cover. But Rozier was virtually never on the floor with Isaiah last year. Would love to know Brad's reasoning on that...
I guess what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't get get your hopes up .
No tears in basketball.