Next year's rotation

[JTK14]

I d start Nesmith, Kemba, Theis, Brown and Tatum. 2nd unit would be Teague, Smart, Thompson, Grant Williams and Edwards or Langford.

End the game with Kemba, Smart, Thompson, Brown and Tatum.

[Darth_Yoda]

  Hi, guys . Sorry if I missed it but .. so there’s still a chance at a heft 28 mil trade exception? Will we know at some points if this is there to use?
  Does anyone have names or I guess dreams on who that money could be used on? The numbers get pretty confusing for a guy that can barely used a calculator here. Ha! I’m the English side of the brain. Numbers give me headaches!
Thanks, guys. Things are looking up I think!

The TPE is still being discussed, I assume we are going to get one.

The free agency pool is drying up pretty quickly, right now Dario Saric is probably the best player who fits a need.

I think the TPE is more valuable to us in a trade now, for example, tpe and Romeo for Harrison Barnes. He immediately improves our bench SF/PF spot and becomes another solid bench piece. Move saves Sacramento 60+ million dollars.

Kemba/Teague
Smart/Nesmith
Brown/Barnes
Tatum/GrantW
Thompson/Theis

[PAOBoston]

Initially I thought that maybe Smart would be the easy choice to replace Hayward in the lineup but what do we think the odds of G Williams getting that nod? Worried about the lack of production from the bench and having Smart in the starting lineup takes away someone that can help that unit out.

[PhoSita]

Initially I thought that maybe Smart would be the easy choice to replace Hayward in the lineup but what do we think the odds of G Williams getting that nod? Worried about the lack of production from the bench and having Smart in the starting lineup takes away someone that can help that unit out.

I've been in favor of just starting the team's best lineup from the playoffs last year, but I can see the wisdom of sending Smart and Theis to the bench with Grant and TT starting to balance things out.



Teague - Smart - Nesmith - Theis - Timelord


Decent bench lineup, although really lacking in shot creation.

Of course, Brad shouldn't have to trot out all-bench lineups very often at all except in blowouts.


One of Kemba / Brown / Tatum should always be out there.

[Big333223]

Initially I thought that maybe Smart would be the easy choice to replace Hayward in the lineup but what do we think the odds of G Williams getting that nod? Worried about the lack of production from the bench and having Smart in the starting lineup takes away someone that can help that unit out.

It's a good question. I think Brad should start his best 5, which I think includes Smart and Thompson, and stagger the rotation as much as possible so there is usually two of Kemba/Smart/Tatum on the floor and when there is less than two Teague is directing traffic.

[Darth_Yoda]

Initially I thought that maybe Smart would be the easy choice to replace Hayward in the lineup but what do we think the odds of G Williams getting that nod? Worried about the lack of production from the bench and having Smart in the starting lineup takes away someone that can help that unit out.

I've been in favor of just starting the team's best lineup from the playoffs last year, but I can see the wisdom of sending Smart and Theis to the bench with Grant and TT starting to balance things out.



Teague - Smart - Nesmith - Theis - Timelord


Decent bench lineup, although really lacking in shot creation.

Of course, Brad shouldn't have to trot out all-bench lineups very often at all except in blowouts.


One of Kemba / Brown / Tatum should always be out there.

Who takes smarts spot in the starting linup? Grant?

[tstorey_97]

Thompson starts against the opponent's "starting center", that's why he gets the big bucks.
 
Walker
Smart
Brown
Tatum
Thompson

Teague
Theis
Grant

And whomever the heck has earned minutes:

Robert
Semi
Langford (he needs to hit some shots)

They will need minutes and there won't be any...Claws for awhile
Pritchard (if he plays like he did in college? Yikes)
Nesmith (Will Stevens give him minutes if he doesn't play defense?)


Last year's "surprise" but not really:

Grant William's Playoff stats

Minutes - 169
FG - 15 for 26 - 57.7%
3PT - 10 for 17 - 58.8%
FT - 7 for 10 - 70%
Reb. - 26
AST - 6
PTS - 47

Keep in mind, he's "not allowed to shoot" really, he's on the court with 3 or 4 all star shooters after all. He deserves minutes as he plays his butt off on D and ultimately, beyond missing 26 - 3 pointers in a row in his first games is a reliable shooter.

If Robert plays really well night in and night out this season?

Title town USA, baby!

[Tr1boy]

Initially I thought that maybe Smart would be the easy choice to replace Hayward in the lineup but what do we think the odds of G Williams getting that nod? Worried about the lack of production from the bench and having Smart in the starting lineup takes away someone that can help that unit out.

I've been in favor of just starting the team's best lineup from the playoffs last year, but I can see the wisdom of sending Smart and Theis to the bench with Grant and TT starting to balance things out.



Teague - Smart - Nesmith - Theis - Timelord


Decent bench lineup, although really lacking in shot creation.

Of course, Brad shouldn't have to trot out all-bench lineups very often at all except in blowouts.


One of Kemba / Brown / Tatum should always be out there.

Who takes smarts spot in the starting linup? Grant?

This is what I think will happen

Starting

TT
Tatum
Brown
Smart
Walker

7 min left in the 1st

Theis
Tatum
Brown
Smart
Teague

With 3 min left

Timelord
Gwilliams
Tatum
Langford
Teague

Start 2nd

Theis
Brown
Smart
Walker
Pritchard/Nesmith

7 min left

TT
Tatum
Brown
Smart
Pritchard/Teague

3 min left

Timelord
Gwill
Nesmith
Langford
Walker

Same kind of cycle in the 2nd half. Except starters finishing the game

- Walker should not be overworked
- Not a bad idea to divide the mins between TT, Theis and Timelord at the 5.  Again important not to overwork. 
- Smart/Teague/Pritchard makeup some of the mins for Kemba sitting/rest on b2b games

[Vermont Green]

Below is my depth chart.  Couple of points, Nesmith is a rookie and is 3rd string until he proves otherwise.  I wish we had a decent PF or Swing to start in place of Smart (and slide Brown and Tatum up to SG and SF) but we don't so we have to play Tatum out of position.  And last, our biggest weakness is the Wing/SF off the bench.  I don't buy that GWilliams can be that (he may be second team big over RWilliams though) or Ojeleye.  I don't give that to a rookie, so we are stuck with Javonte Green. 

Not every player is going to fit into a roster box, I understand.  Overall, this is still pretty good.  Some holes to fill or upgrade but that is true of most any team.  Priority 1 for me is to find that veteran wing/forward who can play off the bench for us (not Lou Williams).  Priority 2 would be to find a starting level Big (probably PF) or Swing that can allow us to play a 2-big line up without giving up too much skill.

Walker        Teague       Pritchard
Smart         Langford     Edwards
Brown         Green         Nesmith
Tatum         Theis          GWilliams
Thompson   RWilliams    Ojeleye

[libermaniac]

Below is my depth chart.  Couple of points, Nesmith is a rookie and is 3rd string until he proves otherwise.  I wish we had a decent PF or Swing to start in place of Smart (and slide Brown and Tatum up to SG and SF) but we don't so we have to play Tatum out of position.  And last, our biggest weakness is the Wing/SF off the bench.  I don't buy that GWilliams can be that (he may be second team big over RWilliams though) or Ojeleye.  I don't give that to a rookie, so we are stuck with Javonte Green. 

Not every player is going to fit into a roster box, I understand.  Overall, this is still pretty good.  Some holes to fill or upgrade but that is true of most any team.  Priority 1 for me is to find that veteran wing/forward who can play off the bench for us (not Lou Williams).  Priority 2 would be to find a starting level Big (probably PF) or Swing that can allow us to play a 2-big line up without giving up too much skill.

Walker        Teague       Pritchard
Smart         Langford     Edwards
Brown         Green         Nesmith
Tatum         Theis          GWilliams
Thompson   RWilliams    Ojeleye

Glen Robinson III is still available. Right?

[Birdman]

Geez we need a backup SF/SG in the worst way..and a backup Center would hurt

[RodyTur10]

Below is my depth chart.  Couple of points, Nesmith is a rookie and is 3rd string until he proves otherwise.  I wish we had a decent PF or Swing to start in place of Smart (and slide Brown and Tatum up to SG and SF) but we don't so we have to play Tatum out of position.  And last, our biggest weakness is the Wing/SF off the bench.  I don't buy that GWilliams can be that (he may be second team big over RWilliams though) or Ojeleye.  I don't give that to a rookie, so we are stuck with Javonte Green. 

Not every player is going to fit into a roster box, I understand.  Overall, this is still pretty good.  Some holes to fill or upgrade but that is true of most any team.  Priority 1 for me is to find that veteran wing/forward who can play off the bench for us (not Lou Williams).  Priority 2 would be to find a starting level Big (probably PF) or Swing that can allow us to play a 2-big line up without giving up too much skill.

Walker        Teague       Pritchard
Smart         Langford     Edwards
Brown         Green         Nesmith
Tatum         Theis          GWilliams
Thompson   RWilliams    Ojeleye

I don't like playing your best players (slightly) out of position. You're creating two problems instead of one.
For me there are two players who are unquestionable starters: Brown SG and Tatum SF. The third one, when healthy is Walker PG.
So we have: Walker - Brown - Tatum - ? - ?. And then you're going to fill the other two positions based on the roster and balance.

Rest of the roster consists of definite rotation players in Smart/Theis/Thompson, rotation/bench players in Teague/G.Williams/R.Williams/Nesmith and bench players Langford/Pritchard/Ojeleye/Edwards (and are they bringing back Javonte Green?).

Then Smart becomes 6th man automatically. At least one of Theis and Thompson can start, logically Theis starts until being outplayed. Other guards and small wings can be filled in as bench players as well. So we have: Walker - Brown - Tatum - ? - Theis, and bench Teague(Pritchard) - Smart - Nesmith(Langford) - (Ojeleye) - ?.

We have one position (PF) to fill and 3 options left: Thompson/G.Williams/R.Williams. Since Thompson is a higher category player and R.Williams isn't necessarily a better fit, also R.Williams goes to the bench. Thus it's between Thompson and Grant Williams to start. Since Thompson is also starting to shoot the three, I wouldn't bench him for Grant Williams (with 3 starters being very good from outside it isn't an absolute necessity anyway).

That makes the rotation (for the start of the season and assuming Walker healthy, one roster spot open) complete:

Starting: Kemba Walker / Jaylen Brown / Jayson Tatum / Tristan Thompson / Daniel Theis
Rotation: Jeff Teague / Marcus Smart / Aaron Nesmith / Grant Williams / Robert Williams
Bench: Payton Pritchard / Carsen Edwards (G-league) / Romeo Langford (injured) / Semi Ojeleye

[celts55]

Below is my depth chart.  Couple of points, Nesmith is a rookie and is 3rd string until he proves otherwise.  I wish we had a decent PF or Swing to start in place of Smart (and slide Brown and Tatum up to SG and SF) but we don't so we have to play Tatum out of position.  And last, our biggest weakness is the Wing/SF off the bench.  I don't buy that GWilliams can be that (he may be second team big over RWilliams though) or Ojeleye.  I don't give that to a rookie, so we are stuck with Javonte Green. 

Not every player is going to fit into a roster box, I understand.  Overall, this is still pretty good.  Some holes to fill or upgrade but that is true of most any team.  Priority 1 for me is to find that veteran wing/forward who can play off the bench for us (not Lou Williams).  Priority 2 would be to find a starting level Big (probably PF) or Swing that can allow us to play a 2-big line up without giving up too much skill.

Walker        Teague       Pritchard
Smart         Langford     Edwards
Brown         Green         Nesmith
Tatum         Theis          GWilliams
Thompson   RWilliams    Ojeleye

Glen Robinson III is still available. Right?

Mentioned him before, but nobody seems interested. I’m not sure why. I think he could fill a need

[Tr1boy]

Geez we need a backup SF/SG in the worst way..and a backup Center would hurt

Nesmith, Langford, GWilliams need to given ample of mins

Heat placed 5th last season because they "ate" rookie mistakes. Paid dividends at the end of the day

Not guaranteed but what choice do the Celts have

[nickagneta]

Below is my depth chart.  Couple of points, Nesmith is a rookie and is 3rd string until he proves otherwise.  I wish we had a decent PF or Swing to start in place of Smart (and slide Brown and Tatum up to SG and SF) but we don't so we have to play Tatum out of position.  And last, our biggest weakness is the Wing/SF off the bench.  I don't buy that GWilliams can be that (he may be second team big over RWilliams though) or Ojeleye.  I don't give that to a rookie, so we are stuck with Javonte Green. 

Not every player is going to fit into a roster box, I understand.  Overall, this is still pretty good.  Some holes to fill or upgrade but that is true of most any team.  Priority 1 for me is to find that veteran wing/forward who can play off the bench for us (not Lou Williams).  Priority 2 would be to find a starting level Big (probably PF) or Swing that can allow us to play a 2-big line up without giving up too much skill.

Walker        Teague       Pritchard
Smart         Langford     Edwards
Brown         Green         Nesmith
Tatum         Theis          GWilliams
Thompson   RWilliams    Ojeleye

I don't like playing your best players (slightly) out of position. You're creating two problems instead of one.
For me there are two players who are unquestionable starters: Brown SG and Tatum SF. The third one, when healthy is Walker PG.
So we have: Walker - Brown - Tatum - ? - ?. And then you're going to fill the other two positions based on the roster and balance.

Rest of the roster consists of definite rotation players in Smart/Theis/Thompson, rotation/bench players in Teague/G.Williams/R.Williams/Nesmith and bench players Langford/Pritchard/Ojeleye/Edwards (and are they bringing back Javonte Green?).

Then Smart becomes 6th man automatically. At least one of Theis and Thompson can start, logically Theis starts until being outplayed. Other guards and small wings can be filled in as bench players as well. So we have: Walker - Brown - Tatum - ? - Theis, and bench Teague(Pritchard) - Smart - Nesmith(Langford) - (Ojeleye) - ?.

We have one position (PF) to fill and 3 options left: Thompson/G.Williams/R.Williams. Since Thompson is a higher category player and R.Williams isn't necessarily a better fit, also R.Williams goes to the bench. Thus it's between Thompson and Grant Williams to start. Since Thompson is also starting to shoot the three, I wouldn't bench him for Grant Williams (with 3 starters being very good from outside it isn't an absolute necessity anyway).

That makes the rotation (for the start of the season and assuming Walker healthy, one roster spot open) complete:

Starting: Kemba Walker / Jaylen Brown / Jayson Tatum / Tristan Thompson / Daniel Theis
Rotation: Jeff Teague / Marcus Smart / Aaron Nesmith / Grant Williams / Robert Williams
Bench: Payton Pritchard / Carsen Edwards (G-league) / Romeo Langford (injured) / Semi Ojeleye

I was with you until you picked Thompson over Grant Williams. Grant is obviously the worse player but he will stretch the floor better than Thompson which will be important for the starting lineup.

I still think Stevens goes with the starters he had in the playoffs. Walker-Smart-Tatum-Brown-Theis. The bench will be low scoring again with Thompson, Teague, Grant, Langford, Timelord and either Semi or Nesmith finishing off the rotation, so Stevens is going to have to leave two of Smart, Brown, Tatum and Kemba in most of the time.

If the bench can give the team 25+ points a game, I think the Celtics will be winning a lot of those games