Hornets (0-0) at Celtics (0-0) Preseason Game #1 10/6/19

[Birdman]

I be surprise if Wanamaker is on this team when season starts

[Green-18]

Watched the entire game.  As others have mentioned, the defense was a major sore spot.  The big's clearly struggled and there wasn't enough resistance on the perimeter.  Tatum got beat pretty badly on a few plays. 

My biggest positive takeaway was Hayward's quickness and agility.  I thought he looked great on some of those early drives.  Tatum also looked very comfortable on offense.  I liked his decisiveness and shot selection.

As for my biggest concern, I'm worried about the on-court chemistry between Kemba, Hayward, Tatum, and Jaylen.  Do people think this group can be top 5-8 in offensive efficiency?  If not, they are giving up way too much size and toughness to justify extended minutes together.  I envision the same issues with scoring droughts against elite competition.  Effort shouldn't be a problem this year, but I fear that Jaylen will begin to press due to limited opportunities with the remaining starters.  He has a lot of pressure with restricted free agency around the corner. 

 

 

[footey]

Watched the entire game.  As others have mentioned, the defense was a major sore spot.  The big's clearly struggled and there wasn't enough resistance on the perimeter.  Tatum got beat pretty badly on a few plays. 

My biggest positive takeaway was Hayward's quickness and agility.  I thought he looked great on some of those early drives.  Tatum also looked very comfortable on offense.  I liked his decisiveness and shot selection.

As for my biggest concern, I'm worried about the on-court chemistry between Kemba, Hayward, Tatum, and Jaylen.  Do people think this group can be top 5-8 in offensive efficiency?  If not, they are giving up way too much size and toughness to justify extended minutes together.  I envision the same issues with scoring droughts against elite competition.  Effort shouldn't be a problem this year, but I fear that Jaylen will begin to press due to limited opportunities with the remaining starters.  He has a lot of pressure with restricted free agency around the corner. 

 

 

There are fair questions.  Watching the Lakers game vs GSW, it is hard to imagine a pleasant outcome facing them.  They would kill us on the boards.

[Fierce1]

I be surprise if Wanamaker is on this team when season starts

He can't be traded until December.

[Green-18]

Watched the entire game.  As others have mentioned, the defense was a major sore spot.  The big's clearly struggled and there wasn't enough resistance on the perimeter.  Tatum got beat pretty badly on a few plays. 

My biggest positive takeaway was Hayward's quickness and agility.  I thought he looked great on some of those early drives.  Tatum also looked very comfortable on offense.  I liked his decisiveness and shot selection.

As for my biggest concern, I'm worried about the on-court chemistry between Kemba, Hayward, Tatum, and Jaylen.  Do people think this group can be top 5-8 in offensive efficiency?  If not, they are giving up way too much size and toughness to justify extended minutes together.  I envision the same issues with scoring droughts against elite competition.  Effort shouldn't be a problem this year, but I fear that Jaylen will begin to press due to limited opportunities with the remaining starters.  He has a lot of pressure with restricted free agency around the corner. 

 

 

There are fair questions.  Watching the Lakers game vs GSW, it is hard to imagine a pleasant outcome facing them.  They would kill us on the boards.

Yeah, I'm worried about the sum of the parts being greater than the whole.  A major part of the problem is that our best scorers are rhythm players.  We have neither a dead-eye shooter or elite free throw generator.  I'm hoping to see the following:

- Kemba just plays his game.  I love the fact that he makes quick decisions and enjoys moving without the ball.
- Hayward gets back to Utah form.  He was top 20-25 in free throws attempted during his last few years in Utah.   
- Tatum becomes a guy that you can't leave open from beyond the arc.  This would create more driving opportunities and easy buckets/free throws. 
- Jaylen Brown improves his free throw shooting to 75%+.  Confidence at the line should help his overall aggressiveness.

I'm convinced that this group is going to play hard for each other.  That being said, it's going to take incremental improvement from the existing core in order for this thing to work.  Until that happens, I think teams will play us straight up and wait for the inevitable scoring drought that we've seen in recent years. 

[liam]

I be surprise if Wanamaker is on this team when season starts

Edwards should clearly get his minutes.

[Fierce1]

I be surprise if Wanamaker is on this team when season starts

Edwards should clearly get his minutes.

There's just no way Edwards will not get significant playing time.

Carsen Edwards is so good!
 
The coach will have no choice but to give him lots of minutes.

[Green-18]

I be surprise if Wanamaker is on this team when season starts

Edwards should clearly get his minutes.

I definitely wouldn't be surprised to see Wanamaker earn a spot.  Edwards will get plenty of opportunities throughout the season.  The problem is that there will be nights where he goes ice cold and our defense gets torched.  At that point Marcus Smart gets pigeonholed as a backup PG unless the Celtics have a traditional option at the end of the bench.  We know that Marcus will be getting most of the backup PG minutes, but I think Danny and Brad will want the flexibility to use him as a swiss army knife.

[LilRip]

Just finished watching the game. I have no idea why DA would not sign Tacko to a contract. For me, he’s a sure bet. Even if he doesn’t pan out as a player, his fame will be more than enough to cover his contract and more.

As for the rest of the team, I hope CBS considers inserting Smart back in the starting lineup. JB is clearly a better player but Smart might be a better fit among the starters.

Still a long way to go, chemistry wise. But I’m excited! The energy is good even if the play is still sloppy.

[Somebody]

Just saw the highlights and was surprised that Tatum got blown by multiple times. Really hope he cleans up his lateral movement.

[Surferdad]

I watched most of it.  Overall I wasn't impressed. Defense was terrible, 3Q they got badly outplayed. After a good start the first unit struggled a bit and continued to struggle when Brad mixed in Kanter, Smart, Semi and finally Wanamaker. Lots of missed shots, bad passes and as was mentioned the interior defense was terrible.

I put more weight on how the first 6 or 7 play in a game like this than I do the young guys so that's what I found disappointing - especially playing against a crap outfit like Charlotte.

That said it was a first exhibition game...

Yup this was my feeling too.  Definitely rust there in both individual play and by the team.  Looking for improvement on Friday.

[Green-18]

Just finished watching the game. I have no idea why DA would not sign Tacko to a contract. For me, he’s a sure bet. Even if he doesn’t pan out as a player, his fame will be more than enough to cover his contract and more.

As for the rest of the team, I hope CBS considers inserting Smart back in the starting lineup. JB is clearly a better player but Smart might be a better fit among the starters.

Still a long way to go, chemistry wise. But I’m excited! The energy is good even if the play is still sloppy.

You're absolutely right about the fit, barring major improvements from Jaylen and the existing core.  Unfortunately, the Celtics might as well move on from Jaylen if he's going back to the bench.  We're reaching a tipping point where he either solidifies himself as part of the future or gets a fresh start elsewhere. 

I can't see Jaylen handling a bench role very well, especially when the title expectations are off the table.  Last season featured a very unique set of circumstances.       

[Kuberski33]

As for my biggest concern, I'm worried about the on-court chemistry between Kemba, Hayward, Tatum, and Jaylen.  Do people think this group can be top 5-8 in offensive efficiency?  If not, they are giving up way too much size and toughness to justify extended minutes together.  I envision the same issues with scoring droughts against elite competition.  Effort shouldn't be a problem this year, but I fear that Jaylen will begin to press due to limited opportunities with the remaining starters.  He has a lot of pressure with restricted free agency around the corner. 

I agree with all of this. It looked to me like Jaylen was trying to force the issue offensively at times last night. I guess the good news is he was looking to attack the basket vs settling but it seems like he has determined that he needs to elevate his game to get the big contract moving forward.  I'm all for that, but does it come at the expense of the team? 

I'm starting to wonder whether one of Tatum, Brown and Hayward needs to go - just from the issue of sharing the ball. Personally I'd rather see more of Hayward taking on a scoring role vs deferring.  I think that at his best, he's a significantly better player than the current editions of the other two. 

This team has long, long way to go, but that's also part of the fun of watching them over the course of a season.

[Green-18]

As for my biggest concern, I'm worried about the on-court chemistry between Kemba, Hayward, Tatum, and Jaylen.  Do people think this group can be top 5-8 in offensive efficiency?  If not, they are giving up way too much size and toughness to justify extended minutes together.  I envision the same issues with scoring droughts against elite competition.  Effort shouldn't be a problem this year, but I fear that Jaylen will begin to press due to limited opportunities with the remaining starters.  He has a lot of pressure with restricted free agency around the corner. 

I agree with all of this. It looked to me like Jaylen was trying to force the issue offensively at times last night. I guess the good news is he was looking to attack the basket vs settling but it seems like he has determined that he needs to elevate his game to get the big contract moving forward.  I'm all for that, but does it come at the expense of the team? 

I'm starting to wonder whether one of Tatum, Brown and Hayward needs to go - just from the issue of sharing the ball. Personally I'd rather see more of Hayward taking on a scoring role vs deferring.  I think that at his best, he's a significantly better player than the current editions of the other two. 

This team has long, long way to go, but that's also part of the fun of watching them over the course of a season.

I'm with you on Hayward.  This team will be at its best if he has the mentality of an elite scorer.  He should be looking to score first, especially at the beginning of the season.  It will become much easier to facilitate if teams respect Hayward's ability to score at an All-Star level.

[dannyboy35]

As for my biggest concern, I'm worried about the on-court chemistry between Kemba, Hayward, Tatum, and Jaylen.  Do people think this group can be top 5-8 in offensive efficiency?  If not, they are giving up way too much size and toughness to justify extended minutes together.  I envision the same issues with scoring droughts against elite competition.  Effort shouldn't be a problem this year, but I fear that Jaylen will begin to press due to limited opportunities with the remaining starters.  He has a lot of pressure with restricted free agency around the corner. 

I agree with all of this. It looked to me like Jaylen was trying to force the issue offensively at times last night. I guess the good news is he was looking to attack the basket vs settling but it seems like he has determined that he needs to elevate his game to get the big contract moving forward.  I'm all for that, but does it come at the expense of the team? 

I'm starting to wonder whether one of Tatum, Brown and Hayward needs to go - just from the issue of sharing the ball. Personally I'd rather see more of Hayward taking on a scoring role vs deferring.  I think that at his best, he's a significantly better player than the current editions of the other two. 

This team has long, long way to go, but that's also part of the fun of watching them over the course of a season.

I'm with you on Hayward.  This team will be at its best if he has the mentality of an elite scorer.  He should be looking to score first, especially at the beginning of the season.  It will become much easier to facilitate if teams respect Hayward's ability to score at an All-Star level.

   I’m with you guys on Hayward over Tatum and Brown but I have zero confidence in Brad to get this message across ( if he shares this opinion). Is anyone confident that he would?  The wushu washy stuff with Brad will continue to kill this team’s potential whatever it may be. This can’t be left up to the players like last year but I think it will be.