I live in Florida (Tampa area). I took my son to the game tonight for his 15th birthday (which is Sunday). I bought really good seats (10 rows up, just shy of center court and near the Celtics bench). Some observations from my vantage point...
- Sully is fat. I mean, out of shape fat. His thighs and butt are husky and he can't move laterally. I posted in another thread of my impressions of him, which are not good. But Sully does not fit this team.
- Brad needs to figure out a rotation plan or he's going to destroy the morale of this team. I give credit to the guys on the bench for their team-oriented celebration in the 4th qtr, but you can see the disgust on players who sat a LOT during this game.
- Brad turned toward the crowd and rolled his eyes when that 1st qtr layup was missed near the end. You could continually see his exasperation throughout the game. I want to believe he's committed to this, but I wouldn't fault him if he took the next train out of town.
- Marcus Smart lacks bball IQ. You can tell that other players are a step ahead of him. He's physically talented, but he lacks the understanding of the PG position. He got banged up again, and I wonder if he's fully recovered from his other injuries. He looked out of sorts.
- Jameer Nelson will actually help this team. The dilemma: Smart needs to PLAY. But Brad is in a bind as those minutes need to be earned. In the 4th qtr you could see Jameer just playing basketball, and he showed some bursts that showed he still has it. But he's really a role player. I think his presence will help this team, but I'm not sure if he's a fit for what we are doing. The problem is that Smart and Pressey are unreliable. And Evan Turnover is not a PG... I don't know how Brad doesn't see that.
- We have no real inside presence. I give Zeller credit, but he's far from what we need inside. I think we'll draft a rim protecting big this year because I don't see any way anyone hands us one (Gobert or Drummond - someone of that ilk). Bass can't play bigs on D as he gets shoved around. Wright appears lost right now, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.
- Jeff Green disappeared tonight. It was pathetic watching this team stand around the perimeter all night, not really looking to drive the ball to the rim. Green sat a LOT down the stretch, and though it was frustrating, he just wasn't looking to score tonight.
- Crowder is everything we had hoped Gerald would be. I think he's kind of an x-factor for us. His offense is limited, but he has intangibles that really helped us in our run in the 4th. Wallace should never play again as Crowder should get those minutes.
- Brad simply needs to cut down the rotation. Danny will need to move a couple guys as this 13-man rotation is NOT working. Unfortunately that probably means very little of Bass, or maybe even Sully. Pressey shouldn't play - split the minutes between Smart and Nelson. Zeller and Olynyk need to play together more to see if that's a possibility.
Lastly, this team is just a mess. I love the Celtics. I've been attending games live since the 1987 season when my dad took me, and now I get to take my son. But this team is just lost. Rotations are a mess and need to be cut down, but we simply don't have any star talent. There is not a go-to-guy on this roster. Danny might want to say publicly that we don't need a star type player, but Danny is dead-wrong. This team is still going to be lucky to win 25 games. I'd clear out guys - deal Bass and Thornton for sure. Try to move Green and Nelson. Just go with the kids. James Young deserves a shot. We can be Philly 2.0. I'd rather do that than try to be Milwaukee 2.0. I'm trying to enjoy "the process" but I admit it's hard as this team is just clueless right now. I don't know what Brad is thinking or why, but it's not making much sense and he'll start to lose this team if the rotations of the moment are any precursor of what's to come...
But I had fun tonight and enjoyed the 4th qtr. Celtics Nation represented well in Orlando. And hey, my son and I made it on the CSNNE broadcast during the pre-game show, as we saw the monitor right behind Scal & Gormon's backs.