Author Topic: I have a hard time liking this team  (Read 6914 times)

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Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #30 on: January 24, 2021, 08:26:03 AM »

Offline Csfan1984

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We should probably chill out for the time being, but there are some concerns that need to be addressed. One thing that blows is that Ainge actually brought in proven veteran FAs this season and they have both been horrible. I don't blame him for that - those signings were very good decisions at the time - but who would have thought that Thompson and Teague would completely fall off a cliff the minute they put on a Cs uniform?
There were too many people saying both signings werent good so you can blame DA for the signings. Thompson was already being pushed out in Cleveland. I have been telling people not pencil him as a starter here, that Theis is better. Teague has looked past his prime for a while now, he was known for short streaks of good games then invisibility. A few people on here said Wanamaker was a better player.

This is the third year in a row we had a drop in roster talent. DA should be on the hot seat IMHO.

Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #31 on: January 24, 2021, 08:36:45 AM »

Offline Rikibellevie

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We should probably chill out for the time being, but there are some concerns that need to be addressed. One thing that blows is that Ainge actually brought in proven veteran FAs this season and they have both been horrible. I don't blame him for that - those signings were very good decisions at the time - but who would have thought that Thompson and Teague would completely fall off a cliff the minute they put on a Cs uniform?

I think it is two different case. Teague was already declining since 2 years, going out from 2 bad teams rotaion last year. He is a min guy. If he brings finally below average bench production like Wannamaker last year, and matirity in the Locker room, it will be OK
TT is more disapointing right now but I think his qualities didn't disappeared and will get better with time. He is a vet who played just for one team in his career (like Conley who took one year adaptation), which since 2 years was in rebuilding mode. He isn't cooked like Teague. He depends a lot of his confidence and of tactical integration to play/score a little better/more. He will be usefull on PO, unlike Kanter, I bet on it.

TT is a plus in comparaison to Kanter in PO; Teague and Pritchard are also in comparaison of Wannamaker performances,  TPE wing will be best for us than Hayward who never impacted our PO results; another young may emerge as a solid bench player (Romeo ? R Williams ? Naysmith or Grant even if they are comong from far ?). We will be best loaded than last year at PO, if no injurie come.

PS : Csfan. Pritchard and Teague have better stats than Wannamaker this year which begin catastrophicly in Golden State. Stevens is good to make scrubs appears like legit NBA players (from Crawford and Humphries to last year Grant...). So no, we improoved (not drasticly) this year in PG talent and experience. Last year our roster lost in talent but gained a lot in cohesion and as a team. This team progressed in talent (how can we pretend the oppsoite with Brown and Tatum jumps?) and will rogress as a team during year. Youth. Talent. New players, system and role to adapt. Strange season. We will be very good. DA isn't perfect but we are still on the best road in the NBA.
« Last Edit: January 24, 2021, 08:48:02 AM by Rikibellevie »

Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #32 on: January 24, 2021, 10:09:02 AM »

Offline PhoSita

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We should probably chill out for the time being, but there are some concerns that need to be addressed. One thing that blows is that Ainge actually brought in proven veteran FAs this season and they have both been horrible. I don't blame him for that - those signings were very good decisions at the time - but who would have thought that Thompson and Teague would completely fall off a cliff the minute they put on a Cs uniform?



Other than taking fewer shots, Tristan Thompson is putting up pretty much the exact same per minute numbers as he did in Cleveland.

Teague has been extremely similar to the player he was in Atlanta, only he's shooting really well from 3 and cold inside the arc; it was the inverse for him in Atlanta.
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Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #33 on: January 24, 2021, 10:16:09 AM »

Offline timpiker

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So far, I'm not liking this team either.

Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #34 on: January 24, 2021, 10:29:41 AM »

Offline RodyTur10

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We should probably chill out for the time being, but there are some concerns that need to be addressed. One thing that blows is that Ainge actually brought in proven veteran FAs this season and they have both been horrible. I don't blame him for that - those signings were very good decisions at the time - but who would have thought that Thompson and Teague would completely fall off a cliff the minute they put on a Cs uniform?

The signs were there that Teague wasn't much good anymore and the assumption that Thompson would be an automatic upgrade over Theis was based on nothing. There were even people arguing we should prefer Thompson over Turner. To me that was just denial of a missed opportunity by Ainge.

I'm a little disappointed in the performances by Teague and Thompson, but I can't say I'm surprised. I expected Pritchard to be a better back-up point guard than Teague this season. Hopefully Stevens has the guts to bench the veteran when the time comes.

It was always apparent that Thompson wouldn't be able to fix our frontcourt by his own. He's a tweener. He misses the skills to be a modern power forward, while he lacks the size to compete with the true centers in this league. The logical solution with the departure of Hayward was to try Thompson/Theis as a duo.

The Celtics need to play bigger so I was in favour of that experiment. Unfortunately it looks like Theis and Thompson aren't as complementary as we hoped. Instead of having a frontcourt that is good in every aspect of the game we basically have Thompson and Theis both doing 50% of what's needed for one position, while missing that versatile wing to get an edge over our opposition.

Stevens is still trying to play two bigs (although you can argue whether Grant Williams and Ojeleye are bigs) at the same time, but none of the combinations so far seem to work. We even saw Timelord together with Theis the last game. It looks weird to be honest.

I'm hoping the solution is to just start Timelord when he's fully recovered of Covid. He's the only guy who's really intimidating in the paint and gives the necessary rim protection, while being a constant lob threat on the other end. I like Theis as a high quality back-up center and in that case we're just going to have to say goodbye to Thompson and use him as salary filler in a trade for a wing. Would Timelord not succeed to become a legit starting center then I believe we're going to have a real big problem at that spot for now and the future.

Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #35 on: January 24, 2021, 10:31:26 AM »

Offline Somebody

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Our issues are more about us having too many players who're unplayable in significant minutes, no title contender who's doing well right now is playing Semi/Javonte/Grant/Robert as spot starters or first forwards/bigs off the bench.
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Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #36 on: January 24, 2021, 10:43:33 AM »

Online Roy H.

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People had unrealistic expectations for Thompson.  People argued he was better than Turner, which was silly.  He’s not as good as Theis, although I don’t think that’s an insult.  Theis, as a small ball center, is pretty good.


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Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #37 on: January 24, 2021, 11:31:07 AM »

Offline Hoopvortex

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People had unrealistic expectations for Thompson.  People argued he was better than Turner, which was silly.  He’s not as good as Theis, although I don’t think that’s an insult.  Theis, as a small ball center, is pretty good.

This, anyway, is a voice of reason.

'I was proud of Marcus Smart. He did a great job of keeping us together. He might not get credit for this game, but the pace that he played at, and his playcalling, some of the plays that he called were great. We obviously have to rely on him, so I’m definitely looking forward to Marcus leading this team in that role.' - Jaylen Brown, January 2021

Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #38 on: January 24, 2021, 11:33:16 AM »

Offline RodyTur10

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People had unrealistic expectations for Thompson.  People argued he was better than Turner, which was silly.  He’s not as good as Theis, although I don’t think that’s an insult.  Theis, as a small ball center, is pretty good.

But is Thompson playable?

For most of his career he has played as a power forward, but we don't have a stretch big to compliment him.
As a center he doesn't provide the rim protection to build a strong defense, while he clogs the lane, doesn't finish well and is not a great post-up option.

As you mentioned rightfully, Theis is a pretty good small ball center. So where do we play Thompson?
In my opinion we just have to conclude that Thompson is a misfit for our system and trade him ASAP before we get stuck with him and have to give up a first rounder to get rid of him.

Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #39 on: January 24, 2021, 11:39:59 AM »

Offline Csfan1984

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PS : Csfan. Pritchard and Teague have better stats than Wannamaker this year which begin catastrophicly in Golden State. Stevens is good to make scrubs appears like legit NBA players (from Crawford and Humphries to last year Grant...). So no, we improoved (not drasticly) this year in PG talent and experience. Last year our roster lost in talent but gained a lot in cohesion and as a team. This team progressed in talent (how can we pretend the oppsoite with Brown and Tatum jumps?) and will rogress as a team during year. Youth. Talent. New players, system and role to adapt. Strange season. We will be very good. DA isn't perfect but we are still on the best road in the NBA.
My point on Teague isn't that Wanna is better it's that Teague is that level of a player which is a problem. And an injured/limited Kemba equals a worse PG situation.

 I disagree with your opinion on the cohesion. They liked each other sure but other than Theis none of the other players built real cohesion with each other. Theis was the only player that built sets with guys. He had rolls and pops with Smart. Screens and had hand offs with Kemba. Screens, dives and rolls with Tatum. Hand offs and picks for Brown and Hayward. No other player had cohesion. I find the fact Thompson and GW have been given the start over Theis against any team is an example that BS doesn't know what he is doing. No one has helped as much as Theis has in creating scoring opportunities for others. On defense it's pretty much just switch everything and ice, nothing complicated. Which brings us to DA.

 DA needs more support role players if Brown, Tatum and Kemba are only major factors in finishing plays. I said this last year and the year before that. C's need guys that excel spacing or movement off the ball, more 3&D players that don't demand the ball to be effective. You need the guys that fit the scheme. Most of the roster doesn't fit the support roles.

Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #40 on: January 24, 2021, 11:58:01 AM »

Offline NKY fan

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Has Danny ever signed a player with a MLE that contributed meaningfully? Kanter was ok in stretches last year but he dumped him.
I think his best signing for the $ is probably posey In 2007 ... after that it’s the same old story with free agents he signs. You can argue that the max players he signed were good value for the $ we pay them.

Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #41 on: January 24, 2021, 12:02:29 PM »

Offline Somebody

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People had unrealistic expectations for Thompson.  People argued he was better than Turner, which was silly.  He’s not as good as Theis, although I don’t think that’s an insult.  Theis, as a small ball center, is pretty good.

But is Thompson playable?

For most of his career he has played as a power forward, but we don't have a stretch big to compliment him.
As a center he doesn't provide the rim protection to build a strong defense, while he clogs the lane, doesn't finish well and is not a great post-up option.

As you mentioned rightfully, Theis is a pretty good small ball center. So where do we play Thompson?
In my opinion we just have to conclude that Thompson is a misfit for our system and trade him ASAP before we get stuck with him and have to give up a first rounder to get rid of him.
Thompson has been a centre ever since the pace and space explosion - he played 85%, 73%, 97% and 99% of his minutes at C from 2017-2020 and had some pretty good results on some high level teams as an offensive rebounding specialist and lob finisher who's a physical defensive rebounder and defender next to LeBron. I would give him time - his finishing will definitely come good as he gets into shape (he looks like he's packing on a few extra pounds right now) and his defence will improve as he gets used to our defensive schemes.

What we need to do with Thompson is to alternate him with Theis at C depending on the matchup or their form and have two quality bigs take up all of our C minutes and some PF minutes if possible so that we can minimise the amount of time that non-playable guys like Semi/Robert/Grant/Javonte get on the court (they're best used as 10-12th men on a high level team imo).
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Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #42 on: January 24, 2021, 12:22:38 PM »

Offline cltc5

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Every year it’s the same excuses with this team.  Rebuild was 12 years ago.    Brad Stevens has had superstars on his team and  early exit playoffs to show for it.  Ainge has had potential stars he’s passed up for injured projects and missed trade opportunities with a second rebuild to show for that.  Time for both of them to get the hot seat and if not turned around by seasons end...move on. 

Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #43 on: January 24, 2021, 12:25:08 PM »

Offline nickagneta

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Has Danny ever signed a player with a MLE that contributed meaningfully? Kanter was ok in stretches last year but he dumped him.
I think his best signing for the $ is probably posey In 2007 ... after that it’s the same old story with free agents he signs. You can argue that the max players he signed were good value for the $ we pay them.
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Re: I have a hard time liking this team
« Reply #44 on: January 24, 2021, 12:36:59 PM »

Offline RodyTur10

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People had unrealistic expectations for Thompson.  People argued he was better than Turner, which was silly.  He’s not as good as Theis, although I don’t think that’s an insult.  Theis, as a small ball center, is pretty good.

But is Thompson playable?

For most of his career he has played as a power forward, but we don't have a stretch big to compliment him.
As a center he doesn't provide the rim protection to build a strong defense, while he clogs the lane, doesn't finish well and is not a great post-up option.

As you mentioned rightfully, Theis is a pretty good small ball center. So where do we play Thompson?
In my opinion we just have to conclude that Thompson is a misfit for our system and trade him ASAP before we get stuck with him and have to give up a first rounder to get rid of him.
Thompson has been a centre ever since the pace and space explosion - he played 85%, 73%, 97% and 99% of his minutes at C from 2017-2020 and had some pretty good results on some high level teams as an offensive rebounding specialist and lob finisher who's a physical defensive rebounder and defender next to LeBron. I would give him time - his finishing will definitely come good as he gets into shape (he looks like he's packing on a few extra pounds right now) and his defence will improve as he gets used to our defensive schemes.

What we need to do with Thompson is to alternate him with Theis at C depending on the matchup or their form and have two quality bigs take up all of our C minutes and some PF minutes if possible so that we can minimise the amount of time that non-playable guys like Semi/Robert/Grant/Javonte get on the court (they're best used as 10-12th men on a high level team imo).
'

I really disagree with this statement and I hope you're wrong because if Robert Williams can't be our (future) starting center then who will it be?

The fact that Thompson did okay under the guidance of LeBron James doesn't impress me that much. Timofey Mozgov and Javale McGee have been playoff starters on NBA Finals teams with LeBron. I never rated either as a quality big.