Joe needs to do something different in the 3rds.

[Vermont Green]

I am a bit surprised by this (the idea that the 1-9 rotation is set).  I think I appreciate Kornet more than most but it seems a bit early to me to be conceding all the others to the end of the bench.  Kornet is fine as the 3rd big if we are always going to play the guard heavy line up (1-big).  He won't be needed all that much.  But I still feel like we need one more defense and rebounding type PF for the rotation.

Brissett in particular puzzles me.  He was a decent bench player for several years in IND.  If there is no role for him, I think they should trade him.  I know we aren't going to get much but if you attach a pick, maybe we can at least get back a player that fills the role better.  Some bench PF from some team that will have more of a role for Brissett and that is interested in some level of draft pick (probably a second, depending on how good the other player is).

Brissett is shooting 11% from 3 and 17.6% overall.  This is really bad but does not seem representative of the player he was in IND.  I don't get it.

[jpotter33]

Yeah, I’m similarly puzzled by this statement, along with the overall fascination with Luke given his weaknesses and lack of high-level abilities in any one area.

Further, there are going to be matchups where Kornet in the double big lineup is just unplayable and you need to go smaller with Stevens or Oshae along with a traditional big. Like, while I prefer Queta over Kornet, I understand why Joe trusts Kornet more, but virtually cutting out Stevens and Oshae except for injuries and SEGABABAS I think is a bad approach when they’re very versatile defenders that are better suited in some matchups.

One thing I wish Luke would do is to get back to being an outside threat. He came into the league as a big man shooter, but has seemingly completely cut that out of his game. If he got back some of that ability he’d be more useful offensively and could continue the maximal spacing our team provides from all our rotation players, except him.

[Roy H.]

I guess there are two broad philosophies here:

1.  We know who our rotation is, and it's good enough to win.  The focus of the regular season should be about building as much cohesion between those nine players as possible; or

2.  Some of the bench guys have been successful elsewhere, and they have proven that they can help playoff teams.  With 59 games left in the regular season, it's the time to build up some of those guys so that if they are called on in the playoffs due to injury, they're ready.

If we could play the season in "arcade mode" with injuries off, I'd be fine with option #1.  But, that's just not how most seasons go.  And, I think it's unrealistic to tell guys "stay ready" if they're buried on the bench.  I expect those guys to give good effort if called upon, but I just don't think they'd be in game shape.

[otherdave]

Brissett in particular puzzles me.  He was a decent bench player for several years in IND.  If there is no role for him, I think they should trade him.  I know we aren't going to get much but if you attach a pick, maybe we can at least get back a player that fills the role better.  Some bench PF from some team that will have more of a role for Brissett and that is interested in some level of draft pick (probably a second, depending on how good the other player is).

Brissett is shooting 11% from 3 and 17.6% overall.  This is really bad but does not seem representative of the player he was in IND.  I don't get it.

I am a cap guy.  C's can trade one end of the bench guy (not rookie Walsh, but the rest all make over 2 million) and replace with a bare minimum salary of 1,119,563 and get under the 2nd apron ( I am assuming J Brown will earn all of his incentives and D White will earn all of his , except his 3 pt incentive).  Since Brissett isn't really playing and is pretty bad when he does, and he is the only end of bench guy with a player option for next year - I am all in for trading him by the deadline.  We will probably need to send a 2nd rd pick and cash to dump him, but so be it.

[Roy H.]

Brissett in particular puzzles me.  He was a decent bench player for several years in IND.  If there is no role for him, I think they should trade him.  I know we aren't going to get much but if you attach a pick, maybe we can at least get back a player that fills the role better.  Some bench PF from some team that will have more of a role for Brissett and that is interested in some level of draft pick (probably a second, depending on how good the other player is).

Brissett is shooting 11% from 3 and 17.6% overall.  This is really bad but does not seem representative of the player he was in IND.  I don't get it.

I am a cap guy.  C's can trade one end of the bench guy (not rookie Walsh, but the rest all make over 2 million) and replace with a bare minimum salary of 1,119,563 and get under the 2nd apron ( I am assuming J Brown will earn all of his incentives and D White will earn all of his , except his 3 pt incentive).  Since Brissett isn't really playing and is pretty bad when he does, and he is the only end of bench guy with a player option for next year - I am all in for trading him by the deadline.  We will probably need to send a 2nd rd pick and cash to dump him, but so be it.

Why does getting under the second apron matter?  What penalties are you worried about?

My understanding is that the second apron essentially means nothing this season, other than us not using our MLE.

[Celtics2021]

Yeah, I’m similarly puzzled by this statement, along with the overall fascination with Luke given his weaknesses and lack of high-level abilities in any one area.

Further, there are going to be matchups where Kornet in the double big lineup is just unplayable and you need to go smaller with Stevens or Oshae along with a traditional big. Like, while I prefer Queta over Kornet, I understand why Joe trusts Kornet more, but virtually cutting out Stevens and Oshae except for injuries and SEGABABAS I think is a bad approach when they’re very versatile defenders that are better suited in some matchups.

One thing I wish Luke would do is to get back to being an outside threat. He came into the league as a big man shooter, but has seemingly completely cut that out of his game. If he got back some of that ability he’d be more useful offensively and could continue the maximal spacing our team provides from all our rotation players, except him.

I think there’s too much talk about Kornet’s minutes.  He’s the third big.  If Al or KP are out, he gets a lot of minutes.  If they’re healthy, he generally doesn’t.  There have been 23 games — he’s gotten a DNP in 6 of them, including last night (so the Joe has settled his rotation assertion doesn’t stand to scrutiny).  In 8 of those games, we been without Al or KP for the entire game or much of a game (at Orlando).  In those 8 games, Kornet gets about 16.7 minutes, which seems reasonable because in those games he’s the 2nd big.  In the 15 games when those two have been healthy, he’s averaged 5.8 minutes, and had 6 DNPS, or 40% of such games.

It also makes sense to play him a little more frequently when both other bigs are healthy because a) we know Horford and KP are going to miss their share of games, so he’s more likely to need to be ready to step up, and b) there aren’t as many viable substitution options when a big is out.  If a wing is out, you can increase the minutes of the other top 7 players in the rotation to help cover, and there are many other wings to backfill.  It’s similar with a guard. With a big, if you want one on the floor at all times, as it seems Joe does, you’ve just got Kornet.

All that said, I’d like to upgrade from Luke, but as long as he’s in the team it makes sense that he gets minutes, because he’s the best person to a fill a role that is more likely to be needed on any given night.

[Moranis]

I am a bit surprised by this (the idea that the 1-9 rotation is set).  I think I appreciate Kornet more than most but it seems a bit early to me to be conceding all the others to the end of the bench.  Kornet is fine as the 3rd big if we are always going to play the guard heavy line up (1-big).  He won't be needed all that much.  But I still feel like we need one more defense and rebounding type PF for the rotation.

Brissett in particular puzzles me.  He was a decent bench player for several years in IND.  If there is no role for him, I think they should trade him.  I know we aren't going to get much but if you attach a pick, maybe we can at least get back a player that fills the role better.  Some bench PF from some team that will have more of a role for Brissett and that is interested in some level of draft pick (probably a second, depending on how good the other player is).

Brissett is shooting 11% from 3 and 17.6% overall.  This is really bad but does not seem representative of the player he was in IND.  I don't get it.

Brissett in 21 games jn his 2nd year was solid, but has has gotten progressively and significantly worse every year since then.  He is about what I'd thought he be given there really wasn't a role for him.  Stevens got decent minutes with the Cavs, but was a poor player basically across the board.  Again, performing about what should have been expected.  Banton and Svi similar to prior years.

The simple reality is, Boston has no deep bench so they are stuck with the top 8 or 9.  Stevens did a bad job filling out the bench, just as he did the prior year.  He just isn't good at that part of the job. 

[SHAQATTACK]

Joe doesn’t have to be brilliant, his talent will take care of most of the game, he needs to do the basics, call timely timeouts, have a basic strategy for each game ,, take care of his players and limit coaching errors and keep his player motivated.   That’s a load for him.

[keevsnick]

To be honest, I think they are just fine. They are 15-5 with the best net rating in the league, best 5 man lineup starting lineup and having played one of the more difficult schedules so far.

You try "fixing" the third and maybe you just hurt yourself somewhere else. Ultimately I think if you change nothing the third quarter should sort itself out to some extent, I don't see any real reason it should keep being so bad.

The record is misleading as of late. They haven't looked good except for a few quarters the last couple weeks.
I remember people were pointing to their record last year when things started to go sideways.

Does this team look like a team that could win it all with they way they've been playing?

I know good teams can win ugly, but the majority of their games shouldn't be as ugly as they have been recently.

Well now they are 18-5 with the 2nd best net rating in the league having played the toughest schedule in the league. So ya, i think this team can win a title playing like this.

[BitterJim]

Yeah, I’m similarly puzzled by this statement, along with the overall fascination with Luke given his weaknesses and lack of high-level abilities in any one area.

Further, there are going to be matchups where Kornet in the double big lineup is just unplayable and you need to go smaller with Stevens or Oshae along with a traditional big. Like, while I prefer Queta over Kornet, I understand why Joe trusts Kornet more, but virtually cutting out Stevens and Oshae except for injuries and SEGABABAS I think is a bad approach when they’re very versatile defenders that are better suited in some matchups.

One thing I wish Luke would do is to get back to being an outside threat. He came into the league as a big man shooter, but has seemingly completely cut that out of his game. If he got back some of that ability he’d be more useful offensively and could continue the maximal spacing our team provides from all our rotation players, except him.

I think there’s too much talk about Kornet’s minutes.  He’s the third big.  If Al or KP are out, he gets a lot of minutes.  If they’re healthy, he generally doesn’t.  There have been 23 games — he’s gotten a DNP in 6 of them, including last night (so the Joe has settled his rotation assertion doesn’t stand to scrutiny).  In 8 of those games, we been without Al or KP for the entire game or much of a game (at Orlando).  In those 8 games, Kornet gets about 16.7 minutes, which seems reasonable because in those games he’s the 2nd big.  In the 15 games when those two have been healthy, he’s averaged 5.8 minutes, and had 6 DNPS, or 40% of such games.

It also makes sense to play him a little more frequently when both other bigs are healthy because a) we know Horford and KP are going to miss their share of games, so he’s more likely to need to be ready to step up, and b) there aren’t as many viable substitution options when a big is out.  If a wing is out, you can increase the minutes of the other top 7 players in the rotation to help cover, and there are many other wings to backfill.  It’s similar with a guard. With a big, if you want one on the floor at all times, as it seems Joe does, you’ve just got Kornet.

All that said, I’d like to upgrade from Luke, but as long as he’s in the team it makes sense that he gets minutes, because he’s the best person to a fill a role that is more likely to be needed on any given night.

Kornet missed last night's game due to injury, so I don't think that says anything about Joe's rotation. The rest is pretty spot-on, though.

[Roy H.]

To be honest, I think they are just fine. They are 15-5 with the best net rating in the league, best 5 man lineup starting lineup and having played one of the more difficult schedules so far.

You try "fixing" the third and maybe you just hurt yourself somewhere else. Ultimately I think if you change nothing the third quarter should sort itself out to some extent, I don't see any real reason it should keep being so bad.

The record is misleading as of late. They haven't looked good except for a few quarters the last couple weeks.
I remember people were pointing to their record last year when things started to go sideways.

Does this team look like a team that could win it all with they way they've been playing?

I know good teams can win ugly, but the majority of their games shouldn't be as ugly as they have been recently.

Well now they are 18-5 with the 2nd best net rating in the league having played the toughest schedule in the league. So ya, i think this team can win a title playing like this.

Yeah, but a lot of people made that argument last year, too.  We had the #1 Net Rtg, afterall.  And, it worked mostly fine in the regular season.    Then the playoffs came around.

Unfortunately, no matter how good our regular season is, it's not going to matter until the team and Joe prove themselves in the playoffs.  In the closest thing to a "playoff atmosphere" -- the IST -- the team:

* Played well against Brooklyn;
* Won a squeaker against Toronto after blowing a big lead;
* Got blown out by Orlando
* Blew out Chicago
* Lost to Indiana

Now, we had some big injuries in some of those games, but the team overall played poorly in general against five teams it was favored against.

[keevsnick]

To be honest, I think they are just fine. They are 15-5 with the best net rating in the league, best 5 man lineup starting lineup and having played one of the more difficult schedules so far.

You try "fixing" the third and maybe you just hurt yourself somewhere else. Ultimately I think if you change nothing the third quarter should sort itself out to some extent, I don't see any real reason it should keep being so bad.

The record is misleading as of late. They haven't looked good except for a few quarters the last couple weeks.
I remember people were pointing to their record last year when things started to go sideways.

Does this team look like a team that could win it all with they way they've been playing?

I know good teams can win ugly, but the majority of their games shouldn't be as ugly as they have been recently.

Well now they are 18-5 with the 2nd best net rating in the league having played the toughest schedule in the league. So ya, i think this team can win a title playing like this.

Yeah, but a lot of people made that argument last year, too.  We had the #1 Net Rtg, afterall.  And, it worked mostly fine in the regular season.    Then the playoffs came around.

Unfortunately, no matter how good our regular season is, it's not going to matter until the team and Joe prove themselves in the playoffs.  In the closest thing to a "playoff atmosphere" -- the IST -- the team:

* Played well against Brooklyn;
* Won a squeaker against Toronto after blowing a big lead;
* Got blown out by Orlando
* Blew out Chicago
* Lost to Indiana

Now, we had some big injuries in some of those games, but the team overall played poorly in general against five teams it was favored against.

They could have vary easily won the title last year if they didn't shoot 30.3% from three against a team who shot 43.4% from three for a series.

I'm just not sure what more you could possibly expect this team to do. Best record in league, 2nd best net rating, 12-0 at home, 12-4 against teams above .500, best schedule adjusted net rating, 9-4 in "clutch" games.

I get to some extent the playoff worries, but this is a team that's made multiple, deep playoff runs. To some extent they just need better luck injury/shooting wise.

But you are right, we won't know for sure until the playoffs. I just like the results so far.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

To be honest, I think they are just fine. They are 15-5 with the best net rating in the league, best 5 man lineup starting lineup and having played one of the more difficult schedules so far.

You try "fixing" the third and maybe you just hurt yourself somewhere else. Ultimately I think if you change nothing the third quarter should sort itself out to some extent, I don't see any real reason it should keep being so bad.

The record is misleading as of late. They haven't looked good except for a few quarters the last couple weeks.
I remember people were pointing to their record last year when things started to go sideways.

Does this team look like a team that could win it all with they way they've been playing?

I know good teams can win ugly, but the majority of their games shouldn't be as ugly as they have been recently.

Well now they are 18-5 with the 2nd best net rating in the league having played the toughest schedule in the league. So ya, i think this team can win a title playing like this.

Yeah, but a lot of people made that argument last year, too.  We had the #1 Net Rtg, afterall.  And, it worked mostly fine in the regular season.    Then the playoffs came around.

Unfortunately, no matter how good our regular season is, it's not going to matter until the team and Joe prove themselves in the playoffs.  In the closest thing to a "playoff atmosphere" -- the IST -- the team:

* Played well against Brooklyn;
* Won a squeaker against Toronto after blowing a big lead;
* Got blown out by Orlando
* Blew out Chicago
* Lost to Indiana

Now, we had some big injuries in some of those games, but the team overall played poorly in general against five teams it was favored against.

They could have vary easily won the title last year if they didn't shoot 30.3% from three against a team who shot 43.4% from three for a series.

I'm just not sure what more you could possibly expect this team to do. Best record in league, 2nd best net rating, 12-0 at home, 12-4 against teams above .500, best schedule adjusted net rating, 9-4 in "clutch" games.

I get to some extent the playoff worries, but this is a team that's made multiple, deep playoff runs. To some extent they just need better luck injury/shooting wise.

But you are right, we won't know for sure until the playoffs. I just like the results so far.

I don't think we can expect much more from this team in the regular season; I think they'll end up doing very well in the regular season, as they have been so far.

But I agree with those who say that this team needs to finally break through in the postseason. There have been enough deep runs that fell short. And speaking just for myself, I'm hoping to not let myself get too excited about this team unless/until they get back to the NBA Finals.

[mobilija]

Last years great start felt like a streak, hot shooting and just a rolling with the vibe.

This year feels more steady. That this is who this team is, more machine like. Too much firepower on the floor at once for most teams. More varied play styles and varied ways to win.

I think that bodes well. Hopefully steady holds.

[Neurotic Guy]

Luke is fine in his normal role. Love Sam and Payton - they are making a difference/ positive contributions most games. Payton turned the first Cavs game around. Sam’s been unconscious.  And both are playing better defensively than I expected.

Tonight will be tough.  Looking forward to Queta minutes but worried he might get smoked. Great opportunity for him tonight.