Time to talk about the bench guys!

[BitterJim]

Even after adding Jrue Holiday, the Celtics can still trade two future firsts and three swaps. They also have eight second round picks.

So if Boston needs to improve its depth before the trade deadline, Brad Stevens has the assets to make more moves.

I wouldn't mind another deal like the one we made for Muscala. Hopefully before the deadline to give him more time to work his way into the rotation

[Goldstar88]

So now that Grant and Rob are gone, who exactly is going to be guarding Giannis when the C’s play the Bucks? 

[Surferdad]

So now that Grant and Rob are gone, who exactly is going to be guarding Giannis when the C’s play the Bucks? 

Tatum

[Goldstar88]

So now that Grant and Rob are gone, who exactly is going to be guarding Giannis when the C’s play the Bucks? 

Tatum

Tatum guarding Giannis all game. Awesome.

[PAOBoston]

So now that Grant and Rob are gone, who exactly is going to be guarding Giannis when the C’s play the Bucks? 

The same way they have defended him in the past: collective group effort. There is no such myth as a Giannis stopper.

[Goldstar88]

So now that Grant and Rob are gone, who exactly is going to be guarding Giannis when the C’s play the Bucks? 

The same way they have defended him in the past: collective group effort. There is no such myth as a Giannis stopper.

The way they defended him in the past was Grant, Rob and Al. 2 out of the 3 are gone and Horford is going to be 38 this Spring. Relying on Tatum to be the primary defender is less then Ideal. Giannis is going to put a beating on him.

[Roy H.]

So now that Grant and Rob are gone, who exactly is going to be guarding Giannis when the C’s play the Bucks? 

The same way they have defended him in the past: collective group effort. There is no such myth as a Giannis stopper.

The way they defended him in the past was Grant, Rob and Al. 2 out of the 3 are gone and Horford is going to be 38 this Spring. Relying on Tatum to be the primary defender is less then Ideal. Giannis is going to put a beating on him.

Was Rob some sort of Giannis stopper?

https://stathead.com/basketball/versus-finder.cgi?request=1&seasons_type=forall&year_min=2022&year_max=2023&player_id1=antetgi01&player_id2=williro04

But, maybe we can sign Semi Ojeleye.

[PAOBoston]

So now that Grant and Rob are gone, who exactly is going to be guarding Giannis when the C’s play the Bucks? 

The same way they have defended him in the past: collective group effort. There is no such myth as a Giannis stopper.

The way they defended him in the past was Grant, Rob and Al. 2 out of the 3 are gone and Horford is going to be 38 this Spring. Relying on Tatum to be the primary defender is less then Ideal. Giannis is going to put a beating on him.

Sure. But maybe this year it’s just a combo of Al/KP/Brisette/JT etc. just because it was done a certain way for a year or two doesn’t mean it’s the end. The team is different. They will likely play different. My point is that it will just be a collective group effort and will look a little different from prior years. I’d also like to point out that even with the guys from prior years, Giannis still ended up getting his numbers (and then some). You are not gonna completely stop a guy as good and gifted as he is. 

[Phantom255x]

Guys I've solved the bench problem! How is this?

[Atzar]

My recollection is that we specifically kept Rob off of physical bigs like Giannis and Embiid so he could help from weakside.  Grant and Horford did the heavy lifting as the first line of defense.  If Rob picked up the assignment, it was generally just for a possession or two at a time (and it was generally ineffective as well). 

I do think we need another guy who can handle that matchup physically, given that Grant is gone and Horford is old.  I don't want to overburden Tatum, and I don't think Zinger can handle that over an entire series.  Jamychal Green and Bismack Biyombo appear to be solid candidates and are still available afaik. 

[theswitch]

My recollection is that we specifically kept Rob off of physical bigs like Giannis and Embiid so he could help from weakside.  Grant and Horford did the heavy lifting as the first line of defense.  If Rob picked up the assignment, it was generally just for a possession or two at a time (and it was generally ineffective as well). 

I do think we need another guy who can handle that matchup physically, given that Grant is gone and Horford is old.  I don't want to overburden Tatum, and I don't think Zinger can handle that over an entire series.  Jamychal Green and Bismack Biyombo appear to be solid candidates and are still available afaik.

I'm no expert on Oshae Brissett, but this is where he's just so critical as the roster stands right now. 6'7, thicker than most wings or at least thick enough to play power forward minutes. Here was the scouting report on him:

Defensively, the Pacers were better with Brissett on the court than they were with him on the bench. Opponents scored 3.4 fewer points per 100 possessions with Brissett on the court than with him on the bench. That number ranked in the 80th percentile in the league, per Cleaning The Glass. In addition, the teams Brissett’s played on have played better defensively per 100 possessions than they have without him in three of the four seasons in his career.

He's a hustle guy who hits some corner threes, I guess, and has a 6'11 wingspan. He measured at the combine at less than 3% body fat. So he's long and strong, and hustles a lot.

He's not going to stop Giannis. Neither was Grant Williams or Rob Williams or anyone else, really, other than Al Horford a little bit a couple years ago when he wasn't this old. But he's going to be the guy we throw at the problem and hope he's annoying enough to bother Giannis.

Same with Lamar Stevens. 6'6, 230 pounds.

He quickly became known for his tenacious work ethic and his relentless defense. This earned him a multi-year contract in 2021.

The plan is for guys like Brissett and Stevens to just kind of get in the way, make Giannis work, and then have Porzingis there at the rim to make life harder. That's a lot of pressure on Brissett and Stevens, but it's not crazy. I haven't really watched him play much so I'm excited to see what he's got.

It's the Semi or Grant plan but with Zinger behind them instead of Rob.

[Roy H.]

Guys I've solved the bench problem! How is this?

Dumpster dive.

This should be the standard:

[Goldstar88]

So now that Grant and Rob are gone, who exactly is going to be guarding Giannis when the C’s play the Bucks? 

The same way they have defended him in the past: collective group effort. There is no such myth as a Giannis stopper.

The way they defended him in the past was Grant, Rob and Al. 2 out of the 3 are gone and Horford is going to be 38 this Spring. Relying on Tatum to be the primary defender is less then Ideal. Giannis is going to put a beating on him.

Was Rob some sort of Giannis stopper?

https://stathead.com/basketball/versus-finder.cgi?request=1&seasons_type=forall&year_min=2022&year_max=2023&player_id1=antetgi01&player_id2=williro04

But, maybe we can sign Semi Ojeleye.

I don’t believe anyone said that he was. I just don’t think it’s a great plan to have Tatum as primary defender on Giannis. It’s going to take a lot out of him.

[kraidstar]

Biyombo's per-36 numbers the last couple years are in line with the rest of his career.

He'd be a nice addition. But as an older vet, wouldn't his minimum salary oush us over the 2nd apron? Do we have means to shed salary to fit him in?

And can we theoretically use the $6.2m Grant Williams exception? I know if we use it now it would push us above the second apron obviously. And going over the apron a year early could hamstring us down the road, so I'm betting we don'tuse it this season. But can use it at the beginning of next offseason?

Afaik the new salary year starts on July 1. So we'd already be over the apron but would have 12 days to use it, as Grant was traded on July 12 2023.

[A Future of Stevens]

I would love for them to take a look at Noel. I think he could thrive in a defensive minded bench role. He isn't timelord but he is a springy rangy athlete that has some defensive chops. He wouldn't need to do anything on offense except play in the dunker spot.