Brad is having enough

[KGBirdBias]

Cmon man, are you watching the games? Our defense is atrocious...teams get whatever they want.

I know it's hard to critic Kyrie but he's the leader, hes the one that has the ball 70% of the time and is making decision down the stretch.

I want Tatum posting up more and isolated more. If other teams can isolate players why can't the Celtics.

I'd like to see some actual plays run. All this read and react offense doesn't work. It's more like read and shoot a 3.

[cman88]

Time for a players only meeting. Some of these guys are playing like they have no worry of mins being reduced. There needs to be some heart to heart discussions.

Horford is looking older and Brown isn't doing anything.

Hayward is looking tentative but he gets a pass for now.

Kyrie is chucking up every shot possible. He doesn't see any bad shots.

Tatum needs to be featured more.

Can some play defense and rebound please.

Kyrie is shooting 46% and 40% from 3. He isnt the problem.

Tatum being benched seems to have gotten his head straight as we now have 2 solid games in a row.

Team needs to put forward the effort for a FULL 48minutes. seems like they play as if they already accomplished something, and then when they get down 20points they realize they have to put in the effort. If they only did that to start we wouldnt have to worry about making comebacks.

[hpantazo]

Our defense is definitely a big problem! It's gone out the window on this road trip. What used to be the #1 ranked defense in the league is the #26th ranked defense in November. That is all due to effort and focus.

[Green-18]

Cmon man, are you watching the games? Our defense is atrocious...teams get whatever they want.

I know it's hard to critic Kyrie but he's the leader, hes the one that has the ball 70% of the time and is making decision down the stretch.

I want Tatum posting up more and isolated more. If other teams can isolate players why can't the Celtics.

I'd like to see some actual plays run. All this read and react offense doesn't work. It's more like read and shoot a 3.

I guess I look at the defense as a "chicken or egg" argument.  These Western Conference teams were executing at a very high level during the road trip.  Poor offensive execution and extended scoring droughts from the Celtics puts enormous pressure on their defense.

I'm not going to pretend that the defense has been great during the road trip.  Utah was especially poor.  I just believe that lack of confidence on offense directly affects the other end of the floor.  Last years group faced some of the same issues at times.   

The Celtics defense will be fine if they can find balance on offense.     

[coco]

Just what we needed.
Difficult start of the season to determine the pecking order and to humble our team and fanbase.

We are in for the long run.
Perseverance is the name of the game.

I agree

[coco]

Also,  I do think the minutes restriction on Hayward has been disruptive to having a nice flow to our rotations.  Benching Tatum 4 minutes into the 1st quarter so that we can sub Hayward 3 minutes later because of minutes restrictions - doesn't help.

...and then bringing Hayward back with 4 minutes left in the 2nd quarter and expect him to get in the flow, it's challenging to say the least.

[cman88]

Our defense is definitely a big problem! It's gone out the window on this road trip. What used to be the #1 ranked defense in the league is the #26th ranked defense in November. That is all due to effort and focus.

Pretty much this. Our offense will figure it out. Already, Tatum and Kyrie irving are starting to get back to their old selves.

But, if you defend at a high level you ALWAYS have a chance to win. THe fact that we can come back from these 20 point deficits time and time again shows that we can play tough defense. we just need to do it for 48 minutes and not just when down 20!

Hopefully this roadtrip is rock bottom for the team and they come out firing and hungry. Its a long season. I would rather have these struggles now than after the all-star break heading into the playoffs

I mean we are only 13 games in to an 82 game season. It definitely isn't too late...But it needs to start soon.

[IDreamCeltics]

Brad's non-specific quotes about "effort" reminded me of a past coach.

At some point Danny realized Doc was a good coach of personalities and just an average x's and o's coach.  He brought in Thibs to take over those duties and the results were a championship.

Similarly Brad has proven to be a good coach of personalities and a questionable decision maker on the floor.  At what point does Danny scale back Brad's responsibilities and bring in a coach that can mold these players into a championship level defense?

[Roy H.]

Brad's non-specific quotes about "effort" reminded me of a past coach.

At some point Danny realized Doc was a good coach of personalities and just an average x's and o's coach.  He brought in Thibs to take over those duties and the results were a championship.

Similarly Brad has proven to be a good coach of personalities and a questionable decision maker on the floor.  At what point does Danny scale back Brad's responsibilities and bring in a coach that can mold these players into a championship level defense?

Last season we had the #1 defense.  I’m not sure how much more molding we need.

[bdm860]

Also,  I do think the minutes restriction on Hayward has been disruptive to having a nice flow to our rotations.  Benching Tatum 4 minutes into the 1st quarter so that we can sub Hayward 3 minutes later because of minutes restrictions - doesn't help.

...and then bringing Hayward back with 4 minutes left in the 2nd quarter and expect him to get in the flow, it's challenging to say the least.

Actually, as of last night, it looks like the minutes restriction is over.

Hayward has consistently played in the 24-26 minute range all season, never playing less than 23:41, never playing more than 26:38, until last night where he played 31:04.

Not an overtime game, and the team had a healthy full roster, with nobody in foul trouble, and it's not like Hayward was playing great either. 

Maybe it was just a test to see how he'd handle it.  But it's been about a month now, and except for that one early back-to-back game he sat out, I don't think there's been any reported issues.  Will have to see how many minutes he plays Wednesday to confirm (unless of course something has been officially reported), but I'm hoping it's over and done with.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Brad's non-specific quotes about "effort" reminded me of a past coach.

At some point Danny realized Doc was a good coach of personalities and just an average x's and o's coach.  He brought in Thibs to take over those duties and the results were a championship.

Similarly Brad has proven to be a good coach of personalities and a questionable decision maker on the floor.  At what point does Danny scale back Brad's responsibilities and bring in a coach that can mold these players into a championship level defense?

 

Brad's is widely recognized as the top xs and os coach in the league.

The Cs had a championship level defense last year. They have looked good on that side of the court in most of the games this season.

[KGBirdBias]

I know Kyrie is a great offensive player, that's not what 8m questioning. I'm questioning him being a PG for an underachieving team. When to shoot, what shots are best for each guy, when to take over, pace of play, etc. To say we need a 15 yr vet is ludicrous. Him, Al, Baynes, Hayward and Morris are the vets that need to bring us out of this. The calvary isn't coming.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Kyrie: “We’re not as good as we think we are. That’s what it comes down to.”

Kyrie: "Right now I think it would be nice if we had someone that was a 15-year vet, a 14-year vet that could kind of help us race along the regular season and understand it’s a long marathon rather than just a full-on sprint."

Tatum: "It’s just a matter of stopping guys. That’s what we’re known for, so we have to get back to that."

I agree with Kyrie’s second quote. I think we should have added a vet rather than sign Jabari. I would have given him a take it or leave it two-way offer.  I’d prefer Jamal Crawford or Vince Carter to the empty spot that Bird is.

Well, Carmelo Anthony might be waived soon? ;-)

In all seriousness, is there anyone available in the FA market or a trade that we could go after? Does it have to be a 15 year vet? Can't it be a guy who played for at least a decade?

A guy like Jarrett Jack would fit in perfectly here, I think.

[Green-18]

Our defense is definitely a big problem! It's gone out the window on this road trip. What used to be the #1 ranked defense in the league is the #26th ranked defense in November. That is all due to effort and focus.

Pretty much this. Our offense will figure it out. Already, Tatum and Kyrie irving are starting to get back to their old selves.

But, if you defend at a high level you ALWAYS have a chance to win. THe fact that we can come back from these 20 point deficits time and time again shows that we can play tough defense. we just need to do it for 48 minutes and not just when down 20!

Hopefully this roadtrip is rock bottom for the team and they come out firing and hungry. Its a long season. I would rather have these struggles now than after the all-star break heading into the playoffs

I mean we are only 13 games in to an 82 game season. It definitely isn't too late...But it needs to start soon.

Are you sure the offense will figure it out though?  Hanging your hat strictly on defense is more difficult than ever before, especially with the new rules and versatility of modern offenses.  The defensive struggles during parts of this road trip are not representative of the real problems with this team. The Celtics offense is worse in a league where other teams are getting better.

Let's take a step back and reflect on the history of the Celtics since the beginning of last season.  Their offense was mediocre even during the 16 game winning streak.  They frequently fell behind early in games, which is no different than this season.  The biggest difference last year is that Kyrie and Horford were closing games at an insanely high level.  This lead to a trickle down effect where Tatum was able to get a bunch of open looks in the 4th quarter.   Kyrie is on track this season but Horford is missing most of the big shots that went in last season.

Look up the 4th quarter numbers for Tatum and Horford from last year.  The difference in efficiency is staggering to say the least. 
 

[Roy H.]

Kyrie: “We’re not as good as we think we are. That’s what it comes down to.”

Kyrie: "Right now I think it would be nice if we had someone that was a 15-year vet, a 14-year vet that could kind of help us race along the regular season and understand it’s a long marathon rather than just a full-on sprint."

Tatum: "It’s just a matter of stopping guys. That’s what we’re known for, so we have to get back to that."

I agree with Kyrie’s second quote. I think we should have added a vet rather than sign Jabari. I would have given him a take it or leave it two-way offer.  I’d prefer Jamal Crawford or Vince Carter to the empty spot that Bird is.

Well, Carmelo Anthony might be waived soon? ;-)

In all seriousness, is there anyone available in the FA market or a trade that we could go after? Does it have to be a 15 year vet? Can't it be a guy who played for at least a decade?

A guy like Jarrett Jack would fit in perfectly here, I think.

https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/current_free_agents

Sort by years of service.

There aren’t a ton of leadership types.

What did you think of Nick Young overall?