Celtics Media Day

[Vermont Green]

I'm a bit surprised that Tatum focused on bulk again this off-season.  I thought he was big enough last season to guard pretty much any PF out there.  But, hopefully this means he's going inside more this year.

I don't think this is necessarily about being a better PF, although that may be a part of it.  I think he is looking at Paul Pierce and realizing how his body made him a better SF.  LeBron James, even Larry Bird, the top SFs in history had some bulk to them.  It is also fairly natural for a man's body to bulk up as they mature through their 20's.  I was 165 lbs when I played football in high school senior year.  I was skinny.  That didn't last and it wasn't because I was "bulking up".  I was more like 200 lbs when I was say 30.  It felt like that was just the natural development of my body/frame.

I am fine if Tatum has added 10 lbs since the start of last season.  I don't know exactly what his ideal weight will be.  More is not necessarily better, there is a point where more is just more.  That is something he needs to figure out.  His frame is not the same as Paul Pierce or LeBron so his sweet-spot is going to be a little lighter than those guys.  Hopefully he has plenty of training and nutrition experts advising him.

I think the best part of this is that he is still working to improve.  Tatum is a quiet leader but in his own way, it seems he works really hard.  That is great to see.  Stardom has not gone to his head.  I have been critical of him about his on court body language.  The waving his arms at the refs when he doesn't get a call.  The cutsie poses after he hits a 3.  These are relatively minor criticisms.  I am wondering if Jrue Holiday will have any influence on that aspect of his game.  Holiday has that "all business" demeanor on the court that I like to see in a star (any player or teammate actually).  I hope Tatum picks up on this some.

[Roy H.]

Captioned "Year Seven"

[Roy H.]

Joe interview:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEkEUT6rasU

I can't listen because:

1.  I'm at work;

2.  Listening to Joe speak tends to irritate me.

Anything interesting or worthwhile?

[Vermont Green]

Captioned "Year Seven"

My caption would be "All Business".

That would be my theme for Tatum and the Celtics this season.

[Kernewek]

Joe interview:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEkEUT6rasU

I can't listen because:

1.  I'm at work;

2.  Listening to Joe speak tends to irritate me.

Anything interesting or worthwhile?

They all sound fairly similar I think - here he sounds just like JJ Reddick. League-Speak is contagious.

He says some nice things about Damian Lillard and Milwaukee in general, there's an anecdote about how hungry he was for the No. 1 seed as a newly appointed HC, and that he probably wasn't so good about focusing what he can control vs. what he couldn't (stock and soft phrasing, it should be noted, prompted by Reddick):

We couldn't even control getting the one seed, like we lost like two games and Milwaukee won 20
in a row so there was nothing we could have done. If you go through the season or these situations where it's
like 'oh that trade [Lillard] makes them better than us', or 'if we don't get the one seed we're not going to the finals' ... you don't know - you have no idea.

What I do know do know is that we've had the best month of preseason since I've been here from top to bottom of buying from like our top players from buying of our second unit from buying of our young guys from our staff... I tried to come in this gym as much as I could over the last month and a half and it was just a different type of feeling and so if I spend more time worrying about those things [Milwaukee & free agency] and not appreciating what we have [then] one: I'm doing the players a disservice and two: I'm not going to be as effective at what we do.

So, yeah they're going to be they're going to be a nightmare to play against but my job is to make us a nightmare to play against too and we'll see what happens when two nightmares play against each other, right?

Then some questions from Reddick about how planning for teams changes based on whether it's the regular season or the postseason (timestamp is about 3:16) and he gives a very good answer regarding making adjustments that I cannot help but think will go over like a lead balloon for some posters like you, Potter, Tenn, et al.

I'll quote it to save yr ears:

one of the things I'd like to say I'm pretty good at is ignoring the emotion and being able to sit in
something that I believe in. Whether it's a playoff game or a regular season game, [for example], if a scout says we're doing this...  if it's not [related to] effort or anything else, we're not making an adjustment, because I know what the other side of that adjustment brings.

Now, there are times when you have to make the adjustment and that's where the [previously discussed] curveball comes into but I'm willing to sit in an uncomfortable space a little bit longer because I know what the other side of the coin looks like because of our staff and the homework that we did.

So I would say that for a regular season game or for playoffs that's where I struggle with a balance of what analytics [say] versus what makes sense for this game.

You know: this is what it says you should do over a long period of time against this team [vs.] this is what this team is doing.

It happened in the Atlanta Series where they weren't a great three-point shooting team statistically, but when Quinn [Synder] came he completely changed the philosophy and they weren't going to stop shooting. So we're going to have to decide:like, the variance is going to take over at some point. [as in, the Celtics will have to make adjustments]

So I think balancing the analytics to what's happening in this three-game series is really, really important.

but you got to be able to live in that space for a little while and you got to be able to coach the emotion of your guys because they hear they see everything that's going on and sometimes the most uncomfortable thing is to do what you should do right?

Reddick:
You have to be willing to say this like all right here's the game plan: we're going to be in a drop against Jokic and Murray and you can't - after two plays Murray hits two pull-up jumpers be like "[ __ ] why why are we in this [ __ ] drop"?

Mazz:
Right, [or be like] "all right now we're switching". Because my only thing with the adjustment is like listen - we go through every adjustment plan you can: Once you adjust you're screwed. Because it could go well, but...
Reddick intervenes and they disagree a bit
Well well, I know what you're saying, but"
Mazz finishes:
You know, there's a sweet spot.

Reddick:
I know what you're saying exctly what you're saying but there's also the you should have the ability, I think, at times to like give different coverage to great players.

Mazz:
Right you have to... you can never give them the same look. The balance is: how long do you live in that one space you know against different guys, but like you said: there's also the long game. You know, we'll take a look at: okay this is what we're going to do in the first three quarters but this is what you're going to do in the fourth
quarter or sometimes you see the guy's sub pattern ending and if you're going to adjust now he's not going to be in the game for another minute so then you've just adjusted [for no reason], so it's just a fine line and you're constantly assessing.

I think a lot of the adjusting also has to do with how you're what you're doing on offense like if you're playing the game a certain type of way, I think that also plays into it. I'm probably an overthinker I think there's a layers that makes sense, there's a layers of adjustment there, but you have to have a package of different stuff to go to, and
I think if you look at us over the last few years, switching was dynamite for us but if you were to look at our team over the last three years, what would you say our curveball was?

And then a Q on how to replace Smart on defense and the defensive identity it looked like he brought:

With this  group you don't replace it. I think that would be somewhat disrespectful to say - the guy's a defensive
player of the year, he's been an anchor for our team for some time now. You don't replace it you just reinvent. You just find new ways to be great.

There's not one way to be great. Out of the top five defenses it's Miami gives up the most above the break in corner threes - they're top in defense every year.  We give up the least - we're top in defense every year

There's never one way to be great I think you have to build a mindset and then you have to build a system which works for your roster and so there's no coming in saying 'we've got to replace this guy' No: we have to reinvent
to what our roster is but we have to also you know develop an ident and a mindset of what that's going to look like.

[Roy H.]

Thanks for the breakdown.  From that response, I expect more of the same from Joe.  He's got very little capacity to change in the moment.  Apparently, that's because he overthinks things, and doesn't realize in the moment that analytics are made up of many, many individual data points.

It's like a defender saying "analytics tell me Lebron usually goes left", so he hedges that way.  That may make sense for a bit, but if that defender is constantly getting beat to the right, he makes an (obvious) adjustment.  Joe doesn't make that adjustment.  And worse, if a defender makes his own adjustment contrary to analytics and it's working, Joe will be unhappy with that defender and will tell him to hedge left again.

It's probably why Joe is a better assistant than head coach.  He is good at collating relevant information for a decision maker.  He is terrible at taking that information into account, and then deviating from it in a sensical way.

People think Joe is being facetious with the media when, after one of the most efficient offensive performances in decades, he says "we need to shoot more threes" or after a blowout loss where he was clearly outcoached he says "no adjustments".  It's not snark, though:  that's his philosophy.  Everything will revert to the mean.  But, in individual games and series, that doesn't happen, and it's foolish to pretend that it does.

[LilRip]

I think that’s a good articulation, Roy. And I think it reflects what many posters here get frustrated about. It’s not that we necessarily have a bad gameplan, but getting “outcoached” has a lot to do with one coach making the right adjustments by reacting to the game at hand.

Now, to be fair to Joe, he’s correct that deviating from a developed gameplan carries risk because there are times when those adjustments actually turn out worse. It comes down to risk appetite and a low risk appetite can look worse/be frustrating for fans when it results in a loss

[Kernewek]

I might qualify that post by saying that a lot of our analysis as fans (and amateurs) is post-facto, especially in the game threads. And just because someone can diagnose a problem doesn’t mean their solution has any merit - I say this a lot, because it’s a good thing to keep in mind.

Fundamentally, I think this sort of disagreement boils down to whether or not you think a bad shot that goes on is still a bad shot. Some people will blame every made shot on the coaching staff. Some people will blame every made shot the players. The truth is probably in the middle.

But, as we should keep in mind (and repeated for emphasis), being able to correctly diagnose a problem lends no validation to any proposed solutions. If it were, I suspect we’d be a forum full of head coaches.

[Roy H.]

I might qualify that post by saying that a lot of our analysis as fans (and amateurs) is post-facto, especially in the game threads. And just because someone can diagnose a problem doesn’t mean their solution has any merit - I say this a lot, because it’s a good thing to keep in mind.

Fundamentally, I think this sort of disagreement boils down to whether or not you think a bad shot that goes on is still a bad shot. Some people will blame every made shot on the coaching staff. Some people will blame every made shot the players. The truth is probably in the middle.

But, as we should keep in mind (and repeated for emphasis), being able to correctly diagnose a problem lends no validation to any proposed solutions. If it were, I suspect we’d be a forum full of head coaches.

At the same time, being able to correctly diagnose a problem and then correctly noticing that no adjustments were made leaves plenty of room for legitimate criticism.

Or, boiling it down to meme-speak:



(not Einstein.  Also not Joe.)

[Kernewek]

Sure, but when the legitimate criticism is “Jaylen should learn to go left” or “Joe should call a timeout” perhaps it’s just legitimately oversimplified.

[Roy H.]

Sure, but when the legitimate criticism is “Jaylen should learn to go left” or “Joe should call a timeout” perhaps it’s just legitimately oversimplified.

I'm sure it usually is.  And when the criticism is "Derrick White hasn't checked in in 15 minutes and Brogdon is getting abused on both ends" or "we've missed 39 of 40 threes, maybe we should try going inside", perhaps it's legitimately simple. 

I agree with you that it's the soundness of the reasoning that a coach should be evaluated on.  I think we just may disagree on how far "no adjustments" should extend, and perhaps how much attention should be paid to decisions that may make sense on a macro level, but don't make sense in the moment.

==============================================

A very simple example:

* Player A hits 60% of his 3PTs at high volume over the course of a season

* In Game 1 of the Finals, Player A has shot 0-for-16 on 3PTs, including several airballs

* Player B shot 40% on 3PTs at equally high volume over the course of the season

* Player B has shot 8-of-9 on 3PTs in Game 1 of the Finals

If you look at data over the course of the season (perhaps even several seasons) the analytical view that Joe believes in says have Player A shoot the ball if he's open.

The approach that accepts that individual game trends are as important as season-long data has Player B take the shot if he's open.

I think in the interview Joe is suggesting that he needs to evaluate the viability of Player B more, but he still suggests that he's more inclined to go to Player A.

[Kernewek]

Definitely. And if we named Player A Ray Allen and Player B Marcus Smart I think the conversation is pretty much the same, which is essentially what we’re talking about. We all remember Ice Cold Ray in the playoffs, whatever year that was - I certainly remember the chatter online about whether he should keep shooting.

I’m not married to Mazzula’s strategies - rotations as you’ve pointed out were a particular weakness once Stat left - but I think it takes very little energy to be a bit more charitable with media day stuff until the season is underway. Tatum might have actually put on 12 pounds of muscle, the locker room might be the most aligned it’s ever been, &c.

[liam]

Definitely. And if we named Player A Ray Allen and Player B Marcus Smart I think the conversation is pretty much the same, which is essentially what we’re talking about. We all remember Ice Cold Ray in the playoffs, whatever year that was - I certainly remember the chatter online about whether he should keep shooting.

I’m not married to Mazzula’s strategies - rotations as you’ve pointed out were a particular weakness once Stat left - but I think it takes very little energy to be a bit more charitable with media day stuff until the season is underway. Tatum might have actually put on 12 pounds of muscle, the locker room might be the most aligned it’s ever been, &c.

12 pounds onto someone nearly 7 feet tall isn't as much as you'd think. Mazzula's adjustments in the playoffs were really slow. I hope he'll be better this year. We should be able to play a lot of different ways with the flexible talent we have. I'm also hoping we go 10 deep for most of the season. The first half of the year Joe should be trying out all kinds of different offensive movements. All 5 of our starters can work in the post. I hope he uses that.

[Atzar]

Jrue's press conference is on right now.  He comes across as a humble guy with a great attitude.  Called the Boston fanbase "literally insane", haha.

EDIT:

Just ended.  Mostly standard stuff but he appears happy to be here.  Apparently there was a hard-ass practice today that Stevens and Pagliuca were raving about.  According to Brad, the execution understandably isn't there yet but the spirit definitely is. 

I'm looking forward to the season.  And I say that as somebody who was done with this team after the playoffs last year, lol.  Been nice to have a few months away but I'm ready for some basketball again.

[gouki88]

Ben Rohrbach @brohrbach
1 minute ago
Kristaps Porzingis declares himself healthy: “Being here now, being healthy to start the season, it just gives me extra fire.” No limitations from the plantar fasciitis. “I’m perfectly fine.”

His plantar fascitis and how it is being handled worries me. Plantar fascitis doesn't just go away that quickly. It improves some and then it flares up again when you start working out or working out heavily on it again.

It seems very quick to me for Porzingis to be here at training camp and have no issues after having to sit out the international tournament.

It makes no sense to me. How could he have a problem serious enough to sit out that has healed so quickly? Plantar fascitis doesn't heal that quickly. It hangs around and hangs around making your life miserable.

I expect this will become a season long problem that he has to play through throughout the season until the end of the season. He will play in pain. He will be more limited in his mobility. And his performance will suffer.

KP said that shoes he was trying over the summer were really hurting his feet.  He went to different shoes and now he's feeling better.  It seems flimsy, but who knows?

Not too flimsy to me - had my shin splints compeltely healed by adding orthotics to fix my arch. Simple fixes for these kinds of inflammatory injuries don't shock me