Celtics (8-2) at 76ers (8-2) Game #11 11/15/23

[Donoghus]

I find the bench discussion interesting.  Our bench is not that bad.  It starts with Horford, probably one of the best bench bigs in the league.  But you tend to kind of think of him as a 6th starter.  After Horford of course, the bench drops off some but we have several players at multiple positions that I would categorize as "serviceable" or better:

Hauser
Pritchard
Kornet
Mykhailiuk
Stevens
Brissett
Banton

You may have Hauser and Pritchard as better than serviceable, that is fine.  As it stand now, both would be expected to play regular minutes in the playoffs (along with Horford).  As the 7th and 8th guys, they have some flaws or weaknesses but aren't that bad for the role.  Then 9-13 or so, those guys are not expected to play in the playoffs much if any but as we are seeing, they are perfectly serviceable emergency role players off the bench.

I would say that Pritchard, Hauser, and Kornet are pretty much known quantities.  They are what they are.  They know their roles.  They are probably not going to get much better, which is fine.  The rest of them I feel are still kind of figuring out their roles on the Celtics and to some extent in the NBA.  All of them could have some ceiling still.  Horford will likely get 6moY votes.

Regarding 7 through 9, Hauser and Pritchard are finding their groove. Kornet is bad and needs to be replaced. His best moments are when Pritchard is feeding him for a dunk. That's Pritchard driving the play; Kornet is just there to put it through the hoop. At al other times, Kornet is a net negative (IMO) with his inability to catch a pass, inability to rebound and terrible agility on defense. There has to be better options out there for a team favored to win it all this year.

Odd time to trash Kornet. Last two games he has been quite decent, no?

He was fantastic last night.  His offensive boards were clutch.

Forget the small sample size, last season, Kornet got 804 minutes in 69 games (about 12 min per) for an overall +61.  I think Kornet is underappreciated.  He should be the 4th big, not the 3rd big, but I don't see him as "trash"; last season, he was not a negative, in fact he was very useful in a bench role.

I'm looking at stuff that doesn't show up in the box score:  Inability to catch passes due to stone hands, poor rebounding, scarecrow defense, terrible footwork. I agree he's a 4th big so he should never play, except for emergencies. This team needs someone better for a 3rd big.

His rebounding hasn't been an issue the past three games.  He's got 20 rebounds in 46 minutes.

[Vermont Green]

This team needs someone better for a 3rd big.

Sure, that would be nice.  Find a good, up and coming young big who can be part of the core rotation, even in the playoffs.  Of course that would be nice.  But this isn't a zero sum thing.  Accepting that a good 3rd big would make us better does not mean that Kornet is not a serviceable bench big that brings a level of value to the team.

He can do just what he did this game.  Step in and play well enough to help the team win.  It isn't always going to be pretty, but he understands his role.  And this isn't just a one game thing, he did it through 69 games last season.

[PAOBoston]

This team needs someone better for a 3rd big.

Sure, that would be nice.  Find a good, up and coming young big who can be part of the core rotation, even in the playoffs.  Of course that would be nice.  But this isn't a zero sum thing.  Accepting that a good 3rd big would make us better does not mean that Kornet is not a serviceable bench big that brings a level of value to the team.

He can do just what he did this game.  Step in and play well enough to help the team win.  It isn't always going to be pretty, but he understands his role.  And this isn't just a one game thing, he did it through 69 games last season.

I agree Kornet gets too much unwarranted hate. He’s an end of bench big. He isn’t perfect but he’s not as bad as people say he is. The reality is for what he gets paid and what he provides, he is adequate. This team cannot have another borderline all star level big off the bench because quite frankly they don’t have enough minutes. This team has a bigger need at swing/big wing than at big man imo. I think that is the priority with the TPE.

[TheBig3]

This team needs someone better for a 3rd big.

Sure, that would be nice.  Find a good, up and coming young big who can be part of the core rotation, even in the playoffs.  Of course that would be nice.  But this isn't a zero sum thing.  Accepting that a good 3rd big would make us better does not mean that Kornet is not a serviceable bench big that brings a level of value to the team.

He can do just what he did this game.  Step in and play well enough to help the team win.  It isn't always going to be pretty, but he understands his role.  And this isn't just a one game thing, he did it through 69 games last season.

I agree Kornet gets too much unwarranted hate. He’s an end of bench big. He isn’t perfect but he’s not as bad as people say he is. The reality is for what he gets paid and what he provides, he is adequate. This team cannot have another borderline all star level big off the bench because quite frankly they don’t have enough minutes. This team has a bigger need at swing/big wing than at big man imo. I think that is the priority with the TPE.

He's a good 3rd big, the problem is if he ever has to be the 1st big cause others are out.  But in certain cases we need a Big that can play good defense on other really good bigs. Like Aaron Baynes type.

[Kernewek]

This team needs someone better for a 3rd big.

Sure, that would be nice.  Find a good, up and coming young big who can be part of the core rotation, even in the playoffs.  Of course that would be nice.  But this isn't a zero sum thing.  Accepting that a good 3rd big would make us better does not mean that Kornet is not a serviceable bench big that brings a level of value to the team.

He can do just what he did this game.  Step in and play well enough to help the team win.  It isn't always going to be pretty, but he understands his role.  And this isn't just a one game thing, he did it through 69 games last season.

I agree Kornet gets too much unwarranted hate. He’s an end of bench big. He isn’t perfect but he’s not as bad as people say he is. The reality is for what he gets paid and what he provides, he is adequate. This team cannot have another borderline all star level big off the bench because quite frankly they don’t have enough minutes. This team has a bigger need at swing/big wing than at big man imo. I think that is the priority with the TPE.

He's a good 3rd big, the problem is if he ever has to be the 1st big cause others are out.  But in certain cases we need a Big that can play good defense on other really good bigs. Like Aaron Baynes type.

This feels a little academic to me, but maybe it's worth pointing out that Kornet is really only the 'third big' if you consider the best lineup for the Celtics to be the most common lineup thus far:
J. Holiday - K. Porzingis - J. Brown - J. Tatum - D. White
with Horford as the first big off the bench.

A lot of posters, I suspect, see a more optimal lineup in our second most common lineup:
A. Horford - J. Holiday - K. Porzingis - J. Brown - J. Tatum
in which case Kornet is the first big off the bench, and he's a big step down from Al.