it would seem the JT, JB, Marcus trio has run its course, and the best path forward is to rebuild the roster around tatum’s strengths and weaknesses. if you’re gm of the C’s, what’s your plan?
without naming specific players, which i will probably add later in this thread, tatum needs the following to reach his potential (in no particular order):
- a big who is a legit low post threat to open up the driving/shooting lanes for JT, and who is a solid rebounder
- a floor general PG who will keep the ball moving and get JT the ball in his preferred spots
- a spot-up shooter who can keep opposing defenses honest and knock down the open threes
- a nasty, hard nosed veteran who will do the dirty work, raise the intensity of this team, and push JT to be mentally tougher
- a no nonsense coach with an offensive approach that plays to JT’s strengths, and a defensive minded 1A assistant who will return the C’s to a defensive mentality
Interestingly, I think you have the right list in the opposite order of importance for me - the only one I really don't agree with is the low post offense, simply because the NBA isn't that league anymore, for better or worse. The rules we have now don't particularly compliment low post play and it's a bit of a lost art across the guys in the league for that reason.
So, on points 4&5:
None of us know what blend of Hardy/Mazz/Udoka/Stat brought out the defense last year, but a few things are clear - Horford's not capable of anchoring our defense anymore, Williams probably isn't up to replacing him, and the rest of the bigs, save Timelord, are essentially dead weight. Not to say they can't do it, but so far they haven't. So a reshuffle of the coaching staff (I think Mazzulla stays after this series so we need to see who else is brought in as assistants) as well as some defensively-minded players closer to the rim than Smart & Tatum are the most important for me.
Point 3 is a 'gimmie', to a degree - of course we want players who can knock down open shots. Our bench being paper thin after the top 7 really hurt us because we didn't have that.
I struggle with Point 2, so I think that's the one we should talk about.
So: it absolutely makes sense that we need a steady handed playmaker when we can't 'improvise' our way to offensive success, however I don't think the current core have played at their best with a scoring point guard (like Kemba), and in fact our successes last year stem from the Horford/Walker trade, which let Smart be the primary point guard, a move that was nearly as impactful as Horford being incredible on the switch.
That's a difficult circle to square, especially because we're almost certainly not going to have the same defensive impact from our bigs next year if the roster stays the same anyway, so I'm hesitant to compromise on wing defense as well.
Plus,while our offense certainly has periods where it stagnates to the point where time seems to split open and every possession takes roughly a thousand years off of my life as a fan, I'm not sure we actually do better if we, say, swap Marcus out for a Chris Paul type who can execute in the halfcourt. Again and as well, I'm not sure how many playmaking points are really left in the league that fit with the timeline of our core, which is also a concern if we're suggesting (for example) flipping JT and Smart for this playmaking PG.
first of all, really thoughtful response, TP. everything you stated has legit merit, even areas in which we disagree.
while i agree the nba isn’t a low post centric league any longer, i simply think a legit (not necessarily dominant or even low post centric) threat down low would help spread the floor, keep the defense honest, and open up the perimeter game. for some reason, al has completely abandoned any semblance of a post game and kicks everything out, even when he’s at the rim with the ball. timelord has zero low post game and is serviceable only for lob dunks. a big who is a threat to score inside, including mid-range, would prevent coaches like spo from selling out to stop the three, which crippled the C’s offense.
regarding point 2, this offense is at its best when the three is falling, but that proved to be an unsustainable strategy in playoff basketball. when the three isn’t falling, we need a playmaker to get JT (and JB, if he stays) the ball in their spots, while preventing the stagnation we witness so often. i might be incorrectly remembering which game, but i think the first half of the sixers game 6 was a master class by smart in facilitating the offense as PG, in order to get the offense going (didn’t he have 10 assists in the 1H, only to abandon this approach in the 2H?). unfortunately, marcus has proven he’s not this guy, aside from a few flashes. both J’s are better when not consistently forced to create via iso and too much dribbling, and would excel at being fed in their spots. additionally, rob had his best offensive games when smart was facilitating and teams had to account for the lobs to rob, which opened up the perimeter game for the J’s.
kemba is a primary scoring PG who excelled when shooting 15-20 times a night. unfortunately as a PG, he’s averaged less than 5 assists/game. give me the inverse of kemba who excels at facilitating but can knock down the open jump shot, when teams double the J’s. more DJ and less kemba because our offense should be centered on getting the J’s quality looks.
