While Smart is out. Start Timelord and Theis

[PhoSita]

Or, and hear me out on this, let's stop playing two bigs at once because it hasn't been working.

It hasn't worked with Theis and TT.

It has with Theis and Rob, albeit small sample size.

Yeah I don't trust it.  To me the problem is simple.  Theis, Rob, and TT are all 5s in today's game.  You can get away with playing them together at various points against certain opponents, but it's always going to be sub-optimal.

The Celts need to focus on cultivating lineups featuring one pure big / center.  Yes, it means there isn't enough playing time for the three centers they have on the roster who have all earned time.  That's a problem, but the solution is not to play bad lineups.

[MickaelPietrus]

haha We don't have a good enough 5 to matchup against the bigs in the East so let's just combine a couple of them and see how it goes

[PhoSita]

haha We don't have a good enough 5 to matchup against the bigs in the East so let's just combine a couple of them and see how it goes

Eh, I don't see matchups as a problem.  Embiid is gonna have a nice scoring night against anyone.  Rob actually has the physical chops to match up against almost anybody.  Main issue is his trouble avoiding fouls.


Anyway, these days you can live if you don't really have a big to match physically with the other team's 5.


The Celts don't need to add bigger bodies to bang inside.  They need more competent perimeter playmaking so they can limit turnovers, and they need to get to the line more. 


Defensively, they were elite last year with the same big personnel only with Enes Kanter (a hologram on defense) in place of Tristan Thompson.  So I don't believe that the big men in the rotation are the culprit for the Celts' defensive issues -- except to the extent that the two-big lineups are getting trashed on that end.