horford/jaylen

[rollie mass]

both can  move the ball upcourt quickly adding pressure on defense-is a star a superstar if he makes 4 other people better at both ends of court
-if he is a consistent scorer and defensive player and great teammate
does a superstar have to be flashy,vulgar or a whiner and ballhog
or a prima donna,stat seeker that enforces his will on teammates,coaches and management

[green_bballers13]

I agree on the first part.

If you're talking about Lebron or KD with your last comment, I will gladly accept their issues. I think Jimmy Butler is a pretty good comp for Jaylen, and even though Butler is a hard worker, he too had issues with his team last year. I'm very impressed by Jaylen so far, but I wouldn't assume that he won't have any issues going forward. Most high-strung, competitive people occasionally butt heads with management, especially when things aren't going well. I would have taken all of Kobe's shenanigans for the chance to get a guy that was capable of dropping 81 pts in a game.

[rollie mass]

actually, it was meant to compliment horford and his style

[CelticPride2016]

actually, it was meant to compliment horford and his style

That seemed clear. I think you are onto something. Amir Johnson is no Al Horford, but he is another guy who isn't flashy but always seems to be one of the best players.

Maybe Jaylen Brown will end up as the best of both worlds, a superstar who is also the best team player.

I know you like Zeller, but I don't think he has it in him to become a key player. The talent ahead of him is just too much better. He is a worse center than Amir or Horford and no better than Olynyk as far as I can tell for center defense.

I think there are only eleven guys who will be in the rotation picture.

pg Isaiah, Terry
sg Bradley, Smart, Green
sf Crowder, Brown
pf Amir, Jerebko
c Horford, Olynyk

on the bubble for minutes (need injuries to happen)
Zeller
Hunter/Young

I see no chance for these guys to get minutes:
Jackson
Jordan Mickey

Anyway, back to your point. Why do we need a top five superstar to realistically contend for the title?

What if we end up with five players in the top 50 or ten in the top 100?

Basketball is not golf or tennis where it is one guy wins it and we clap for the pure love of a single player game. No, there are five guys forming one player called a team.

If people want to underrate our guys, as if LeBron, Curry and Durant are from some outer space super planet and can't be beaten, I don't go that way.

I admit last year we didn't really have a chance to win it all. This year is different.

I remember all the years we beat teams that had the divas, Lebron with Cleveland and Superman in Orlando.

I remember when Holyfield beat Tyson.

I remember Flutie's long bomb miracle in Miami.

Horford could be our new Bill Russell or at least for the start of the approaching new dynasty decade. No one is perfect, not even Larry Bird.

It takes a whole team.

I think a lot of things that have had to develop, did. Rozier stepped up. Brown could be ready. Avery is now piling up assists. We have Horford and Amir. Olynyk is about to shut up critics. Gerald Green will be maximized for instant offense. I could go on and on and usually do, but I agree with Rollie a superstar doesn't have to have all the diva packaging one is accustomed to expecting.

[Chris22]

Jaylen should be our sixth man.

[Monkhouse]

Horford has already shown an impact.

People look at stats way too much. Its the real reason most people regret passing on Draymond Green. Intangibles, heart, hustle, and all the little things that never qualify as insightful on the box score to the audience's eyes.

Jaylen had surpassed my expectations, because of his attitude. Its fierce, and I love it. Nothing more appealing than hearing a rookie say the right things, but back it up with action. Jaylen will definitely fill the gap, but we should slow down. I don't know if he can be a sixth man, because he'll definitely have rookie mistakes and lapses at time. But I think that is also why Horford is so important.

I prayed for Horford or Josh Smith during our big 3 era, simply because a team like ours would've benefited from a swiss army knife type of players.

[Kadin]

Honestly I could see Brown cracking the starting lineup if he can keep playing like this and improving. I think he's gonna be good.

Thomas/Rozier
Bradley/Smart
Crowder/Green
Brown/Amir
Horford/Olynyk

[rollie mass]

celticspride -i liked zeller when he was hitting the mid range like a foul shot,and almost automatic with his right and left flip hooks
i don't know what happened but he has never been the same
i thought he would be the ultimate backup center but have gone off him
its like he has allowed himself to regress
-don't think hunter or young have what celtics need and that spot will be ultimately filled with someone like devon booker

[SHAQATTACK]

I think Amir has to play off he bench to guard the paint.  Zeller is not up to the task, his defense is weak as a wet paper bag.

The best starting line up will be KO or Brown playing with AL.

[Big333223]

I've been impressed with how Horford has been pushing the ball in preseason. The ability for him to get rebounds and just go with it is going to be big for this offense, which is going to have to rely on transition points for a lot of its scoring.

That Jaylen has looked comfortable pushing the ball as well, is all the better.

[CelticPride2016]

celticspride -i liked zeller when he was hitting the mid range like a foul shot,and almost automatic with his right and left flip hooks
i don't know what happened but he has never been the same
i thought he would be the ultimate backup center but have gone off him
its like he has allowed himself to regress
-don't think hunter or young have what celtics need and that spot will be ultimately filled with someone like devon booker

Maybe there are two types of NBA players. One gets drafted with an aura of unlimited potential or as a steal and they act like it. They act as if they are declaring, "Do you know who I am? I'm James Young or I'm RJ Hunter. I'm very good based on some college basketball."

If Marcus Smart had that attitude, we would not see him making a leap. Same with Bradley and just about most of the team.

Even Brandon Bass was improving under Stevens' system. Olynyk is pushing himself. Zeller was in the grouping with Sully and Olynyk. Even though he was only a year or two ahead of those guys, Zeller never seemed to have the "it" factor of Sully and Olynyk. The latter were going places. They were the future. Zeller had a pretty good run himself that year, but it's a long way forward into the future and few remember the one game he lit it up for the Cavs before we got him.

He is from Indiana. The Zellers are close with Brad. He is a nice, quiet guy who always supports his teammates and never complains about minutes. Zeller is definitely in the Bass/Humphries slot in which no one expects him to be on the team for long or become a big part of it or maybe even any part of it.

It is ridiculous that Zeller never improved for center defense. Maybe it isn't all his fault as we never seemed to replace Clifford Ray with a true center coach.

From another thread:

that backdoor did it

to jeremy lamb, just was inexcusable,,three years in nba and the guy playing for his job gets back door'd-he is so slow,a school kid knows that is a cardinal sin-
60yrs ago that would have got a benching from rollie massimino and a tirade like bobby knight
the celtics deserve a deadly shooter-both hunter and young should go-

That was awful. I was ready to accept I was wrong about James Young and that he's good. But then I saw how pitiful he was on defense. I remember when Sully and Olynyk used to have good runs on offense, but neither of them could defend. Maybe it is easy to say it now, but back then it was becoming clear Sullynyk was not going to work.

Zeller got soft. Zeller and James Young are the same guy at different positions. Tyler has had much more success than Young so far in the NBA, but that might not be saying much.

As the Celtics become one of the top teams, it becomes easier to see who is holding us back or who will hurt us as reserves if thrown into the fire.

James Young is a liability on defense. Hunter's jump shot looks no better than Marcus' the last couple years. Marcus Smart figured it out. He worked on it. Has Hunter been working on his shot? If not, why not?

I am not sure what James Young can do to learn defense. His brain seems to freeze up.

Young might end up like Gerald Green and somewhat figure it out but drift through the league. Zeller is still around because no one can be taught height. I am disappointed in Zeller and Young for not improving enough, but maybe that is expecting too much or blaming people for things they are incapable of doing.

Hunter should have bulked up and fixed his jump shot. Now he might be the one cut. Although I agree with Rollie that James Young exposed himself last night. He's looked much better on offense, but you can't play a guy like that if you're trying to go deep in the playoffs or start contending for a title.

I need to stop focusing on the last roster spot. It makes more sense to think about Al Horford and the top ten or eleven guys who don't need a babysitter and their hands held like Hunter and Young.

[alldaboston]

It probably wouldnt be good to start jae and jaylen right? that lineup is so appealing though. lots of good stuff was happening with the isaiah, avery, jae, jaylen, al lineup. replace isaiah with smart and it was also pretty good too

[Csfan1984]

Seeing Hordford this preseason has been interesting. The way they let him push the ball and how they hope he can play high level defense it's similar to Draymond Green. It helps create openings.

Jaylen is a little similar to Wiggins. Not the same athlete but they attack and work for the same type of shots. Wonder if by year 3 he can be a legit starter over Crowder.

[Big333223]

Seeing Hordford this preseason has been interesting. The way they let him push the ball and how they hope he can play high level defense it's similar to Draymond Green. It helps create openings.

Jaylen is a little similar to Wiggins. Not the same athlete but they attack and work for the same type of shots. Wonder if by year 3 he can be a legit starter over Crowder.

The Horford/Draymond comparison isn't one that I've heard before but watching Al run the floor does bring him to mind. And it would create a lot of the same opportunities that Draymond does for Golden State but Horford is even bigger. I can definitely see Stevens using him that way a lot.