Celtics (0-0) at Sixers (0-0) Game #1 10/23/19

[gpap]

My takeaways from last night:

-Team as a whole looked out of sorts

-Rough debut for Kemba, though I'm not too worried about him (yet)

-Tatum wasn't bad, but he still needs work. He needs to become more aggressive in attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line.

-Hayward was okay.

-Jaylen wasn't allowed to get into any kind of rhythm. I loved that he elbowed Embiid because Embiid is a dirty player (look at how he took down Kanter.)

-I liked what I saw from Kanter and Bobby Williams. VERY refreshing to see two bigs hold their own in the paint.

-Really want to see Stevens integrate those 2 guys into the lineup. Both guys could end up being HUGE difference makers.

-TO THE WHOLE TEAM- IMPROVE YOUR FREE THROW SHOOTING!

That is all.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I did not get to see the game, but it seems like the Cs were winning through the first half.

What adjustments were made that changed things?

[Somebody]

It would also be better for Brown to come off the bench.
There's just not enough shots if he's with Kemba, Hayward, and Tatum.
Jaylen and Carsen would give the Celts bench a lot of firepower.

I'd love to see Tatum come off the bench. The C's could finally play with some teamwork in their starting five.

G - Kemba
G - Smart
F - Hayward
F - Jaylen
C - Kanter

Hayward and Kemba lead the show. Jaylen slots in comfortably as the third scorer. Tatum gets to come in off the bench, be selfish and jack up shots right and left.

Ever thought of starting Theis at PF against bigger teams like Philly? He's quick enough to play PF in "twin tower" lineups and can stretch the floor.  As for smaller teams I think Semi/Grant Williams would be a good piece at PF, they both don't need the ball and can defend pretty well. I'd much prefer:
PG: Walker
SG: Brown
SF: Hayward
PF: Semi/G Williams/Theis
C: Kanter

[gpap]

It would also be better for Brown to come off the bench.
There's just not enough shots if he's with Kemba, Hayward, and Tatum.
Jaylen and Carsen would give the Celts bench a lot of firepower.

I'd love to see Tatum come off the bench. The C's could finally play with some teamwork in their starting five.

G - Kemba
G - Smart
F - Hayward
F - Jaylen
C - Kanter

Hayward and Kemba lead the show. Jaylen slots in comfortably as the third scorer. Tatum gets to come in off the bench, be selfish and jack up shots right and left.

Not a bad idea at all and something Stevens should think about.

[seancally]

My takeaways from last night:

-Team as a whole looked out of sorts

-Rough debut for Kemba, though I'm not too worried about him (yet)

-Tatum wasn't bad, but he still needs work. He needs to become more aggressive in attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line.

-Hayward was okay.

-Jaylen wasn't allowed to get into any kind of rhythm. I loved that he elbowed Embiid because Embiid is a dirty player (look at how he took down Kanter.)

-I liked what I saw from Kanter and Bobby Williams. VERY refreshing to see two bigs hold their own in the paint.

-Really want to see Stevens integrate those 2 guys into the lineup. Both guys could end up being HUGE difference makers.

-TO THE WHOLE TEAM- IMPROVE YOUR FREE THROW SHOOTING!

That is all.

Agree with most except on Hayward - he was the only bright spot for me. Encouraging to see his aggression in the second half.

[Somebody]

Where Horford would have made the difference tonight was defending Simmons. That is why he generally struggled against us.

Not tonight.

Hope we can find someone. Hayward, Tatum and Theis couldn’t.

I like Semi matched up on Simmons. Maybe next time.

Yeah, we have guys that can defend Simmons (Jaylen, Tatum).

Problem is defending Horford (6-9 250lbs), Tobias Harris (6-8 240lbs) and Josh Richardson (6-6 200lbs) at the same time. Philly are huge. They create massive matchup problems for teams across the league who are all looking to play smaller quicker lineups.

Kemba has gotta be hidden on Josh Richardson. Only guy Kemba can remotely cover.

Then Boston is trying to play it's 3 SFs against Philly's 3 PFs.

I've been thinking of this lineup to combat Philly's oversized starting 5 if their size is really killing us:
PG: Hayward
SG: Brown
SF: Tatum
PF: G Williams/Theis
C: Kanter
The playmaking isn't ideal but Brown's improvement in that area can make him a stopgap secondary ballhandler imo, and Williams is a good passer for his position.

[gpap]

I did not get to see the game, but it seems like the Cs were winning through the first half.

What adjustments were made that changed things?

The Sixers were becoming more aggressive attacking the basket, particularly Ben Simmons, and their defense was alot tighter than it was in the 1st half.

The pattern I'm seeing is teams adjust to the Celts in the 2nd half, and Stevens is unable to respond to the adjustments the opposing team has made.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

I did not get to see the game, but it seems like the Cs were winning through the first half.

What adjustments were made that changed things?

The Sixers were becoming more aggressive attacking the basket, particularly Ben Simmons, and their defense was alot tighter than it was in the 1st half.

The pattern I'm seeing is teams adjust to the Celts in the 2nd half, and Stevens is unable to respond to the adjustments the opposing team has made.

Pattern of one game?

It wasn't too long ago the Cs were one of the best 3rd quarter teams in the league--under Stevens.

[Who]

It would also be better for Brown to come off the bench.
There's just not enough shots if he's with Kemba, Hayward, and Tatum.
Jaylen and Carsen would give the Celts bench a lot of firepower.

I'd love to see Tatum come off the bench. The C's could finally play with some teamwork in their starting five.

G - Kemba
G - Smart
F - Hayward
F - Jaylen
C - Kanter

Hayward and Kemba lead the show. Jaylen slots in comfortably as the third scorer. Tatum gets to come in off the bench, be selfish and jack up shots right and left.

Ever thought of starting Theis at PF against bigger teams like Philly? He's quick enough to play PF in "twin tower" lineups and can stretch the floor.  As for smaller teams I think Semi/Grant Williams would be a good piece at PF, they both don't need the ball and can defend pretty well. I'd much prefer:
PG: Walker
SG: Brown
SF: Hayward
PF: Semi/G Williams/Theis
C: Kanter

I love Marcus Smart. I want him on the floor. I rated him as a top 10 SG last season. It leaves Boston with an undersized lineup but talent wise he is a huge improvement over Theis, Semi or G.Williams. It keeps a lot of individual talent on the floor while allowing Tatum or Hayward to become a 6th man.

I am a bit nervous about one of those guys at PF next to Kanter because that is two lower talented starters. Both bigs. Next to one another. If we had a better starting center, I'd be more optimistic about Theis, Semi or G.Williams as a low minute starting option (16-22mpg).

I like Theis as a PF next to a C against big lineups. That is useful option. Even if not as a starting unit, as a unit to be used later in the game while one of Hayward / Tatum / Jaylen is resting. Allow Boston to stay big, improve defense while offense takes a hit with one of those guys on the bench.

Semi's outside shooting holds him back as a starting option. For now, he is only useful for spot minutes here and there. I don't look at him for big lineups. More for an extra defender against strong combo forward types. Kawhi or Giannis. Rather than twin tower type configurations.

Grant Williams still has to prove himself as a defender. Hard to say about him. Is he better on bigger body players like Glen Davis was or is more comfortable on smaller quicker players (like Semi is). Need to see more reps from him. What I do like most about him is his passing ability. I worry about two non / limited passers at PF & C if Boston goes big. That is what Grant Williams can provides that separates him from the other bigs. He can maintain team ball movement and avoid Boston's offense becoming more isolation-based when / if they go big.

[footey]

We don’t don’t have Horford to defend against Simmons. No one else could. That was the biggest problem.

Maybe put Rob Williams on him. He blocked his shot, which seemed to rattle him. Simmons can’t shoot from outside. It won’t be pretty at first but over time I bet he could shut him down. Simmons just goes over our other guys. Posts them up.

[seancally]

No getting around that we're extremely thin up front and that will be the nail in the coffin this season if it doesn't change. But I'm also quite optimistic about how Tatum/Brown/Hawyard/Kemba can mesh. I do think they can be a really potent, fluid foursome. But without one solid guy anchoring the D that's not going to get us anywhere. Looking forward to Game 2 when I expect at least normal performances from Jaylen and Kemba.

[gpap]

I did not get to see the game, but it seems like the Cs were winning through the first half.

What adjustments were made that changed things?

The Sixers were becoming more aggressive attacking the basket, particularly Ben Simmons, and their defense was alot tighter than it was in the 1st half.

The pattern I'm seeing is teams adjust to the Celts in the 2nd half, and Stevens is unable to respond to the adjustments the opposing team has made.

Pattern of one game?

It wasn't too long ago the Cs were one of the best 3rd quarter teams in the league--under Stevens.

This also took place during the Bucks series in the playoffs last year. Celts would play relatively well in the 1st half, and then get spanked in the 2nd half.

[ETNCeltics]

We don’t don’t have Horford to defend against Simmons. No one else could. That was the biggest problem.

Maybe put Rob Williams on him. He blocked his shot, which seemed to rattle him. Simmons can’t shoot from outside. It won’t be pretty at first but over time I bet he could shut him down. Simmons just goes over our other guys. Posts them up.

I think over time that's the best solution. Williams isn't there yet, but to me it looked undeniable that he's grown up some from last season. Likewise, he might be the best choice we have to guard Freak.

IMO, we can't really read much into the first game for all these guys together, other than if Kemba plays that poorly, we'll have a hard time beating a anyone, much less a team as good as the 6ers, and the same can probably be said when our bench shoots 20% or whatever it was.

Kemba has those bad games. Hopefully less frequently now that he has some teammates who can score. He'll throw up a 3-15 shooting night, but then he usually comes back with a good game, like the ones he lit us and the 6ers up with last year.

[Atzar]

Overall, I wasn't discouraged by our performance last night.  I had thought Philly was a bad matchup for us in addition to being more talented.  But now I believe we can hang with them.  I really like that Thybulle kid, though.  He looks like he's already an excellent defender, and that was his first game.

Kanter held his own for the most part, and R Williams also did some nice things.  Smart kept us in the game with his defense for a while.  Hayward looked very good - he's back to probing the paint and generally getting wherever he wants to go on the court.  Kemba will play much better moving forward.  Brown won't get in foul trouble like that too often.  And regardless of my opinion on Tatum's growth, I do think he'll have plenty of games where he shoots better, at least.

IMO we need to force-feed R Williams minutes this season, even when he struggles.  His growth is important to this team, and if he doesn't grow, then at least we'll know what we have.

[seancally]

Overall, I wasn't discouraged by our performance last night.  I had thought Philly was a bad matchup for us in addition to being more talented.  But now I believe we can hang with them.  I really like that Thybulle kid, though.  He looks like he's already an excellent defender, and that was his first game.

Kanter held his own, and R Williams also did some nice things.  Smart kept us in the game with his defense for a while.
 Hayward looked very good - he's back to probing the paint and generally getting wherever he wants to go on the court.  Kemba will play much better moving forward.  Brown won't get in foul trouble like that too often.  And regardless of my opinion on Tatum's growth, I do think he'll have plenty of games where he shoots better, at least.

IMO we need to force-feed R Williams minutes this season, even when he struggles.  His growth is important to this team, and if he doesn't grow, then at least we'll know what we have.

Agree, especially re: Williams - plus, there's no one else. Kanter is good, and he is what he is. Outside of that, we got work to do. Can Williams become a lighter/lesser Clint Capela/Deandre Jordan type? At least good for 20ish minutes? That would be a huge help. That means consistently being in position on both ends and not jumping for every block. In 10 min that was the case, but need a bigger sample.