Should Kanter Get Minutes?

[GreenEnvy]

I think he’ll be fine out there defensively, and he’s arguably the best rebounder CBS has ever had. Offensively he’s clearly the best of the bunch, and I feel if he’s out there with strong perimeter defenders, the defense will be fine.

Can’t put much stock into a sample size this small. I think the offense has really taken off since the slow start and the defense will tighten up like we expect, with and without Kanter on the floor.

[Phantom255x]

Kanter absolutely should get minutes, are you kidding me? Did no one watch what Kanter did for the Blazers in last year's postseason run?

Yes, the defense is a weakness. But you know what's an elite part of his game? His rebounding. And his scoring is also really, really good. In 25 minutes last night, he gave us 13/9.

I'm sure Brad can design rotations where other defensive guys in our front court can help out, but Kanter is one of those guys who can put up a double-double in limited minutes, and fight hard for boards which at times has been a weakness for us, even with Horford on the team.

No one expects Kanter to completely shut down guys like Embiid/Giannis in an entire 7-game series, but my question is, who really can? Horford and Baynes handled their own, but it's not like they held those guys to less than 15 points a game or something like that either.

[PhoSita]

Kanter absolutely should get minutes, are you kidding me? Did no one watch what Kanter did for the Blazers in last year's postseason run?

Yes, the defense is a weakness. But you know what's an elite part of his game? His rebounding. And his scoring is also really, really good. In 25 minutes last night, he gave us 13/9.

Sure to all of the above ... but again:


(1) Do we have better options?

(2) Does he give back as much as he gets you?


I think there's reason to believe the answers are yes and yes.


But as I've said, I agree with those who say we need to give it more time and revisit when the sample is larger.

[PAOBoston]

The the Kanter gets from fans is obscene. He makes 5 mil. He doesn’t start. He was brought in for a specific role and to help with two weaknesses on the team: interior offense and rebounding. He isn’t a great defender or the most agile guy but we legit knew all that before he came here. I honestly think people just follow groupthink and agree because some idiot on twitter has some sort of agenda etc. Kanter has been fine and I expect him to settle into the second unit once Theis and Williams are healthy again. The Cs have the worst bench production the the league so they desperately need someone to help fix that.

[GreenFaith1819]

Most definitely - and plenty of them.

I've been knocking the man defensively but I know he isn't as bad as the last few games suggest...I'm certain he is rusty.

He is IMO our most talented big, offensively. I know the defense will get better. He rebounds well. He is physical. He appears to be unselfish as well.

Finally - I'd give him EXTRA minutes just for THIS:



I've always admired his fire and passion for the game - and even MORE since he's a Celtic.

His name is Enes Kanter and he IS a Celtic.

[DrinkinCelticKool-Aid]

Watch him play defense. He isn't animated, he isn't "working his position" on the defensive end.

What stands out to me most is how seldom he seems to make any effort at all to contest a shot when a smaller guy gets into the paint.  It's like he'd rather wait for the shot to go up and either grab the rebound or take it out of the basket.

It drives me crazy too how he just stands there and watches small guys drive to the basket.
I think Kanter is a good guy, but I would play Theis and Time Lord over him without question.

[gouki88]

Watch him play defense. He isn't animated, he isn't "working his position" on the defensive end.

What stands out to me most is how seldom he seems to make any effort at all to contest a shot when a smaller guy gets into the paint.  It's like he'd rather wait for the shot to go up and either grab the rebound or take it out of the basket.

It drives me crazy too how he just stands there and watches small guys drive to the basket.
I think Kanter is a good guy, but I would play Theis and Time Lord over him without question.

I think it'll be entirely matchup dependent. All 3 have very different strengths, and Kanter has a legitimately elite NBA skill. No way he doesn't get minutes

[nickagneta]

When you don't have a player that can be that definitive starter for you at a position, the next best thing for any coach is some guys that all play the position that have different strengths and weaknesses. It gives the coach more tools to work with to maximize the position's effectiveness. Sort of like a carpenter having a bunch of different cutting tools to use on different materials and for different cutting purposes.

With Kanter, Timelord and Theis he has three very different centers with different high level skills. This should help Stevens mix and match starters and substitutions based around different game plan needs, different matchups needs and different situational basketball needs.

So even if three weeks from now we see similar off on +/- numbers, which can be a very noisy statistic, you still will need to keep and play Kanter because in certain matchups, game plans and different situational game needs you will want Stevens to have that option to bring Kanter's strong skills into play.

[moiso]

Watch him play defense. He isn't animated, he isn't "working his position" on the defensive end.

What stands out to me most is how seldom he seems to make any effort at all to contest a shot when a smaller guy gets into the paint.  It's like he'd rather wait for the shot to go up and either grab the rebound or take it out of the basket.

I need to watch better.  I've always been aware of the statistical evidence but Kanter has always looked awesome to my eyes.  Kind of similar to Isaiah while he was here- for some reason the defensive shortcomings with those two don't easily register.  It's easy to focus on the good stuff with some guys.  With other guys like Rob Williams I seem to notice every time he's a little slow on a rotation.

[keevsnick]

When you don't have a player that can be that definitive starter for you at a position, the next best thing for any coach is some guys that all play the position that have different strengths and weaknesses. It gives the coach more tools to work with to maximize the position's effectiveness. Sort of like a carpenter having a bunch of different cutting tools to use on different materials and for different cutting purposes.

With Kanter, Timelord and Theis he has three very different centers with different high level skills. This should help Stevens mix and match starters and substitutions based around different game plan needs, different matchups needs and different situational basketball needs.

So even if three weeks from now we see similar off on +/- numbers, which can be a very noisy statistic, you still will need to keep and play Kanter because in certain matchups, game plans and different situational game needs you will want Stevens to have that option to bring Kanter's strong skills into play.

Yep, he's elite at what he does and very bad at other things but there are certain matchups in which thats okay and you'll need his scoring/rebounding. I happen to think those type of matchups are less frequent to ones in which you'd rather have a defensive specialist in the game, but they do exist. So he'll get minutes. And of course there are always injuries.

[SHAQATTACK]

why would Danny pay him millions to be on the team and just sit on the bench and watch ....mighty expensive ornament. 

Soooooooooooooo....obviously Danny SHOULD expect him to do more than a few minutes for millions .

How about letting the dude get used to playing with the Celtics , get healed up,and get his wind back ,

[wiley]

Love Kanter.  Feel good when he's out there.  Don't care about his defense...just refreshing to have some size and toughness now and then.  Rebounds, putbacks....then back to Theis/RWill...

Go Kanter! 

[The Oracle]

Kanter absolutely should get minutes, are you kidding me? Did no one watch what Kanter did for the Blazers in last year's postseason run?

Yes, the defense is a weakness. But you know what's an elite part of his game? His rebounding. And his scoring is also really, really good. In 25 minutes last night, he gave us 13/9.

I'm sure Brad can design rotations where other defensive guys in our front court can help out, but Kanter is one of those guys who can put up a double-double in limited minutes, and fight hard for boards which at times has been a weakness for us, even with Horford on the team.

No one expects Kanter to completely shut down guys like Embiid/Giannis in an entire 7-game series, but my question is, who really can? Horford and Baynes handled their own, but it's not like they held those guys to less than 15 points a game or something like that either.

In last years playoffs Kanter looked good against OKC which is a very good matchup for him.  He will always look best defensively when neither the primary ball handler nor the opposing center can shoot.  OKC didn't have great tools to best exploit him.  Kanter was -50 in 238 minutes against Jokic during their 7 game series that Portland somehow still won.  He was virtually unplayable against G.S..

Kanter will have uses against certain opponents and there will be other nights the C's have to play him for lack of a better option.  There should also be nights where hopefully he doesn't see the floor much at all especially against teams like Mil., Mia, Hou., Den. and the like.

[Hank Finkel]

We have no options tonight Kanter will play, all our bigs are hurt.  In hindsight if we could have kept Baynes for the same money this team would be even better defensively. 

[Greyman]

Theis  should be the starting centre, Kanter off the bench. I feel this is the winningest way to go about things.