Poll: Is the Cs roster better than last season?

[tstorey_97]

Best to look at the Heat series. Who cares about the rest of the season? That is the series you play the whole season for right?

Stevens doesn't do anything except run his starters 40 minutes...look it up.

Wanamaker would get over 10 minutes.
Semi 9 minutes
Kanter every other game 10 minutes.
Robert & Grant 10 minutes here and there.

Steven's, center (Theis) 6'8" 243 lbs averaged 9.3 ppg in playoffs.

His bench PG Wanamaker was closer to a 3rd string pg, but played pretty good.

Step back, they had no bench. They are in the finals and there is nothing on the bench. He didn't have Hayward for Philly or Toronto so this thread turns into a "are they better without Hayward" which can't be proven because he had the worst injury luck ever.

This season, if they survive the injury thang here's your playoff rotation.

Walker
Smart
Brown
Tatum
Thompson

Teague
Theis
Semi a few minutes.

Then four or five rookie/sophomore wild cards who will have a lot to prove before they play in the ECF. If one of these question marks has a big year and can get 22 minutes in playoff games night in and night out?

They are a better team.

Even if it was just Teague? They are a better team.

Thompson vs Embiid?

Or

Theis vs Embiid?

It all boils down to a few games in the late spring. The Celtic's bench did very little this year and Teague and Theis coming in with the rotation guys is a significant improvement.

I never liked Hayward's game because I am old and Red always had fighters on the court. Guys who would die for the ball. Heinsohn was that type of player, if the ball was rolling on the court, he would get it because he wanted it more than the other guy. Elbows, pushes, shoves you freakin' name it.

[Darth_Yoda]

Team was better for just getting crybaby off the team

Ridiculous post

Thank you.

I stand by it.

Having 34 million less in payroll over not having the 34 million. THat is a win.

Hayward hardly played.

125 games and 14 playoff games in 3 years.

No loss.

[Birdman]

Bout the same but like the vets in Thompson and Teague.. need one more off the bench cause I’m not a believer in TimeLord, Grant or Romeo

[Darth_Yoda]

Bout the same but like the vets in Thompson and Teague.. need one more off the bench cause I’m not a believer in TimeLord, Grant or Romeo

I am back and forth on Grant but i think he will be fine.

Depth wose another pf would be nice so I guess ideally a sf/pf would be perfect because he can bump either romeo or grant down the depth chart.

[mmmmm]

The roster right now is a little stronger than the roster that we fielded in the playoffs, but it is weaker than the one we had during the regular season.

It is not quite a finished product, though, as Danny should be able to make at least one more move.   A lot depends on whether he able to convince CHA to record the Hayward signing as an S&T, which could create a large TPE for Boston, which should be able to use about 20-22M of it without going above the threshold (being hard-capped with the use of the full MLE).

If he secures that, he will be able to use that to trade for a significant player, if not now, then maybe by the trade deadline.

Alternatively he does have the ~5M TPE created with the trade of Kanter.

The roster need is still to find a veteran wing.

[KGs Knee]

Tatum and Brown will have to make another leap for the team to be as good as it was this past season. Losing Hayward's regular season production for nothing can only be classified as a downgrade in talent.

[dreamgreen]

We are better now with the additions of TT and Teague!

[PhoSita]

On paper it's a weaker roster, but we never really got to see the "on paper" version of the team with Gordon Hayward except in limited stretches.


What concerns me about the state of the roster right now:

The bench is lacking in an established wing. 

As things stand we would need one of Langford, Nesmith, or Ojeleye to turn into a reliable 15-20 minute backup 2/3.  You would hope that two recent lottery picks could manage that, but Langford is injured again and Nesmith is a total question mark.  Semi, I think, is solidly a third string caliber player at best.


What I feel good about with this roster compared to previous years:

The hierarchy of the team is clear from day one.

This is Tatum's team, with Kemba and Brown as the secondary and tertiary scoring options, depending on who's got it going and what the matchup is.  Unlike previous years, there's no longer any question on this team about who is the most important player, who should be taking the most shots, who the offense revolves around, etc.

Also:

The Celts should have 48 minutes of solid center play.

Theis has demonstrated that he can be a solid starter even in the playoffs, and that he fits with the starting lineup.  Robert Williams has demonstrated that he can be very productive on both ends when given minutes, provided he can limit his mental lapses.  Tristan Thompson is a lob threat and rim runner on offense who can move his feet defending the pick and roll and clean the glass on the other end.  Between those three guys, the center position is well stocked, and that's without acknowledging the possibility of using Grant Williams as a small ball 5.

[Kuberski33]

I'm hoping that it won't matter anyway and that Pritchard will be ready from day one to play regular minutes.

Depending on anyone with no NBA experience to be in your regular rotation is a recipe for disaster.

[Darth_Yoda]

I'm hoping that it won't matter anyway and that Pritchard will be ready from day one to play regular minutes.

Depending on anyone with no NBA experience to be in your regular rotation is a recipe for disaster.

That is why team has Teague. And Smart.

[Moranis]

I'm hoping that it won't matter anyway and that Pritchard will be ready from day one to play regular minutes.

Depending on anyone with no NBA experience to be in your regular rotation is a recipe for disaster.

Miami was just in the Finals with not only 2 rookies in the regular rotation, but also with one of them starting 5 of the 6 Finals games.  Those 2 rookies were 2nd and 5th in minutes in the Finals for the Heat as well.  They also had a 2nd year player in the rotation that had played in just 15 games and 161 total minutes as a rookie.  He started all 6 Finals games and was 3rd on the team in minutes in the Finals. 

There is nothing wrong with having rookies in the rotation.  They can't be the centerpiece of the team, but they can absolutely play and play a lot and a team can be just fine.

[PhoSita]

I'm hoping that it won't matter anyway and that Pritchard will be ready from day one to play regular minutes.

Depending on anyone with no NBA experience to be in your regular rotation is a recipe for disaster.

Miami was just in the Finals with not only 2 rookies in the regular rotation, but also with one of them starting 5 of the 6 Finals games.  Those 2 rookies were 2nd and 5th in minutes in the Finals for the Heat as well.  They also had a 2nd year player in the rotation that had played in just 15 games and 161 total minutes as a rookie.  He started all 6 Finals games and was 3rd on the team in minutes in the Finals. 

There is nothing wrong with having rookies in the rotation.  They can't be the centerpiece of the team, but they can absolutely play and play a lot and a team can be just fine.

100%


That said, when was the last time Ainge drafted a rookie outside the top 10 who ended up holding down a significant rotation spot in year 1 under Brad Stevens?



Grant Williams was solid last year in a pretty limited role with limited minutes.  I think that counts as an impact, but he wasn't a guy you could really rely on very much.

[Tr1boy]

I want a playoff rematch vs Heat so bad

If this Celtics unit can stay healthy .... lets go!

[wiley]

I'm hoping that it won't matter anyway and that Pritchard will be ready from day one to play regular minutes.

Depending on anyone with no NBA experience to be in your regular rotation is a recipe for disaster.

Miami was just in the Finals with not only 2 rookies in the regular rotation, but also with one of them starting 5 of the 6 Finals games.  Those 2 rookies were 2nd and 5th in minutes in the Finals for the Heat as well.  They also had a 2nd year player in the rotation that had played in just 15 games and 161 total minutes as a rookie.  He started all 6 Finals games and was 3rd on the team in minutes in the Finals. 

There is nothing wrong with having rookies in the rotation.  They can't be the centerpiece of the team, but they can absolutely play and play a lot and a team can be just fine.

Completely agree.  There is no rule.  Some rookies are not ready and some, even at different levels of talent, are completely ready to play with minimal mistakes.  Thinking otherwise also leads to a self-fullfilling prophecy, one in which you don't play rookies enough in the regular season and then they are not as ready to help out in the post season.  Then, often, in desperation, they are tossed into action, make mistakes (having not been allowed to play through mistakes earlier), and everyone says see, rookies aren't ready.

That's one thing I really like about Miami and Spoelstra.  Very open minded.  Willing to not follow the cliches of the league when not following them makes sense. 

Vets make mistakes too.  Look at O'lynck twice killing momentum with heroic leaps at three point shooters...leading to fouls.

[mmmmm]

On paper it's a weaker roster, but we never really got to see the "on paper" version of the team with Gordon Hayward except in limited stretches.


What concerns me about the state of the roster right now:

The bench is lacking in an established wing. 

As things stand we would need one of Langford, Nesmith, or Ojeleye to turn into a reliable 15-20 minute backup 2/3.  You would hope that two recent lottery picks could manage that, but Langford is injured again and Nesmith is a total question mark.  Semi, I think, is solidly a third string caliber player at best.


What I feel good about with this roster compared to previous years:

The hierarchy of the team is clear from day one.

This is Tatum's team, with Kemba and Brown as the secondary and tertiary scoring options, depending on who's got it going and what the matchup is.  Unlike previous years, there's no longer any question on this team about who is the most important player, who should be taking the most shots, who the offense revolves around, etc.

Also:

The Celts should have 48 minutes of solid center play.

Theis has demonstrated that he can be a solid starter even in the playoffs, and that he fits with the starting lineup.  Robert Williams has demonstrated that he can be very productive on both ends when given minutes, provided he can limit his mental lapses.  Tristan Thompson is a lob threat and rim runner on offense who can move his feet defending the pick and roll and clean the glass on the other end.  Between those three guys, the center position is well stocked, and that's without acknowledging the possibility of using Grant Williams as a small ball 5.

I concur with most of what you say here, but I personally really don't like assertions like, "This is Tatum's team ...".   Tatum is most definitely the primary scorer - but that doesn't make it "his" team.   His personality doesn't really dominate the team the way, say, Pierce's or Larry Bird's did.   And I don't think Tatum needs to dominate the team with his personality.   That just doesn't seem like who he is.   He seems extremely content to be a co-equal partner in this adventure with Jaylen, based on the various statements he has made.   And he and Jaylen constantly refer to Kemba as their leader.  And Smart's personality clearly dominates on defense.

I don't really see what the point of assigning this to be any single player's team.   That just doesn't seem to be the personality of this team when it is playing well.  I think this team is still best when it embraces ubuntu.

Also, for the most part, the C's got 48 minutes of fantastic production from the center position all last year as well.   The Center position last year posted 18.3 points, 14.5 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 2.9 assists per 48 minutes and a PER of 20.6.  That was second only to the SF position.   Brad did a great job of deploying his bigs to their best advantage.

That said, Thompson is a significant upgrade in that he is more defensively versatile than Kanter.   He'll be more easily deployed against 'big' opponents without having to be pulled against quick guards & wings as we had to do with Kanter.