Encouraging signs

[Roy H.]

The last two games were a lot of fun to watch, but even more so, they were encouraging. https://z1073.com/the-2021-maine-state-fair-schedule-is-here/?fbclid=IwAR0JVP4izMrBtVfsVXPRbAjPwQK_8SRMeAzPNO8Moc4KI4n2S0sLa5T_EeY

1.  Kemba has looked good, like an integral part of the offense.

2.  Our three main bigs are all contributing.

3.  Tatum didn’t settle late last night.  How cool is it to see him take it to the cup strong?

4.  Teague has shown signs of life.  It has been interesting to see so many veteran point guards struggle in their roles on new teams this year. Teague, Rondo, Wanamaker. All have been horribly inefficient. 

5.  Coaching. Brad has been pushing the right buttons and calling the right plays.  It’s interesting last night at the game winner was set out as a secondary option on the play Brad called. Apparently Washington shut down the first option, so the plan was to get the ball into Tatum in the post.

In general, it was just nice to see the team execute down the stretch. 

[hodgy03038]

Your glass is half full. Mine is half empty. We got a LUCKY win last night against a BAD team. I will be more encouraged if they can do this against the Clippers.

[Roy H.]

Your glass is half full. Mine is half empty. We got a LUCKY win last night against a BAD team. I will be more encouraged if they can do this against the Clippers.

Well, we probably won’t be beating the Clippers without JB and Marcus.  I’ll settle for a win over a hot Wizards team with Beal going nuclear, and a come from behind win over the Pacers.

The team isn’t suddenly a contender again, but it’s something to build upon.

[wdleehi]

Your glass is half full. Mine is half empty. We got a LUCKY win last night against a BAD team. I will be more encouraged if they can do this against the Clippers.

The Celtics beat a team that has not been playing like a bad team.  At this point, most teams have had a bad team stretch and a good team stretch.   

So the Celtics beat a team playing like a good team while missing two starters.   I will take it.   


So I agree with the encouraging signs.   Hopefully they continue to build on that as they go into the All-star break and when they come out, they have the first wave of reinforcements (Smart and Langford).   

[wiley]

The last two games were a lot of fun to watch, but even more so, they were encouraging. https://z1073.com/the-2021-maine-state-fair-schedule-is-here/?fbclid=IwAR0JVP4izMrBtVfsVXPRbAjPwQK_8SRMeAzPNO8Moc4KI4n2S0sLa5T_EeY

1.  Kemba has looked good, like an integral part of the offense.

2.  Our three main bigs are all contributing.

3.  Tatum didn’t settle late last night.  How cool is it to see him take it to the cup strong?

4.  Teague has shown signs of life.  It has been interesting to see so many veteran point guards struggle in their roles on new teams this year. Teague, Rondo, Wanamaker. All have been horribly inefficient. 

5.  Coaching. Brad has been pushing the right buttons and calling the right plays.  It’s interesting last night at the game winner was set out as a secondary option on the play Brad called. Apparently Washington shut down the first option, so the plan was to get the ball into Tatum in the post.

In general, it was just nice to see the team execute down the stretch.

yup, great post.  TP.  Sweet to see Kemba being Kemba...

[knuckleballer]

Encouraging sign:  Tatum didn’t pound the ball for the second straight game.  Is Brad getting through to him?

Kemba didn’t either.  If Stevens spoke loudly and publicly about this issue that has been plaguing the team, he’d be getting credit. 

Maybe his in house/quiet yet respectful approach is working.

[Smartacus]

Your glass is half full. Mine is half empty. We got a LUCKY win last night against a BAD team. I will be more encouraged if they can do this against the Clippers.

A bad team that was 7-1 in their last 8 with the leading scorer in the NBA and a constant triple double threat.

Half full over here. Team seems to be beginning to figure things out.

[PhoSita]

Definitely encouraging, although just as much as I've said we shouldn't overreact to tough losses, you can't hang too much on a couple of close wins against mediocre opponents.


The bigs are definitely contributing.

It's weird, I think two things about that:

1. The two big starting lineup seems like it's gaining chemistry.  TT and Theis are figuring out how to play off one another.  Theis is becoming more of a shooter.  Everybody seems to be getting the idea of where they're supposed to be.

2. The two big lineup still feels like a bad idea born out of a lack of good options.  It would have to be hellaciously good defensively to be worth the problems having those two bigs out there creates on offense.  It's not.



I just want to say as well: Myles Turner stinks.  I don't want to hear anymore about how the Celts made a mistake not trying to trade Hayward for Turner and McDermott. 

I would honestly rather have Theis or Timelord than Myles Turner.  I'm just not impressed.  He was getting absolutely worked one on one by Kemba, who I have been told by many people recently is completely washed. Turner just doesn't impact the game as much as his blocks and his physical profile make it seem like he ought to. 


Meanwhile, Sabonis .... that guy plays the Celts like a 40 year old man bodying high schoolers in pick up games.


How badly could the Celts use Justin Holiday?  Imagine if the Celts could somehow swap Jeff Teague and Semi Ojeleye with the Justin and Aaron Holiday?  The bench would be massively improved.

[PhoSita]

I can't remember ever seeing a shooting split as weird as Jeff Teague's.

Lights out from three.  Cash at the strip.

Under 35% from the field overall.  Can't hit anything inside the arc. 

I was glad to see him forcing the issue and getting to the free throw line against Indiana.  If you can't hit floaters and layups anymore you can get by a little bit if you can still generate free throws with some consistency.



As bad as Teague has been, there's a certain cockiness he has that I find endearing.

I can't remember which guy it was, but in one of this weekend's games Teague got a bigger, slower guy switched on him and it was so obvious that he decided "I'm taking this guy to the rack and scoring."  He actually dribbled inside, aborted, set up again, and then toasted the guy off the dribble the second time around.  It was clear he never thought twice about involving anybody else in the play.  He was like "This one's mine," and it was a bit of an adventure but he did it.


All of that said, it's a problem if Teague is in the rotation in the playoffs.  That stuff won't fly in a playoff series.

[Vermont Green]

I don't think we are that far away from a team that can contend for the ECFinals.  No part of our team is 100% right now.  Go down the list.  Tatum and Walker clawing their way back into form but not there yet.  Maybe 90% or so but that last 10% makes a huge difference.  Then Smart and Brown are not even on the court.  I guess our bench is healthy (depending how you classify Smart) except for Langford.

I think if we can get a starting line up of Walker, Brown, Tatum, Theis, Thompson all relatively healthy and with enough time to play together, that is a strong unit.  I like Smart off the bench, he just offers so much versatility, but playing starter minutes.  Then add someone like Thad Young or Evan Fournier or any of a wide range of vets who might be available and suddenly our bench isn't so bad.

So I am conditionally optimistic.  Yes, a few things need to fall into place for us but we are close enough that it is not unrealistic to assume they will.

[Vermont Green]

I can't remember ever seeing a shooting split as weird as Jeff Teague's.

Lights out from three.  Cash at the strip.

Under 35% from the field overall.  Can't hit anything inside the arc. 

I was glad to see him forcing the issue and getting to the free throw line against Indiana.  If you can't hit floaters and layups anymore you can get by a little bit if you can still generate free throws with some consistency.



As bad as Teague has been, there's a certain cockiness he has that I find endearing.

I can't remember which guy it was, but in one of this weekend's games Teague got a bigger, slower guy switched on him and it was so obvious that he decided "I'm taking this guy to the rack and scoring."  He actually dribbled inside, aborted, set up again, and then toasted the guy off the dribble the second time around.  It was clear he never thought twice about involving anybody else in the play.  He was like "This one's mine," and it was a bit of an adventure but he did it.


All of that said, it's a problem if Teague is in the rotation in the playoffs.  That stuff won't fly in a playoff series.

Teague has actually had multiple air ball lay ups in the last couple of games.  3 ft floater  lay up shots that missed everything.  I don't recall ever seeing that.  He is in a funk, big time.  Or as they say in golf, he has the yips.

Teague has been a disappointment, at least for me, but if we get Smart back and Kemba stays healthy, Pritchard can be our 3rd PG option so we don't really need Teague.

[Goldstar88]

I can't remember ever seeing a shooting split as weird as Jeff Teague's.

Lights out from three.  Cash at the strip.

Under 35% from the field overall.  Can't hit anything inside the arc. 

I was glad to see him forcing the issue and getting to the free throw line against Indiana.  If you can't hit floaters and layups anymore you can get by a little bit if you can still generate free throws with some consistency.



As bad as Teague has been, there's a certain cockiness he has that I find endearing.

I can't remember which guy it was, but in one of this weekend's games Teague got a bigger, slower guy switched on him and it was so obvious that he decided "I'm taking this guy to the rack and scoring."  He actually dribbled inside, aborted, set up again, and then toasted the guy off the dribble the second time around.  It was clear he never thought twice about involving anybody else in the play.  He was like "This one's mine," and it was a bit of an adventure but he did it.


All of that said, it's a problem if Teague is in the rotation in the playoffs.  That stuff won't fly in a playoff series.

So over the last 10 games his FG% has been 42.9%, which is right around his career average. 3pt shooting over those games has gone down a bit, but he’s still lights out from the FT line.  Think he’s slowly figuring things out..

[Donoghus]

Definitely encouraging.  Especially Kemba starting to find his grove.  I also though the ball movement has looked better lately.

Still concerned by the defensive lapses.  Too often, they seem disengaged out there.  Wizards were getting some good looks and drives at the hoop. 

Tatum was great down the stretch.  Its just a little unnerving that it took a superhuman effort by him to put the team over the top last night.

[footey]

I can't remember ever seeing a shooting split as weird as Jeff Teague's.

Lights out from three.  Cash at the strip.

Under 35% from the field overall.  Can't hit anything inside the arc. 

I was glad to see him forcing the issue and getting to the free throw line against Indiana.  If you can't hit floaters and layups anymore you can get by a little bit if you can still generate free throws with some consistency.



As bad as Teague has been, there's a certain cockiness he has that I find endearing.

I can't remember which guy it was, but in one of this weekend's games Teague got a bigger, slower guy switched on him and it was so obvious that he decided "I'm taking this guy to the rack and scoring."  He actually dribbled inside, aborted, set up again, and then toasted the guy off the dribble the second time around.  It was clear he never thought twice about involving anybody else in the play.  He was like "This one's mine," and it was a bit of an adventure but he did it.


All of that said, it's a problem if Teague is in the rotation in the playoffs.  That stuff won't fly in a playoff series.

Teague has actually had multiple air ball lay ups in the last couple of games.  3 ft floater  lay up shots that missed everything.  I don't recall ever seeing that.  He is in a funk, big time.  Or as they say in golf, he has the yips.

Teague has been a disappointment, at least for me, but if we get Smart back and Kemba stays healthy, Pritchard can be our 3rd PG option so we don't really need Teague.

He had his best game of the season vs Indy two games ago. He was decent last night.  I think he is trending better, and will become a contributor off the bench, as long as he stays aggressive. Both he and Pritchard play their best when super aggressive.

[hodgy03038]

Listen I love the green koolaid too and I realize the Wizards were hot BUT they started their hot streak against WHO? The Celts when the drubbed us the previous game. Every BAD team that all of a sudden becomes hot starts by beating the crap out of our team that some of you think are "not that far away from contending". There was another thread somewhere that someone asked how long before the Knicks had a better record than us and I said "one week from today" and I was EXACTLY right. I love this team but I disagree with Danny's logic on being patient becasue when all is said and done we will wait at the deadline and something very minimal to NOTHING will happen like every year and we will have to battle with this average team. An average team with 2 All Stars. For some reason that makes no sense to me. I mean the Nets "sold the farm" again for Harden this time and it seems like they are the cream of the East and that is VERY disappointing.