Which player are you most excited / curious about?

[Vermont Green]

Romeo, he came into the league hurt, second year COVID, this could be the year he shows why he was a five-star recruit out of Indiana.

Nesmith.  He looked great in the summer league.  If he can bring solid overall play with elite shooting, he’ll open up the offense for the two J’s.

I am intrigued by both Langford and Nesmith but I just don't see them getting much opportunity, or at least not both of them.  Langford and Nesmith are behind Tatum, Brown, Richardson, and to some extent Smart.  There are just not that many spare minutes at the 2-3 positions.

Trades could open up things.  For example, they could trade Schroder and free up minutes by playing Smart more as a PG.  Or Richardson could be traded.  But as it stands now, Smart is going to play a lot at 2, Brown and Richardson will be full time 2-3 and Tatum is going to play plenty at 3.  I think it is unfortunate but I see it being tough for Nesmith and Langford to get minutes.

[#1P4P]

I’m excited to see this team, the growth and change from this collective will make this season intriguing.

If I have to choose one player to be most excited about, it’s Tatum because he’s going to enter the MVP conversation. Jayson was the 2nd leading scorer on the USAB Olympic team, won the Gold, learned from KD, Lillard, Popovich, Kerr, etc., and saw how high he is in the NBA pecking order. His scoring is going to be there, but taking over games at the right time, getting to the FT line, adding to his rebound and assists totals, and having that translate to wins is going to be special.

TimeLord is the player I’m most curious about. With his elite PER and impact from last season, he has the ability to be one of the top 3 players on the team and top 50 in the NBA. Can he graduate from a valuable, but limited part time player into a foundational piece? It’s the biggest value/impact disparity on the team.

I’m giving Pritchard and Nesmith another season before I expect them to get anything other than spot/garbage minutes on a contender.

[celticsclay]

It could be a free agent, somebody we traded for, or somebody already on the roster. Which player makes you say “I can’t wait to see what he brings this year”?

For me, almost the entire roster fits that description, but if I had to pick the player I am most looking forward to, it’s Al Horford.  Having excellent passing and outside shooting should really open up our offense again, which makes the team more effective while also being more entertaining to watch.

Well... I am very interested in Horford for the reasons you mentioned, but also to see just how much he has lost. His defense seemed really bad (compared to previous) in his one season with Philly. However, it was hard to tell how much of this was fit. He looked like he could not switch out on the perimeter even in games that Embid was not playing. I think some of this may have been injury, but worry a decent amount is age. Was tough to see what he had left last year essentially playing for a really mediocre team.

Would like to see if Timelord can stay healthy, if Romeo has anything as an NBA player and the outside chance that one of the other younger player takes a leap.

[gouki88]

Tatum: Does the apparent strength gain translate? Do we see a continuation of the dominance we saw towards the end of last season? Has he worked on his foibles? If so, he could be poised to cement himself as a top 10 player in the competition.

Timelord: Health and availability. Those 10 games he started in March-April where we went 9-1 and he averaged 10/9/3.4/2 on his usual preposterous efficiency gave us an insight into the type of impact he can have. If he can become a reliable 22MPG big man then his contract is all of a sudden a bargain.

Nesmith: Expect a leap from him. He was averaging 8.3/4.3 in May, on 44% shooting from three. If he can provide 10/4 this season in ~20MPG as a bench wing I would be thrilled.

Pritchard: It's no secret that I'm higher on Pritchard than most. How does Udoka utilise him? I think given he's an elite shooter he should get some run, but I am pretty high on his chances of developing into a starting level PG one day.

The New Guys: I'm grouping Horford, Richardson, Schroder and Juancho, but I'm really interested to see how they all do. All have pretty different skill-sets, but we clearly like them, given we used Horford in recruiting pitches and already extended Richardson.

[KG Living Legend]

 Easy Answer.  Bruno. The next Ben Wallace.

[daddytxus]

After last year's disappointed season, I am really excited about most of the new additions to the team. I got excited when we traded for Josh Richardson since I always hated when we faced him. Same can be said about Denis Shroeder. I was really pleased when we traded for my countryman Juancho Hernangomez. Even Bruno is growing on me after Summer league and Media day. Heck, even Garrison Mathews' addition got me pumped. Cannot wait for the regular season to start!!

[Goldstar88]

Wrong thread

[mobilija]

Imma say Smart. He's gotten his extension, trust from management and the inside lane to the starting PG position. He's been called the captain and now is his chance to come through as the quarterback. His chance to really put his imprint on this team not only from the defensive side but by iniating the offense too. If he can shine in this role, it will really be a catalyst to moving this team in an upward trajectory.

[slamtheking]

whole team and Ime.  I really want to see what Ime can do with this roster both offensively and defensively.  I'm really hoping to see offense that doesn't leave a guy standing around in each corner where he can't get back on D after yet another clanked 3.

[blink]

Since we know what we have with Smart, Al, Brown and Tatum, I am going to say Timelord.  Does he stay healthy, does he make a decent leap?  Without us landing some other really good free agent, I see Timelord as the next player who could change the narrative for the team.

All the rest of the guys, J Rich, Schroeder, Pritchard, Nesmith....I am not expecting them to be team changers.  Hopefully they can play within themselves and do some good stuff, but to me Timelord is a big key.

[trickybilly]

Marcus Smart.

[GreenlyGreeny]

Excited about Tatum, Brown, Nesmith, Smart, Timelord, Horford, Richardson and Pritchard. Almost ready to write-off Langford and G. Williams. Schröder will be interesting, but cannot get too attached since he is one-and-done. No high hopes for Parker, Kanter, Fernando and Hernangomez, but hope they are serviceable depth.

Hopeful that Tatum becomes a top five player, Brown a top 15, Smart a top 30, and Timelord a top 50. We get all of that, we can win it all with this crew.

[Neurotic Guy]

Tatum and Rob Williams.  Want to see if Tatum can leap into that super elite cluster of players.  Want to see if Rob can continue his growth as a player and stay healthy.   Other than that, I'm hoping to see a cohesive team that's mentally ready to play a full 48 minutes. Want to see this team eliminate last year's tendencies of early deficits and big leads blown.

[Surferdad]

 Easy Answer.  Bruno. The next Ben Wallace.

Funny, he was the first guy I thought of too, even though I don't have high hopes.  He's a throwback (thus the comp to Ben Wallace), undersized for a center and not very skilled overall, but I just want to see him on defense swatting away shots and taking up space.

Overall, I agree with the comments that the PF position is most intriguing and largely unknown as to how Udoka utilizes the position.  Seems like Horford is going back to mainly playing PF, but then you've got Grant, Hernangomez, Parker and Tatum to consider at that spot as well.

[Vermont Green]

 Easy Answer.  Bruno. The next Ben Wallace.

Funny, he was the first guy I thought of too, even though I don't have high hopes.  He's a throwback (thus the comp to Ben Wallace), undersized for a center and not very skilled overall, but I just want to see him on defense swatting away shots and taking up space.

Overall, I agree with the comments that the PF position is most intriguing and largely unknown as to how Udoka utilizes the position.  Seems like Horford is going back to mainly playing PF, but then you've got Grant, Hernangomez, Parker and Tatum to consider at that spot as well.

I had said above that it is Parker who I am the most curious about but it is because there is so much question or uncertainty regarding the PF position overall.  I don't see Horford playing PF.  For Horford to be the PF, he would have to play alongside of a center such as RWilliams or Kanter.  I think our Center rotation will be Horford, Williams, and Kanter.  One of these 3 will be on the court nearly all the time, but not two of them very often.

Tatum will play some at PF, or more accurately, the team will play with only 1 big and an extra wing at times, but I still see plenty of minutes for the group of Parker, GWilliams, Hernangomez, and Fernando.  I see this as more of a baseball bullpen approach where you mix and match depending on the match up, game situation, etc.  You might get Parker for 10 min in the first half and not see him in the second.  Hernangomez might play a lot one game and not at all the next.  To me, Parker has the best chance to emerge as the lead of the group, he has by far the most career production or track record (which isn't saying much), but for now, it is PF by committee.

As for Bruno Fernando, I do see him in the mix, mostly at PF but maybe at C in some line ups.  Bruno's career production is about the same as Semi or Grant, in the 4 pts/3 rebs range (so pretty low).  He actually played quite a bit his rookie season and was about about as good as Semi or Grant (ATL then acquired Capela and drafted Okongwu so Fernando go very limited minutes).  The lead PF role is wide open and a great opportunity for someone.  I am looking forward to seeing how all of this plays out.