Indefensible Decisions By Brad Stevens

[Vermont Green]

With the recent loss of Primo, the Spurs could use another point guard sized dude that can shoot to develop with their young guys (see: Payton Pritchard). Their previously reported asking price Poeltl was 2 1sts, which is steep for an expiring player. But perhaps they would do Pritchard, 1 1st, and salary (Gallo would work? Kornet and Justin Jackson gets you pretty close I think).

Spotrac has Poeltl at $9.3M.  We have to send back at least about $7.5M.  Pritchard ($2.2M) and Gallinari ($6.4M) would cover it.  I would consider this unless the Celtics believe that Gallinari is going to be back for the end of the season/playoffs (I would rather have Gallinari in that case).  But I don't think Poeltl is going to make so much difference.  Once RWill is back, he is probably our 4th big.  A better 4th big than we have now for sure, but how much difference does the 4th big make?

[Neurotic Guy]

With the recent loss of Primo, the Spurs could use another point guard sized dude that can shoot to develop with their young guys (see: Payton Pritchard). Their previously reported asking price Poeltl was 2 1sts, which is steep for an expiring player. But perhaps they would do Pritchard, 1 1st, and salary (Gallo would work? Kornet and Justin Jackson gets you pretty close I think).

Spotrac has Poeltl at $9.3M.  We have to send back at least about $7.5M.  Pritchard ($2.2M) and Gallinari ($6.4M) would cover it.  I would consider this unless the Celtics believe that Gallinari is going to be back for the end of the season/playoffs (I would rather have Gallinari in that case).  But I don't think Poeltl is going to make so much difference.  Once RWill is back, he is probably our 4th big.  A better 4th big than we have now for sure, but how much difference does the 4th big make?

One big difference would be not having to play Al big minutes.  That is going to be costly down the road.  Same to some extent for Rob when he returns.  Keeping him healthy is high priority,   Hate to lose PP - but that deal looks good to me.  BTW - has there been any suggestion that Gallinari could be back this season?

[MarcusSmartFanClub]

With the recent loss of Primo, the Spurs could use another point guard sized dude that can shoot to develop with their young guys (see: Payton Pritchard). Their previously reported asking price Poeltl was 2 1sts, which is steep for an expiring player. But perhaps they would do Pritchard, 1 1st, and salary (Gallo would work? Kornet and Justin Jackson gets you pretty close I think).

Spotrac has Poeltl at $9.3M.  We have to send back at least about $7.5M.  Pritchard ($2.2M) and Gallinari ($6.4M) would cover it.  I would consider this unless the Celtics believe that Gallinari is going to be back for the end of the season/playoffs (I would rather have Gallinari in that case).  But I don't think Poeltl is going to make so much difference.  Once RWill is back, he is probably our 4th big.  A better 4th big than we have now for sure, but how much difference does the 4th big make?

One big difference would be not having to play Al big minutes.  That is going to be costly down the road.  Same to some extent for Rob when he returns.  Keeping him healthy is high priority,   Hate to lose PP - but that deal looks good to me.  BTW - has there been any suggestion that Gallinari could be back this season?

Torn ACL- I’d assume he’s out. Even if he comes back, how good will his defense be? Definitely not the time of the year to have defensive liabilities on the floor.

[nebist]

With the recent loss of Primo, the Spurs could use another point guard sized dude that can shoot to develop with their young guys (see: Payton Pritchard). Their previously reported asking price Poeltl was 2 1sts, which is steep for an expiring player. But perhaps they would do Pritchard, 1 1st, and salary (Gallo would work? Kornet and Justin Jackson gets you pretty close I think).

Spotrac has Poeltl at $9.3M.  We have to send back at least about $7.5M.  Pritchard ($2.2M) and Gallinari ($6.4M) would cover it.  I would consider this unless the Celtics believe that Gallinari is going to be back for the end of the season/playoffs (I would rather have Gallinari in that case).  But I don't think Poeltl is going to make so much difference.  Once RWill is back, he is probably our 4th big.  A better 4th big than we have now for sure, but how much difference does the 4th big make?

I view him as a more significant add. A starter-level big that provides insurance for our whole unit. He’s not as dynamic as Rob, but he’s a high-level defender and shot-blocker and rebounder in his own right. With both Rob and Poeltl, you are guaranteed 48 minutes a game of top-level size and D at the 5 spot. Al and Grant can man the 4 exclusively and don’t have to moonlight at the 5. Any one of the 4 of them can be lost to injury and we can still have a rock solid 3-man rotation at the 4/5. With Al’s age and Rob’s injuries, having another starter-worthy big would be massive.

I would also try to re-sign the whole crew next offseason. Grant in the 4/48 range. Poeltl in the 3/45 range (vicinity of guys like Adams and Valanciunas). Al in the 2/20-24 range.

[nickagneta]

With the recent loss of Primo, the Spurs could use another point guard sized dude that can shoot to develop with their young guys (see: Payton Pritchard). Their previously reported asking price Poeltl was 2 1sts, which is steep for an expiring player. But perhaps they would do Pritchard, 1 1st, and salary (Gallo would work? Kornet and Justin Jackson gets you pretty close I think).

Spotrac has Poeltl at $9.3M.  We have to send back at least about $7.5M.  Pritchard ($2.2M) and Gallinari ($6.4M) would cover it.  I would consider this unless the Celtics believe that Gallinari is going to be back for the end of the season/playoffs (I would rather have Gallinari in that case).  But I don't think Poeltl is going to make so much difference.  Once RWill is back, he is probably our 4th big.  A better 4th big than we have now for sure, but how much difference does the 4th big make?

One big difference would be not having to play Al big minutes.  That is going to be costly down the road.  Same to some extent for Rob when he returns.  Keeping him healthy is high priority,   Hate to lose PP - but that deal looks good to me.  BTW - has there been any suggestion that Gallinari could be back this season?

Torn ACL- I’d assume he’s out. Even if he comes back, how good will his defense be? Definitely not the time of the year to have defensive liabilities on the floor.

Also, even before he got injured, there was speculation his defense might have severely limited his playoff minutes to begin with. Post ACL surgery and just coming back, I don't see him being used.

My prediction is Gallo never plays a game for the Celtics.

[droopdog7]

Wood is a solid offensive player.  Just how bad is his defense?

Not any worse than the combination of Vonleh / Kornet / Griffin.

Kornet actually looks like a plus defender.  Thought that last year watching him and he's showing again.

you may be ready for a new pair of glasses if that's what you're seeing

I don’t think he’s wrong tbh.  I might stop short of plus but I think he’s fine as a defender.  He’s 7’2” and active with solid court awareness. 

His big weakness as a player is that his hands suck.  Makes him a poor rebounder and really restricts what we can do with him on offense.  For those reasons I’d rather not have him in the regular rotation but as a stopgap he’s passable imho.

Understanding that this is a really small sample size, I'm sure there are stats on hid defense.  I'm not an advanced stats guy but curious what they show.

So I found this.  You can say it means nothing.  But what you CAN'T say is that he's sucked for the defense this year.

1   Luke Kornet   BOS   27   4   2   2   14.0   114.7   97.4   17.2   15.4   1.50   33.3   8.1   13.1   10.6   22.2   64.3   63.5   9.0   99.22   7.3   116
2   Sam Hauser   BOS   24   6   4   2   11.4   129.2   101.4   27.8   5.9   3.00   12.5   1.5   12.0   7.1   4.2   84.2   83.0   12.7   100.64   11.8   144
3   Derrick White   BOS   28   6   4   2   26.2   117.5   105.8   11.7   14.2   3.20   23.2   2.9   9.7   6.6   7.2   56.8   59.9   15.3   99.63   7.8   325
4   Payton Pritchard   BOS   24   3   2   1   5.5   108.6   105.9   2.7   33.3   2.00   28.6   0.0   6.3   2.6   14.3   42.9   44.4   24.4   100.16   2.6   35
5   Grant Williams   BOS   23   5   4   1   24.7   112.3   110.2   2.1   11.4   4.50   24.3   1.8   14.0   8.3   5.4   91.3   92.0   10.1   98.77   11.9   252
6   Malcolm Brogdon   BOS   29   6   4   2   22.9   112.7   113.8   -1.1   25.6   2.44   22.0   4.7   9.8   7.3   9.0   51.7   58.5   24.5   99.23   13.0   284
7   Jayson Tatum   BOS   24   6   4   2   36.3   116.1   115.3   0.8   17.8   1.40   12.6   1.5   18.1   10.3   9.0   64.3   69.5   29.7   98.27   20.1   448
8   Jaylen Brown   BOS   26   6   4   2   36.4   116.6   116.3   0.3   13.4   0.94   10.0   2.4   15.4   9.3   10.6   52.5   56.4   31.4   98.54   12.4   447
9   Marcus Smart   BOS   28   6   4   2   34.2   110.8   117.1   -6.3   25.2   3.36   33.6   1.0   8.0   4.6   10.0   40.0   46.3   15.8   99.40   6.4   425
10   Al Horford   BOS   36   5   3   2   29.4   114.3   117.8   -3.5   8.5   1.80   19.1   4.6   12.9   9.0   10.6   60.6   60.6   11.7   97.48   6.3   300
11   Noah Vonleh   BOS   27   6   4   2   12.2   124.8   117.9   6.9   1.5   0.20   5.3   13.6   14.9   14.3   26.3   53.8   53.8   10.5   101.37   1.8   153
12   Blake Griffin   BOS   33   4   2   2   8.7   121.6   129.3   -7.7   11.1   1.50   18.8   13.5   20.7   16.7   12.5   31.3   47.0   15.3   102.26   4.2   74

[Roy H.]

Wood is a solid offensive player.  Just how bad is his defense?

Not any worse than the combination of Vonleh / Kornet / Griffin.

Kornet actually looks like a plus defender.  Thought that last year watching him and he's showing again.

you may be ready for a new pair of glasses if that's what you're seeing

I don’t think he’s wrong tbh.  I might stop short of plus but I think he’s fine as a defender.  He’s 7’2” and active with solid court awareness. 

His big weakness as a player is that his hands suck.  Makes him a poor rebounder and really restricts what we can do with him on offense.  For those reasons I’d rather not have him in the regular rotation but as a stopgap he’s passable imho.

Understanding that this is a really small sample size, I'm sure there are stats on hid defense.  I'm not an advanced stats guy but curious what they show.

It's really too early to tell anything, but so far Kornet is fourth worst in FG% differential (i.e., opponents' FG% vs. their FG% when divided by a certain player.)

The guys Kornet defends generally shoot 50.3%; they're shooting 52.8% against Kornet.  Again, though, it's pretty meaningless at this point.  Our four worst defenders:  Jackson, Griffin, Tatum, Smart.  Our best?  Horford.

Kornet is also our worst defender within 5-feet of the basket, giving up 82.4% shooting, by far the worst on the team.  But, that's on very few shot attempts, so again, it's pretty irrelevant.  Meanwhile, players have been shooting very poorly against Kornet on the perimeter (18.2% FG% allowed on 20 to 24 feet shots).

[Vermont Green]

With the recent loss of Primo, the Spurs could use another point guard sized dude that can shoot to develop with their young guys (see: Payton Pritchard). Their previously reported asking price Poeltl was 2 1sts, which is steep for an expiring player. But perhaps they would do Pritchard, 1 1st, and salary (Gallo would work? Kornet and Justin Jackson gets you pretty close I think).

Spotrac has Poeltl at $9.3M.  We have to send back at least about $7.5M.  Pritchard ($2.2M) and Gallinari ($6.4M) would cover it.  I would consider this unless the Celtics believe that Gallinari is going to be back for the end of the season/playoffs (I would rather have Gallinari in that case).  But I don't think Poeltl is going to make so much difference.  Once RWill is back, he is probably our 4th big.  A better 4th big than we have now for sure, but how much difference does the 4th big make?

One big difference would be not having to play Al big minutes.  That is going to be costly down the road.  Same to some extent for Rob when he returns.  Keeping him healthy is high priority,   Hate to lose PP - but that deal looks good to me.  BTW - has there been any suggestion that Gallinari could be back this season?

Only the news that he was on the court shooting.  And the Celtics haven't applied for the DPE as far as I am aware.  Other than than those, I agree, he probably is not coming back this year.

I agree that Poeltl would be a useful player.  That is why I think this is a trade worth exploring.  I have no idea what San Antonio might want to get for Poeltl.  I would lose interest quickly if we had to add much more to the trade (picks or whatever).   I have not seen Poeltl all that much lately but my impression is a decent but plodding player.  Bad free throw shooter.  Definitely good enough to help our depth, but not a starting level player on the Celtics.  He appears to score efficiently, rebound well, and others have said he is good on defense.  Sign me up.

[droopdog7]

Wood is a solid offensive player.  Just how bad is his defense?

Not any worse than the combination of Vonleh / Kornet / Griffin.

Kornet actually looks like a plus defender.  Thought that last year watching him and he's showing again.

you may be ready for a new pair of glasses if that's what you're seeing

I don’t think he’s wrong tbh.  I might stop short of plus but I think he’s fine as a defender.  He’s 7’2” and active with solid court awareness. 

His big weakness as a player is that his hands suck.  Makes him a poor rebounder and really restricts what we can do with him on offense.  For those reasons I’d rather not have him in the regular rotation but as a stopgap he’s passable imho.

Understanding that this is a really small sample size, I'm sure there are stats on hid defense.  I'm not an advanced stats guy but curious what they show.

It's really too early to tell anything, but so far Kornet is fourth worst in FG% differential (i.e., opponents' FG% vs. their FG% when divided by a certain player.)

The guys Kornet defends generally shoot 50.3%; they're shooting 52.8% against Kornet.  Again, though, it's pretty meaningless at this point.  Our four worst defenders:  Jackson, Griffin, Tatum, Smart.  Our best?  Horford.

Kornet is also our worst defender within 5-feet of the basket, giving up 82.4% shooting, by far the worst on the team.  But, that's on very few shot attempts, so again, it's pretty irrelevant.  Meanwhile, players have been shooting very poorly against Kornet on the perimeter (18.2% FG% allowed on 20 to 24 feet shots).

I mean, we know why this is right?  Jumping in the key on three pointers is definitely working if you ask me .

[droopdog7]

Luke kornet looked dang good defensively.  Sticking with perimeter players, bothering shots.  I now REALLY believe what I though about Luke’s defense.  Keep it up and he’ll have a stranglehold on the back up big spot, pending any significant moves.

[liam]

Wood is a solid offensive player.  Just how bad is his defense?

Not any worse than the combination of Vonleh / Kornet / Griffin.

Kornet actually looks like a plus defender.  Thought that last year watching him and he's showing again.

you may be ready for a new pair of glasses if that's what you're seeing

I don’t think he’s wrong tbh.  I might stop short of plus but I think he’s fine as a defender.  He’s 7’2” and active with solid court awareness. 

His big weakness as a player is that his hands suck.  Makes him a poor rebounder and really restricts what we can do with him on offense.  For those reasons I’d rather not have him in the regular rotation but as a stopgap he’s passable imho.

Understanding that this is a really small sample size, I'm sure there are stats on hid defense.  I'm not an advanced stats guy but curious what they show.

It's really too early to tell anything, but so far Kornet is fourth worst in FG% differential (i.e., opponents' FG% vs. their FG% when divided by a certain player.)

The guys Kornet defends generally shoot 50.3%; they're shooting 52.8% against Kornet.  Again, though, it's pretty meaningless at this point.  Our four worst defenders:  Jackson, Griffin, Tatum, Smart.  Our best?  Horford.

Kornet is also our worst defender within 5-feet of the basket, giving up 82.4% shooting, by far the worst on the team.  But, that's on very few shot attempts, so again, it's pretty irrelevant.  Meanwhile, players have been shooting very poorly against Kornet on the perimeter (18.2% FG% allowed on 20 to 24 feet shots).

I mean, we know why this is right?  Jumping in the key on three pointers is definitely working if you ask me .

It totally works. I saw Kornet doing it in the G league last year and thought it was a good move. I think it's a different look.

[celts55]

Can’t believe I’m writing this, but Luke wasn’t terrible last night. I’m still not sold on him, and believe they need to get another big, but for one night, he didn’t suck

[RodyTur10]

Can’t believe I’m writing this, but Luke wasn’t terrible last night. I’m still not sold on him, and believe they need to get another big, but for one night, he didn’t suck

Kornet definitely has won the battle with Griffin and Vonleh for minutes.
Still curious about Kabengele. But if Kornet can keep his roster spot, I'd say job well done.

[moiso]

Wood is a solid offensive player.  Just how bad is his defense?

Not any worse than the combination of Vonleh / Kornet / Griffin.

Kornet actually looks like a plus defender.  Thought that last year watching him and he's showing again.

you may be ready for a new pair of glasses if that's what you're seeing

I don’t think he’s wrong tbh.  I might stop short of plus but I think he’s fine as a defender.  He’s 7’2” and active with solid court awareness. 

His big weakness as a player is that his hands suck.  Makes him a poor rebounder and really restricts what we can do with him on offense.  For those reasons I’d rather not have him in the regular rotation but as a stopgap he’s passable imho.

Understanding that this is a really small sample size, I'm sure there are stats on hid defense.  I'm not an advanced stats guy but curious what they show.

It's really too early to tell anything, but so far Kornet is fourth worst in FG% differential (i.e., opponents' FG% vs. their FG% when divided by a certain player.)

The guys Kornet defends generally shoot 50.3%; they're shooting 52.8% against Kornet.  Again, though, it's pretty meaningless at this point.  Our four worst defenders:  Jackson, Griffin, Tatum, Smart.  Our best?  Horford.

Kornet is also our worst defender within 5-feet of the basket, giving up 82.4% shooting, by far the worst on the team.  But, that's on very few shot attempts, so again, it's pretty irrelevant.  Meanwhile, players have been shooting very poorly against Kornet on the perimeter (18.2% FG% allowed on 20 to 24 feet shots).

I mean, we know why this is right?  Jumping in the key on three pointers is definitely working if you ask me .

It totally works. I saw Kornet doing it in the G league last year and thought it was a good move. I think it's a different look.

It works- it makes players shoot lower percentages.  But I've also seen compilations of Kornet jumping into the air while his guy goes to the rim, gets the offensive rebound and scores.

[W8ting2McHale]

It works- it makes players shoot lower percentages.  But I've also seen compilations of Kornet jumping into the air while his guy goes to the rim, gets the offensive rebound and scores.

Wow! I didn’t realize Kornet had that kind of hang time?!?