Celtics News

[Phantom255x]

From the league: the Celtics' home game versus Philadelphia on Sunday, March 1st has been moved from 6 pm to 8 and will now be televised by NBC

per Steve Bulpett

Is that the date and time Jayson Tatum will be making his debut? He did say he wants to come back near his bday and at home.

That would be a great birthday gift for me if he comes back March 1 lol 

Tatum's birthday is March 3, and there is also a game March 4. I do think it'll be one of those dates (March 1, 4 or 6)

[SparzWizard]

The 40-20 rule can still be in play for the Celtics. Currently on thin ice though at 19 losses. But at 35-wins.

Will the Celtics contend for a championship this season?

[slamtheking]

The 40-20 rule can still be in play for the Celtics. Currently on thin ice though at 19 losses. But at 35-wins.

Will the Celtics contend for a championship this season?

I don't think so, even if Tatum returns close to his pre-injury form.  I could see the C's having a solid chance to get to the finals but I don't think they have enough top-end talent to win it all.  Reasons:
- Q is too limited offensively and Vuc/Garza too limited defensively.
- no real PF other than Tatum.
- White's regression this year to what he was like when we first traded for him
- not enough offensive firepower. C's don't have enough scoring (or offensive diversity) if the team is not hitting 3's..

[Silas]

The 40-20 rule can still be in play for the Celtics. Currently on thin ice though at 19 losses. But at 35-wins.

Will the Celtics contend for a championship this season?

I don't think so, even if Tatum returns close to his pre-injury form.  I could see the C's having a solid chance to get to the finals but I don't think they have enough top-end talent to win it all.  Reasons:
- Q is too limited offensively and Vuc/Garza too limited defensively.
- no real PF other than Tatum.
- White's regression this year to what he was like when we first traded for him
- not enough offensive firepower. C's don't have enough scoring (or offensive diversity) if the team is not hitting 3's..

Yet somehow they have the 2nd best offensive rating in the League...

[slamtheking]

The 40-20 rule can still be in play for the Celtics. Currently on thin ice though at 19 losses. But at 35-wins.

Will the Celtics contend for a championship this season?

I don't think so, even if Tatum returns close to his pre-injury form.  I could see the C's having a solid chance to get to the finals but I don't think they have enough top-end talent to win it all.  Reasons:
- Q is too limited offensively and Vuc/Garza too limited defensively.
- no real PF other than Tatum.
- White's regression this year to what he was like when we first traded for him
- not enough offensive firepower. C's don't have enough scoring (or offensive diversity) if the team is not hitting 3's..

Yet somehow they have the 2nd best offensive rating in the League...

prior to Simons being traded.  let's see how they hold up without him and more relevantly, let's see how they hold up in the playoffs against teams that play good defense.   This team still relies too much on 3's and when they're cold, they really struggle because there's no diversity in the scoring.  that may change a bit now that they have Vuc but that remains to be seen

[Neurotic Guy]

The 40-20 rule can still be in play for the Celtics. Currently on thin ice though at 19 losses. But at 35-wins.

Will the Celtics contend for a championship this season?

I don't think so, even if Tatum returns close to his pre-injury form.  I could see the C's having a solid chance to get to the finals but I don't think they have enough top-end talent to win it all.  Reasons:
- Q is too limited offensively and Vuc/Garza too limited defensively.
- no real PF other than Tatum.
- White's regression this year to what he was like when we first traded for him
- not enough offensive firepower. C's don't have enough scoring (or offensive diversity) if the team is not hitting 3's..

Yet somehow they have the 2nd best offensive rating in the League...

prior to Simons being traded.  let's see how they hold up without him and more relevantly, let's see how they hold up in the playoffs against teams that play good defense.   This team still relies too much on 3's and when they're cold, they really struggle because there's no diversity in the scoring.  that may change a bit now that they have Vuc but that remains to be seen

Yes - I hope the addition of Vuc will diversify scoring, meaning less reliance on the three. Vuc shoots threes but his low post scoring and passing should be his main focus on offense. Maybe JT comes back a little less focused on his ISO step backs. Also important to point out that JB is shooting about 5 more attempts per game than last season but just about the same in terms of 3PA.  So 5 more twos, drives per game.   

Pritchard and Sam should keep shooting threes.

[Roy H.]

I don't think so, even if Tatum returns close to his pre-injury form

I don't think JT will return close to his top form this season, particularly in terms of chemistry.  But if he does and this team gels, I think our upside is as high as any team in the league, including OKC. 

People forget that last year against the Knicks that we got nothing from KP and Jrue and JB were injured.  This year's squad is better than what we showed in the playoffs.

[Birdman]

If Tatum returns he be on minute restrictions

[Vermont Green]

I don't think so, even if Tatum returns close to his pre-injury form

I don't think JT will return close to his top form this season, particularly in terms of chemistry.  But if he does and this team gels, I think our upside is as high as any team in the league, including OKC. 

People forget that last year against the Knicks that we got nothing from KP and Jrue and JB were injured.  This year's squad is better than what we showed in the playoffs.

This is true.  It seemed like the team was gutted when we lost Porzingis, then Holiday, then Horford; some were even bemoaning losing Kornet, but it turns out, losing them was not as bad as it seemed.  Now with Vucevic in the Horford role, once we get Tatum back, I see this team as right there with anyone, certainly in the East.  Some other teams have gotten better, others got worse, it is still kind of TBD where BOS will be when/if Tatum returns. 

I am not worried about chemistry but I am worried about Tatum.  He is going to have to make adjustments, not because of new team roles, but trying to regain his form on the fly.  Once the competitive juices start flowing, he is going to revert to doing what he used to be able to do.  And he may not be able to right away.  It may take time.  And that may mess with his confidence.  He may also be perfectly fine, pick right up where he left off after a short break-in period.

The team/players will welcome Tatum back, I have no doubt of that.

[Neurotic Guy]

I don't think so, even if Tatum returns close to his pre-injury form

I don't think JT will return close to his top form this season, particularly in terms of chemistry.  But if he does and this team gels, I think our upside is as high as any team in the league, including OKC. 

People forget that last year against the Knicks that we got nothing from KP and Jrue and JB were injured.  This year's squad is better than what we showed in the playoffs.

This is true.  It seemed like the team was gutted when we lost Porzingis, then Holiday, then Horford; some were even bemoaning losing Kornet, but it turns out, losing them was not as bad as it seemed.  Now with Vucevic in the Horford role, once we get Tatum back, I see this team as right there with anyone, certainly in the East.  Some other teams have gotten better, others got worse, it is still kind of TBD where BOS will be when/if Tatum returns. 

I am not worried about chemistry but I am worried about Tatum.  He is going to have to make adjustments, not because of new team roles, but trying to regain his form on the fly.  Once the competitive juices start flowing, he is going to revert to doing what he used to be able to do.  And he may not be able to right away.  It may take time.  And that may mess with his confidence.  He may also be perfectly fine, pick right up where he left off after a short break-in period.

The team/players will welcome Tatum back, I have no doubt of that.

We won?t know till he?s on the floor competing. But the team that started last year was a championship favorite. I think the current team, with a ready Tatum is as good as last years.  Even if JT isn?t 100% and if chemistry takes longer to develop than time allows, the next couple of years look very positive.