Springer was -3 in 8 minutes. He is just not good enough right now to take minutes from anyone. He was useful vs ATL with White and Holiday out.
I re-watched those 8 minutes plus the final few minutes of the game. On each team's possession I stopped the video and took notes.
I came away feeling even more impressed with Jaden than I had previously.
I learned that he's tough as nails on defense. Most of the time he ended up guarding Dejounte Murray. Who never successfully scored on him. Although, he did get two free throws that missed. I believe thoughts of Jaden were still in his head.
In Atlanta's first possession after Jaden left the game, Murray threw up a 3 point shot - which missed. Judging from I watched previously, I doubt very much he would have taken that shot had Springer been guarding him.
Here's a synopsis of Dejounte's success with Springer gone. 1. He assists to an open Bogdanović for 3.
2. He gets fouled by Tatum for 2 free throws.
3. He takes Al to the basket for an easy layup.
4. Near the end of the game he's guarded by Porzingis. Who basically leaves him with a wide open shot - which misses. The rebounded pass goes out to Hunter for 3. Game over!
I'm not saying the Celtics would have won the game had Springer played. But, I'm fairly confident Murray would have had a much harder time controlling the outcome had Springer played.
Good synopsis!
What about on the offensive end?
I didn’t take comprehensive notes on the offensive end. But jotted down few items. (some of this may be redundant and in no particular order)
On the offensive end, things started poorly. At the beginning of the 4th quarter Svi threw an uncatchable, ill-advised pass to him under the basket that went out of bounds leaving the Celtics with 2.7 seconds on the clock. Tatum missed the ensuing outside jumper. (FWIW Years ago, the Pacers had a player who would wander the baseline and receive a pass beneath the basket. He would drive me crazy because he did it so often. Sorry, can’t think of the name of the player.)
Jaden dribbled the ball up the court and passed off without losing possession. He seems to have an acceptable left-handed dribble for this purpose.
Both Tatum and Houser were able to get open but missed their 3 point attempts. Sri hit an opportune 3 from the corner. Tatum hit an open jump shot. Atlanta really pressured the ball, especially Tatum. The refs could have called a few more fouls against Atlanta but decided to let them play.
Jaden spent much of his time either in the corner or wandering closer to the hoop. Neither position left him in a position to score. In a previous post I noted how the Celtics did the same thing with Aaron Nesmith. They left him uselessly in the corner, rather than positioning him where he could drive to the hoop. In Indiana he does that all the time. Thus, making him a more efficient player.
The team really doesn’t include Jaden in the offense. The strategy must be to leave room for Tatum and the rest of the team room to operate closer to the hoop.
One thing I noted, I feel he should be more alert and positioning himself to grab an occasional offensive rebound. Sometimes, he seems to be napping because he’s not in the play. That might be a coaching oversight. Or, lackadaisical play. I would advise him to stay alert and position himself to grab a rebound or receive a pass more often. Even decoy with his hands outstretched mimicking that he’s about to receive a pass. That way he might draw the defensive player away from the basket. He probably should be crashing the boards more. I’m wondering with his height and strength that he might be able to post up smaller or weaker players. I’d probably try running an isolation play using him. I’m not sure?
He never seemed to be in a position to receive a pass, except for the corner 3 pointer that he missed. He did have an opportunity to grab an offensive rebound, but the shot clock went off and the play ended.
Good defense led to an offensive possession. He got fouled while defending against a pick. The ball went back to the C’s. He also grabbed a rebound in the lane and drove the length of the court for a euro-step layup. I believe Joe took him out of the game after missing the 3-pointer from the corner. It was an accurate overshoot, that hit the back end of the rim if I remember correctly.
Topic: Should Jaden Springer be playing more? (Read 19007 times)