Expectations vs. Reality

[Roy H.]

Who on the roster has exceeded your expectations?  Who is playing at their expected level?  And, who is playing beneath where you thought they would?

[Celtics2021]

Exceeds: Queta, Hugo.  I liked Hugo, but did not think he would prove useful so quickly.  I thought Queta would be a starter by default, but he looks more like someone who could start on a bunch of teams.  Not a championship starter, but legit NBA starter.

Disappointing:  White, Pritchard, Boucher.  White and Pritchard are obvious.  That they are both slumping at the same time is not ideal.  I thought Boucher would be a solid rotation piece, but he has not had many chances and done little with the ones he has been given.

Not sure: Minott and Walsh.  I had decently high hopes for both of these guys over the summer.  Minott came in immediately and looked awesome, but the past couple of games has looked not as good.  Walsh obviously had a rough summer and October, but these last few games have been revelatory.  I suppose vacillating between being exciting pieces for the future and useless bench players is what I should expect for athletic players getting their first real opportunities at consistent minutes.

[slamtheking]

Exceeding
- Minott - thought he'd deliver nothing as someone who couldn't get minutes in Minny.  He's been a great addition
- Queta - thought he'd be about the same as he was last season but he's really blossomed this year to be at least a high-quality back up center. 
- Tillman - this was a really low bar to pass.  he was completely unplayable last year and this year he's still not good but at least hasn't been a complete liability in every game he's played.  still don't see him in the league after this contract is up.

Disappointing
- White - playing worse than when we first traded for him.  looks clueless out there at times which was definitely not the case the past couple of years.
- PP - shooting like Carson Edwards now.  No idea what's up with his shot.
- Boucher - thought he'd bring a solid vet presence to help with the mess of a frontcourt but he hasn't helped and can't even get on the court now.
- Baylor - thought he'd build on how he finished last season but his shooting is so bad that if he threw a brick at the ground he'd miss.  he's not making up for it in other areas of the game as much as he needs to.

ABOUT WHAT I FIGURED
- JB - thought he'd up his game in JT's absence and he has.  need to get the TOs down but his scoring efficiency has been terrific.
- Hauser - still a make or miss player.  his D has been respectable.  need more consistency.
- Hugo - the hype with him was a lot of hustle and a defensive pest and that's what he's been.  looks like a good pick by Brad.
- Simons - microwave scorer that would struggle on D.  playing as advertised though his supposed ability to facilitate an offense isn't what I had hoped to see so far

TBD
- Walsh - had a couple of games where he's finally looking like someone who can contribute.  hope to see him continue to improve.  team needs that level of hustle and the rebounding he's been providing.

[Roy H.]

Exceeds: Minott, Queta, Hugo, Walsh

About as Expected:  Brown, Simons, Garza, Tillman. Scheierman

Falling Short:  White, Pritchard, Boucher, Hauser

[Donoghus]

Exceed: Queta, Hugo, Minott, Garza, Tillman (low bar here)

Expected:  Jaylen, Simons, Hauser, Walsh

Disappointing: Boucher, Pritchard, White, Baylor

[Atzar]

Exceeding expectations: 

Minott
Hugo - only in the sense that I thought it would take him a year to become this.  I liked the pick and believed in the tools from the outset.
Walsh

Meeting expectations:

Most of the team
Specifically I want to single out Queta in this category.  I've always liked him and just thought he needed reps for consistency/education.  The ability to impact games, even against good teams, has been present ever since we signed him.  Fun part is that he's still visibly learning as he goes.

Falling short:

Derrick White
Pritchard - I almost put him in 'meeting expectations'... I'm not terribly high on him as a starting guard to begin with but really he's a few more three balls away from being mostly fine.

[Moranis]

Exceed- Queta, Minott, Brown (more efficient scoring than I expected)

Everyone else about what I expected. Yes even Whote and Pritchard who I expected to shoot poorly in a role not accustomed to.  White has been a bit worse shooting, but has played well everywhere else.  PP I expected to take a step backward going from a b3mcj to starting role.  Not surprised at all by his performance though I do expect him to start shooting better (on less shots) as he gets more used to starting.

[perks-a-beast]

Gonzalez. I didnt have him as a Top 40 prospect in the draft but he has looked promising - especially some of the Marcus Smart-esque defense stuff.

[Vermont Green]

Disappointing:  White, Pritchard, Boucher.  White and Pritchard are obvious.  That they are both slumping at the same time is not ideal.  I thought Boucher would be a solid rotation piece, but he has not had many chances and done little with the ones he has been given.

Boucher, sure, I was expecting more from him, but he is a newcomer, so you never know.  White, Pritchard, and I would add Hauser are the ones that are having a big impact in my mind.  These are all guys that had an established track record and none of them are playing as well as expected.

I think the issue with these guys is them getting used to playing off Brown instead of off Tatum.  Or just in general, in the context of a much less talented overall team.  Tatum was clearly making these guys better.  Brown it appears, not so much.  Not sure if this is something that is resolved over time or is it that these guys just aren't as good without Tatum?

The rest I think is pretty obvious.  I thought Simons would be a little better, and he may still get a little better.  Minott has been a pleasant surprise.  But guys like Hugo, Walsh and so on are having their ups and downs but they don't impact the team nearly as much as guys like White, Pritchard, and Hauser.

[Celtics4ever]

I stole Roy's format but have different answers

Exceeds: Minott, Queta, Hugo, Simons

About as Expected:  Brown, Garza,  Walsh

Falling Short:  White, Pritchard, Boucher, Hauser, Schierman, Tillman

Some of the falling short guys will improve if they had Tatum to take off pressure as I see it.    Mainly, White, Pritchard and Hauser.   I think Tillman is a tweener.

[Redz]

I stole Roy's format but have different answers

Exceeds: Minott, Queta, Hugo, Simons

About as Expected:  Brown, Garza,  Walsh

Falling Short:  White, Pritchard, Boucher, Hauser, Schierman, Tillman

Some of the falling short guys will improve if they had Tatum to take off pressure as I see it.    Mainly, White, Pritchard and Hauser.   I think Tillman is a tweener.

I find it interesting that the 3 big returning pieces that we were relying on have been disappointing.  I'm legit disappointed in them.  There's still time for them to step up, but it's crazy to me that their confidence would wain so much.

[Surferdad]

Disappointing:  White, Pritchard, Boucher.  White and Pritchard are obvious.  That they are both slumping at the same time is not ideal.  I thought Boucher would be a solid rotation piece, but he has not had many chances and done little with the ones he has been given.

Boucher, sure, I was expecting more from him, but he is a newcomer, so you never know. White, Pritchard, and I would add Hauser are the ones that are having a big impact in my mind.  These are all guys that had an established track record and none of them are playing as well as expected.

I think the issue with these guys is them getting used to playing off Brown instead of off Tatum.  Or just in general, in the context of a much less talented overall team.  Tatum was clearly making these guys better.  Brown it appears, not so much.  Not sure if this is something that is resolved over time or is it that these guys just aren't as good without Tatum?

The rest I think is pretty obvious.  I thought Simons would be a little better, and he may still get a little better.  Minott has been a pleasant surprise.  But guys like Hugo, Walsh and so on are having their ups and downs but they don't impact the team nearly as much as guys like White, Pritchard, and Hauser.

Boucher is my biggest disappointment so far. He looked good in pre-season and I had high hopes that we would backfill with a more consistent veteran presence, like Al Horford.

[smicker16]

Interesting exercise and conversation.  This seems to be an area with a lot of people on the same page too. 

Exceeds: Minott, Queta, Hugo, Walsh (it is funny that a week ago Walsh would not have been here and I think there is a chance in a week or so Minott ends up not in this category, those two could bounce between them throughout the year)

About as Expected:  Brown, Garza, Tillman

Falling Short:  White, Pritchard, Boucher, Hauser, Schierman, Simons

In most games Hauser looks to be less playable than either Minott, Walsh or Hugo which is extremely surprising.  Partly because of them but also he very much seems to be someone dependent on having other players with gravity around him.  That is very clear from this season.

With White and Pritchard, they are being asked to do more than previous years.  However, in White's case he has stepped into this role at times with others out so for him I am even more surprised.  Hopefully that turns around.  I do think we often only callout that they are playing without Tatum only, however those two no longer have Jrue, KP, Horford and even Kornet around them to rely on any longer.  Which is why I do not think getting Tatum back would solve everything for them, they still need some other players.

Simons is an interesting one.  I really did not know anything about him so I guess you could say he is meeting expectations, but based on the talk about him and stats I expected him to be able to handle the ball better.  There were times in the Magic game when Suggs would pressure him and it was clear he was completely incapable of handling that.  That I see as the falling short aspect with him, his scoring and shooting has been fine, but his ability to handle pressure seems to be worse than I expected.