Jay King thoughts on the Celtics

[Phantom255x]

And guess what, the league is trending towards those guys too (Embiid, KAT, Wemby, Jokic, etc.), you're gonna need to beef it up more and add size to combat it/neutralize it. Relying on smallball to cover those guys like the C's did in Game 7 vs PHI is tough.

I was reading some quotes from unnamed league executives a few days ago and they were talking about this. They were not talking about bigs in general in the league but solely in terms of Wemby. Saying that everyone is looking for ways to add size to try and combat Wemby. That everyone is terrified of him.

A bit like with Shaq. Everyone need 3 centers who were roughly 7 feet and 250+lbs to try and combat him.

Now teams are loading up in size to deal with Wemby. They won't need as much beef as they did with Shaq but height and length. Bigger forwards. Bigger guards. More switchability. Quality defensive centers. That seems to be the idea.

I know he wasn't there for like 70% of the postseason run in 2024, but you saw how impactful Porzingis was when he was out there that year and in the Finals games. In fact a lot of the recent championship teams with the exception of those Warriors teams have a superstar big guy or a nice, capable duo (Chet-Hartenstein, Ibaka-Gasol, KP-Horford). You do need a good frontcourt more often than not. Even the Cavaliers in the 2010s with Lebron had Thompson and Kevin Love, but even Lebron with his size and gifts is basically a center too lol, or built like it.

[SparzWizard]

And guess what, the league is trending towards those guys too (Embiid, KAT, Wemby, Jokic, etc.), you're gonna need to beef it up more and add size to combat it/neutralize it. Relying on smallball to cover those guys like the C's did in Game 7 vs PHI is tough.

I was reading some quotes from unnamed league executives a few days ago and they were talking about this. They were not talking about bigs in general in the league but solely in terms of Wemby. Saying that everyone is looking for ways to add size to try and combat Wemby. That everyone is terrified of him.

A bit like with Shaq. Everyone need 3 centers who were roughly 7 feet and 250+lbs to try and combat him.

Now teams are loading up in size to deal with Wemby. They won't need as much beef as they did with Shaq but height and length. Bigger forwards. Bigger guards. More switchability. Quality defensive centers. That seems to be the idea.

I know he wasn't there for like 70% of the postseason run in 2024, but you saw how impactful Porzingis was when he was out there that year and in the Finals games. In fact a lot of the recent championship teams with the exception of those Warriors teams have a superstar big guy or a nice, capable duo (Chet-Hartenstein, Ibaka-Gasol, KP-Horford). You do need a good frontcourt more often than not. Even the Cavaliers in the 2010s with Lebron had Thompson and Kevin Love, but even Lebron with his size and gifts is basically a center too lol, or built like it.

Big men wins championships as they say.

Except for those Warriors teams, and for whatever reason, 2021-2022 we got smacked around by Draymond Green and Kevon Looney.

We need to go back to the old days...load up on PF and C's.

[Goldstar88]

They have to add a center that can start.

Move Hauser and let Baylor and Hugo assume that role. Both should be in the gym shooting 1000 3s a day.

They still need guard depth.

Who would you target at center?

No love for Queta?  Idk - he looks like a starting center to me.

I guess it depends on what your definition of starting center is. He was a net negative in the playoffs. Seems like something they should try to improve upon rather than crossing their fingers and hoping he continues to develop.

Wasn?t everyone in the starting lineup not named Jayson Tatum a net negative in the playoffs?

[tenn_smoothie]

Mr. King glossed over Mazzulla's failure as a playoff coach. Yes, I know he mentioned it, but he continued to push the increasingly tired references to his regular season record. He also ignored the fact that the 2024 title was won in spite of Joe with overwhelming talent and a fortunate playoff draw. The guy has been a bumbling incompetent in the playoffs with his stubborn offensive scheme and his bone-headed decisions like starting the 3 bench players in game 7 vs Philly.

The Celts, at this point in the Tatum/Brown era need a roster makeover to become serious contenders again. Not a complete overhaul, but the addition of some young talent to add some offensive and defensive horsepower to the team. Executing that makeover and regaining full financial flexibility may take an additional year to complete. However, no personnel improvement is going to win the next title until we bring in a competent coach. To me, it is obvious that Mazzulla is an impediment to playoff success. I can only hope that either Brad finally sees the problem or that the new ownership steps in to force Joe out.

[ozgod]

And guess what, the league is trending towards those guys too (Embiid, KAT, Wemby, Jokic, etc.), you're gonna need to beef it up more and add size to combat it/neutralize it. Relying on smallball to cover those guys like the C's did in Game 7 vs PHI is tough.

I was reading some quotes from unnamed league executives a few days ago and they were talking about this. They were not talking about bigs in general in the league but solely in terms of Wemby. Saying that everyone is looking for ways to add size to try and combat Wemby. That everyone is terrified of him.

A bit like with Shaq. Everyone need 3 centers who were roughly 7 feet and 250+lbs to try and combat him.

Now teams are loading up in size to deal with Wemby. They won't need as much beef as they did with Shaq but height and length. Bigger forwards. Bigger guards. More switchability. Quality defensive centers. That seems to be the idea.

I know he wasn't there for like 70% of the postseason run in 2024, but you saw how impactful Porzingis was when he was out there that year and in the Finals games. In fact a lot of the recent championship teams with the exception of those Warriors teams have a superstar big guy or a nice, capable duo (Chet-Hartenstein, Ibaka-Gasol, KP-Horford). You do need a good frontcourt more often than not. Even the Cavaliers in the 2010s with Lebron had Thompson and Kevin Love, but even Lebron with his size and gifts is basically a center too lol, or built like it.

Big men wins championships as they say.

Except for those Warriors teams, and for whatever reason, 2021-2022 we got smacked around by Draymond Green and Kevon Looney.

We need to go back to the old days...load up on PF and C's.

Back to the 80s eh Sparz 

That works until your team full of PFs and Cs need to defend shooters on the perimeter...we would have to either play zone or drop coverage all day. Then you'd be yelling at the PFs and Cs as to why they keep giving up 3s.

What we need is players with length who can defend multiple positions...yes I know they don't grow on trees 

[Roy H.]

Part 2:

What is it about Jason Tatum and his game that makes him so untouchable in any possible trade scenarios? I would argue we lost to the 76ers because the team reverted to being Tatum?s team in play and coaching decisions and not Jaylen Brown?s. I?m not convinced Tatum just wants to win. I don?t have such doubts about JB.

I think a Tatum trade for Giannis Antetokounmpo would be the culture and roster change that could make Boston competitive with San Antonio and OKC going forward. I?ve made my case for such a trade; if you were to put a trade out there for Tatum, what would you look (for) in return, and why? ? Tom D.

We?re starting Part 2 of the mailbag with a 102 mph fastball. I?m at the plate waggling my bat like prime Gary Sheffield.

Let?s start with the Philadelphia series. I would argue that it wasn?t Tatum?s fault Neemias Queta lived in foul trouble, or that the big man?s backups weren?t high-level playoff performers. If the Celtics ?reverted to being Tatum?s team in play and coaching decisions,? that wasn?t entirely on him, either. Tatum didn?t decide to minimize the players like Hugo Gonz?lez and Baylor Scheierman, who helped forge Boston?s identity throughout the regular season; head coach Joe Mazzulla did. Brown sure seemed to think Mazzulla should have trusted in his depth more often during the first round. If the Celtics changed their style because Tatum was back ? well, of course they did. He?s an All-NBA player. You evolve for guys like that. Two bigger problems against Philadelphia were that he still couldn?t reach top gear after his injury, and Boston?s offense stopped functioning without him. The Celtics scored 100.9 points per 100 possessions during the playoffs with Tatum on the bench. That?s a problem. For the sake of reference, the Thunder have scored 117.1 points per 100 possessions throughout the postseason without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the court.

Regardless of what individual goals Tatum and Brown have, they have produced a career?s worth of evidence that they do little but win together. Of course, the first-round exit was a disappointment, but it was the first time the Celtics lost at that stage when both of them appeared in a playoff series (and you could argue they would have won Game 7 if Tatum had played). You?d better be right if you break up a duo with their track record of success. I don?t know why so many people consistently clamor for the Celtics to break them up. Though some of the recent playoff defeats have been baffling and call for self-evaluation within the organization, the culture has been a huge net positive overall. Not many organizations could have stayed competitive after losing as much talent, basketball IQ and leadership as the Celtics did last offseason.

Tatum should be the Celtics? most untouchable player. He has made first-team All-NBA in each of his last four qualifying seasons. Not many 28-year-olds have been more accomplished. He still needs to prove he can unlock his top gear after the Achilles injury, but his play this season surpassed all reasonable expectations and should leave the team with plenty of optimism about his future.

I would move him for Victor Wembanyama, though, if the Spurs called.

Does Boston have enough physicality for the modern NBA? In the playoffs, the officials seem to allow defenders to grab and hand-check a lot. The Celtics depend a lot on Derrick White and Payton Pritchard, who are smart, focused competitors, but not that big. (Queta) can be pushed around. And for all the good stuff about the new young wings, none of them is all that stout. Maybe Hugo will get there in a year or two. Is this (team) just too thin? I think we miss a Jrue Holiday-type player and a big who could be as physical as Al (Horford). ? Ted L.

I sincerely hope this question came from Ted Lasso, though I have my doubts. If it did, you?re onto something, Coach.


The Thunder defense wrestles with opponents. The Spurs? ballhandlers are like Mack trucks with broken brakes. The best teams are relentless, hyper-athletic and physically imposing. The Celtics need to level up their athleticism, though some options to do so are on their current roster.

It wasn?t lip service when general manager Brad Stevens said he expects Gonz?lez to step into a big role eventually.

?The reality is Hugo had a great rookie year, and I think (he) is a critical part of us moving forward because his athleticism can meet the moment in the big games,? Stevens said. ?That?s a real thing. You can see it, you know it. His strength is off the charts. He?s probably the strongest, he?s one of the strongest guys on our team pound for pound right now as a 20-year-old. So, he?s got a bright future.

To a lesser extent, Scheierman, Jordan Walsh and Ron Harper Jr. all have enough size and physicality to survive playoff combat. Mazzulla didn?t use them much in the postseason but could feel more compelled to do so as they grow more experienced.

The frontcourt needs more athleticism, too. Luka Garza was a great innings eater throughout the regular season, but there?s a big difference between producing against the Sacramento Kings on a random Tuesday and stopping the Tyrese Maxey-Joel Embiid combo in a playoff series.

Upgrading the mobility of that group could help the Celtics become more disruptive. Mazzulla went into each of the last two seasons hoping to force more turnovers, but his team still ranked 24th in that category in 2024-25 and 26th in 2025-26.

Except for the championship year when the team had more talent, the Celtics have been largely one-dimensional. If they hit their 3s, they win ? often by a lot. If they don?t, they lose. How do the Celtics become multidimensional? Is adding talent a requirement or can they use the existing talent differently? How do they avoid suffering the same fate next year as this year? ? Anonymous

Stevens agrees with you. He thinks the Celtics, who finished last in percentage of shot attempts inside of four feet, need to put more pressure on the rim.

This season, I thought the problem began with the roster makeup. The Celtics had one lob threat, Queta. They didn?t have anyone to post up until Nikola Vučević arrived and, um, that didn?t seem to be a solution either. The supporting cast was a pleasant surprise, but it was filled mostly with low-usage hustlers. Until the trade deadline, three of the Celtics? four best scorers were White, Pritchard and Anfernee Simons. Of course, the team was going to be extremely perimeter-oriented. When Tatum came back, he understandably didn?t seem to have his full bag of tricks. He attempted fewer shots inside the arc, drew fewer free throw attempts and rarely posted up. Mazzulla?s emphasis on crashing the glass gave the Celtics offense another critical dimension, but the second-chance opportunities dried up late in the first round, partly because he stopped playing some of the guys who created them. That decision was defensible, too; Tatum needed to take minutes from someone. But when the 76ers started taking care of the glass, Boston became overly reliant on making jump shots.

I don?t just mean 3-pointers. The Celtics finished 28th or lower in midrange frequency during each of Mazzulla?s first three seasons as head coach. They ranked seventh this past season, with nearly one-third of their shot attempts coming from that zone. They made up for their bad shot diet by creating extra possessions on the glass and by rarely committing turnovers, allowing them to finish second in offensive efficiency, but it was a bad shot diet in some ways.

How do the Celtics fix that problem? The answer is a lot more complicated than ?simply take fewer 3-pointers.? Open 3-point looks are great! Every team wants them! But Boston needs to find other ways to supplement that. Sustaining the offensive rebounding in the playoffs would be huge. Forcing more turnovers would help them create more easy 2-pointers the other way. Maybe they need to dial up their defensive aggression. Their roster also needs improvement, whether those come from new acquisitions or internal development. They could use more athletic slashers. More finishers. They could use at least one more above-the-rim threat after finishing 29th in dunks. Having Tatum for a full season at closer to full strength would help, but the Celtics need to find more ways to score closer to the rim. Their offense wasn?t as dynamic as it needed to be.

Do you see (Stevens?) news conference focus on rim protection and shot creation as an intention to fundamentally change their playing style, or instead is it just an (emphasis) on roster upgrades? If bigger scheme changes are coming, how would you see that evolving with the frontcourt and backcourt roster changes he outlined? ? Alex B.

I doubt Stevens wants the Celtics to drastically alter their playing style, which has produced great offenses season after season. He might want Mazzulla to tweak parts of his approach, but he also pointed the finger at his own roster when discussing the topic.

?I will say that I look at more each shot individually, and my general feeling watching us play in really each of the last two playoffs ? the second round against New York, even against Orlando in the first round ? was we had a hard time generating really good looks on that first shot,? Stevens said. ?So, we?ve got to figure out a way to do better in that, and I think that one of the things that we?ve got to figure out is how to have more of an impact at the rim. And I think we do need to add to our team to do that.?

The (Tatum)/(Brown)/White core won?t contend with the best teams, but do you think they?re more likely to move (Brown) or a White-plus package? I think moving (Brown) helps the team reset their finances to be flexible around Tatum going forward, even if it?s something like (Dejounte) Murray plus Trey Murphy instead of the Giannis move. ? Samuel P.

I wouldn?t be so quick to close the door on the Tatum-Brown-White core. With some improvement from the young guys, an addition in the frontcourt and a fully healthy Tatum, the Celtics have a lot of avenues to grow next season, even if they don?t change much of their roster.

I wouldn?t be eager to trade Brown unless some team lines up an overwhelming offer. He?s a winner, a worker and he improves constantly. The Celtics know they need to get much better, though

[aefgogreen]

Mr. King glossed over Mazzulla's failure as a playoff coach. Yes, I know he mentioned it, but he continued to push the increasingly tired references to his regular season record. He also ignored the fact that the 2024 title was won in spite of Joe with overwhelming talent and a fortunate playoff draw. The guy has been a bumbling incompetent in the playoffs with his stubborn offensive scheme and his bone-headed decisions like starting the 3 bench players in game 7 vs Philly.

The Celts, at this point in the Tatum/Brown era need a roster makeover to become serious contenders again. Not a complete overhaul, but the addition of some young talent to add some offensive and defensive horsepower to the team. Executing that makeover and regaining full financial flexibility may take an additional year to complete. However, no personnel improvement is going to win the next title until we bring in a competent coach. To me, it is obvious that Mazzulla is an impediment to playoff success. I can only hope that either Brad finally sees the problem or that the new ownership steps in to force Joe out.

I agree on Mazz - if he is to get the credit for the regular season (and I think he should) then he should also shoulder blame for the postseason.

[Vermont Green]

On point 1, Tatum is better than Brown.  Both are really good.  There are not that many I would trade Brown for and even fewer that I would trade Tatum for.  In my view, unless Wembanyama or someone like that is offered, you trade Tatum to start the major rebuild, likely no less than 3-5 years of being bad and hoping you get lucky in the draft.  It may come to that, but I am in no hurry.

Physicality? I am not that concerned.  When the team is White, Brown, Tatum, plus a center and another guard, that group is plenty physical.  When the center is Queta and the "other guard" is Hauser or Scheierman or Walsh, the problem is not physicality, it is how good they are.  Queta and any of those guards are just not quite good enough.  If Queta continues to improve, he might be fine as a starter moving forward.

And I don't think the team will be revamped.  Tatum, Brown, White is a good core.  Changes around the edges, sure, and if you can bring in Giannis, great.  Maybe some other Brown trade.  But all that is unlikely.  Trades like that are hard.