Welcome to Boston Chris Cenac Jr!

[Atzar]

Do people accept the "Coach told me to rebound the ball instead of blocking shots" explanation for the lack of rim protection?

I remember that trying to block too many shots was a major problem for Sean Williams, in that the analytics showed that despite elite shot-blocking numbers he wasn't that defensively effective, leaving himself out of position for stops and rebounds. 

That said, for a bouncy kid with a 7'5" wingspan, I was surprised that he got so few swats.

I generally think that Kelvin Sampson is an excellent college basketball coach who puts his players in positions to succeed.  So I suspect that the decision to prioritize rebounding over shot-blocking is a sign that Cenac is more helpful to a basketball team when he rebounds rather than trying to block shots. 

In other words... not really.  Good coaches don't do things arbitrarily.  It's pretty clearly a weakness for him, and I also agree with Who that a guy with his physical tools should average more than a half a block per game even if he's not actively hunting blocks. 

He's a project.  But I'm a believer in our player development.

[keevsnick]

Do people accept the "Coach told me to rebound the ball instead of blocking shots" explanation for the lack of rim protection?

I remember that trying to block too many shots was a major problem for Sean Williams, in that the analytics showed that despite elite shot-blocking numbers he wasn't that defensively effective, leaving himself out of position for stops and rebounds. 

That said, for a bouncy kid with a 7'5" wingspan, I was surprised that he got so few swats.

I generally think that Kelvin Sampson is an excellent college basketball coach who puts his players in positions to succeed.  So I suspect that the decision to prioritize rebounding over shot-blocking is a sign that Cenac is more helpful to a basketball team when he rebounds rather than trying to block shots. 

In other words... not really.  Good coaches don't do things arbitrarily.  It's pretty clearly a weakness for him, and I also agree with Who that a guy with his physical tools should average more than a half a block per game even if he's not actively hunting blocks. 

He's a project.  But I'm a believer in our player development.

I can't remember where I saw this, but if I remember correctly he held opponents to sub 50% shooting on FG's he directly defended at the rim. So even if he wasn't blocking a ton of shots he was at least disruptive on the contest.

It may be a situation where he has problems getting to the right spot consistently, but when he does he can be disruptive. If thats the case it may be something he can iron out.

[Celtics4ever]

I love this pick, his athletic potential and size are enticing.   Skills can be developed and improved upon, fast twitch muscles not so much.

I do believe he was told to rebound as a priority, I read you don't rebound you don't play in Houston.

[Who]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE9BmDfhc20

Compared Cenac to (1) Marquesse Chris (2) Christian Wood

Similar types of prospects. They did not work out but the analyst felt that was because of personality issues which are not an issue for Cenac. He felt Cenac's future is equivalent to what people thought the best case scenario was for M Chris or C Wood.

Strange comparisons but still interesting.

The analyst also preferred Cenac over Taris Reed Jr. Felt BOS got the better of that one.

[Goldstar88]

I think Cenac Jr might have the most upside out of all the young guys. He has excellent size for a PF at 6?11/240lbs, athleticism (37% vertical) and a 7.5 foot wingspan. Shooting mechanics are good, looks solid defensively. I don?t see any glaring deficiencies in his game.

[Vermont Green]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE9BmDfhc20

Compared Cenac to (1) Marquesse Chris (2) Christian Wood

Similar types of prospects. They did not work out but the analyst felt that was because of personality issues which are not an issue for Cenac. He felt Cenac's future is equivalent to what people thought the best case scenario was for M Chris or C Wood.

Strange comparisons but still interesting.

The analyst also preferred Cenac over Taris Reed Jr. Felt BOS got the better of that one.

Didn't Christian Wood have a 20 point, 20 rebound game?  Then he just kind of disappeared.  Cenac is only 19 years old.  There is a ton of upside with him.  He may never get 20 pts/20 Rebs, but it seems to me that he will be better and more consistent than either Chris or Wood, based on what I have seen so far (which isn't much of course).  You never know, but I like his athleticism and his demeanor.  Skills need to be developed.

[Roy H.]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE9BmDfhc20

Compared Cenac to (1) Marquesse Chris (2) Christian Wood

Similar types of prospects. They did not work out but the analyst felt that was because of personality issues which are not an issue for Cenac. He felt Cenac's future is equivalent to what people thought the best case scenario was for M Chris or C Wood.

Strange comparisons but still interesting.

The analyst also preferred Cenac over Taris Reed Jr. Felt BOS got the better of that one.

Didn't Christian Wood have a 20 point, 20 rebound game?  Then he just kind of disappeared.  Cenac is only 19 years old.  There is a ton of upside with him.  He may never get 20 pts/20 Rebs, but it seems to me that he will be better and more consistent than either Chris or Wood, based on what I have seen so far (which isn't much of course).  You never know, but I like his athleticism and his demeanor.  Skills need to be developed.

I think that you're misremembering how good Christian Wood was for awhile, before injuries and personality issues caught up with him.

Over a four year period, he averaged 17/8/2, shot almost 40% from 3PT, and had a .590 eFG%.  He topped out as a 21/10 guy.  We would be very, very fortunate if Cenac could ever produce like that.

That's not to say that Wood was a great player.  He never played in the playoffs in his nine seasons.  But, he could put up some pretty elite numbers.  The vast majority of guys picked in the late 20s are never going to come close to Wood's career.

[A Future of Stevens]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE9BmDfhc20

Compared Cenac to (1) Marquesse Chris (2) Christian Wood

Similar types of prospects. They did not work out but the analyst felt that was because of personality issues which are not an issue for Cenac. He felt Cenac's future is equivalent to what people thought the best case scenario was for M Chris or C Wood.

Strange comparisons but still interesting.

The analyst also preferred Cenac over Taris Reed Jr. Felt BOS got the better of that one.

I like the Wood body comparison. He is a just a bit longer, but the big difference is he is 25ish pounds heavier at their respective combines. That should bode well for him playing pf/c. 6'11 and 240 with a 7'5 wingspan while being mobile at 19 is basically every tools gift you could ask for.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Interesting comps, but I see him more like John Collins, Jabari Smith Jr., or PJ Washington.

I do think he ends up being a 4 primarily, but with the ability to do small stretches at the 5.

Really think we might have a starting caliber 4 to pair with Tatum if all goes well with his development. I think we see flashes this year, but overall he isn't reliable and doesn't play much.

The added benefit is that it makes us huge out there. Cenac-Tatum-White-Hugo with Robinson-Queta inside is quite the lineup.

[Vermont Green]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE9BmDfhc20

Compared Cenac to (1) Marquesse Chris (2) Christian Wood

Similar types of prospects. They did not work out but the analyst felt that was because of personality issues which are not an issue for Cenac. He felt Cenac's future is equivalent to what people thought the best case scenario was for M Chris or C Wood.

Strange comparisons but still interesting.

The analyst also preferred Cenac over Taris Reed Jr. Felt BOS got the better of that one.

Didn't Christian Wood have a 20 point, 20 rebound game?  Then he just kind of disappeared.  Cenac is only 19 years old.  There is a ton of upside with him.  He may never get 20 pts/20 Rebs, but it seems to me that he will be better and more consistent than either Chris or Wood, based on what I have seen so far (which isn't much of course).  You never know, but I like his athleticism and his demeanor.  Skills need to be developed.

I think that you're misremembering how good Christian Wood was for awhile, before injuries and personality issues caught up with him.

Over a four year period, he averaged 17/8/2, shot almost 40% from 3PT, and had a .590 eFG%.  He topped out as a 21/10 guy.  We would be very, very fortunate if Cenac could ever produce like that.

That's not to say that Wood was a great player.  He never played in the playoffs in his nine seasons.  But, he could put up some pretty elite numbers.  The vast majority of guys picked in the late 20s are never going to come close to Wood's career.

You are right, I was thinking of Moses Brown.  Christian Wood was a better player than Moses Brown.  If Cenac could be a consistent version of Christian Wood, that would be great.

On March 27, 2021, while playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Moses Brown recorded 21 points and 23 rebounds against the Boston Celtics.

[Celtics2021]

Interesting comps, but I see him more like John Collins, Jabari Smith Jr., or PJ Washington.

I do think he ends up being a 4 primarily, but with the ability to do small stretches at the 5.

Really think we might have a starting caliber 4 to pair with Tatum if all goes well with his development. I think we see flashes this year, but overall he isn't reliable and doesn't play much.

The added benefit is that it makes us huge out there. Cenac-Tatum-White-Hugo with Robinson-Queta inside is quite the lineup.

He is just so much larger than those comps that he should eventually have much more impact on the game closer to the rim, at least defensively.  Smith is the closest in length, but Cenac has 20 pounds on him.  He is only 19 (TM) and already 240 pounds.  It seems likely he will add a little mass as he gets older (most players and people do) and I think his size and strength will both wind up in the center range.  PJ Washington and John Collins are both capable of playing a small-ball 5, but when Cenac is at the 5, he will just be sized like a regular center.  I see him, ultimately, as more of a center with some PF skills than a PF who can slide to center like those comps you mentioned.  More like Horford (although I am not saying he will ever be as good as Al); someone who can really do either, but plays more center due to the relative scarcity of centers compared to big forwards.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Interesting comps, but I see him more like John Collins, Jabari Smith Jr., or PJ Washington.

I do think he ends up being a 4 primarily, but with the ability to do small stretches at the 5.

Really think we might have a starting caliber 4 to pair with Tatum if all goes well with his development. I think we see flashes this year, but overall he isn't reliable and doesn't play much.

The added benefit is that it makes us huge out there. Cenac-Tatum-White-Hugo with Robinson-Queta inside is quite the lineup.

He is just so much larger than those comps that he should eventually have much more impact on the game closer to the rim, at least defensively.  Smith is the closest in length, but Cenac has 20 pounds on him.  He is only 19 (TM) and already 240 pounds.  It seems likely he will add a little mass as he gets older (most players and people do) and I think his size and strength will both wind up in the center range.  PJ Washington and John Collins are both capable of playing a small-ball 5, but when Cenac is at the 5, he will just be sized like a regular center.  I see him, ultimately, as more of a center with some PF skills than a PF who can slide to center like those comps you mentioned.  More like Horford (although I am not saying he will ever be as good as Al); someone who can really do either, but plays more center due to the relative scarcity of centers compared to big forwards.

Fair enough. Possibly. He reminded me a bit of Evan Mobley in summer league. I know people will roll their eyes at that, but stats have been similar as well.

I thought he got pushed around a bit too much against other centers, specifically guys that don't project to be NBA bigs. That was the one concern I had about him physically. Everything else was more about feel, experience, and rhythm.

[Goldstar88]

Interesting comps, but I see him more like John Collins, Jabari Smith Jr., or PJ Washington.

I do think he ends up being a 4 primarily, but with the ability to do small stretches at the 5.

Really think we might have a starting caliber 4 to pair with Tatum if all goes well with his development. I think we see flashes this year, but overall he isn't reliable and doesn't play much.

The added benefit is that it makes us huge out there. Cenac-Tatum-White-Hugo with Robinson-Queta inside is quite the lineup.

I see Jabari Smith Jr for sure. Very similar. Not the other two, though. The second round pick Mitchell reminds me of John Collins a bit. Not with the shooting, but with the height/build/athleticism.

[Celtics2021]

Interesting comps, but I see him more like John Collins, Jabari Smith Jr., or PJ Washington.

I do think he ends up being a 4 primarily, but with the ability to do small stretches at the 5.

Really think we might have a starting caliber 4 to pair with Tatum if all goes well with his development. I think we see flashes this year, but overall he isn't reliable and doesn't play much.

The added benefit is that it makes us huge out there. Cenac-Tatum-White-Hugo with Robinson-Queta inside is quite the lineup.

He is just so much larger than those comps that he should eventually have much more impact on the game closer to the rim, at least defensively.  Smith is the closest in length, but Cenac has 20 pounds on him.  He is only 19 (TM) and already 240 pounds.  It seems likely he will add a little mass as he gets older (most players and people do) and I think his size and strength will both wind up in the center range.  PJ Washington and John Collins are both capable of playing a small-ball 5, but when Cenac is at the 5, he will just be sized like a regular center.  I see him, ultimately, as more of a center with some PF skills than a PF who can slide to center like those comps you mentioned.  More like Horford (although I am not saying he will ever be as good as Al); someone who can really do either, but plays more center due to the relative scarcity of centers compared to big forwards.

Fair enough. Possibly. He reminded me a bit of Evan Mobley in summer league. I know people will roll their eyes at that, but stats have been similar as well.

I thought he got pushed around a bit too much against other centers, specifically guys that don't project to be NBA bigs. That was the one concern I had about him physically. Everything else was more about feel, experience, and rhythm.

I agree he got pushed around a little bit more than I would have preferred, but I do think at not even 19.5 years old, at his size he ultimately is going to gain more strength and be difficult to move.  He does not look 240, at all.  I think his frame has a good amount of room to fill out without costing him much in mobility.

Regardless, I think we agree we look forward into seeing what he can become.  I think the high school rankings were more correct than his draft position in terms of potential.

[Who]

He reminds me a bit of L Aldridge. That midrange shot. The way his body squares up on the shot. Also the lack of comfort / limitation with his ball-handling. He either has the quick shot or he won't do anything with it.

Aldridge had the post up turnaround shot as his main source of one-on-one offense early in his career. I don't think Cenac has any shot creation at this point. He is mostly a shooter. He doesn't need much time or space to get his shot off though. Nobody can block that high release point.