ESPN: Boston Celtics Instant impact from the draft

[mmmmm]

No one really knows what the deal with JJJ is, but Doc intimated that he just doesn't know where to play him.  JJJ is to thin to be a PF at the moment, and he's not good enough to defend the elite SFs we play on pick-and-rolls, etc...

The one thing I saw from JJJ though this year is that he has offensive polish.  We do need that off our bench next year.

I agree, I think this off season is going to be huge for JJJ. I think two things need to happen for him.

1. he obviously needs to get strong in the lower body

2. develop more as a perimeter defender

If both of these can happen then JJJ could be a Hakim Warrick type 4/3 player for the Cs. I think a summer league, real training camp, and practices are going to do wonders for him.

Lets remember he was a good college player and his only physical knock is the lack of lower body strength. He does possess the youth, length and athleticism this team has been lacking.

Slight clarification - the knock on JJ isn't lack of lower body strength.  He's got strength in spades as shown by his performance at the combine (he did fantastic in both the bench press (upper body) and vertical leap (lower)).

The knock is simply lack of _mass_.   He's strong, but he's not heavy.  Which makes him movable off the block.

I'm not too worried about that.  He should put on 10 or so pounds just naturally over the next year or so and maybe more with proper training and diet.  He's not really any skinnier at this stage than many big name PFs who've done well in the NBA (Bosh, Amare, KG - all were really skinny when they came in the league).

I think a full summer league and training camp should give Doc all the info he needs as to how to start to utilize JJ this coming year and I think he'll be just fine.

[diddybop]

Welcome diddybop!!  Let me first self disclose and admit to being an NC State fan and a UNC hater:-))  I have one daughter that just graduated from State and another that is a junior at UNC:-))

That being said, Zeller defines the word soft!!!  He is also VERY weak and has shown no muscle development in his four years at Carolina.

He does have some skill, but I fear he will get man-handled at the next level.

Smitty77

Thanks Smitty77. But I think Zeller played pretty tough this year and worked the paint a lot. He's not a banger for sure, but was very strong on the boards.

He's also a great help defender, with high bball iq. Pair him with another big who defends well like KG (Henson was a pretty good one) and he can excel.

Offensively he's very polished, with good touch (over 80% of FT's). He'll get great looks playing with a pass first PG who likes to run (Marshall - Rondo).

I don't think he's an all-star, but could turn into a steady above average big, and do it quicker than other prospects in the draft.

Having said all that, the Bucks who need a center badly, pick 12th and will most certainly grab Zeller or Leonard. It all depends who they like more/has a better workout for them. If he slides past twelve, then I think it's worth looking into moving up, compared to the guys available at 21, 22.