celtics biggest weakness: no quality 3 pt sharpshooter

[Tr1boy]

To me with the current roster the biggest problem is rim protection.  Last year our biggest problem was shot creation IMO

Again someone help answer how miami magically the only team that can play without a rim protector.

It sounds like some of you guys would of been much happier with drafting dieng instead

They are fine without a rim protector because Lebron is the best defender in the league, can cut off penetration, step up for the weak side block and get in the passing lanes.  Also because the Heat's team defense consistently played like they were attached with a string.

I am a huge Olynyk fan and you can verify that by looking at who I wanted us to draft before the draft actually happened. Olynyk is miles better than Dieng, but that doesn't mean we don't need a rim protector to complement him.

Evan as good as lebron is on defense he is not elite to the pt he can save his other players consistently. Especially save his pf and center or 2nd pf.

Like you said its about excellent team defense.

Celts are also capable of this bc guys like sully and oly have high iq and endless motors. I also trust stevens will figure out a way to get the team to work as a unit

Imo having a guy who can block 5 shots a game is nice but not a do or die thing. There are ways around it. Currently there is no way around not having a good 3 pt shooter on the team

[Tr1boy]

As much as i hate to say it, the team hasnt been the same with the loss of ray allen. Its a guy who can go off shooting threes and play solid defense. The shooting threat alone opens up the floor to confuse opponents defense and also give other guys on the team to operate.

As of now a rondo and ab combination is bad in terms of opening things up. And with rondo last year and with his injury less likely to run more in transition, the worry is magnified. Eventually i wouldnt mind brooks on the floor more with rondo bc at least he can create his own shot.

Anyone else feel this is going to become a problem again?

I agree with you that AB is a bad fit with Rondo, at least based on his shooting to this point in his career. A player in the style of Reddick seems like a much better fit to me.

AB on the other hand seems like he'd be great with a guy like Curry or Irving.

Yeah. Ur example = balance.

Thats why also imo terry and barb worked great as the 2 nd unit last year. One can penetrate at will and the other really shoot the ball. Its unpredictable

[bfrombleacher]

AB is a bad fit with Rondo.

Based on what?

[clover]

AB is a bad fit with Rondo.

Based on what?

I expect Danny to get a shooter or two in next year's draft. 

[D.o.s.]

When the Heat were engaged they were, per the eye test, the most cohesive and intimidating defensive team in the league. Yeah, they had LeBron, but they also had a team full of guys who were helping correctly and aggressively. They were also able to play good defense without using the increasingly-common and increasingly planned for Thibs-D, which helped them keep opposing teams on edge.

That said, I would love for the Celtics to snag a lights out shooter at the 2. We have some very recent evidence of how well Rondo compliments a guy with game like that.

[Chris]

The C's do have a couple quality 3-point shooters in Lee and Green, but they really are very thin at shooters in general.  It will be interesting to see what Olynyk and Sully bring to the table with shooting.  I am not sure how much either of them will be shooting 3's, but they will be counting on them to stretch the defense a little.

But yes, this team still could use at least 1 more shooter.  Just like they could use an NBA center. 

I still expect Danny to do some more shuffling before the season, and those probably will be his top targets.

[Evantime34]

To me with the current roster the biggest problem is rim protection.  Last year our biggest problem was shot creation IMO

Again someone help answer how miami magically the only team that can play without a rim protector.

It sounds like some of you guys would of been much happier with drafting dieng instead

They are fine without a rim protector because Lebron is the best defender in the league, can cut off penetration, step up for the weak side block and get in the passing lanes.  Also because the Heat's team defense consistently played like they were attached with a string.

I am a huge Olynyk fan and you can verify that by looking at who I wanted us to draft before the draft actually happened. Olynyk is miles better than Dieng, but that doesn't mean we don't need a rim protector to complement him.

Evan as good as lebron is on defense he is not elite to the pt he can save his other players consistently. Especially save his pf and center or 2nd pf.

Like you said its about excellent team defense.

Celts are also capable of this bc guys like sully and oly have high iq and endless motors. I also trust stevens will figure out a way to get the team to work as a unit

Imo having a guy who can block 5 shots a game is nice but not a do or die thing. There are ways around it. Currently there is no way around not having a good 3 pt shooter on the team

LeBron is absolutely elite on defense, but I agree with you that he can't single handedly elevate a defense from ok to elite.

Rim protection isn't just about blocking 5 shots in a game but detering high percentage paint shots from being taken. Lebron actually deters a lot of shots with his athleticism.

Without a shot blocker, we have 0 room for error on every defensive possession. We can absolutely be successful without one, but having one would increase our ability to consistently defend at a high level.

To me the problem wasn't three point shooters last year but the fact that we couldn't penetrate very well to create wide open shots for those shooters.

[LilRip]

To me with the current roster the biggest problem is rim protection.  Last year our biggest problem was shot creation IMO

Again someone help answer how miami magically the only team that can play without a rim protector.

It sounds like some of you guys would of been much happier with drafting dieng instead

well, they do have arguably the best shotblocking 2 and 3 in the league. and Bosh can protect the rim and block shots as well (despite how much flak he gets for being "soft" which honestly doesn't ring so true anymore). Miami's weakness is still post D as evidenced in the playoffs, but overall, i'd say they're stocked with defenders at every position. Their best offensive players are all solid defenders, and Chalmers, Battier and Haslem can all defend/flop well. Plus, they have Joel Anthony and Chris Andersen coming off the bench, and both are considered "rim protectors".

[Who]

To me with the current roster the biggest problem is rim protection.  Last year our biggest problem was shot creation IMO

Again someone help answer how miami magically the only team that can play without a rim protector.

It sounds like some of you guys would of been much happier with drafting dieng instead

They are fine without a rim protector because Lebron is the best defender in the league, can cut off penetration, step up for the weak side block and get in the passing lanes.  Also because the Heat's team defense consistently played like they were attached with a string.

I am a huge Olynyk fan and you can verify that by looking at who I wanted us to draft before the draft actually happened. Olynyk is miles better than Dieng, but that doesn't mean we don't need a rim protector to complement him.

Evan as good as lebron is on defense he is not elite to the pt he can save his other players consistently. Especially save his pf and center or 2nd pf.

Like you said its about excellent team defense.

Celts are also capable of this bc guys like sully and oly have high iq and endless motors. I also trust stevens will figure out a way to get the team to work as a unit

Imo having a guy who can block 5 shots a game is nice but not a do or die thing. There are ways around it. Currently there is no way around not having a good 3 pt shooter on the team

LeBron is absolutely elite on defense, but I agree with you that he can't single handedly elevate a defense from ok to elite.

Rim protection isn't just about blocking 5 shots in a game but detering high percentage paint shots from being taken. Lebron actually deters a lot of shots with his athleticism.

Without a shot blocker, we have 0 room for error on every defensive possession. We can absolutely be successful without one, but having one would increase our ability to consistently defend at a high level.

To me the problem wasn't three point shooters last year but the fact that we couldn't penetrate very well to create wide open shots for those shooters.

100% agree

[Boris Badenov]

AB is a bad fit with Rondo.

Based on what?

I can't speak for anyone else but I base it on the idea that success in the modern NBA game is associated with having 2-3 very good 3 point shooters on the court most of the time.

The top 4 teams in 3 pt shooting last year were GSW, MIA, OKC and SAS.

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/team/_/stat/offense-per-game/sort/threePointFieldGoalPct

If we have Rondo and Bradley out there, we have two poor 3 pt shooters at 2 out of the 3 wing positions.

And right now those guys are not just mediocre, both are close to being the worst in the league at their positions in terms of 3 pt shooting.

Who knows, maybe they can do other things that would allow the team to win in other ways. But it would certainly be bucking the trend across the league.

[D.o.s.]

So, I just remembered that Courtney Lee is on our team.

If he can ever get his shooting touch back, he'd be great in the starting backcourt with Rondo, bringing AB in to harass the other team's ball handler off the bench will keep him from destroying himself.

[Evantime34]

AB is a bad fit with Rondo.

Based on what?

I can't speak for anyone else but I base it on the idea that success in the modern NBA game is associated with having 2-3 very good 3 point shooters on the court most of the time.

The top 4 teams in 3 pt shooting last year were GSW, MIA, OKC and SAS.

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/team/_/stat/offense-per-game/sort/threePointFieldGoalPct

If we have Rondo and Bradley out there, we have two poor 3 pt shooters at 2 out of the 3 wing positions.

And right now those guys are not just mediocre, both are close to being the worst in the league at their positions in terms of 3 pt shooting.

Who knows, maybe they can do other things that would allow the team to win in other ways. But it would certainly be bucking the trend across the league.

Bradley was actually pretty good at corner 3's when he played with Rondo two years ago. I think the strategy is to have our bigs shoot some 3's to space the floor, I think Olynyk and Sullinger will both be able to knock down some floor spacing jumpers.

[Tr1boy]

The problem guy here might bradley. Say even if rondo is traded, for a chris paul like pg who can shoot.

Bradley cant create his own offense, penetrate well, mediocre passer, cant shoot threes. He can shoot the mid range pretty good but has to be spoonfed the ball. Before his shoulder injury when he was able to cut and finish under the basket it made a big difference for his offensive game and also help open things up for others. But last year he stopped doing this.

Even though he is a great defender, if he cant shoot the 2 and cut frequently at least, i dont think he will be a celtic after this year.  Brooks def has a chance to steal the starting sg position from ab.

When ainge drafted ab i wonder what was his plan for him. Wasnt it initially be the teams backup pg?

[Evantime34]

The problem guy here might bradley. Say even if rondo is traded, for a chris paul like pg who can shoot.

Bradley cant create his own offense, penetrate well, mediocre passer, cant shoot threes. He can shoot the mid range pretty good but has to be spoonfed the ball. Before his shoulder injury when he was able to cut and finish under the basket it made a big difference for his offensive game and also help open things up for others. But last year he stopped doing this.

Even though he is a great defender, if he cant shoot the 2 and cut frequently at least, i dont think he will be a celtic after this year.  Brooks def has a chance to steal the starting sg position from ab.

When ainge drafted ab i wonder what was his plan for him. Wasnt it initially be the teams backup pg?

Cuts rarely work if there isn't penetration to create the openings. He cut less because when Rondo was out there was less open space for him to cut to.

Bradley's mid range shooting was decent last year, and his three point shooting was good playing with Rondo the last year. WIth his first full healthy offseason I expect Bradley to take leaps forward and only secure his starting spot but be the unquestioned third best player on the team behind Rondo and Green.

I would bet you Tommy points that Bradley won't lose his starting job to Brooks, I would even give you odds.

[Boris Badenov]

AB is a bad fit with Rondo.

Based on what?

I can't speak for anyone else but I base it on the idea that success in the modern NBA game is associated with having 2-3 very good 3 point shooters on the court most of the time.

The top 4 teams in 3 pt shooting last year were GSW, MIA, OKC and SAS.

http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/team/_/stat/offense-per-game/sort/threePointFieldGoalPct

If we have Rondo and Bradley out there, we have two poor 3 pt shooters at 2 out of the 3 wing positions.

And right now those guys are not just mediocre, both are close to being the worst in the league at their positions in terms of 3 pt shooting.

Who knows, maybe they can do other things that would allow the team to win in other ways. But it would certainly be bucking the trend across the league.

Bradley was actually pretty good at corner 3's when he played with Rondo two years ago. I think the strategy is to have our bigs shoot some 3's to space the floor, I think Olynyk and Sullinger will both be able to knock down some floor spacing jumpers.

If you think Bradley will improve over last year, that's cool. I hope he does too. But if he continues to shoot like he did last year then I think we're in trouble.

As far as Olynyk and Sullinger go, I think it's too early to tell - and, I'd be surprised if those guys play huge minutes, with Sully coming back from his injury and KO being a rook.