Kris Humphries says we'll be a running team.

[SHAQATTACK]

Running for the lottery in high gear 

[bfrombleacher]

Somethin' somethin' somethin' Kardashian joke. tank joke

[Galeto]

A healthy rondo and sully, full season of green
new coach not against playing many guys
a much better rebounding team than last year
good team defense

why don't i see this team not far off or about equal with last years regular season?

Well, it may be because you're seeing full positives where none may exist. Like: "a coach not against playing many guys."  Why are you equating "playing many guys" as necessarily a positive?  When the extra guys are Bogans, Crawford, Brooks, Humphries, etc, that's not a bounty of quality.  And you're also presuming with no reason that Stevens will have a big rotation.  Just going by his style at Butler where he had limited talent and thus a limited rotation, I would presume the opposite.

A healthy Rondo and Sullinger are also in doubt.  Rondo may miss a big early chunk of the season and I wouldn't presume that double hernia surgery is just a routine procedure.

And good team defense?  That's a given?  With the bigs this team has?  A pivotal part of team defense is having bigs who can erase mistakes.  Humphries, Bass, Sullinger and Olynyk don't qualify.  Even the very good individual defenders on this team aren't as good on team defense like Green and Lee.

[billysan]

As Yoki said, rebounding is key on this team for us to run. Besides Hump, we need solid defensive rebounding from Wallace, Bass, Olynyk, Green and Sullinger. Assuming they are our rotation on the front line, they also need to fill a lane and be ready to hit the trailer shot at a decent percentage.

If we stand around and try to execute as a jumpshooting or ISO team it will be a long and frustrating season. Defense and rebounding will make it a lot more entertaining. Even if we only win 30+ games it will be more enjoyable to watch the team if we compete every in game.

Rondo is more than capable of pushing the pace and Bradley/Lee will get out and run. We just gotta hope the whole team all buy in and go for it.

[chambers]

I like the idea of building a running team. I'd say we desperately need Rondo to be a 30 win team.

The benefit of playing a running style is that you usually take the other team out of their comfort zone and force them to play your style. This is good for us because we lack the size inside to defend  NBA bigs effectively.

Unfortunately for our squad and the running game that Humphries is talking about-we lack one thing that's crucial to effectively build a winning run and gun system in the NBA.

The first minor issue is that we need another wing threat that can dribble penetrate. Rondo is good from the top of the key and on the break but other than Green we are kind of stuck. Wallace is okay too but he's not on Greens level.

you'll notice the best running teams like the Heat and OKC have 2 All Stars that run the wings and penetrate whilst dishing out to three point shooters.

Which brings me to our biggest weakness regarding a running style offense.
We have an abysmal three point shooting squad.

Rondo needs shooters around him. We don't have Pierce or KG, Ray, or Terry or House or Posey now.
We have Courtney Lee, Avery Bradley, Jeff Green, Brooks and Crawford.
Our best shooter is Jeff Green and we want him penetrating most of the time now that Pierce is gone.

I think our biggest problem during this first season of the rebuild will be be teams collapsing on us and daring us to shoot the three.
Hopefully guys like Avery and Lee improve to a point where they are shooting over 40% and can hit the three ball from more spots than just the corner.

I just don't think people are considering just how bad we'll be on offense from inside and out. On defense we'll be great on the perimeter but similarly bad if jot worse inside.

You can't have a winning running offense without the three point shooters to stretch the floor.

[#1P4P]

Why do people want to have an offense that emphasizes transition points?

Sacrifice wins for aesthetics by focusing the offense around a system that is devalued in the playoffs?

Denver and Golden State have been the best fast break teams for the better part of the last 8 years (ironic that when GS made it to the 2nd round it was 1) against each other 2) they were outside of the top 8 for the 2nd year in a row). In the playoffs, outlet passes=turnovers and fast break opportunities decrease because of opponents taking better care of the ball and 2 on 1's becoming 2 on 3's.

The best teams are usually outside of the top 10 in fast break points because transition offense doesn't coincide with playoff success. It usually means that the team lacks good half-court execution on offense, again, something exposed in the playoffs.

I rather the team focus on Stevens' grind-it-out defense and have set plays built around the 3 smart and above average passers on the team (Rondo, Sullinger, Olynyk). Getting the players to refine their skills/roles in the pick and pops, pick and rolls, post ups, drive and kicks, and cuts to the basket will be much more useful to the future of the team than transition offense. The Celtics probably aren't going to make the playoffs this upcoming season so this would be accustoming the players for the future.

Of course, Humphries wants to run. His 1 on 1 skills aren't good enough to get his stats back to a double-double without it (and he wants to inflate his numbers in a contract years). He's at his best getting hustle points like putbacks and, ummmm, finishing in transition.

[Celtics18]

Why do people want to have an offense that emphasizes transition points?

Sacrifice wins for aesthetics by focusing the offense around a system that is devalued in the playoffs?

Denver and Golden State have been the best fast break teams for the better part of the last 8 years (ironic that when GS made it to the 2nd round it was 1) against each other 2) they were outside of the top 8 for the 2nd year in a row). In the playoffs, outlet passes=turnovers and fast break opportunities decrease because of opponents taking better care of the ball and 2 on 1's becoming 2 on 3's.

The best teams are usually outside of the top 10 in fast break points because transition offense doesn't coincide with playoff success. It usually means that the team lacks good half-court execution on offense, again, something exposed in the playoffs.

I rather the team focus on Stevens' grind-it-out defense and have set plays built around the 3 smart and above average passers on the team (Rondo, Sullinger, Olynyk). Getting the players to refine their skills/roles in the pick and pops, pick and rolls, post ups, drive and kicks, and cuts to the basket will be much more useful to the future of the team than transition offense. The Celtics probably aren't going to make the playoffs this upcoming season so this would be accustoming the players for the future.

Of course, Humphries wants to run. His 1 on 1 skills aren't good enough to get his stats back to a double-double without it (and he wants to inflate his numbers in a contract years). He's at his best getting hustle points like putbacks and, ummmm, finishing in transition.

It's not a matter of aesthetics for me.  Rather, it's a matter of maximizing the personnel.  I think our personnel is best suited to playing an up-tempo style.   

I think team speed is one thing that will be an advantage for us against most teams.  I think we should attempt to use that advantage.

That doesn't mean that I don't want the team to be able to run an effective half court set when needed. 

[billysan]

There are a few drawbacks to being a running team for sure. Usually more turnovers and giving up a few fastbreaks of our own come to mind. We definitely need competent ball handlers and passers to run the floor. Rondo is a must for this aspect. He has the speed, skills and instincts to help the whole team excell.

This doesnt mean we don't play defense. I think if we focus on our defensive rebounding and looking for teammates on the outlet, we will be moving in the right direction as a team.

[BASS_THUMPER]

i hope so

a running team is a healthy team
and will cover both sides of the court
with no problem

i love it

[SHAQATTACK]

I predict C's   WILL. beat the Heat,  Once anyway.   Because they will overlook the lottery bound Celtics

[BASS_THUMPER]

and come on
linkin him with kim kardash is old news

        step ya game a lil bit

[Galeto]

Even with all the speed on the perimeter, to be a devastating running team like Phoenix was and Denver is now, you need EVERYONE to be fast to unsettle the defense.  The Celtics don't have the bigs to do that. 

Even a purported running team plays in the half court a great most of the time because defenses are too good at getting back.  I'd just like to see more secondary breaks and that's going to require Rondo to have a faster internal clock in his head and get rid of the ball quicker after crossing half court.  He did it in his second season because they weren't going to put up with a second year point guard pounding the ball.  As he's gotten more and more reined, he's abused it. 

Ideally, I'd like to see the Celtics emulate the Spurs mode of offense. They've gone from 20th and 14th fastest paced team to the 7th and 6th and increased their offensive efficiency in the process.  It hasn't come from increasing their athleticism but from cutting out the dead time in their half court sets. They're the most relentless half court offense I've seen.  They just don't waste any time.  If a pick is going to be set, it's not set after five seconds of ambling dribbling, it's set immediately.  They give themselves plenty of time for the ball to move and find good shots. 

[indeedproceed]

and come on
linkin him with kim kardash is old news

        step ya game a lil bit

It's either that or make Digital Underground jokes.