Early impressions

[tarheelsxxiii]

I can't watch many games here in GA, but I'm interested to hear what your all opinions are regarding my initial impressions.

To me, Faverani seems awful. Green is the same Green we have come to know. Crawford is playing well enough to bring back something decent in a trade (e.g., more than the speculated mid-second round pick that has been stated), and Bradley is a great role/bench player that every championship team needs.

Bright spots? Meh. I think Lee's value has gone up a bit - he appears to be putting up buckets in limited mins. Same with Bass - I always thought he could bring back a decent return (for as much as some may dislike him, he is a solid NBA player). And, in my opinion, Sullinger is a stud - again, I can't watch many games... but his box scores suggest he's a very good basketball player with a bright future.

I am interested to hear what others think about Stevens' constant line-up changes and seemingly sporadic substitutions. I realize he's new, the team has a lot of new faces, etc. But, overall, how do people feel about his growth (in his limited tenure)?

[Jailan34]

Sullinger looks more aggressive in both rebounding and demanding the ball on the low block which is nice. Olynk was extremely up and down before his injury.

AB is playing pretty well, however I think this is his limit as a player, above average shooter who excels on the defensive end, i agree with your sentiment that he's just too small to be a starter on a championship team.

As for Steven's it's too early to tell, the team some nights plays together, other nights it seems like everyone is out for themselves and their own stats.

[BASS_THUMPER]

you can not judge a team by it's coach.
who won those rings in Chi Town

Phil or Jordan?


and in Los A.
Phil or Kobe?


the talent he has had made him
famous..not his coaching

[Celtics4ever]

Phil has always been as good as his players and lack the guts to coach the game without a superstar or loaded team.   Red built teams, Phil takes them over when they are ready and spouts Zen.

[hardlyyardley]

In many ways, I'm enjoying this team more than last year's

[More Banners]

In many ways, I'm enjoying this team more than last year's

Yes, EFFORT.

Mistakes are mistakes, but lazy mistakes are worse to watch than dumb, youthful ones.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

get nba league pass and you can watch basically every game. i have it. It is fabulous!

[hardlyyardley]

you must be single

[Evantime34]

I can't watch many games here in GA, but I'm interested to hear what your all opinions are regarding my initial impressions.

To me, Faverani seems awful. Green is the same Green we have come to know. Crawford is playing well enough to bring back something decent in a trade (e.g., more than the speculated mid-second round pick that has been stated), and Bradley is a great role/bench player that every championship team needs.

Bright spots? Meh. I think Lee's value has gone up a bit - he appears to be putting up buckets in limited mins. Same with Bass - I always thought he could bring back a decent return (for as much as some may dislike him, he is a solid NBA player). And, in my opinion, Sullinger is a stud - again, I can't watch many games... but his box scores suggest he's a very good basketball player with a bright future.

I am interested to hear what others think about Stevens' constant line-up changes and seemingly sporadic substitutions. I realize he's new, the team has a lot of new faces, etc. But, overall, how do people feel about his growth (in his limited tenure)?

My impressions
1. Sullinger is the best player on this team and is absolutely one of the pieces the Celtics will build around.
2. Crawford has been a great shooter and a solid passer this year but sometimes he takes too long to get into the offense.
3. Bradley is shooting better from mid range than I would have expected, but he has stopped pressuring the ball full court
4. Olynyk all of a sudden can't shoot, but has played solid defense and rebounded.
5. Faverani seems to be much better in transition. Once Rondo comes back they will run more and it will help FAV
6. Pressey is an NBA point guard, if he can become a consistent shooter he could be our #2 point guard for a long time.
7. Bass is shooting lights out but I don't really want to see him trying to create his own shot in the post
8. Lee has been on fire, not sure why he doesn't play more/shoot more when he does play.
9. Green looks to be the player he always has. Unfortunately not much improvement.
10. I think Stevens is a really great coach, they play hard every single night
11. Everyone should benefit from Rondo's return but Bass, Green and  Bradley especially.

[hpantazo]

Sullinger as someone else said looks more and more aggressive on both ends. He's our best player with Rondo out.

Olynyk showed some skills but was too passive and foul prone.

Crawford has amazingly enough developed into a good point guard but sometimes reverts back into the Jordan Crawford of last year who looks for his shot 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.

Wallace and Humphries have shown why they were useless for the Nets.

Green showed he's a skilled scorer but needs a point guard who can get him the ball in the right places.

I think Stevens has done a decent job, but too often the guards stop passing the ball down low and to the wings and just look for their own shots (Bradley, Lee, and Crawford). The team does have a very stable demeanor like the coach, and they compete until the very end of each game no matter the score

Bradley has shown he is a limited offensive player, poor ball handler, below average shooter, and terrible finisher, but a very good on the ball defender. .

Faverani needs some work. He has some good offensive skills but is poor on the defensive end and makes some bad decisions with the ball and with boxing out

Bass has actually improved from last year, is a very good defender and consistent scorer

Lee is a bit better but still sucks

[clover]

I can't watch many games here in GA, but I'm interested to hear what your all opinions are regarding my initial impressions.

To me, Faverani seems awful. Green is the same Green we have come to know. Crawford is playing well enough to bring back something decent in a trade (e.g., more than the speculated mid-second round pick that has been stated), and Bradley is a great role/bench player that every championship team needs.

Bright spots? Meh. I think Lee's value has gone up a bit - he appears to be putting up buckets in limited mins. Same with Bass - I always thought he could bring back a decent return (for as much as some may dislike him, he is a solid NBA player). And, in my opinion, Sullinger is a stud - again, I can't watch many games... but his box scores suggest he's a very good basketball player with a bright future.

I am interested to hear what others think about Stevens' constant line-up changes and seemingly sporadic substitutions. I realize he's new, the team has a lot of new faces, etc. But, overall, how do people feel about his growth (in his limited tenure)?

My impressions
1. Sullinger is the best player on this team and is absolutely one of the pieces the Celtics will build around.
2. Crawford has been a great shooter and a solid passer this year but sometimes he takes too long to get into the offense.
3. Bradley is shooting better from mid range than I would have expected, but he has stopped pressuring the ball full court
4. Olynyk all of a sudden can't shoot, but has played solid defense and rebounded.
5. Faverani seems to be much better in transition. Once Rondo comes back they will run more and it will help FAV
6. Pressey is an NBA point guard, if he can become a consistent shooter he could be our #2 point guard for a long time.
7. Bass is shooting lights out but I don't really want to see him trying to create his own shot in the post
8. Lee has been on fire, not sure why he doesn't play more/shoot more when he does play.
9. Green looks to be the player he always has. Unfortunately not much improvement.
10. I think Stevens is a really great coach, they play hard every single night
11. Everyone should benefit from Rondo's return but Bass, Green and  Bradley especially.

Pretty solid analysis.

Bradley has said that Stevens asked him to pull back from the full-court pressure.

[GreenWarrior]

I think Steven's is doing a good job. I like the fact that he's not afraid to pull a guy at a moments notice or ride the hot hand. I haven't watched every game this yr. but every game I have watched these guys are playing and playing hard.

Really liked the fact that he didn't insist on keeping Avery at pg just because he's a veteran.

The random starting line-ups aren't really by choice imo. It's more about where we are at this point. We don't have a legit starting center.

As for the players:

Olynk - I feel I can't judge his game just yet. too small a sample and much like any rookie he needs to gain weight. Oly need to gain about 50 lbs. of muscle. Ultimately I see this guy as a sf though.

Sully - I know I'm probably gonna get flamed for this but...the fact that he's a pf in a sf body bothers me, I HATE SMALL BALL. As great as he has been playing I ultimately look at him as a liability on the defensive end. If he could transition to sf permanently then I'd be ok with that. But we're kind of overloaded there.

Jordan Crawford - I like him, he's got moxie. I like how when he starts getting assists he starts to want more.

Courtney Lee - not a fan. I hate how he twists his body to the side when he shoots. this dude puzzles me.

GW - I've seen this guy play before and he's flat out a different player here. I don't think he wants to be here and I think he's quietly doing things to sabotage this team - Seriously! some of his turn overs seem to be awfully suspect imo.

JG - I think everyone expecting him to come out and play like LeBron, Jordan, Bird had some lofty expectations that no one should have placed on him. He's a scorer that's it. He's just not in that elite category. 

[hpantazo]

Sully - I know I'm probably gonna get flamed for this but...the fact that he's a pf in a sf body bothers me, I HATE SMALL BALL. As great as he has been playing I ultimately look at him as a liability on the defensive end. If he could transition to sf permanently then I'd be ok with that. But we're kind of overloaded there.

I don't get it. Are you saying Sully has the body of a SF? He has the body of a PF/C and then some. Unfortunately Stevens has him playing center too much imo. If he sticks to PF he's golden

[Evantime34]

I can't watch many games here in GA, but I'm interested to hear what your all opinions are regarding my initial impressions.

To me, Faverani seems awful. Green is the same Green we have come to know. Crawford is playing well enough to bring back something decent in a trade (e.g., more than the speculated mid-second round pick that has been stated), and Bradley is a great role/bench player that every championship team needs.

Bright spots? Meh. I think Lee's value has gone up a bit - he appears to be putting up buckets in limited mins. Same with Bass - I always thought he could bring back a decent return (for as much as some may dislike him, he is a solid NBA player). And, in my opinion, Sullinger is a stud - again, I can't watch many games... but his box scores suggest he's a very good basketball player with a bright future.

I am interested to hear what others think about Stevens' constant line-up changes and seemingly sporadic substitutions. I realize he's new, the team has a lot of new faces, etc. But, overall, how do people feel about his growth (in his limited tenure)?

My impressions
1. Sullinger is the best player on this team and is absolutely one of the pieces the Celtics will build around.
2. Crawford has been a great shooter and a solid passer this year but sometimes he takes too long to get into the offense.
3. Bradley is shooting better from mid range than I would have expected, but he has stopped pressuring the ball full court
4. Olynyk all of a sudden can't shoot, but has played solid defense and rebounded.
5. Faverani seems to be much better in transition. Once Rondo comes back they will run more and it will help FAV
6. Pressey is an NBA point guard, if he can become a consistent shooter he could be our #2 point guard for a long time.
7. Bass is shooting lights out but I don't really want to see him trying to create his own shot in the post
8. Lee has been on fire, not sure why he doesn't play more/shoot more when he does play.
9. Green looks to be the player he always has. Unfortunately not much improvement.
10. I think Stevens is a really great coach, they play hard every single night
11. Everyone should benefit from Rondo's return but Bass, Green and  Bradley especially.

Pretty solid analysis.

Bradley has said that Stevens asked him to pull back from the full-court pressure.

I think that's a function of them needing him to score in the games, but I think with Rondo back he will get back to full court pressure.

[Who]

I think Courtney Lee's trade value has been declining due to the lack of minutes he is playing. I think it is going to get harder and harder to move him if he is only 15-18 minutes a night.