Some thoughts at the end of a long, tough season.

[PhoSita]

Rondo's role in the offense isn't much different than it has been over the last 4-5 years. He's not controlling the ball more than usual, he's not shooting the ball more than usual and he doesn't have a higher than usual usage rate.

Isn't that kind of the problem?  He's playing the same way even though the team is drastically different.

[Celtics4ever]

He's playing the same way even though the team is drastically different.

The quality of whom he is passing too has drastically been reduced.  That is going to hurt Rondo as a player.   He is a facilitator not a scorer.

[PhoSita]

He's playing the same way even though the team is drastically different.

The quality of whom he is passing too has drastically been reduced.  That is going to hurt Rondo as a player.   He is a facilitator not a scorer.

I agree.  However, I don't think Rondo is totally off the hook just because the talent around him has gone down.  If Rondo is truly a great distributor / floor general, we should be able to expect him to find ways to put his teammates in a position to shine.  That means adapting and adjusting. 

I don't think Rondo has figured out yet how to still get his numbers and succeed individually while still helping this group of players succeed.  Perhaps that's mostly because he's been focusing on getting his own game right as he recovers from injury.  Maybe it's a mental thing, too.  Perhaps we'll see next year.

[BballTim]

Rondo's role in the offense isn't much different than it has been over the last 4-5 years. He's not controlling the ball more than usual, he's not shooting the ball more than usual and he doesn't have a higher than usual usage rate.

Isn't that kind of the problem?  He's playing the same way even though the team is drastically different.

  I'ts pretty atypical to expect your best players to drastically change their games when you change their supporting casts. And the main change that you'd typically see in a situation like this is for the star player to carry a much larger burden on offense, something that would have been fairly foolish given the fact that Rondo was coming back mid-season from a serious injury.

  But beyond that, Rondo's game is pretty much to get players open shots. Why would that be a bad strategy for our team? You're talking about our players being different from years past but I think the word you should be using is "worse". It's true that they don't execute as well in the half court as last year's team. But it's also true that they don't excel at anything in particular. Your ideas on what needs to change is to "run more", but we don't have a team of gazelles or great rebounders. Rondo can't just waive a wand and get better, faster outlet passes from more defensive rebounds or transport more people into the front court.

  But what about the half court game, where we spend the majority of our time? What strengths does this team have that last year's didn't in their half court offense that Rondo's not taking advantage of? Do we have better shooters this year? Better ball-handlers? Players better at creating their own shot? Top-notch post play? I'm just not seeing it.

  In any case, you're taking my statement out of context. I was just commenting on the nonsensical claim that we're somehow tailoring our game plan to increase Rondo's stats (and tank more), which is undoubtedly an attempt to explain why Rondo's struggle to get those high assist totals without those great offensive players failed to happen. Not only is there no evidence of this (either to the eye or through any statistical measure, but it's still true that we score more efficiently off of assist opportunities than otherwise. It's like claiming that we're trying to tank by rebounding more or playing better defense.

[Birdman]

I said this team would be lucky to win 25 and I was right..but no one should be surprise on how this season would turn out

[BballTim]

He's playing the same way even though the team is drastically different.

The quality of whom he is passing too has drastically been reduced.  That is going to hurt Rondo as a player.   He is a facilitator not a scorer.

I agree.  However, I don't think Rondo is totally off the hook just because the talent around him has gone down.  If Rondo is truly a great distributor / floor general, we should be able to expect him to find ways to put his teammates in a position to shine.  That means adapting and adjusting. 

  I think it's hard to draw too many conclusions from a season where Rondo's coming back from injury to a different group of players with a different coach when they're pretty much playing out their string. But aside from that this isn't a group that's really going to shine. What changes to Rondo's game would you expect to make players like Bass and Humphries and Bradley look significantly better on offense than they do now?

I don't think Rondo has figured out yet how to still get his numbers and succeed individually while still helping this group of players succeed.  Perhaps that's mostly because he's been focusing on getting his own game right as he recovers from injury.  Maybe it's a mental thing, too.  Perhaps we'll see next year.

  It's true that Rondo's been focusing at least somewhat on getting his own game right as he recovers from injury. But he "gets his numbers" by getting his teammates good looks at the basket. I don't see what about that would have to change in order to get his team to succeed.

[LarBrd33]

Instead of asking Rondo to adapt and fit in, we've given him free reign to inflate his stats and maximize our tankability.

  I can't comment on how many games you see but Rondo's role in the offense isn't much different than it has been over the last 4-5 years.

That's a bingo.

Now you're gettin it, Tim. 

[LarBrd33]

This season wasn't "long/tough"... it was a masterful display of strategic positioning by a master GM.   It's something absolutely worth celebrating.

This season was exactly what the franchise needed, but that doesn't mean it wasn't long and tough.

agreed. This was brutal. It was chinese water torture.  I'm willing to go through it again to develop a top 3 pick. If not a top 3 pick, DA needs to go another direction this offseason and next year.

Honestly, I didn't watch a ton of the games this year.  When I did, it was pre-recorded and I fast-forwarded through most of it.   Hard to get invested in sitting ducks and ringers. 

My mindset:  We tanked the season on July 12th.  Took several months for most of this forum to catch up, but it was blatantly obvious Ainge had thrown away a season for ping pong balls.  By the time the actual season started in November... we were already 5 months into a tank job.  We were basically half way to the finish line!  The home stretch!  It was smooth sailing from then on, in my mind.

I'm crazy, but I'm definitely not crazy enough to believe you can will a team to win/lose.  Most of my bellyaching this season came prior to the trade deadline when I debated with several posters about the necessity to trade Rondo.  Clearly aware our debates had no impact on whether or not Ainge traded him... it was more just arguing the merits of why we should or shouldn't do it.  In retrospect, the biggest thing I overestimated this season was Rondo's impact.  The homer in me thought he could screw this team into 38 wins and a #15 pick.   Turns out, we won 20% of the games he played... all my bellyaching was for naught.  Had I known Rondo would be such a contributing asset to the tank job, I could have saved myself a lot of arguments with BBallTim and Celtics18.  As long as we bottomed out, I preferred keeping Rondo.   I wanted a Top 8 pick this year... and we're getting a Top 8 pick.   Ainge nailed it.  Seriously, the balls on that guy... he knows his team.  He knew he could gamble and keep Rondo and still bottom out.   I really wouldn't want any other GM running this team.  The dude is a master.  Now, if he has any intention of trading Rondo (at this point I think he keeps him), he'll be getting much greater offers this summer than he was getting at the deadline.  Master GM. 

[BballTim]

Instead of asking Rondo to adapt and fit in, we've given him free reign to inflate his stats and maximize our tankability.

  I can't comment on how many games you see but Rondo's role in the offense isn't much different than it has been over the last 4-5 years.

That's a bingo.

Now you're gettin it, Tim.

  Getting it in terms of realizing that "we've given him free reign to inflate his stats" was pretty much hogwash, that you wouldn't be able to come up with any stats to show any evidence of it and you're more than willing to move on to another argument, even if it disagrees with your previous claim, as long as it (in your opinion) puts Rondo in a negative light. That's a bingo.

[Celtics18]

My thoughts:

The keepers for me are Rondo, Bradley and Olynyk. 

I want to see Danny do whatever he can to get a real center on the team. 

I'm torn on Jeff Green.  We all can be frustrated by the fact that he has way more potential than he ever seems to realize consistently.  On the other hand, I don't think it will be easy to find a better small forward than him.

I'm starting to fall for Phil Pressey as a back up point guard. 

I'm excited for the draft and to see what Danny does this off-season. 

[LarBrd33]

Instead of asking Rondo to adapt and fit in, we've given him free reign to inflate his stats and maximize our tankability.

  I can't comment on how many games you see but Rondo's role in the offense isn't much different than it has been over the last 4-5 years.

That's a bingo.

Now you're gettin it, Tim.

  Getting it in terms of realizing that "we've given him free reign to inflate his stats" was pretty much hogwash, that you wouldn't be able to come up with any stats to show any evidence of it and you're more than willing to move on to another argument, even if it disagrees with your previous claim, as long as it (in your opinion) puts Rondo in a negative light. That's a bingo.

Rondo's style of play goes against Stevens principles.  It's a stylistic mis-match.  Instead of asking ROndo to adapt and fit in, he's had free reign to play the same way he's played for the past 4-5 years.  That's resulted in a glorious amount of tank win.  The team has been better with Rondo sitting.   Had Rondo been forced to adapt, his stats would likely be down.  He needs the ball to rack up assists.  He isn't effective without the ball, because he's an offensive liability.   Asking Rondo to try and adapt this season (for the sake of winning) would have hurt his statistical output, hurt his trade value and likely added another layer of complication to Rondo's recoverly.  Better to just let him be same ol Rondo at the expense of wins... helps keep him statistically relevant for a potential draft day deal... helps us bottom out... helps him get back to being Rondo.   

Next year (if he's still here), I imagine he'll have to start evolving his game.  It will be easier with a full season ahead of them and not the arbitrary tankariffic "no back to backs" rule limiting the team's ability to be cohesive.  Last two years have basically proven that the team isn't effective when ROndo is chasing assists.  If Rondo sticks around (I am leaning towards the idea he will), I expect he will NOT be playing the same way he has over the past 4-5 years.

[BballTim]

Instead of asking Rondo to adapt and fit in, we've given him free reign to inflate his stats and maximize our tankability.

  I can't comment on how many games you see but Rondo's role in the offense isn't much different than it has been over the last 4-5 years.

That's a bingo.

Now you're gettin it, Tim.

  Getting it in terms of realizing that "we've given him free reign to inflate his stats" was pretty much hogwash, that you wouldn't be able to come up with any stats to show any evidence of it and you're more than willing to move on to another argument, even if it disagrees with your previous claim, as long as it (in your opinion) puts Rondo in a negative light. That's a bingo.

Rondo's style of play goes against Stevens principles.  It's a stylistic mis-match.  Instead of asking ROndo to adapt and fit in, he's had free reign to play the same way he's played for the past 4-5 years.

  Most of the time that Rondo was out Stevens was talking about things he wanted to implement on offense but he couldn't until Rondo started playing. If you have any evidence to contradict what Stevens himself said on multiple occasions I'd be interested in what it is.

[IlCapitano]

What are the chances of us landing Deng or Melo in the FA this summer? That is, if they opt out, of course.

[Mazingerz]

1. That Olynyk is a player worth keeping; I read somewhere here that his rookie stats are comparable to Pierce, Cousy, Heinsohn in terms of points, assists and rebounds;
2. That Pressey has the motor and is a very capable back-up PG;
3. That Bass and Green need to go this offseason;
4. That Hump is a nice guy after all;
5. That Bogans is a bitter bitter man;
6. That Courtney Lee found his shot and role with the Grizzlies;
7. That Rondo is pacing himself;
8. That Joel Anthony looks akward in a Celtics jersey;
9. That Crawford really liked the Celtics (after Doc Rivers);
10. That Ray Allen still pines for the Celtics;
11. That the Captain still has something left in the tank (albeit for short stints only);
12. That Chris Johnson needs to stay for next season;
13. That Wallace still has some crash left in him;
14. That Sully really is fat;
15. That whenever Brad Stevens doesnt wear a tie, he looks like he is stressed;
16. That Ainge's picks this season have performed admirably (KO, Pressey, and to some extent Iverson in Turkey);
17. That Wyc and the owners have Ainge's and Stevens backs;
18. That Bradley (in my opinion) is undersized for his position and has no talent being a point guard;

[OmarSekou]

First off, I respect everybody whose been on here posting during the season. I popped in to see what people were thinking once in a while, and either watched most games or had them on in the background while I was doing other stuff, but one big take away is that the fans in Boston care. We borderline had more fans in DC than they did during the last game.

It was a tough team to watch. Some nice pieces and some decent stretches, but we never really gelled as a team. I'm happy people seem to be giving Stevens a free pass, but it's frustrating to see that the Rondo hate will likely shadow him as long as he's here.

Sully and Olynyk are both good, but I can't see them forming our front court unless Kelly develops into a rim protector (unlikely) and Sully gets a little quicker (probable if he can stay healthy). Between the two, Kelly's got more upside but I really hope we can keep both and have Sully eventually become a great sub on a great team, as opposed to an average starter on a bad team.

No clue on Bradley. He's not the same guy he was defensively, which is understandable given that he's taking on more but I'd like to see him dial in defensively more and just shut guys down. If we want to get back to where we were that's what makes him special.

I like keeping Pressey as a backup. All he's done is hustle and improve. He's an actual PG, which is good for backing up Rondo. Jordan Crawford was shockingly good in the early part of the season. I was happy to see him earn a job in the league (also happy to see Gerald Green develop into a real NBA player).

For better or worse, I think we know who Jeff Green is at this point. He's a 3rd or 4th banana.

This is going to be a big off-season for us. I hope we keep Rondo and have the balls bounce in our favor for the draft. We have some trade pieces, so I think Danny has room to maneuver.

I'm not sure how many years Tommy has left in the booth, which will be a sad day when it comes to pass.