Some observations after tonight.

[CFAN38]

First of all, we are fun to watch. We have been in nearly every game we play and they are entertaining. That does count for something as it indicates we are as they say "Close"

We desperately need interior defense. It is horrifying to watch us just get mangled inside or when players blow by Rondo (Seems to happen a lot) there is no one there to challenge them. It is really our major issue.

We need more shooting. I part of me says the fact we have no go to scorer is a bigger issue but I like the offense Stevens has in place. If we could get somebody, anybody to keep teams honest on the perimeter that would be perfect.

Poor Kelly Olynyk could not guard a locked door with a shot gun. He is a stunning player in his very special way on offense but he can not guard anyone in the NBA.

Jeff Green is being aggressive. The cynic in me says it is because he is in an option year and wants to opt out for more money. That is fine by me if that is the case. Go get paid Jeff.

If I told you that our starting point guard would be averaging 10pts, 12asts, and 8boards but we would be 3-6 you would be a bit dumbfounded. I must admit I am. It does not add up.

We miss Marcus Smart in the line up more than his numbers would suggest.

Rondo is shooting 20% from the line. Let that sink in for a minute. 20%. Everyone who has ever posted on this blog could shoot better than that. Everyone.

We are doing well in nearly every "hustle" stat there is. That is a great thing.

My actual name is Evan Turner. I am embarrassed that someone with my name plays that badly for my favorite sports team of all time. Evan Turner is personally responsible for a 17% increase in my dark liquor consumption. I made a chart, ran the numbers. It's 17%. Thanks Evan.

I really hope we can send Brandon Bass someplace to play for a ring. Talk about a classy, hard working pro. Good on ya, Mr. Bass.

Speaking of that, How about Bass straight up for JJ Redick. I think that deal helps both teams.

Jared Sullinger is really bloody good. Get him a shot blocker next to him and watch the f#@k out. His numbers are almost identical to Kevin Love but he gets paid a bit less to do it. By a bit less I mean 14 million bucks less. (I know this is not a fair comparison in any way but Sully is going to be really good. Book it)

All I want for Christmas is for James Young to grasp the defense enough to be able to play some. I have a very good feeling about this kid. I really do.

This team is going to get better. I am sure of it. I honestly think a rim protecting big gets us in the playoffs in the East. John Henson everybody. John Henson.

This team has grit, plays with a fire and does not quit. They are just young and sloppy. Still makes it fun. Enjoy the ride.

I agree with your points.

A few of my critiques from last night (first game I've gone to this season)

1. Green didn't seem engaged on D, it was like he felt Morris shouldn't score on him and that should be enough. His O was great but D was bad.

2. Cs need to force the offense into Sully at points. He needs more touches on the block.

3. I know the rotation is deep but to win games Wallace should be used. I would have liked him on #11 Morris when he got hot. I think this could have been a difference between winning and losing.

4. Kelly needs to go to the block when the match-up allows. I know its not the focus of his game but at 7' he needs to make the smaller defender feel they are in a size mismatch.

5. As previously stated Bass deserves to be traded to a playoff team in need of a 3rd big. This would get him more min, wallace more min, and zeller more min.

6. Barring a major (rondo/green) trade or an injury Turner or Thorton will need to be traded by allstar break. They play the same role just in different forms. Both are bench scorers who need to be brought in and given the green light to score we do not need both of them. When Smart comes back he will also eat into their minutes not to mention Young will likely have earned some time by seasons end.   

[manl_lui]

First of all, we are fun to watch. We have been in nearly every game we play and they are entertaining. That does count for something as it indicates we are as they say "Close"

As 2k would put it, close but no cigar , but I agree with this

We desperately need interior defense. It is horrifying to watch us just get mangled inside or when players blow by Rondo (Seems to happen a lot) there is no one there to challenge them. It is really our major issue.

Poor Kelly Olynyk could not guard a locked door with a shot gun. He is a stunning player in his very special way on offense but he can not guard anyone in the NBA.

I agree to a certain extent. Rondo does get blown by quite a bit but also because of pick and rolls. After the pick, the other guy needs to help out Rondo. There's no excuse in a pick and roll situation, that there is absolutely no help. We need a shot blocker in the paint desperately as you mentioned as well. And Kelly needs to defend better. He is WAY below average on defense. If he is at least an average defender that can help us a lot.

Rondo is shooting 20% from the line. Let that sink in for a minute. 20%. Everyone who has ever posted on this blog could shoot better than that. Everyone.

I am one of the biggest Rondo supporters and this makes me angry.

[pearljammer10]

First of all, we are fun to watch. We have been in nearly every game we play and they are entertaining. That does count for something as it indicates we are as they say "Close"

We desperately need interior defense. It is horrifying to watch us just get mangled inside or when players blow by Rondo (Seems to happen a lot) there is no one there to challenge them. It is really our major issue.

We need more shooting. I part of me says the fact we have no go to scorer is a bigger issue but I like the offense Stevens has in place. If we could get somebody, anybody to keep teams honest on the perimeter that would be perfect.

Poor Kelly Olynyk could not guard a locked door with a shot gun. He is a stunning player in his very special way on offense but he can not guard anyone in the NBA.

Jeff Green is being aggressive. The cynic in me says it is because he is in an option year and wants to opt out for more money. That is fine by me if that is the case. Go get paid Jeff.

If I told you that our starting point guard would be averaging 10pts, 12asts, and 8boards but we would be 3-6 you would be a bit dumbfounded. I must admit I am. It does not add up.

We miss Marcus Smart in the line up more than his numbers would suggest.

Rondo is shooting 20% from the line. Let that sink in for a minute. 20%. Everyone who has ever posted on this blog could shoot better than that. Everyone.

We are doing well in nearly every "hustle" stat there is. That is a great thing.

My actual name is Evan Turner. I am embarrassed that someone with my name plays that badly for my favorite sports team of all time. Evan Turner is personally responsible for a 17% increase in my dark liquor consumption. I made a chart, ran the numbers. It's 17%. Thanks Evan.

I really hope we can send Brandon Bass someplace to play for a ring. Talk about a classy, hard working pro. Good on ya, Mr. Bass.

Speaking of that, How about Bass straight up for JJ Redick. I think that deal helps both teams.

Jared Sullinger is really bloody good. Get him a shot blocker next to him and watch the f#@k out. His numbers are almost identical to Kevin Love but he gets paid a bit less to do it. By a bit less I mean 14 million bucks less. (I know this is not a fair comparison in any way but Sully is going to be really good. Book it)

All I want for Christmas is for James Young to grasp the defense enough to be able to play some. I have a very good feeling about this kid. I really do.

This team is going to get better. I am sure of it. I honestly think a rim protecting big gets us in the playoffs in the East. John Henson everybody. John Henson.

This team has grit, plays with a fire and does not quit. They are just young and sloppy. Still makes it fun. Enjoy the ride.

TP for a good post but I'll address some thing I noticed, also bolded them in your original response.

We are definitely fun to watch. I loved the Pierce, Allen, KG era....But sometimes it was so boring and so slow during the regular season. At least with this team we know that every game is going to be fast paced and uptempo. I like watching that. It'll be even better when Smart comes back.

Having one big in the starting lineup that can protect the rim and enforce the middle would completely change the outlook of this team. I would even go as far as to say we might be 6-3 right now instead of 3-6 if we had one.

I'm not so sure we need "more shooting" as all we do is shoot jump shots right now. Sully needs to get under the basket. We are settling for way too many long twos. We may need better shooters but I think we need to go to the basket more as opposed to shoot more.

I too miss Marcus Smart as it will hopefully cut down Bradley and Turner's minutes significantly.

Rondo is actually shooting 30% from the line...Not that it is all that much better cause it's not but its still 30% on the season.

Evan T, man do I feel bad for you. Whenever Turner comes into the game something goes wrong. He does not have very high Bball IQ. Its painful for me to watch even when he is playing mediocre basketball. You can also tell that Tommy hates him. Hopefully Smart and eventually Young take his minutes.

Love Bass.

Sully is playing well this season but he will never become Kevin Love (the Minny version, verdict is still out on Cavs version). He needs to be down low and on the block. Whenever he pulls up for the long two and the three ball, it just makes me cringe. He is a rebounding machine and a beast down low. Play to his strengths and put him down there.

Hopefully Young catches on quickly. I would love to see him take minutes away from Bradley and Turner by the All Star break.



Side notes to add: Right now I'd actually like to see Thorton play more. I like his offense, he is a nice spark, and he is really really good at finishing when going to the basket...That's another thing, he goes to the basket!!

Watch Gerald Wallace during the games. He looks so comfortable in his seat at the end of the bench. Using that long table thing as a head rest, crossing his legs, putting his arms around teammates. He should just come out every game in a bathrobe.

[MBunge]

Rondo is shooting 20% from the line. Let that sink in for a minute. 20%. Everyone who has ever posted on this blog could shoot better than that. Everyone.

If anyone every wonders about the importance of coaching, that is a great example.

Rondo didn't just become a bad shooter.  He's always been one and coaches let him slide because of all the other things he could do.  But even if you're a terrible jump shooter, there's no reason you can't become at least an average free throw shooter.  But no coach ever forced Rondo  to confront that weakness and it affects his whole game.  Heck, 90% of the time when Rondo misses a layup it's because he's so used to twisting away from contact because he's afraid of getting fouled that he doesn't know how to make a normal shot.

Mike

[TwinTower14]

Rondo is shooting 20% from the line. Let that sink in for a minute. 20%. Everyone who has ever posted on this blog could shoot better than that. Everyone.

If anyone every wonders about the importance of coaching, that is a great example.

Rondo didn't just become a bad shooter.  He's always been one and coaches let him slide because of all the other things he could do.  But even if you're a terrible jump shooter, there's no reason you can't become at least an average free throw shooter.  But no coach ever forced Rondo  to confront that weakness and it affects his whole game.  Heck, 90% of the time when Rondo misses a layup it's because he's so used to twisting away from contact because he's afraid of getting fouled that he doesn't know how to make a normal shot.

Mike

I agree - but Rondo has to shoulder some blame here too...Let's take Kidd for example, his rookie year he shot 69% from the line and that ended up being one of the lowest percentages of his career.  He actually almost ended his career at 80%...

The fact that Rondo has hoovered around 50-60% for his career is an absolute joke...

I think you make great points about him being so good at other things that coaches have overlooked his shooting....

[Who]

3. I know the rotation is deep but to win games Wallace should be used. I would have liked him on #11 Morris when he got hot. I think this could have been a difference between winning and losing.

I have been disappointed at how little Gerald Wallace has been used. I think his physical toughness and defense & rebounding is a useful weapon off the bench at SF and PF.

Stevens seems overly focused on getting as much offense on the floor as possible.