Tyler Zeller

[Chris22]

I think it's more than just tanking.  Stevens is actually trying to develop players and have them improve aspects of their game.

That might explain Stevens having Sully jack up threes like a maniac last season.  How does not playing Zeller help anyone improve their game?

Mike

Sullinger shot 40% from three in December.

[gpap]

Yeah, Zeller has been playing well.

My complaint with him is he's not very aggressive on defense.

If you're a center, you have to be willing to kick some A in the paint.

[MBunge]

I think it's more than just tanking.  Stevens is actually trying to develop players and have them improve aspects of their game.

That might explain Stevens having Sully jack up threes like a maniac last season.  How does not playing Zeller help anyone improve their game?

Mike

Sullinger shot 40% from three in December.

That's what I said.  Stevens clearly told Sully to keep shooting threes last season, even as he sucked at it, and the result can be seen in Sully's improvement behind the arc this year.

But how is NOT playing Zeller going to benefit his game or anyone else's?  Especially in situations where Zeller is playing well and still isn't getting big minutes?

Mike

[SHAQATTACK]

Zeller maybe the most valuable player we have.   Right now only KO is better big.  I d rather have Zeller than Sully .  Zeller can defend the paint a little and has a great attitude . 

He plays hard all the time .....max. Effort

Why can't Danny draft decent BIG players like Zeller is beyond me.

I glade he found Zeller in a deal.......TP for Danny ...but  for Pete sake can't Danny draft a center worth a plug nickel.

DA needs help drafting .....maybe he should let Stevens pick.......Danny is terrible at drafting bigs,

I like Zeller in some ways better than Asik .

I still like Plumlee though ......he is tuff as nails and good attitude ...he'll get better as he develops some offense.

[Celtics4ever]

Stevens clearly told Sully to keep shooting threes last season, even as he sucked at it, and the result can be seen in Sully's improvement behind the arc this year.

Too bad he didn't tell him to run the floor, or jump or play defense.

[jambr380]

  Easier said than done just giving Zeller the job.

Don't you think he has earned it with his recent play?   I know I do.

Zeller has been refreshing to watch and he has certainly earned minutes, but with him, KO, Sully, Wright, Bass, and Crowder, he isn't going to play major minutes unless he proves he really is a future all-star. We have a number of good players on our team and they all deserve to play. Once we make a couple of trades, things should work themselves out, but for now we just have to play who we have.

[kraidstar]

Yeah, Zeller has been playing well.

My complaint with him is he's not very aggressive on defense.

If you're a center, you have to be willing to kick some A in the paint.

agree 100%, and it's unfortunate, because he has the tools to be much better. he's athletic, long, and has good footwork, and yet he's a mediocre defender. he doesn't play aggressive, doesn't play mean, doesn't play physical, and he looks like he doesn't want to foul. it's a shame,because if he became just an above-average defender he'd be one of the best bigs in the league.

[greece66]

I think it's more than just tanking.  Stevens is actually trying to develop players and have them improve aspects of their game.  It's no different than smart imo.  Stevens could just throw him out there and have him play 35 mpg and shoot the ball terribly if we wanted to tank but he is moving smart around h aving him watch at times and just learn the game from different areas. Having KO come off the bench is the same thing.  Tommy basically said it that KO's post game is still a work in progress.  Smart's offense is too.  ZEller isn't the greatest defender on the planet.

There probably are better ways to match lineups and gain consistency and an identity if we were really trying to win games but overall long run this is best.

I guess that's tanking though.  Having them learn in a losing environment and protecting them a bit and keeping the long run in mind.

Zeller looks like a keeper to me though.  All you media people who want to harass these guys though let the people who know what they are doing do their jobs.  It's no different than constantly bothering DA about Rondo.  He moved him when he was ready to do that and made the right move.  Can't stand just drawing up controversy for the sake of it.  It's pointless.

C's are showing patience, why can't you?

TP

[PAOBoston]

Zeller is a nice player. I don't think he'll ever be a starter on a contender (could be a starter on a bad team) but he's going to be a really nice big off the bench. I think that's his future role in the NBA.

[Sketch5]

Zeller maybe the most valuable player we have.   Right now only KO is better big.  I d rather have Zeller than Sully .  Zeller can defend the paint a little and has a great attitude . 

He plays hard all the time .....max. Effort

Why can't Danny draft decent BIG players like Zeller is beyond me.

I glade he found Zeller in a deal.......TP for Danny ...but  for Pete sake can't Danny draft a center worth a plug nickel.

DA needs help drafting .....maybe he should let Stevens pick.......Danny is terrible at drafting bigs,

I like Zeller in some ways better than Asik .

I still like Plumlee though ......he is tuff as nails and good attitude ...he'll get better as he develops some offense.

Perkins, Jeffeson, Erden,Fab,Iverson have been the centers that DA has drafted that I can recall. He got two out of the 5, which for bigs isn't all that bad. There hasn't really been a ton of good ones to come out of the draft in recent years. Most years DA was drafting on need and not talent, and during the big 3 era we didn't have a need or good enough draft position to grab center that was NBA ready. They didn't want to develop while trying to contend. I think this draft we'll see how well DA can draft bigs.

[timpiker]

Zeller is a very pleasant surprise. I think Stevens is trying to balance teaching and finding the keepers.  That's job 1.  Winning might be priority 3.  Its not technically tanking.  They are playing hard and that's part of the teaching and finding the keepers.  I wish they were a championship contender but I'm not sure that will happen anytime soon.   Too much luck involved.

[Rosco917]

Zeller is a nice player. I don't think he'll ever be a starter on a contender (could be a starter on a bad team) but he's going to be a really nice big off the bench. I think that's his future role in the NBA.

I think this assessment above is accurate, he's a nice player to have around for sure.

I like best about him the way he quickly gets off the shot in the paint. It's in and out of his hand in a second or two. He's a real nice pick and roll guy with good hands. He likes to score in the paint, always a good thing.
He runs the floor, another positive. He works hard and keeps his mouth shut.

On the defensive end he's not aggressive enough to have an impact. He's a decent rebounder, but not what you could call a good rebounder. He's not a good enough rim protector, but not terrible.

He has to be the steal of the year for the Celtics.

[KeepRondo]

Zeller maybe the most valuable player we have.   Right now only KO is better big.  I d rather have Zeller than Sully .  Zeller can defend the paint a little and has a great attitude . 

He plays hard all the time .....max. Effort

Why can't Danny draft decent BIG players like Zeller is beyond me.

I glade he found Zeller in a deal.......TP for Danny ...but  for Pete sake can't Danny draft a center worth a plug nickel.

DA needs help drafting .....maybe he should let Stevens pick.......Danny is terrible at drafting bigs,

I like Zeller in some ways better than Asik .

I still like Plumlee though ......he is tuff as nails and good attitude ...he'll get better as he develops some offense.

I agree but watch Danny trade him for another 2016 first rounder.

[tcranenj]

I've been thinking the Celts should play Zeller and Wright together more frequently. While neither is a great defensive presence in the paint, they could provide some rim defense due to their length. I don't think they should start together, but maybe putting them together in the first substitution rotation would be a good time to try to get them some joint minutes. Now, others might argue that they're similar players so having them complement each other in the rotation is a better move. I get that, but there's also something to be said for making the other team defend two legit 6-11/7-0 players. Additionally, Wright and Zeller are the Celtics most efficient players according to the PER stat and, according to ESPN, they two of only three players in the top 25 of PER players in the whole league (Zeller is 21, Wright is 9 in PER for the whole league) who play fewer than 20 minutes. So, let's get them both 3-5 more minutes of floor time together and see what happens.

[KeepRondo]

I've been thinking the Celts should play Zeller and Wright together more frequently. While neither is a great defensive presence in the paint, they could provide some rim defense due to their length. I don't think they should start together, but maybe putting them together in the first substitution rotation would be a good time to try to get them some joint minutes. Now, others might argue that they're similar players so having them complement each other in the rotation is a better move. I get that, but there's also something to be said for making the other team defend two legit 6-11/7-0 players. Additionally, Wright and Zeller are the Celtics most efficient players according to the PER stat and, according to ESPN, they two of only three players in the top 25 of PER players in the whole league (Zeller is 21, Wright is 9 in PER for the whole league) who play fewer than 20 minutes. So, let's get them both 3-5 more minutes of floor time together and see what happens.

This would go against Brad Stevens predictable motion offense, with the bigs setting the high pick, and getting the ball off the pick behind the three point line.