Celtics - Final Preseason Stats

[crimson_stallion]

Given the major minute restrictions on all players, I thought it would be nice to see the Per-36 Minute numbers for each of the players.

I couldn't easily find such a list online for preseason stats, so I threw numbers into a spreadsheet and calculated it myself!

Thought I would post it here for everybody's entertainment: 



The guys who stand out to me:

Avery Bradley
19.1 pts, 5.6 reb, 3.3 ast, 3.3 stl, 47% FG, 52% 3PT, 100% FT

Amir Johnson
20.1 pts, 10.2 reb, 1.6 ast, 1.6 stl, 2 blk, 60% FG, 50% 3PT

Jae Crowder
15.2 pts, 7.3 reb, 4.2 ast, 1.8 stl, 54% FG, 56% 3PT

Jordan Mickey
21.2 pts, 11.1 reb, 1.0 ast, 1.6 stl, 4.2 blk, 56% FG

Terry Rozier
19.0 pts, 4.2 reb, 5.4 ast, 2.7 stl, 49% FG, 57% 3PT

Jared Sullinger
17.7 pts, 15.4 reb, 4.6 ast, 1.3 stl, 1.9 blk

Isaiah Thomas
21.5 pts, 3.7 reb, 8.3 ast, 1.5 stl

Tyler Zeller
20.0 pts, 8.5 reb, 2.0 ast, 0.7stl, 1.7 blk, 65% FG, 85% FT 

I will be keeping a close eye on the highlighted ones!

Also worth noting that Boston finished the preseason with a 6-1 (85.7%) win record.  This puts them at the equal second best record in the league, behind Charlotte (7-1, 87.5%) and tied with Memphis.

Lets hope this is a good sign, and that at least some of this success will project into the regular season!


Note
I only included players who have a shot of being with the team when the regular season starts, so the red-claw certainties aren't on here. 

[saltlover]

Do you suppose any team had worse preseason competition than the Celtics?

2 Euro teams
2 vs Nets
2 vs Knicks
1 vs Sixers

It wouldn't surprise me at all if none of those teams win even 35 games.

Also, TP for the effort!

[KeepRondo]

Rozier and Mickey played a bulk of their minutes against backups from terrible teams.

[Celtics4ever]

Jared Sullinger (17.7 pts, 15.4 reb, 4.6 ast, 1.3 stl, 1.9 blk)

A 38% shooter stands out to you?  Plus, there is no way he could run up and down the floor for 30 minutes and he would foul out well before then. 

Some guys like Hunter who we know CBS likes did not that well.   Likewise with Lee whom will be a starter, I suspect.  Which means it is safe to say that CBS does not use PER36.

[tstorey_97]

Thanks for the post! Great stuff.

Yes, we all have the right to some "pre season" optimism.
Yes, they torched a bunch of second tier teams....obviously.

My point is that they "toyed" with all of these opponents which is exactly what they were supposed to do. They played like they were supposed beat these teams and handled them that way.

I suggest that NBA basketball is a team sport. The stars bring the "team with them", but, a team that is deep and committed to defense is a huge problem for any NBA opponent on a given night.

The Celtics, as currently constructed, are a team that plays very well together. The guys play for each other. This may not wash in the playoffs, but, it is frequently poison for opponents in the regular season.

Are the Celtics one of the best "teams" in the NBA?  I offer they are one of the better "regular season" teams in the NBA based on their results in the second half last season and evidence that they have "improved" this season.

Johnson is an improvement.
Lee is an improvement.
Smart has improved.

Will the young guys/bench guys, as a group, offer improvement?

They look good, but, remain to be tested against a stronger mix of NBA starters commencing next week.

OT
The Sixers are a freaking dumpster fire.

 

[JBcat]

RJ's shooting percentages from last year, summer league, through the preseason worry me a little.  I'd rather see him start off the season in the D league rather on the 13 man roster to see how he does.

[GratefulCs]

Major TP to crimson. Thanks for doing the leg work!

[crimson_stallion]

Edit: double post

[crimson_stallion]

Jared Sullinger (17.7 pts, 15.4 reb, 4.6 ast, 1.3 stl, 1.9 blk)

A 38% shooter stands out to you?  Plus, there is no way he could run up and down the floor for 30 minutes and he would foul out well before then. 

Some guys like Hunter who we know CBS likes did not that well.   Likewise with Lee whom will be a starter, I suspect.  Which means it is safe to say that CBS does not use PER36.

Anybody who follows my regular posts will know that i am not a fan of Sully, and have always been one off the first people saying i want him traded.

But im also fair, and i give credit where it's due.  17/15/5/1/2 per 36 is beastly production, and while his percentages were poor the fact that he only took less than one 3pt per game is a huge step in the right direction.

Before the preseason i said that if he can improve his conditioning, stop chucking excessive numbers out threes, and go back to playing more inside, then i would give him the benefit of the doubt.  So far it looks like he's done the later two things, and his conditioning ( while far from optimal) does look to me like its improved a little.

Plus the way he's rebounding, on its own, is enough to earn him a pledge on the team...even if its not as a starter.

There are a few guys i thought had a big impact despite not fantastic numbers - they include Smart, Hunter, Lee and Olynyk.  I think all 4 of those his had a huge impact.

But the ones i highlighted are purely the ones that stood out to me statistically.

[jpotter33]

TP, excellent stuff. If Bradley or Amir come anywhere even close to those numbers, then they've far exceeded their expectations.

Let me ask this: how are per-36 fg% and 3pfg% calculated? Is there a way to extrapolate it out from their current minutes to 36 minutes, or is it just the same fg% as their real minutes this preseason?

I ask this because it has Smart at 26% on his three point attempts, and I thought it seemed that he shot it much better than that this preseason, though it might just be due to the fact that he was reserved and wasn't launching six three pointers a game.

[PhoSita]

Thanks for doing this.

Though I think it's valid to point out that this is pre-season and the competition was pathetic.

If the Celts played this slate of opponents 82 times in the regular season I think they'd win 60-65 of those matches.


As for Sullinger, I was actually struck by how poor his conditioning was.

Sure, he missed much of the end of the season and was still recovering somewhat from some injuries over the summer, but in pre-season he front-rimmed nearly every jumper he took, as well as many of his free throws.  He looked slow and unwieldy moving on the floor, and he frequently appeared winded or even gassed. 

Taking fewer threes doesn't really pacify me when the less efficient 2 point jumpers he took barely ever went in, either.  Sullinger is starting to seem more and more like a rebounding specialist with a poor, if nice-looking jumpshot who has spent the first 3+ years of his career attempting to be a stretch big man, because he knows succeeding in that role is the only way he'll earn a starting role in this league.  In a way it's been a fascinating experiment.  It's a credit to him, I suppose, that at times he's actually kinda looked the part.

I don't think Sullinger had a good pre-season at all.  He had one or two performances that look good in the box score, but I think they stand out only by contrast to his other weak performances.  Sullinger has done enough in the past for us to expect him to be very productive nearly every time out, especially against weak competition.

Pre-season did nothing to alter my feeling that Sullinger is not long for this team.

[wiley]

Jared Sullinger (17.7 pts, 15.4 reb, 4.6 ast, 1.3 stl, 1.9 blk)

A 38% shooter stands out to you?  Plus, there is no way he could run up and down the floor for 30 minutes and he would foul out well before then. 

Some guys like Hunter who we know CBS likes did not that well.   Likewise with Lee whom will be a starter, I suspect.  Which means it is safe to say that CBS does not use PER36.

Anybody who follows my regular posts will know that i am not a fan of Sully, and have always been one off the first people saying i want him traded.

But im also fair, and i give credit where it's due.  17/15/5/1/2 per 36 is beastly production, and while his percentages were poor the fact that he only took less than one 3pt per game is a huge step in the right direction.

Before the preseason i said that if he can improve his conditioning, stop chucking excessive numbers out threes, and go back to playing more inside, then i would give him the benefit of the doubt.  So far it looks like he's done the later two things, and his conditioning ( while far from optimal) does look to me like its improved a little.

Plus the way he's rebounding, on its own, is enough to earn him a pledge on the team...even if its not as a starter.

There are a few guys i thought had a big impact despite not fantastic numbers - they include Smart, Hunter, Lee and Olynyk.  I think all 4 of those his had a huge impact.

But the ones i highlighted are purely the ones that stood out to me statistically.

Nice post.  Also, Sully takes so much flak for the extra weight that people forget a good portion of that weight is useful.  If Sully were traded which of the other Celtic bigs is close to immovable in the post?  None really, and that can hurt a team in the long run, especially in the post-season.  If Sully is around for this year's playoffs I imagine he'll be second in minutes among Celtic bigs (to AJ). If they do trade him, they'll need to replace his bulk with another guy who can occupy space. Down the road Olynyk might add enough beef to be adequate in this regard but he's meant to be a stretch big so not really.  Regardless, I'm hoping one of the draft gets is Cheick Diallo. 

[wiley]

Thanks for doing this.

Though I think it's valid to point out that this is pre-season and the competition was pathetic.

If the Celts played this slate of opponents 82 times in the regular season I think they'd win 60-65 of those matches.


As for Sullinger, I was actually struck by how poor his conditioning was.

Sure, he missed much of the end of the season and was still recovering somewhat from some injuries over the summer, but in pre-season he front-rimmed nearly every jumper he took, as well as many of his free throws.  He looked slow and unwieldy moving on the floor, and he frequently appeared winded or even gassed. 

Taking fewer threes doesn't really pacify me when the less efficient 2 point jumpers he took barely ever went in, either.  Sullinger is starting to seem more and more like a rebounding specialist with a poor, if nice-looking jumpshot who has spent the first 3+ years of his career attempting to be a stretch big man, because he knows succeeding in that role is the only way he'll earn a starting role in this league.  In a way it's been a fascinating experiment.  It's a credit to him, I suppose, that at times he's actually kinda looked the part.

I don't think Sullinger had a good pre-season at all.  He had one or two performances that look good in the box score, but I think they stand out only by contrast to his other weak performances.  Sullinger has done enough in the past for us to expect him to be very productive nearly every time out, especially against weak competition.

Pre-season did nothing to alter my feeling that Sullinger is not long for this team.

I actually agree somewhat with this post as well as the one praising him.  Sully is a Bball player.  He's already proven he can play and compete well against many of the league's better bigs.  His only real issue is conditioning. And it is a serious issue, as you highlight.  If he gets injured this year I doubt he can keep the conditioning up to needed levels.  If he doesn't get injured and can play all year, I think he'll be ready for a very impactful post-season for the C's.  I too would not be at all surprised if he is traded...

[hwangjini_1]

Jared Sullinger (17.7 pts, 15.4 reb, 4.6 ast, 1.3 stl, 1.9 blk)

A 38% shooter stands out to you?  Plus, there is no way he could run up and down the floor for 30 minutes and he would foul out well before then. 

Some guys like Hunter who we know CBS likes did not that well.   Likewise with Lee whom will be a starter, I suspect.  Which means it is safe to say that CBS does not use PER36.

1. the rebounds DONT stand out to you?

2. on CBS not liking hunter. this is the first i have heard of this. would you please provide links or quotes or something that shows this. thanks.

p.s. thanks CS, very good thread. tp for the work as well.

[KeepRondo]

Jared Sullinger (17.7 pts, 15.4 reb, 4.6 ast, 1.3 stl, 1.9 blk)

A 38% shooter stands out to you?  Plus, there is no way he could run up and down the floor for 30 minutes and he would foul out well before then. 

Some guys like Hunter who we know CBS likes did not that well.   Likewise with Lee whom will be a starter, I suspect.  Which means it is safe to say that CBS does not use PER36.

1. the rebounds DONT stand out to you?

2. on CBS not liking hunter. this is the first i have heard of this. would you please provide links or quotes or something that shows this. thanks.

p.s. thanks CS, very good thread. tp for the work as well.

I think you misread his post. He said BS likes Hunter.