my not-so-popular impression of last night's game

[Granath]

Yes Noel and Okafor are both better individual prospects than any player we have

Nerlens Noel is not a better NBA player than Marcus Smart.

But he's probably a better prospect.

No doubt. You always take a good big man over a good little man in the NBA.

But what I like about Smart is that the kid simply doesn't quit and seems to have a large impact on both ends of the court and there doesn't seem to be any quit in the kid. He's one of those guys who may never look great on the stat sheet but finds a way to contribute to the win in a big way. Those kind of guts, that kind of determination is simply something you can't teach.

[DesertDweller]

Bradley is the guy who had a bad night.....4 points, threw the ball away a couple times.
but the bottom line is the Celtics have so many hard players they are going to wear a lot of teams out. even your top teams will be tired after a taste of these guys.

[LarBrd33]

Lee is probably the best player on the team.  Noel will be an all defense candidate this year.

[LarBrd33]

Yes Noel and Okafor are both better individual prospects than any player we have

Nerlens Noel is not a better NBA player than Marcus Smart.

Noel's impact defensive outweighs what smart can do right now.  Long-term I'm holding out hope that smart develops into more than a role player. He looked really good in game 1.  But I'm not going to dismiss the fact that Philly had the best defense in the league in minutes Noel was on the court last season.  He should develop into a kg-level impact defender very shortly... The offensive stuff is still rough for him, but he'll average a double double this year most likely.

[Vox_Populi]

Larbrd if you told me your Twitter handle, I'd make sure to follow you. I want your nuggets of wisdom straight to my phone.

[Granath]

He should develop into a kg-level impact defender very shortly...

KG is in the top 10 of all time in Defensive Win Shares and will go down in history as one of the best defenders at this position of all time.

Kind of a high bar you're setting there, eh?

[D Dub]

loving the trolls still showing up around pining for losing basketball.  this is a good not great team in a very weak east.  why not take your best shot at winning right now?  there are only so many superstars to go around, and we've got a high-character squad priding itself on a team-first mentality.  guys that refuse to lose, hate losing.  find ways to win that are hard to measure in the box score.  isn't this how you want "your" team to play?  isn't that how you'd explain competition and sport to your children? 

I don't get it.  worst to first just does. not. happen. in the NBA.  not since Magic Johnson over 30 years ago has a rookie actually moved the needle all the way to the top.  is it working in Philly?  sure doesn't look like it...  Is the future really that bright in LA?  your kidding yourself if you think Russell and Randle are legit prospects. 

and the kicker of this whole debate, really, is that despite the clamoring for losing that will deliver these "special" draft picks --- we're getting them anyways ...from the nets. 

[mctyson]

Yes Noel and Okafor are both better individual prospects than any player we have

Nerlens Noel is not a better NBA player than Marcus Smart.

Noel's impact defensive outweighs what smart can do right now.  Long-term I'm holding out hope that smart develops into more than a role player. He looked really good in game 1.  But I'm not going to dismiss the fact that Philly had the best defense in the league in minutes Noel was on the court last season.  He should develop into a kg-level impact defender very shortly... The offensive stuff is still rough for him, but he'll average a double double this year most likely.

I consider both Noel and Smart to be potential 1st team All-NBA Defensive talents.  Basically equal impact on the game defensively.

Smart is clearly way more talented offensively, where Noel will struggle for his entire career, especially when he loses his bounce (see: Josh Smith).

Smart is and will continue to be the better NBA player, hence he is a better prospect.

[LarBrd33]

Yes Noel and Okafor are both better individual prospects than any player we have

Nerlens Noel is not a better NBA player than Marcus Smart.

Noel's impact defensive outweighs what smart can do right now.  Long-term I'm holding out hope that smart develops into more than a role player. He looked really good in game 1.  But I'm not going to dismiss the fact that Philly had the best defense in the league in minutes Noel was on the court last season.  He should develop into a kg-level impact defender very shortly... The offensive stuff is still rough for him, but he'll average a double double this year most likely.

I consider both Noel and Smart to be potential 1st team All-NBA Defensive talents.  Basically equal impact on the game defensively.

Smart is clearly way more talented offensively, where Noel will struggle for his entire career, especially when he loses his bounce (see: Josh Smith).

Smart is and will continue to be the better NBA player, hence he is a better prospect.

You can't build a defense around a defensive guard.  You can build a defense around a defensive big.  I'd trade smart for Noel in a heartbeat.   Basketball.

[LarBrd33]

Larbrd if you told me your Twitter handle, I'd make sure to follow you. I want your nuggets of wisdom straight to my phone.

Nedyken

I only post once a year at exactly 3:44pm on May 1st dating back to 2009.

[Chris22]

Lee is probably the best player on the team.  Noel will be an all defense candidate this year.

LOL. Lee shouldn't even be starting.
Johnson, Olynyk, and Sullinger are all better.

[DesertDweller]

Lee is probably the best player on the team.  Noel will be an all defense candidate this year.

LOL. Lee shouldn't even be starting.
Johnson, Olynyk, and Sullinger are all better.

Brad Stevens is definitely still trying to find the best rotation.

[MBunge]

Yes Noel and Okafor are both better individual prospects than any player we have

Nerlens Noel is not a better NBA player than Marcus Smart.

Noel's impact defensive outweighs what smart can do right now.  Long-term I'm holding out hope that smart develops into more than a role player. He looked really good in game 1.  But I'm not going to dismiss the fact that Philly had the best defense in the league in minutes Noel was on the court last season.  He should develop into a kg-level impact defender very shortly... The offensive stuff is still rough for him, but he'll average a double double this year most likely.

I consider both Noel and Smart to be potential 1st team All-NBA Defensive talents.  Basically equal impact on the game defensively.

Smart is clearly way more talented offensively, where Noel will struggle for his entire career, especially when he loses his bounce (see: Josh Smith).

Smart is and will continue to be the better NBA player, hence he is a better prospect.

You can't build a defense around a defensive guard.  You can build a defense around a defensive big.  I'd trade smart for Noel in a heartbeat.   Basketball.

So those great Bulls defensive teams had less to do with Jordan and Pippen than the awesome rim protection provided by Luc Longly and Will Perdue?

And according to basketball-reference.com, last season's Celtics had the 12th best defense in the league for points per 100 possessions, 13th best when adjusted for the strength of the opponent's offense.  Was that due to Tyler Zeller?

Mike

[BballTim]

But I'm not going to dismiss the fact that Philly had the best defense in the league in minutes Noel was on the court last season.  He should develop into a kg-level impact defender very shortly...

  In general, people get overly excited about these types of on/off numbers, because they don't consider it's a comparison between the better defensive lineups of one team and all of the lineups (good and bad) for every other team. Even with that, Philly didn't have the best defense in the league in the minutes Noel played. And it's a tad early to project him as one of the best defensive bigs of all time IMO.

[MBunge]

But I'm not going to dismiss the fact that Philly had the best defense in the league in minutes Noel was on the court last season.  He should develop into a kg-level impact defender very shortly...

  In general, people get overly excited about these types of on/off numbers, because they don't consider it's a comparison between the better defensive lineups and all of the lineups (good and bad) for every other team. Even with that, Philly didn't have the best defense in the league in the minutes Noel played. And it's a tad early to project him as one of the best defensive bigs of all time IMO.

Another factor is that just as the best player on a crap roster can put up good stats, I have to question team stats on a squad that not only lost 64 games but lost by an average of 9 points a game.  They basically spent most of the season in non-competitive environments.

Which doesn't mean Philly or Noel's defense sucks, but how hard were other teams really playing in the 2nd half of games against them?

Mike