Things Won't Get Easier Anytime Soon

[DesertDweller]

Scalabrini said it all.....turn overs and defensive rebounds.  plus the fact that Brad has not found a rotation he can rely on!!!

[kozlodoev]

plus the fact that Brad has not found a rotation he can rely on!!!

Of course he has. His rotation has always been "play everybody". Is there any indication he's even trying to do anything different?

[MrMorrill]

plus the fact that Brad has not found a rotation he can rely on!!!

Of course he has. His rotation has always been "play everybody". Is there any indication he's even trying to do anything different?

Which seems to be a problem, he needs to ride out a set of bigs and give them some time rather than yanking them 5 minutes in. No one can get in the flow with the rotations they have.

[Evantime34]

Scalabrini said it all.....turn overs and defensive rebounds.  plus the fact that Brad has not found a rotation he can rely on!!!

Once Brad finds a rotation he can rely on it will decrease turnovers and improve defensive rotations which will improve rebounding.

Last year Brad didn't settle on a rotation until Danny made trades that provided clarity. Hopefully we won't have to wait that long this year.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Close losses are like kissing your sister. Or something like that. 

I know it takes time to figure out rotations and minutes and the right combinations of players, but with the brutal upcoming schedule, games like this need to be won.

[PhoSita]

plus the fact that Brad has not found a rotation he can rely on!!!

Of course he has. His rotation has always been "play everybody". Is there any indication he's even trying to do anything different?

Well, I think he gradually reaches a point where he knows which guys he wants to play more than others, and in what situations, but I feel your frustration.

It feels like Brad looks at his roster like a tool box and he tries to use every last tool in the box every game to make sure he's not missing any potentially useful combinations.

I appreciate that Brad is willing to try different things, and that he sees potential value in every player on the roster, but it is frustrating to watch it play out, especially early in the season.  I think this roster enables Brad to kind of go a little bit too far in that respect, to just tinker and experiment a lot. 

These guys need consistency and stability.  It's bad enough that our roster is comprised almost entirely of guys who are either playing for their next contract or who have good reason to believe they may not be here next year.  We can't keep going into games and have three quarters of the roster not know what their roles are going to be in that game.

[fairweatherfan]

The next seven games:

vs Washington
@ Milwaukee
vs Indiana
vs Atlanta
@ OKC
@ Houston
vs Dallas

Then it opens up, finally, with a Friday / Sunday double matchup with the Brooklyn Nets.  With the way things are going, those two games against the Nets could be a breather this team needs, or, if the team finds a way to lose those games, a resounding blow to the team's morale.

This is not a "panic" post.  The Celts will be fine, more or less, in the long run.

But this roster is a mess and Stevens, and the players, are still figuring it out.  In the short term, this 1-3 start to turn into something even uglier.  Hold onto your hats.

Just wanted to bump this to note that we're now 4-1 in this stretch and guaranteed a winning record for the 7 games.  Not as an I told you so, just to note that we're rising to the occasion very well after some early stumbles.  Something for everybody to remember when looking ahead in the future.

[Celtics18]

Bam!!!

Who wants "easy"?

[PhoSita]

Bam!!!

Who wants "easy"?

They've done really well!  I'm pleasantly surprised.  The last two games have been fun to watch.  Hope they keep rolling against good teams. 

More double doubles from Sully and more 20 point games from Smart, please.

[PhoSita]

The next seven games:

vs Washington
@ Milwaukee
vs Indiana
vs Atlanta
@ OKC
@ Houston
vs Dallas

Then it opens up, finally, with a Friday / Sunday double matchup with the Brooklyn Nets.  With the way things are going, those two games against the Nets could be a breather this team needs, or, if the team finds a way to lose those games, a resounding blow to the team's morale.

This is not a "panic" post.  The Celts will be fine, more or less, in the long run.

But this roster is a mess and Stevens, and the players, are still figuring it out.  In the short term, this 1-3 start to turn into something even uglier.  Hold onto your hats.

Just wanted to bump this to note that we're now 4-1 in this stretch and guaranteed a winning record for the 7 games.  Not as an I told you so, just to note that we're rising to the occasion very well after some early stumbles.  Something for everybody to remember when looking ahead in the future.

Stevens has figured out a tighter rotation a lot quicker than I anticipated.  It kinda seems like injuries actually helped him in that regard. 

Outside shots have started falling a little bit, finally, which helps.

The team is forcing a TON of turnovers, more than I realized until Nate Duncan mentioned it on his podcast.  Celts are currently blowing the league away in turnovers forced.  Wonder if that will come down.  Maybe the Celts are just really good at it.


I've enjoyed watching the team during this stretch, especially giving plenty of minutes to IT, Smart, Amir, Crowder and Sullinger.  It feels like in a very short time we've gotten a much better sense of who the most important guys on this team are.  Maybe too short a time.  Could things fall apart again if the team struggles a bit?  Will the rotation get shuffled around again?  I hope not.

Next up -- a reeling Rockets team.  Gonna be hard for the Celts to keep up the intensity after an emotional win in OKC last night.  Smart vs Harden should be a really nice matchup.  Can Marcus bring it two nights in a row against two of the hardest covers in the league? (though both guys kinda take possessions off on the other end)   

I'm looking forward to it.

[86MaxwellSmart]

let's hope Hunter and Zeller get some burn tonight----they are well "rested"

[Ilikesports17]

The next seven games:

vs Washington
@ Milwaukee
vs Indiana
vs Atlanta
@ OKC
@ Houston
vs Dallas

Then it opens up, finally, with a Friday / Sunday double matchup with the Brooklyn Nets.  With the way things are going, those two games against the Nets could be a breather this team needs, or, if the team finds a way to lose those games, a resounding blow to the team's morale.

This is not a "panic" post.  The Celts will be fine, more or less, in the long run.

But this roster is a mess and Stevens, and the players, are still figuring it out.  In the short term, this 1-3 start to turn into something even uglier.  Hold onto your hats.

Just wanted to bump this to note that we're now 4-1 in this stretch and guaranteed a winning record for the 7 games.  Not as an I told you so, just to note that we're rising to the occasion very well after some early stumbles.  Something for everybody to remember when looking ahead in the future.

Stevens has figured out a tighter rotation a lot quicker than I anticipated.  It kinda seems like injuries actually helped him in that regard. 

Outside shots have started falling a little bit, finally, which helps.

The team is forcing a TON of turnovers, more than I realized until Nate Duncan mentioned it on his podcast.  Celts are currently blowing the league away in turnovers forced.  Wonder if that will come down.  Maybe the Celts are just really good at it.


I've enjoyed watching the team during this stretch, especially giving plenty of minutes to IT, Smart, Amir, Crowder and Sullinger.  It feels like in a very short time we've gotten a much better sense of who the most important guys on this team are.  Maybe too short a time.  Could things fall apart again if the team struggles a bit?  Will the rotation get shuffled around again?  I hope not.

Next up -- a reeling Rockets team.  Gonna be hard for the Celts to keep up the intensity after an emotional win in OKC last night.  Smart vs Harden should be a really nice matchup.  Can Marcus bring it two nights in a row against two of the hardest covers in the league? (though both guys kinda take possessions off on the other end)   

I'm looking forward to it.

It makes a decent amount of sense. Terrific perimeter defense and high energy play will lead to a lot of Turnovers.

[max215]

Bam!!!

Who wants "easy"?

They've done really well!  I'm pleasantly surprised.  The last two games have been fun to watch.  Hope they keep rolling against good teams. 

More double doubles from Sully and more 20 point games from Smart, please.

Tonight should be another awesome game from Smart. IIRC he did a good job on Harden last year and really seems to rise to the occasion defensively against truly elite guards (see yesterday). More importantly though, against a Harden-Lawson backcourt, Smart should be able to have another excellent offensive outing.

[celticsclay]

we are rolling!!!!!!!!

[PhoSita]

Bam!!!

Who wants "easy"?

They've done really well!  I'm pleasantly surprised.  The last two games have been fun to watch.  Hope they keep rolling against good teams. 

More double doubles from Sully and more 20 point games from Smart, please.

Tonight should be another awesome game from Smart.

It certainly was, even though he really struggled to score.

I'm a little bit concerned about Marcus's offense, but he's showing the potential to impact games defensively almost as much as guys like Draymond and Kawhi.