Ainge needs to start drafting 6'8" players

[KG Living Legend]

 I'm not talking about players like Sullinger. We have nobody that can match up against George, Smart on him was in insult. Crowder is about 6'5" tops.
 Smart, Bradley, Rozier, Thomas are all 6'2" and under. Hunter is tall and long and I like that but he can't guard three's. Not yet anyway.

 We need a 6'7" to 6'9" wing that's a stud to match up with these freaks in the NBA

[Alleyoopster]

 I'm not talking about players like Sullinger. We have nobody that can match up against George, Smart on him was in insult. Crowder is about 6'5" tops.
 Smart, Bradley, Rozier, Thomas are all 6'2" and under. Hunter is tall and long and I like that but he can't guard three's. Not yet anyway.

 We need a 6'7" to 6'9" wing that's a stud to match up with these freaks in the NBA

Genetics plays a large part in all sports today. Thus, you may be on target about drafting or acquiring players 6'8" or more. David Epstein addresses this issue in a Ted Talk video titled, "Are athletes really getting faster, better, stronger?" 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8COaMKbNrX0

The part about NBA athletes starts at the 8 minute mark and lasts about 1.5 minutes.  The whole video is 15 minutes long.  If you are interested in comparing athletes of the past to those of the present, this Ted Talk video offers a great analysis.   

[Alleyoopster]

 I'm not talking about players like Sullinger. We have nobody that can match up against George, Smart on him was in insult. Crowder is about 6'5" tops.
 Smart, Bradley, Rozier, Thomas are all 6'2" and under. Hunter is tall and long and I like that but he can't guard three's. Not yet anyway.

 We need a 6'7" to 6'9" wing that's a stud to match up with these freaks in the NBA

Genetics plays a large part in all sports today. Thus, you may be on target about drafting or acquiring players 6'8" or more. David Epstein addresses this issue in a Ted Talk video titled, "Are athletes really getting faster, better, stronger?" 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8COaMKbNrX0

The part about NBA athletes starts at the 8 minute mark and lasts about 1.5 minutes.  The whole video is 15 minutes long.  If you are interested in comparing athletes of the past to those of the present, this Ted Talk video offers a great analysis.   

[Eddie20]

Crowder is taller than you think. Smart is also a PG, so bringing up is not fair. Having stood next to both, they're definitely what their listed height states. Especially Crowder who I expected to be shorter.


Predraft Measurements for Crowder

2012   NBA Draft Combine with shoes 6' 6.5"   weight 241    wingspan 6' 9.25" standing reach 8' 3.5"   vert 31.0   Max vert 34.5

[Celtics4ever]

All  athletic, skill and mental  things be equal, a guy with size has the edge.  Guys like to tell them themselves it does not matter but it does sometimes.  Most guys identify with shorter players, because they themselves are not tall.  But look at how some of our guys struggle against length.

[GreenWarrior]

 I'm not talking about players like Sullinger. We have nobody that can match up against George, Smart on him was in insult. Crowder is about 6'5" tops.
 Smart, Bradley, Rozier, Thomas are all 6'2" and under. Hunter is tall and long and I like that but he can't guard three's. Not yet anyway.

 We need a 6'7" to 6'9" wing that's a stud to match up with these freaks in the NBA

it's not just the SF position. the whole roster is full of players undersized for their position.

[Moranis]

very few people can guard Paul George

[ssspence]

Size is not the issue, to me. Unlike many other things the Celtics do exceptionally well, their draft record has been average.

It's been a long time since The Cs have drafted an upside player, and succeeded. They've mostly been effective on the safe bet picks (i.e. 'hard nosed kid'), but they rarely takes chances on the upside of developmental players -- and when they do, the results have been weak. 

Watching guys like Gobert, Giannis, DeAndre, Dray Green, Middleton, Jimmy Butler and a host of others slip by adds up -- especially considering the ones taken in their place, in many cases, left the league very quickly. Even something as simple as taking Hood over Young just didn't seem that tough to me, though I'm still hopeful Young could become an effective chucker in the league.

At some point, the excuses get boring, and there's enough of a track record that something's missing. The Rondo buy-and-pick was low risk, but truly genius. That was 10 years ago this summer. Besides that, you have to go back to Al Jefferson to find a guy who panned out to be an true All-Star -- that was 12 years ago this summer.

Yes, it's nice to have effective role guys through the draft, but there's a time and place for those picks (meaning, not every year) -- a squad of purely role guys won't get you far. In the modern NBA, trading for or signing premiere players has become more difficult, so you need to find stars through the draft.

They'll likely have a bunch more cracks at it again this summer....

[kozlodoev]

Crowder is taller than you think. Smart is also a PG, so bringing up is not fair. Having stood next to both, they're definitely what their listed height states. Especially Crowder who I expected to be shorter.


Predraft Measurements for Crowder

2012   NBA Draft Combine with shoes 6' 6.5"   weight 241    wingspan 6' 9.25" standing reach 8' 3.5"   vert 31.0   Max vert 34.5

Interestingly, there are two sets of measurements for the 2012 Crowder in the Draftexpress database: one that has him at 6'3.75" and one that has him at 6'4.75" without shoes. You're citing the second one.

He isn't taller than we think, he just wore 1'75" shoes that day. Normally, measurements don't add more than 1'25 from shoes (I read that somewhere a long time ago, have no idea where though). So he's 6'5 - 6'6, which is on the smaller side for SFs these days.

[Rosco917]

Agree, the entire roster is undersized. Most of the players that do have some size are not athletic at all, so playing out of the paint, and challenging around the perimeter is a problem.

The Celtics are not a finished product. Agree, they're built for pace and space, and they function decently when the game is a fast paced run and gun event. As soon as the game grinds to slower pace, we begin to show our lack of shooting, lack of play makers, and lack of size.

The back to back games we just played exhibits this, against the Bucks, we flourished in an up and down, non stop action game. Against Indy, the refs took control of the game, it slowed to a crawl, and we couldn't make plays.   

I though last years draft would address this lack of athletic size, but it really didn't. I'm hoping this year it gets addressed.

[Celtics18]

I am amused that folks consider Jae Crowder to be "small."  He may be a bit shorter than your average small forward, but that dude's not small.  Having a big, strong frame like a Jae Crowder or a Marcus Smart is considerably more of a physical asset in the game of basketball than it is often given credit for.  Everyone loves to talk about "long," but they seem to forget the importance of having basketball players who are "strong."

[OhioGreen]

Basically you're looking for players at each position with the physical attributes AND the skills of LBJ!  He can guard anyone on the floor and can't be guarded by anyone on the floor.  Obviously alot easier said than done.  The GSW are doing a pretty good job of it, not to mention their freakishly skilled point guard.
Nobody on our roster even comes close!  Smart, Crowder and maybe Rozier have traces.  DA has mostly seemed to draft for skills and character, while neglecting size, strength, and athleticism.
We're kind of in a "new NBA", where size and strenth are more important than ever, which is IMO is what the OP is saying, and wholeheartedly agree with.

[Evantime34]

I agree that we need to start drafting players 6'6- 6'8 but not because we struggled to guard George. The reason we need players of that size who can play multiple positions is because our defense is at it's best when we can switch everything.

This offseason we should draft Simmons, Ingram or Brown then sign Barnes to a big offer sheet. Playing Barnes, Simmons, Smart and Bradley at the same time would really help us switch almost everything.

[chambers]

Nigel Hayes would be a good start with our own 2016 pick.
Size, strength, toughness and more offensive polish than Crowder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAyjK502KSI

[Chris22]

Actually Turner did a pretty good job on George.

But the big problem last night was Smart. He is injured and should not have been playing.