compare kelly now and coming back from ankle injury

[rollie mass]

marcus with high ankle sprain said it wasn't till off season that he was out of pain,just getting comfortable and he dislocates fingers and to top it off after having a great game at OKC injures his knee and misses 17 games-i see marcus posting up now ,taking his time in paint and being more point guard focused but he is still effected by that injury
he is just 21 and he has been hobbled through his rookie year ,a poster, pulled up a photo of marcus going out on a stretcher from that sprain,most us have seen videos of that dislocation to his fingers and have read of the rarity of his knee sublimation all these areas rather critical to ones game
kelly in 3rd year has made huge strides and marcus only playing in a portion of 2nd year in toughest postion to learn and play while at same time playing d with intensity
tough switching from aggressive d to running an offence-
from watching 2nd half of last year i believe that celts pace,depth and defense will carry them to a much stronger 2nd half

[CelticPride2016]

Various Celtics have carried this team on their shoulders. Some more than others. We'd have a terrible record without Isaiah Thomas and Bradley. Missing any of the other guys doesn't seem as clear cut.

Say Turner had been injured. That would have forced Brad to play Rozier or perhaps even some Hunter at pg or who knows, maybe Kelly Olynyk would have been given pg minutes or played more to play the Turner babysitter role.

Injuries are a big part of the game. I agree. And not just with injuries that force a player into street clothes. Banged up players rarely give you what's needed. It was epic that Rondo could play with one arm against Miami, but it became clear after a while that would not get it done.

Isaiah fell on his lower back last playoffs or the end of the year, I forget when. He lost any ability to shape games as we see him doing this year when healthy.

Marcus Smart is another example.

I think perhaps an even bigger issue is the actual trade deadline. NBA players learn how to produce even when banged up. But not all of them seem to be able to handle future uncertainty. And a lot of guys on the C's this year have contracts running out.

Rondo and Bass never had a problem with the uncertainty. Ray Allen seemed affected by the business side of things. Smart and Olynyk are too young in the league to be thinking about it.

But then there's Sully, Turner, Zeller, Young, Amir, Lee and Jerebko who have unclear immediate futures. It's one thing to have a Humphries and Bass last year, but that's seven guys. I don't think I missed anyone. The other 8 players on the roster have a lot less to worry about. Pierce was another player who never seemed to worry about trade deadlines, although he was the Captain with a Hall of Fame Celtics resume and still producing.

I agree with Rollie that the Celtics should have a better second half than first. The consensus was that way anyway. Our strength is depth and it takes time for other teams to sap in strength. It is a long, brutal season.

[rollie mass]

good point, on trading deadline
,i think it may effect everbody a bit
just the uncertainty of who will be gone
zeller seems so tense taking shots he drained last year even down to missed layups that make me wince-i truly feel sorry for that guy-
a TP for a well written post
glad your active in posting

[CelticPride2016]

Thanks, that's very kind.

These guys are human beings and individuals. The only player I have truly given up on is David Lee. Wallace soon realized he was out of gas. He crashed. Lee has crashed and you noticed it before everyone. Or others were saying he will snap out of it or they even played up his stats as if they were good.

There has to be some truth to plus minus stats.

I agree Zeller got a raw deal starting with Lee.

The elephant in the room could be that Danny and Brad don't like all their players. All those contracts are up. You have impatient fans. Some like us seem to be taking it in one game at a time. It's not like anyone can predict what will happen, only that there's only one more month to go before the rosters are set.

Amir is out for personal reasons. Zeller and Jerebko are getting minutes. Chicago looks like a team on the bubble despite their good record. Kelly looked good defending Gasol. Sully and Turner to my eye test are selfish players. Someone mentioned the idea of a flow, as in who helps and hurts it.

Marcus Smart is showing some extra ceiling potential lately. He has definitely gotten better at driving to the hoop. He has a nice floater/ten footer. He is good at the old-school middle game or whatever Tommy and Mike said. Pierce was built like a tank. Marcus is a tank. But those guys were still athletic. If Marcus is healthy, he might be able to handle pg. And that means if Turner is hurting the overall flow of the team, that he might be holding back Smart's full game.

I hope Brad modifies giving everyone the green light for threes. Some guys simply can't hit the shot. Smart seems to have a bit of potential at making them.

Danny is stuck with guys because you can't just waive players. I think James Young is gone. He's shown nothing. We have tons of draft picks and not an abundance of slots.

It is extremely interesting. And other stories in the league are way out there crazy with LeBron in Cleveland. And Tyrone Lue who Doc hired is now a head coach for LeBron. Nothing to do with injuries or Kelly fully healed playing better.

I agree. Injuries must be taken into account when evaluating performance.

I'm done with Sully. The guy looked into the mirror for too long. He isn't that good. Kelly is no guarantee of becoming borderline all-star, but he works hard. People think I talk too much about Sullinger's weight, but imho, it is a form of injury and one that's taking too long to heal if it ever will.

Could Sully have played for the great Celtics teams of the 60's, 70's and 80's? I doubt it. Maybe he will go to the Clippers in a sign and trade free agent deal.

It could take years. But we could get lucky and become the next Oklahoma but with the talent more spread out. Or the next San Antonio, pace and space. Brad can only get better as a coach and stop making mistakes like he did with Lee and I also think with Zeller.