Mitchell is smart. Let the Celts beat us by the 3. Play as tight individually as possible but also stay zone. Don't overchase around screens etc. Don't let Thomas get into the paint.
If the Celts had someone who can work the post and then eventually demand a double team, things open up quite a bit
We have nobody on the team that can score 1 on 1 downlow. then be smart enough to feel the double team and pass
Yeah, I've been saying for a while now that we REALLY need a more traditional big man who can demand double teams in the post.
However I don't think that a guy like Jefferson or Okafor would be the answer, because I feel we also need rim protection just as desperately.
The Jazz game the other day showed just how much an impact that has, because Gobert pretty much eliminated out entire offense by intimidating us out of the paint and forcing us to become a jump-shooting team. We need a guy who can have that type of impact (even if it is on a far lesser scale) when playing against teams who like to get into the paint like Toronto (Derozan and Lowry) and Cleveland (Lebron and Kyrie). I feel having that rim protector takes our team to the next level.
That's why I was so big on Howard, despite the obvious risks involved. He's not a dominant rim protector like he once was, but he's still a very good one. Not a dominant scorer like he once was, but can still command double teams. Still a very dominant rebounder.
But alas it never happened, and given the obvious risks with Howard (both health and personality) I can understand that.