Celtics 16/17 - biggest weaknesses?

[SHAQATTACK]

We need Nerlins .

[loco_91]

Biggest weakness: No Lebron James, Steph Curry, or Kevin Durant on our roster. Other than that, we can hang with any team.

Exactly this.

[Rosco917]

Because IT is a score first PG, he tends to kill ball movement. When he's not going good, IMO he forces his ball dominance (meaning scoring opportunities) until he's either pulled from the game by Stevens, or eventually gets hot again.

Yet, the offense Stevens like's best is based on a ball movement. Find the best shot on the court. This part of IT"s game will eventually cause a problem on this team. How this team uses Thomas is very important in relationship to how other players develop their offensive game.

I'm counting this as one of this teams biggest weaknesses. When IT is going good, the C's score well, when he's not, our offense shuts down while he looks to reignite himself. This coupled with his defense, makes me repeat the same thing I've been preaching...IT should come off the bench.     

[Big333223]

I'm not worried about defense, except perhaps if the Celts face the Pacers or Cavs in the playoffs.  Not sure Crowder or Smart has the size to really check PG or LeBron.

My expectation is that the Celts will again be a top 5 defense.  Perhaps top 3 with the addition of Horford.

Problem will be the offense.  Can the team put together a top 10 offense without being particularly good at hitting threes or getting to the free throw line?

Last year their offensive ineptitude was covered up in large part by their ability to limit opponent scoring and gain an edge in possessions by forcing lots of turnovers.  Will be interesting to see if they continue that this season.

So long as they continue to force a lot of turnovers, their weakness on the defensive glass won't be as big an issue, since they'll still be doing a good job in the possession battle. 

But can they make the most of their offensive possessions in the half-court?

This.

[max215]

We need Nerlins .

We really don't need Nerlens.

[MJohnnyboy]

Still no superstar will be our biggest weakness, but we're getting closer.

[tarheelsxxiii]

Rebounding, ahooting, shot creation in the half court, rim protection. Same as 15/16.

[mr. dee]

Rebounding, ahooting, shot creation in the half court, rim protection. Same as Big 3 era.

Fixed

[alldaboston]

.

[tankcity!]

They need a franchise player as long as he doesn't play PG.

[BDeCosta26]

People are really underestimating the value of adding Horford.

This team was a top 5 defense last year with Amir as the only half-credible rim protector. We floated around the top 3 for most of the year. Adding Horford, who's a top-shelf defensive big and a real rim protector, to that mix is going to be huge. I think we could very well have the best defense in the NBA this season. That alone will make us a very good team

On top of that, one of our biggest weaknesses last year was that if you wanted to stop us, you'd just triple team IT every time he had the ball and wait for the shooting to dry up. Adding Horford changes that. If you triple team IT, Horford will take advantage. He can make shots inside and outside. He can be a featured player on offense. You won't be able to just throw the world at Isaiah anymore. On top of that, I expect to see Crowder continue to improve his overall offensive game, I expect Smart to do well in a bigger role, I think KO will be a key contributor, Bradley to continue improving his dribble drive game, Rozier makes a step forward, and Jaylen gives us a guy who can just get points when we need them.

Do we have weaknesses? Sure. Rebounding more than anything Else. Shooting is better but still needs to improve. But overall, this is a lot better team than last year, and I fully expect this team to hover around 52-56 wins.  Don't sell Al Horford short.

[SparzWizard]

Rebounds win games.

[chambers]

Bench scoring is my biggest concern. Losing Turner will hurt us a lot. Sully and Turner provided a decent amount of offense for us. Horford can improve on Sully but there is no one close to being the capable driver/scorer that Turner was. Let's hope Green and the young guys can hit some threes. Smart is going to need to score 12-15 ppg on good efficiency.

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

We need Nerlins .

We really don't need Nerlens.

getting him (on the cheap if possible) would be nice though

Anyway, on the OP, I reckon we will struggle on half court offense (not as much as last season but still) and Defensive rebounding. It will hurt us a lot more in the playoffs than in the regular season where bashing on badly coached and or limited rosters will inflate out points differential, then we run into a Tristan Thompson or a Valanciunas in the playoffs, suddenly all that pressure defense is getting undermined by these guys getting tip ins and tip outs(?).

[Celtics4ever]

I think it is scoring and shooting, putting the ball in the hole.  Horford will help some with that.   I think he sacrificed some of his game for Milsap, I also this is true on the boards.

Sully and Turner provided a decent amount of offense for us.

I won't miss Sully, or his .44% shooting.   That is beyond poor shooting for a PF/C.   How can guys think we will miss that poor of a shooter?  We may miss his boards, but not his clanging ill-chosen threes early in the shot clock but I think Al will more than makeup for him.  Go look at head to head matchups between Sully and Al Horford and you will see that Al is the much better player. 

Think about how Jared left here, does that really make you think that Ainge or CBS thought his services were necessary?  There also was little interest league wide, someone could have easily over paid and we would not have matched.   He left for peanuts and was not in wide demand.

I agree on Turner, I hope Brown can help by driving and drawing some fouls.   I doubt he will replace Evan but he should help and may give us another guy who can penetrate and kick out.