Celtics (0-0) vs Sixers (0-0) Preseason Game #1 10/4/16

[jpotter33]

Dario saric is a sneaky late round target for fantasy leagues.  When he came out in 2014 he was seen as a tier 2 prospect just like Marcus smart.   He looked solid in his debut.  With Simmons out, there's an opportunity for him to carve out minutes on that philly roster.   He looked like he might be able to play SF.

What's interesting is that you never saw Embiid and Noel together. They were always with Saric, and I'm guessing the same would've happened with Okafor, too. I think they know fully well that they have three 5's that can't play together that deserve minutes, which is a problem.

And as good as Saric looked tonight, he's going to get all of the minutes at the 4 behind Simmons. He's definitely not a 3 either.

[jpotter33]

takeaways:
Good stuff:
- Horford looks every bit as good as hoped.
- starters were solid to start.  hated seeing the over reliance on the 3 ball though. 
- Brown, Smart and Rozier were ok off the bench.
- Young showed signs of life.
- perimeter/guard D was top notch

Bad stuff:
- too many 3's attempted.
- Hunter, Mickey, Zeller and Jackson looked bad. 
- KO is needed as the 3rd big more than we should need him.  Mickey and Zeller don't look like they'll get it done as the 4th and 5th bigs.  there's going to be a lot of small ball out of necessity for this team.

Unfortunately, JJ has looked pretty terrible so far, too. Granted, he's been playing next to Zeller, who makes it harder for everyone out there with less spacing and horrible D.

JJ looked good with AJ in the playoffs, and once KO is fully back I could see AJ as the 3rd big, JJ the 4th, and then TZ and Mickey after that. But yeah, they won't win it all until they upgrade the frontcourt.

After tonight, I actually like AJ's defense in the starting lineup, because I think we have plenty of shooting, scoring, and playmaking in the starting lineup with the other 4. KO's shooting and playmaking will be really beneficial in the 2nd unit, and he'd play well off of JJ.

[celticsclay]

It's been pointed out to me in a PM that Embiid's per 36 numbers of 18 points 12 rebounds and 6 blocks are the best ever preseason debut for a #3 pick who missed his first two seasons to injury.  Amazing.

This is honestly very impressive

[jpotter33]

Another observation - Horford primarily played the 4, unless we went small. With Amir in there, he always guarded the other 4, so that tells you a lot about possibly pairing him with another 5 like Cousins or Noel, i.e. it's very doable.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

It's been pointed out to me in a PM that Embiid's per 36 numbers of 18 points 12 rebounds and 6 blocks are the best ever preseason debut for a #3 pick who missed his first two seasons to injury.  Amazing.

This is honestly very impressive

how many have missed their first TWO seasons (to injury at that) is my question?

[positivitize]

Horford's per 36, 19 points, 19 Rebounds.

=D

[alldaboston]

Did anyone think Isaiah looked passive? I feel like he wasn't his normal, attacking self. Not sure how much of that has to do with adjusting to Horford, but he seemed much more content to pass than score. I hope that with Horford in the mix, Isaiah is still a focal point. We still need his scoring, even if we signed Horford

[celticsclay]

Did anyone think Isaiah looked passive? I feel like he wasn't his normal, attacking self. Not sure how much of that has to do with adjusting to Horford, but he seemed much more content to pass than score. I hope that with Horford in the mix, Isaiah is still a focal point. We still need his scoring, even if we signed Horford

It's tough to really make serious judgements from 1 game

[jpotter33]

Did anyone think Isaiah looked passive? I feel like he wasn't his normal, attacking self. Not sure how much of that has to do with adjusting to Horford, but he seemed much more content to pass than score. I hope that with Horford in the mix, Isaiah is still a focal point. We still need his scoring, even if we signed Horford

It's tough to really make serious judgements from 1 game

True, but I did notice that. It is going to be something to watch to see if he can make that transition smoothly. He was in the absolute perfect situation last season to maximize his talents, but with improvements from Bradley and Crowder and the addition of Horford, he needs to distribute a bit more and score a bit less.

It really wouldn't surprise me if Horford ends up being our leading scorer at around 20 points a game this year. He looked super aggressive, and our transition game will make it that much easier for him to get easy buckets.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Did anyone think Isaiah looked passive? I feel like he wasn't his normal, attacking self. Not sure how much of that has to do with adjusting to Horford, but he seemed much more content to pass than score. I hope that with Horford in the mix, Isaiah is still a focal point. We still need his scoring, even if we signed Horford

it's intentional. they want to take it4 off the ball more as an attempt to take pressure off him offensively. he should get even more assists this season too. he will still rack up pts but they don't want the offense to rely so heavily on him. it worked very well tonight and hopefully will continue as we gel even more and when the real games start.

[alldaboston]

Did anyone think Isaiah looked passive? I feel like he wasn't his normal, attacking self. Not sure how much of that has to do with adjusting to Horford, but he seemed much more content to pass than score. I hope that with Horford in the mix, Isaiah is still a focal point. We still need his scoring, even if we signed Horford

it's intentional. they want to take it4 off the ball more as an attempt to take pressure off him offensively. he should get even more assists this season too. he will still rack up pts but they don't want the offense to rely so heavily on him. it worked very well tonight and hopefully will continue as we gel even more and when the real games start.

hopefully. it was just something i noticed in the scrimmage and today's game, so i was just curious. hopefully it helps us out!

[SHAQATTACK]

Brown is a fast learner .  Hopefully he can get minutes  .

[max215]

Meanwhile, Ingram is struggling mightily against the lowly Kings.

[hpantazo]

Meanwhile, Ingram is struggling mightily against the lowly Kings.

He looked awful in summer league too.

[alldaboston]

Meanwhile, Ingram is struggling mightily against the lowly Kings.

He looked awful in summer league too.

leave it to lakers fans to somehow justify anything that happens over there (well, "here", since im in socal myself) as a good thing. if ingram looks good, then hes KD. if he looks bad, well he will be KD.

their entire fanbase is delusional.

look at this: https://twitter.com/OGLakers248/status/775785698632667137
and this: https://twitter.com/OGLakers248/status/775789920380067840

its just so funny to see them try to justify whatever trash situation their franchise is in.