Ainge Needs To Be Held Semi-Accountable For Lack Of Rebounding...

[Phantom255x]

I'm not trying to sound like a troll saying this, just my thoughts from what I observe in all the Celtics games I watch. I also understand the C's are far from complete and they are building towards contention still, I get that.

However, while everyone complains that the C's don't have a true closer, or the C's lack many shooters outside of Bradley/IT (all valid points by the way), the BIG issue I see is both the rebounding and interior presence (on both ends of the court), especially against GOOD teams.

We saw Tristan Thompson almost single-handedly kill us in the paint on both ends of the court during the 2014 Playoffs. This season, even with the injuries, we've had many winnable games lost in the last two minutes because our bigs can't grab a rebound for their life, while the other teams feast on that advantage (even if their bigs are bigs off the bench - not starters).

Ainge's idea of having guards run up and grab rebounds may work some games, but certainly won't work against good teams. Bradley may have 8 rebounds a game this season (on average), but that's not a recipe for success especially if he leads the team in that department.

Ever since the Perkins trade, the C's (and Ainge) have failed to really find a big who can both score and rebound. They've had years to try and fix this but they haven't been able to. Yes, they have Horford, but he won't do it alone, and they also lost Sullinger last FA (and he was our best rebounder before Horford, so still not much of an improvement from the team in the rebounding department if you think about it).

So while the young guys all grow and develop on this team, I hope Ainge can find that big soon (whether in FA or trades). Adding a shooter would be nice, but it may not matter if they can't find bigs who can rebound/score late in games (when it matters most). Last thing we need is to lose more games late because Zeller or Amir can't grab rebounds and the other team either gets easy second chance points OR just an opportunity to win because of an extra possession or two.

Just my thoughts, but I do think if the C's can get better rebounding the ball AND establishing a solid interior presence, they can become legitimate contenders within the next three years (all while hoping guys like Smart, Rozier, Brown improve on offense).

[Evantime34]

The rebounding problem is overblown.

First off, the Celtics system emphasizes getting back on defense instead of hitting the offensive boards. Due to the system I think the offensive rebounding numbers and thus the overall rebounding numbers aren't a big deal.

Since the 6th game of the season the Celtics have been the 15th best defensive rebounding team in the NBA. Since we knew rebounding would be a problem coming into the season, middle of the pack rebounding shouldn't be a cause for concern.

For a long time, elite big men have been the most difficult asset to acquire in the NBA, I think the poor rebounding over an extended span has to do simply with not having one of those because we weren't picking high in the draft rather than a failure by Ainge.

[ederson]

Since you have the numbers it i can doubt it but by just watching the games it seems that there is a huge problem.

[GratefulCs]

This team isn't a finished product


I'll be more concerned if we can't rebound when we're actually competing for a title

[Alleyoopster]

As much as I dislike(d) some of Danny's moves, he's not a dummy. He is aware of the team's interior defense and rebounding problems.  Brad is too...watched part of the game last night and could tell they've been focusing on rebounding in practice.

The real problem may lie in the convoluted valuation for such players.  And, the realization that  obtaining them doesn't necessarily increase the team's chances for success. Here is a list of some of the players that either could have been available or might be the type of player we could seriously deal for or sign. I'm sure there are others...

Marquese Chriss and Dragon Bender - This draft.... would you trade Jaylen Brown for either player? Most likely few of us would. Although, I was on the fence with Bender and really liked Chriss in the Summer League. 

We can safely say Alex Len is unavailable at any reasonable cost. 

Dwight Powell....Danny got much better players in return for Powell. At $14 million would he be worth it? Does he move the needle? I doubt it.

Spencer Hawes...he'll have a good game from time to time.  $6 million

Marcin Gortat ...Washington did well picking him up quite cheaply. As good as he is, is he really a difference maker? I don't have the stats, but it seems the only team that had success with him on their team was Orlando. And, Shaq was the big star back then. Plus, he's 32 and over 7 feet tall. Injuries are bound to catch up with him. 

Ian Mahinmi - had one good season with the Pacers. He's been out of the lineup all year due to injuries. Would you pay him $16 million a year?

Hassan Whiteside - $22 million. Great shot blocker. He's not leading Miami anywhere. Looked like a shell of a player the last time the Celtics played them.

This is just a small sampling of the type of mid-range players that might be obtainable. One can see they are costly and they generally don't contribute to the bottom line...which is winning. I'm also taking into account the player or players we'd have to give up to get them....plus salary considerations. 

Thus, getting a big man is not as easy as some might believe. I'm sure Danny has wracked his brains and made numerous efforts to bring in these mid-tier centers/forwards. But, the cost is too high for the value they bring. That may be why Danny decided to wait for Ante Zizac and hope he turns out to be half decent. On the other hand, he understands that such players generally don't lead to winning Championships. So, he must keep looking. 

 

[GRADYCOLNON]

rebound is the final piece for great championship teams.  Thats how all the celtics dynasty have been built.  Russell, Cowens, Parish (Bird) and Garnett.  I'm not giving him credit for this as his plan, but maybe developing a winning team first needs to struggle thru those deficiencies before they reach the contending level.

[mgent]

Okay, and if Ainge had purposefully built a good rebounding team instead of what he did build, you'd just be complaining about something else, and we'd probably have a much worse record.

He's trying to build the best team possible.  It doesn't help him to focus on weaknesses like rebounding if it makes us not as strong in other areas.

[Bobshot]

I agree. I think a boards banger is their biggest need. They have never won anything without one.

[TrueFan]

We have undersized players coupled with Stevens going with small lineups.

IMO Stevens deserves some blame for his IT, AB, Smart and Crowder lineups. I think that's an average height of 6'2 from 4 positions.

[Csfan1984]

It's a group effort lol. Players, coach and management has issues.

[mctyson]

It's not that big of a problem.  They just need to play solid defense and shoot the ball well, and they will be fine.

[Chris22]

Other than Horford, our bigs are all backups.
Hopefully we correct that in the offseason.

[Ogaju]

we do not have any BIGS.

[Ogaju]

It's not that big of a problem.  They just need to play solid defense and shoot the ball well, and they will be fine.

that's like saying all they have to do is win and they will be fine.

[hwangjini_1]

we do not have any BIGS.

you mean, if we dont count horford, zeller, and amir johnson? yep, as long as we eliminate all our big, front line players, you are correct and the celtics have no bigs.