Brown: "coach Stevens says I'll spend some time this season guarding 1s and 2s"

[CelticsElite]

https://twitter.com/ByJayKing/status/884241929759629312

Sounds like he will be in some starting lineups at the 2

brown guarding a 1: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7UOzhJhACOY

[keevsnick]

Not all that surprising. The Celtics organization as a whole has spent the last year talking up Jaylen Brown. They clearly believe in him. Moving their starting SG in a year they want to compete for the east is just more proof they think he can step up. He played his best ball last year when he started in place of Bradley. Starting him at the 2 keeps them from having to exhaust Isaiah or Heyward against the opposing teams best perimeter offensive threat while providing enough shooting to space the floor. We'll see what they do to start the season but by the end of the year it wouldn't surprise me to see Jaylen be the starting two.

[CFAN38]

Putting this prediction out there now

BS will try to counter the current NBA small ball trend by playing a big wing lineup. We actually saw a little of this in the summer league when the team had Nader running the point against the Lakers. That was a failed experiment but with the right players I think it works.

Example.

When the Cavs go with
Irving, Smith, Korver, Lebron and Love
Cs counter
Brown, Hayward, Crowder, Morris and Horford

this places greater length on the court without sacrificing much mobility or any spacing. As Tatum develops he will work perfectly in this lineup replacing Crowder or Morris and his offense will put alot of pressure on the opposing team.

In the above lineups the Irving matchup stands out as a problem area however in a slower half court playoff game Brown can use his length to contest Irving and he has proven to have great feet for a player his size. This lineup also takes away the P&R as the switches are rather seamless. On offense who does Irving guard?   

[hodgy03038]

Putting this prediction out there now

BS will try to counter the current NBA small ball trend by playing a big wing lineup. We actually saw a little of this in the summer league when the team had Nader running the point against the Lakers. That was a failed experiment but with the right players I think it works.

Example.

When the Cavs go with
Irving, Smith, Korver, Lebron and Love
Cs counter
Brown, Hayward, Crowder, Morris and Horford

this places greater length on the court without sacrificing much mobility or any spacing. As Tatum develops he will work perfectly in this lineup replacing Crowder or Morris and his offense will put alot of pressure on the opposing team.

In the above lineups the Irving matchup stands out as a problem area however in a slower half court playoff game Brown can use his length to contest Irving and he has proven to have great feet for a player his size. This lineup also takes away the P&R as the switches are rather seamless. On offense who does Irving guard?

You make a good point. I think Irving would guard Crowder because he is the least likely to use the size against him than the others.

[A Future of Stevens]

Putting this prediction out there now

BS will try to counter the current NBA small ball trend by playing a big wing lineup. We actually saw a little of this in the summer league when the team had Nader running the point against the Lakers. That was a failed experiment but with the right players I think it works.

Example.

When the Cavs go with
Irving, Smith, Korver, Lebron and Love
Cs counter
Brown, Hayward, Crowder, Morris and Horford

this places greater length on the court without sacrificing much mobility or any spacing. As Tatum develops he will work perfectly in this lineup replacing Crowder or Morris and his offense will put alot of pressure on the opposing team.

In the above lineups the Irving matchup stands out as a problem area however in a slower half court playoff game Brown can use his length to contest Irving and he has proven to have great feet for a player his size. This lineup also takes away the P&R as the switches are rather seamless. On offense who does Irving guard?

I was considering this the other day. Having Hayward really gives us flexibility to go large in certain situations due to his playmaking ability. While he isn't a point guard by any means, his ability to create for himself and others on the wing is well above average. This allows us to cheat certain lineups and use him as the defacto creater. If it allows us to stuff 5 guys on the court between 6'6 and 6'10, who could all shoot, that is a deadly lineup.

[obnoxiousmime]

Putting this prediction out there now

BS will try to counter the current NBA small ball trend by playing a big wing lineup. We actually saw a little of this in the summer league when the team had Nader running the point against the Lakers. That was a failed experiment but with the right players I think it works.

Example.

When the Cavs go with
Irving, Smith, Korver, Lebron and Love
Cs counter
Brown, Hayward, Crowder, Morris and Horford

this places greater length on the court without sacrificing much mobility or any spacing. As Tatum develops he will work perfectly in this lineup replacing Crowder or Morris and his offense will put alot of pressure on the opposing team.

In the above lineups the Irving matchup stands out as a problem area however in a slower half court playoff game Brown can use his length to contest Irving and he has proven to have great feet for a player his size. This lineup also takes away the P&R as the switches are rather seamless. On offense who does Irving guard?

Um, ballhandling?

This is an example of attempting to solve one "problem" while creating three others. None of the players you have in your big wing lineup is capable of bringing the ball up the court in a regular capacity. We don't really have a point-wing or point forward on the roster, really.

[kmart12]

Putting this prediction out there now

BS will try to counter the current NBA small ball trend by playing a big wing lineup. We actually saw a little of this in the summer league when the team had Nader running the point against the Lakers. That was a failed experiment but with the right players I think it works.

Example.

When the Cavs go with
Irving, Smith, Korver, Lebron and Love
Cs counter
Brown, Hayward, Crowder, Morris and Horford

this places greater length on the court without sacrificing much mobility or any spacing. As Tatum develops he will work perfectly in this lineup replacing Crowder or Morris and his offense will put alot of pressure on the opposing team.

In the above lineups the Irving matchup stands out as a problem area however in a slower half court playoff game Brown can use his length to contest Irving and he has proven to have great feet for a player his size. This lineup also takes away the P&R as the switches are rather seamless. On offense who does Irving guard?

Do you think this lineup will see a lot of time considering our best player and best scorer is still IT? I can't envision this happening all too often. Also, if IT's in the game there's no possible combination of players on this roster that would qualify as a "big" lineup.

[kozlodoev]

So, as expected, they're priming him for the Avery Bradley role. We'll see how that's going to work out.

[CFAN38]

Putting this prediction out there now

BS will try to counter the current NBA small ball trend by playing a big wing lineup. We actually saw a little of this in the summer league when the team had Nader running the point against the Lakers. That was a failed experiment but with the right players I think it works.

Example.

When the Cavs go with
Irving, Smith, Korver, Lebron and Love
Cs counter
Brown, Hayward, Crowder, Morris and Horford

this places greater length on the court without sacrificing much mobility or any spacing. As Tatum develops he will work perfectly in this lineup replacing Crowder or Morris and his offense will put alot of pressure on the opposing team.

In the above lineups the Irving matchup stands out as a problem area however in a slower half court playoff game Brown can use his length to contest Irving and he has proven to have great feet for a player his size. This lineup also takes away the P&R as the switches are rather seamless. On offense who does Irving guard?

You make a good point. I think Irving would guard Crowder because he is the least likely to use the size against him than the others.

Tatum has the potential to make this lineup even more potent. Replace Crowder with Tatum and I think Irving has to guard Brown. Basically who ever Korver and Irving is guarding will have a major advantage. This past season the Cs did not have a single match up advantage vs the Cavs.

[CFAN38]

Putting this prediction out there now

BS will try to counter the current NBA small ball trend by playing a big wing lineup. We actually saw a little of this in the summer league when the team had Nader running the point against the Lakers. That was a failed experiment but with the right players I think it works.

Example.

When the Cavs go with
Irving, Smith, Korver, Lebron and Love
Cs counter
Brown, Hayward, Crowder, Morris and Horford

this places greater length on the court without sacrificing much mobility or any spacing. As Tatum develops he will work perfectly in this lineup replacing Crowder or Morris and his offense will put alot of pressure on the opposing team.

In the above lineups the Irving matchup stands out as a problem area however in a slower half court playoff game Brown can use his length to contest Irving and he has proven to have great feet for a player his size. This lineup also takes away the P&R as the switches are rather seamless. On offense who does Irving guard?

Um, ballhandling?

This is an example of attempting to solve one "problem" while creating three others. None of the players you have in your big wing lineup is capable of bringing the ball up the court in a regular capacity. We don't really have a point-wing or point forward on the roster, really.

At this point I suspect this would only be used as a gimmick lineup for short spurts. I am confident that Hayward can run the offense for a few minutes a game. He is solid in the P&R and the mismatches will dictate the offense any way.

With time Tatum has the potential to make this a more frequent lineup.

[jambr380]

I'm a little confused - why wouldn't we just go with Smart in such a line-up? I don't doubt Jaylen will get some time against some top PGs so IT can save some energy for the offensive end, but in the scenarios above, Smart is more than capable of playing with the all-wing line-up while also adding a viable playmaker.

[footey]

For Jaylen to get the starting guard spot, he has to be able to hit open 3 point shots at a higher clip.  Otherwise teams will stack inside, which will hurt IT's ability to penetrate.

[Fan from VT]

Putting this prediction out there now

BS will try to counter the current NBA small ball trend by playing a big wing lineup. We actually saw a little of this in the summer league when the team had Nader running the point against the Lakers. That was a failed experiment but with the right players I think it works.

Example.

When the Cavs go with
Irving, Smith, Korver, Lebron and Love
Cs counter
Brown, Hayward, Crowder, Morris and Horford

this places greater length on the court without sacrificing much mobility or any spacing. As Tatum develops he will work perfectly in this lineup replacing Crowder or Morris and his offense will put alot of pressure on the opposing team.

In the above lineups the Irving matchup stands out as a problem area however in a slower half court playoff game Brown can use his length to contest Irving and he has proven to have great feet for a player his size. This lineup also takes away the P&R as the switches are rather seamless. On offense who does Irving guard?

You make a good point. I think Irving would guard Crowder because he is the least likely to use the size against him than the others.

Tatum has the potential to make this lineup even more potent. Replace Crowder with Tatum and I think Irving has to guard Brown. Basically who ever Korver and Irving is guarding will have a major advantage. This past season the Cs did not have a single match up advantage vs the Cavs.

Or, to keep our best offensie player on the floor, go IT/Brown/Hayward/Horford/Morris.

On D:
Morris - Lebron
Horford - Love
Hayward - Smith
IT - Korver (hide him on Korver; Korver won't post him up, would have to hit threes with a hand in his face/chin
Brown - Irving.

[Big333223]

So, as expected, they're priming him for the Avery Bradley role. We'll see how that's going to work out.

Exactly. And not necessarily as a starter (although I'd love to see him start) but of the wings on the team now (Tatum, Hayward, Crowder), Jaylen is the quickest and most capable of defending SG's. But any SG on an Isaiah Thomas team has to be able to guard the scarier of the two opposing guards because of Thomas' defensive (read: size) limitations.

I'm excited to see Jaylen take on that responsibility.

[Granath]

Putting this prediction out there now

BS will try to counter the current NBA small ball trend by playing a big wing lineup. We actually saw a little of this in the summer league when the team had Nader running the point against the Lakers. That was a failed experiment but with the right players I think it works.

Example.

When the Cavs go with
Irving, Smith, Korver, Lebron and Love
Cs counter
Brown, Hayward, Crowder, Morris and Horford

this places greater length on the court without sacrificing much mobility or any spacing. As Tatum develops he will work perfectly in this lineup replacing Crowder or Morris and his offense will put alot of pressure on the opposing team.

In the above lineups the Irving matchup stands out as a problem area however in a slower half court playoff game Brown can use his length to contest Irving and he has proven to have great feet for a player his size. This lineup also takes away the P&R as the switches are rather seamless. On offense who does Irving guard?

I'll give you a TP for this post but the above lineup needs some correction because there's no one on the floor who can facilitate the offense and no one to bring the ball up. Instead, that lineup will involve: Smart, Brown, Hayward, Morris and Horford.

But you're right that Brad and Danny have gone with the big wing concept. They're willing to forego the traditional rebounding lineup for one that offers spacing, shooting and the ability for Most every player on the floor to get 4 or 5 boards each (IT excluded). 

The lineups and matchups are mind-boggling because even our traditional "small ball" lineups aren't very small but still offer the advantages of small ball. Put IT, Brown, Hayward, Crowder and Horford on the floor and you have 5 guys who can shoot the 3 consistently. Crowder not feeling it? Move Hawyard to 4 and bring Tatum in as the 3. They put an ultra-quick lineup on the floor? Put Smart in as the 1, move IT to the 2 and it's Brown, Hayward and Horford. Need some strength up front? Crowder, Morris and Zizic are available with the first 2 not impacting the spacing all that much. The Cs are going to be a match up nightmare for opposing teams.