Thoughts on Last Night's Preseason Game 1 vs. Hornets

[smokeablount]

Hey guys,

What are your thoughts on last night's game?  A few highlights:

1) Baynes looked great with the starters, racking up 10 points, 5 boards and 3 assists and playing good team D and individual D on Dwight.  Not sure if he should be our other starting big over Morris, but it looks possible.  He provided way better offense than expected and if he's a starter it would allow Morris to ratchet up the bench unit's offense along with TR/MS/JT/Theis.

2) Theis absolutely looks like a rotation big man.  As the other thread stated, he looks like Birdman with a shot.  I expect him to be in the 10 man rotation and get playoff playing time.

3) Hayward and Irving both looked off, but we still won.  I expect the team will put up points in a hurry with these two guys feeling it. 

4) Tatum started off ice cold but got into the game in the 2nd half and really he was all over the court with 9 points, 5 boards/assists (team high in assists) and 2 steals/blocks. 

What jumped out to you guys?

[jbpats]

Baynes was the story of the game for me as you mentioned.
-Aggressive on the glass
-Nice soft mid range shot
-Tough, loved him mixing it up after the whistle.

I know we're one preseason game in but the C's haven't had a guy like this since KG and it's pretty exciting to me.

[manl_lui]

Hey guys,

What are your thoughts on last night's game?  A few highlights:

1) Baynes looked great with the starters, racking up 10 points, 5 boards and 3 assists and playing good team D and individual D on Dwight.  Not sure if he should be our other starting big over Morris, but it looks possible.  He provided way better offense than expected and if he's a starter it would allow Morris to ratchet up the bench unit's offense along with TR/MS/JT/Theis.

2) Theis absolutely looks like a rotation big man.  As the other thread stated, he looks like Birdman with a shot.  I expect him to be in the 10 man rotation and get playoff playing time.

3) Hayward and Irving both looked off, but we still won.  I expect the team will put up points in a hurry with these two guys feeling it. 

4) Tatum started off ice cold but got into the game in the 2nd half and really he was all over the court with 9 points, 5 boards/assists (team high in assists) and 2 steals/blocks. 

What jumped out to you guys?

basically the same observation you made, I think Irving/Hayward was playing like Tatum early on which is fine, new team, new city, start of a new season, probably still a bit jittery, but i expect them to get into groove very soon.

I agree with Tommy Heinson that Brad Stevens will help this team gel sooner rather than later. I am impressed with the ball movement considering this team basically is a new Celtics team, 11 new players.

I think Irving's defense will progress as the season goes on, at least in my opinion.

Baynes and Theis, is very nice, i felt like (at least in the eye test), they are a much better big man rotation than Zeller/Jerebko, throw in Al Horford and Morris and I think our big man rotation is pretty solid. I am LOVING what I am seeing from Baynes and Theis, both are aggressive for that offensive board, very active, nice hands, nice shot

Yabu on the other hand not so much, while i enjoyed him flying around for rebounds, I wasn't impressed with his handling, it seems like he is very easily picked pocketed from other players, was not expecting that at all.

Smart does look noticeably quicker but also noticeably weaker on the post defense (kind of a given considering he lost 25 lb), but i still see that strength in there. Still like it if it means a healthier season.

[timpiker]

I pretty much liked everything.  Our shots were off.  The new guys looked pretty good.  I liked the ball movement.  Rebounding looks like it'll be better.  Some of the guys look like they have a drive first mentality which I like.  This was my first look at most of the new guys and I like what I see.

[PaulAllen]

Random thoughts

1. Baynes looks 100x better than Amir Johnson
2. Rozier is lightning fast and is confident with ball in his hands.
3. Smart looks good and plays better with new weight. Still keep the ball out of his hands.. But happy with shot selection.. Think he can get to 43-44%..
4. Horford looks so much more comfortable with Baynes on the floor. I expect tons of assists again..
5. Yabuesle can rebound reminds me of Sullinger.. Everything else was a mess however..

Not putting much into Irving/Hawyard/Tatums/Brown's game since its only game one of the preseason but looks to be an exciting season!!!

[Hank Finkel]

Baynes is a huge upgrade over Amir. We have tough presence in the middle now to compliment Al. Theis is going to help off the bench in the big rotation in the JJ roll but he is better all around too.  The young bigs ( Yabu, Ojelye, ) aren't ready yet but have potential for spot duty. And we are missing Morris. I am happy with the upgrade of bigs from last year so far. It's early.   
I thought the rest of the team was off and will improve greatly as they get to know each other. I know it's one game but I am excited for this team to improve as the season goes on. 

[playdream]

1.Someone tell Brown not to dunk like that he is going to hurt himself
2.Irving can pass, so can he defend
3.Tatum more comfortable with rookies than veterans, for now
4.Yabu too slow, won't have play time if he can't improve this
5.Theis will have lots of playing time in small ball lineup

Our whole defense and rebounding got a lot better, as well as offense and depth

[incoherent]

The ball movement from out starters was crazy good.  Super encouraging for a 1st pre-season game.

Al looked great.  Kyrie is so so quick, I honestly think he is quicker then Thomas with the ball.

The rookies and deep bench played extremely well.

Very pleased.

[footey]

Baynes moved much better than I saw last year at Detroit. Much better than I realized.

Theis played the exact same style as he does in Euro ball. Was surprised that he could do this in the NBA, albeit vs. Charlotte 2nd team. Curious to see how he fares against first string talent.

I felt kind of dirty watching Kyrie play.  Felt like I was cheating on my wife (Isaiah). Weird.

Yabu looked game but clutzy.

Liked Brown's defense for the most part, although Batum is a tough cover for him.

Smart started off great, but got over-confident, and came back to reality.

Hayward was just trying to fit in. He will be fine.

I like Nader's decisiveness on offense. Thought his defense was better than I remember it in summer league.  Really like his size and length, can cover bigger guys on switches.

Larkin is a better PG than Rozier, IMO. Not better player, but better PG. I think he will get some minutes this year.

Rozier played about the same as last year.

Tatum needs to let the game come to him a bit more. Forced too much. Also needs to look for his team-mates more. Blew a perfect alley oop opportunity to Yabu on a break in first half.

[Smartacus]

As we see some years in the NFL, the defense is way ahead of the offense. Guys like Baynes and Theis were able to step right in and impose their will mainly because what they do is comparatively simple to what we can expect from Kyrie, Hayward, and Tatum. It is however absolutely a great sign that they're already seem to be in midseason form.

Last night we saw glimpses of the most physically imposing Boston front court since the Garnett era and it allows Horford to play his natural role of the skilled facilitator. Its refreshing, not one time last night did I feel like we needed Horford to ditch the high post and grab some boards. Baynes allows Al to play with himself while alleviating the fear that the Robin Lopez's of the world are going to drop 20/10.

No doubt in my mind that Irving and Hayward will catch up. Marcus came in ready to play. From what we saw last night our team is still searching for its identity but is also ahead of schedule. Can't wait to see how we perform against some of the elite competition.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

absolutely stoked about this year. we will wreck stuff this year. once the youngsters gel we will have a good bench contrary to popular belief. baynes and theis were huge bonuses. The more we get out of more players the deeper we will go this year. This team is MUCH improved over last year.

wait until after 82 games. the chemistry and roles will be solid.

[smokeablount]

I also thought Kyrie played solid D on Kemba, he chased him around and exerted real effort and helped hold Kemba to an inefficient shooting night that would have been labeled awful if not for a buzzer beating 3 pointer that pushed him into double digit scoring.

[trickybilly]

I also thought Kyrie played solid D on Kemba, he chased him around and exerted real effort and helped hold Kemba to an inefficient shooting night that would have been labeled awful if not for a buzzer beating 3 pointer that pushed him into double digit scoring.

Glad someone else noticed this. 1 pre-season game - seems like he tried harder on D than 6 years in CLE

[tonydelk]

1) I was pleasantly surprised with Baynes.  I don't think he will be as effective against all teams when they play quicker 5's but he was very good last night.  The C's could have used him last year instead of Amir.  Good pickup.

2) The starting unit will be good no matter who the 5th starter is.  Ball movement was great and Kyrie got his shots within the system.  Once they jell they will put up a ton of points.  The D was better then expected.

3) Yabu - looked like the game was too fast for him. Great hustle but at times looked like he was glued to the floor and very indecisive.  Good motor and definitely can carve out a role if he hustles.  His offense is going to take some time.

4) Young guys - All of the young guys can play.  They all showed they belong in the NBA and I don't see anyone on the team that makes you scream how did they make the roster???.

5) The 2nd unit struggled.  They need time to gel.  I am worried about the 1st 10-15 games when it comes to bench scoring.  Once they Gel there is a lot of talent there.  I do believe Morris will help the 2nd unit once he gets here.  They need a vet that can make shots and help direct the young guys.

6) Brown looks better.  I hope he can improve his D.  Batum made a few plays that made me scratch my head and wonder how that could happen.  There were a few plays Brown shut him down as well.  Need the consistency if he is going to be a lock down defender.

7) When Tatum figures it out he's going to be special.  When he calmed down he was all over the place. 

Semi - Game is fast but I have high hopes for him.  When it slows down he is going to rise quickly in the rotation. 

9) Theis - Guy knows how to play.  He is what we wanted Jerebko to be.  He plays above the rim which surprised me.  He is always around the ball and it just seems to find him.  I don't know if it was just a flash in the pan but he clearly has talent and will be the 1st guy to join the rotation if someone struggles or gets hurt.  You can clearly tell he has been playing professional ball for awhile.  Seemed like more of a Vet then a rookie.

[smokeablount]

I also thought Kyrie played solid D on Kemba, he chased him around and exerted real effort and helped hold Kemba to an inefficient shooting night that would have been labeled awful if not for a buzzer beating 3 pointer that pushed him into double digit scoring.

Glad someone else noticed this. 1 pre-season game - seems like he tried harder on D than 6 years in CLE

I agree.  I had seats close to the court last night and I watched a lot of Kyrie flying around the court trying to keep up with Kemba- and he did well.  He played like he wanted to prove his doubters wrong, and show that he can be a complete player.  I love it.