I think the positional size, length, and ability to switch makes it difficult on teams. As good as a defender that Bradley was his height was a liability when he was forced to switch on certain 3's. However, Brown can easily switch on to any 3 and we don't have to deal with any sort of mismatch. This also leads me to believe that eventually Rozier will be traded, especially as a new contract looms, and he'll be replaced by another long wing that, much like many of our players, can effectively cover 3 to 4 positions. Smart and Irving as the shortest players in our rotation will be pretty scary from an overall team size perspective.

I thought we were, OKC was dominating in the first half and in the 2nd half, OKC's Big 3 looked VERY VERY gassed

I think I saw a sequence of just Westbrook and Melo bricking shots after shots which enabled us to get back from being down 18

Mello played awful defense, he switched and never stuck with his man .   Dude is cooked ,  his leg maybe hurting again ...sign when his shooting goes south and he avoids playing defense.

Mello played awful defense, he switched and never stuck with his man .   Dude is cooked ,  his leg maybe hurting again ...sign when his shooting goes south and he avoids playing defense.

Mello played a very bad game all around. He is looking old. When things slow down in the playoffs I think he will be more effective.

Quote from: Chris22 on November 04, 2017, 09:08:40 AM

It seems to me that we are wearing teams down and then unleashing the Kyrie in the fourth quarter.

What do you think?

Definitely. The Celts are running teams out of the gym and there's no way to avoid it. When the Celts are on offense the other team has to deal with so many pieces. Tatum, Jaylen, Horford, Irving.

Other way around they have Marcus and Semi and Baynes and Theis in the grill.

It just never ends.

So much depth and athleticism and youth.

Even our "bad" players are extremely respectable. When Larkin is your 11th man you have a pretty decent team.

Well put.

Quote from: Chris22 on November 04, 2017, 09:08:40 AM

It seems to me that we are wearing teams down and then unleashing the Kyrie in the fourth quarter.

What do you think?

Definitely. The Celts are running teams out of the gym and there's no way to avoid it. When the Celts are on offense the other team has to deal with so many pieces. Tatum, Jaylen, Horford, Irving.

Other way around they have Marcus and Semi and Baynes and Theis in the grill.

It just never ends.

So much depth and athleticism and youth.

Even our "bad" players are extremely respectable. When Larkin is your 11th man you have a pretty decent team.

TP eja. I agree with you.

This team, even without Hayward, is just a buzz saw for opponents. There's just too much length and quickness combined with too much talent for many opponents. Most teams that have that kind of length & quickness are too inexperienced to know how to win games because most of those guys are younger. The teams that are experienced to know how to win games don't have that kind of athleticism. The Cs have that wonderful combination of both.

Brad has so many arrows in the quiver. He can just keep firing guys out there to fit any need. Need a mobile man in the middle? There's All-Star Al Horford. Need a big man to take some punishment? Here's Aron Baynes. Do those guys need a breather? Bring on Theis. Need a guy to stop a 3/4 PF? Morris or Semi. Need a 4 to score? Here's Tatum. Brad can just exploit most any lineup. If they put older legs on the court he'll run you down with guys like Brown, Irving, Rozier and Semi. If their roster lacks length, here's Tatum, Morris or even Nader. Need to defend against a big lineup? Here's Baynes and Theis, moving Al to a mismatch against almost any PF in the league. If they put smaller guys on the floor, out trots Marcus, Semi and Kyrie - guys who are simply going to be bigger, stronger and just as mobile as their jitterbugs.  We can just keep coming after other teams, trying combinations until one clicks.

I think we'll have the most trouble with the most athletic teams UNTIL our guys get a bit more experience. But once guys like Brown, Tatum, Semi and the like have the experience to go along with their physical gifts then it's going to take teams with truly incredible levels of talent to compete (aka Golden State). Other teams simply won't be able to compete for 48 minutes.

Moreover, I think this team will be so much tougher during the playoffs. Last year there were obvious mismatches that teams could take advantage of. Crowder at the 3/4. IT at 1. Bradley's inability to switch outside of the back court. No truly tough guy in the middle. This year all of those problems have answers. We're not just built for the regular season but I think we're built much better for the postseason.

Quote from: eja117 on November 04, 2017, 11:56:27 AM

Quote from: Chris22 on November 04, 2017, 09:08:40 AM

It seems to me that we are wearing teams down and then unleashing the Kyrie in the fourth quarter.

What do you think?

Definitely. The Celts are running teams out of the gym and there's no way to avoid it. When the Celts are on offense the other team has to deal with so many pieces. Tatum, Jaylen, Horford, Irving.

Other way around they have Marcus and Semi and Baynes and Theis in the grill.

It just never ends.

So much depth and athleticism and youth.

Even our "bad" players are extremely respectable. When Larkin is your 11th man you have a pretty decent team.

TP eja. I agree with you.

This team, even without Hayward, is just a buzz saw for opponents. There's just too much length and quickness combined with too much talent for many opponents. Most teams that have that kind of length & quickness are too inexperienced to know how to win games because most of those guys are younger. The teams that are experienced to know how to win games don't have that kind of athleticism. The Cs have that wonderful combination of both.

Brad has so many arrows in the quiver. He can just keep firing guys out there to fit any need. Need a mobile man in the middle? There's All-Star Al Horford. Need a big man to take some punishment? Here's Aron Baynes. Do those guys need a breather? Bring on Theis. Need a guy to stop a 3/4 PF? Morris or Semi. Need a 4 to score? Here's Tatum. Brad can just exploit most any lineup. If they put older legs on the court he'll run you down with guys like Brown, Irving, Rozier and Semi. If their roster lacks length, here's Tatum, Morris or even Nader. Need to defend against a big lineup? Here's Baynes and Theis, moving Al to a mismatch against almost any PF in the league. If they put smaller guys on the floor, out trots Marcus, Semi and Kyrie - guys who are simply going to be bigger, stronger and just as mobile as their jitterbugs.  We can just keep coming after other teams, trying combinations until one clicks.

I think we'll have the most trouble with the most athletic teams UNTIL our guys get a bit more experience. But once guys like Brown, Tatum, Semi and the like have the experience to go along with their physical gifts then it's going to take teams with truly incredible levels of talent to compete (aka Golden State). Other teams simply won't be able to compete for 48 minutes.

Moreover, I think this team will be so much tougher during the playoffs. Last year there were obvious mismatches that teams could take advantage of. Crowder at the 3/4. IT at 1. Bradley's inability to switch outside of the back court. No truly tough guy in the middle. This year all of those problems have answers. We're not just built for the regular season but I think we're built much better for the postseason.

Very nice write TP
(I kind of predict it and wait for the third quarter to start watching lol)

Expecting majority of games to be like this: we will outplaying the opponent when the time goes by

Teams like OKC/Wizard/Raptors/Clippers who has star talent starters and also experienced but is top heavy we may trail in first half(you can expect a possible ~20 point deficit if on road) but will catch on with time and pass them in the end

Below average team/bad teams (Laker/Kings/Suns/Bulls/Hawks) aren't talented enough

Talented but inexperienced teams like the Sixers/Pilicans wont going to match our system

One star team like the knicks/Bucks their star will be gassed before 4th quarter

And this leaves the Spurs(More experienced but older),Cavs(SUPER star) and Warriors(Just too much talent with some bench and experienced) to be the real challenge

(Rockets is special for their system but unfortunate for them that's a pro regular season system
 and won't go far in the playoffs)