Ainge made a mistake in not signing Bird to be playoff eligible

[Beat LA]

I see the posters on celticsblog stay thinking they are better coaches than Stevens and better GMs than Ainge. Remember, the posters here are always 100% right and go 82-0 every season and undefeated in the playoffs. If only those dopes Stevens and Ainge would get out of the way and let the posters here run things the Celtics would never lose and every player signed and drafted would an an allstar.

But of course .

[smokeablount]

I would love to find a way to lock Bird up as a bench player for a few years. I love his game. Plus his connection with Jaylen is just cool as a fan.

What’s the connection besides being teammates at Cal?  Something more specific I don’t know about?

[smokeablount]

The real mistake that game was not feeding Tatum the ball after his 3 and dunk over lebron. After that, we fed rozier brown and Morris who ended up shooting brick after brick

Yes and no, imo, as while I agree that playing through Tatum was obviously costly, what really hurt us was the strict adherence to analytics vs. actually playing basketball throughout that contest, and the Rockets made the same mistake. Hmm...

Pretty sure analytics aren’t kind to missing all of your threes either.

So why keep taking them?

Because many of them were wide open and you get an extra point if you make them? You don’t need advanced analytics to tell you three is more than two and that wide open shots are good to take.

Yes, but a three pointer, open or not, is a much lower percentage shot as opposed to getting the ball deep in the paint to Al Horford being guarded by George Hill, lol .

Plus, how many threes do you have to miss in a row, not to mention overall, before you finally realize that it's just not your night from beyond the arc?

While I agree 100% that their constant shooting and bricking of 3’s was infuriating, your last sentence perfectly encapsulates the attitude of many people who lose big money in the equities markets.

[Moranis]

Um, the Cavs only played 8 players in game 7.  Smith played 42:26, Hill played 38:02, and Clarkson played 9:20.  Korver played 17:36, but most of those were at the 3/4.  The other bench player was Nance who played 7:51.  Lebron played the entire game.  Jeff Green played 41:54.  The other Cav, Thompson played 34:51.

Now sure, Boston played just 7, Tatum led the team with 42:09 (so less than James and Smith and barely more than Green).  Horford was next at 40:11 followed by Brown at 38:56, Rozier at 36:16, Morris at 32:50, Smart at 30:50, and Baynes at 18:48.  Baynes obviously didn't play very much, but combined played more minutes than Clarkson and Nance.

The reality is the Cavs played more minutes from their starters than Boston did (even counting Morris instead of Baynes that is still true), and while Cleveland played the extra man, the Cavs bench players collectively just didn't play all that much, which strained their starters even more. 

It is nice to think that Jabari Bird would have made a difference, but at the end of the day, Boston lost because Lebron James was on the other team and Boston just couldn't stop him from scoring 35 points (on 50% shooting), grabbing 15 rebounds, and dishing out 9 assists.  Jabari Bird wouldn't have made a difference against Lebron James, so he wouldn't have made a difference in that game.

[A Future of Stevens]

I would love to find a way to lock Bird up as a bench player for a few years. I love his game. Plus his connection with Jaylen is just cool as a fan.

What’s the connection besides being teammates at Cal?  Something more specific I don’t know about?

Nah nothing crazy. Just the teammates thing. Also when Bird got in the regular season game last year, Jaylen seemed incredibly hyped whenever Bird showed out. Just a feeling, nothing concrete.

[RockinRyA]

Um, the Cavs only played 8 players in game 7.  Smith played 42:26, Hill played 38:02, and Clarkson played 9:20.  Korver played 17:36, but most of those were at the 3/4.  The other bench player was Nance who played 7:51.  Lebron played the entire game.  Jeff Green played 41:54.  The other Cav, Thompson played 34:51.

Now sure, Boston played just 7, Tatum led the team with 42:09 (so less than James and Smith and barely more than Green).  Horford was next at 40:11 followed by Brown at 38:56, Rozier at 36:16, Morris at 32:50, Smart at 30:50, and Baynes at 18:48.  Baynes obviously didn't play very much, but combined played more minutes than Clarkson and Nance.

The reality is the Cavs played more minutes from their starters than Boston did (even counting Morris instead of Baynes that is still true), and while Cleveland played the extra man, the Cavs bench players collectively just didn't play all that much, which strained their starters even more. 

It is nice to think that Jabari Bird would have made a difference, but at the end of the day, Boston lost because Lebron James was on the other team and Boston just couldn't stop him from scoring 35 points (on 50% shooting), grabbing 15 rebounds, and dishing out 9 assists.  Jabari Bird wouldn't have made a difference against Lebron James, so he wouldn't have made a difference in that game.

Its not Lebron. We won games where he scored a lot. Or did you not see open miss after open miss from Brown, or bad shots from Rozier?

[Moranis]

Um, the Cavs only played 8 players in game 7.  Smith played 42:26, Hill played 38:02, and Clarkson played 9:20.  Korver played 17:36, but most of those were at the 3/4.  The other bench player was Nance who played 7:51.  Lebron played the entire game.  Jeff Green played 41:54.  The other Cav, Thompson played 34:51.

Now sure, Boston played just 7, Tatum led the team with 42:09 (so less than James and Smith and barely more than Green).  Horford was next at 40:11 followed by Brown at 38:56, Rozier at 36:16, Morris at 32:50, Smart at 30:50, and Baynes at 18:48.  Baynes obviously didn't play very much, but combined played more minutes than Clarkson and Nance.

The reality is the Cavs played more minutes from their starters than Boston did (even counting Morris instead of Baynes that is still true), and while Cleveland played the extra man, the Cavs bench players collectively just didn't play all that much, which strained their starters even more. 

It is nice to think that Jabari Bird would have made a difference, but at the end of the day, Boston lost because Lebron James was on the other team and Boston just couldn't stop him from scoring 35 points (on 50% shooting), grabbing 15 rebounds, and dishing out 9 assists.  Jabari Bird wouldn't have made a difference against Lebron James, so he wouldn't have made a difference in that game.

Its not Lebron. We won games where he scored a lot. Or did you not see open miss after open miss from Brown, or bad shots from Rozier?

you mean inconsistent shooters shot inconsistently, shocking.  It wasn't fatigue.  That is just an excuse to make you feel better.  Boston just wasn't good enough.  Period.

For a point of reference, game 5, which Boston won by 13, Terry Rozier was 1 of 7 from 3 and Jaylen Brown was 2 of 8.  Game 6, which the Cavs won by 10, Rozier was 6 of 10 and Brown was 2 of 5.  Game 7, which the Cavs won by 8, Brown was 3 of 12 and Rozier was 0 of 10.  They were combined 5 of 15 in game 4 and combined 3 of 7 in game 3.  Combined 5 of 16 in game 2 and combined 3 of 8 in game 1.  In other words, throughout the entire series they had good games and bad games and Boston won and lost both good and bad shooting games from those 2.  The only real problem in game 7 was neither seemingly had the good sense to stop shooting.  That is what happens when young players are in over their head and they don't have a leader to calm them down (this is perhaps Horford's biggest failing on the team this post season). 

[mqtcelticsfan]

The real mistake that game was not feeding Tatum the ball after his 3 and dunk over lebron. After that, we fed rozier brown and Morris who ended up shooting brick after brick

Yes and no, imo, as while I agree that playing through Tatum was obviously costly, what really hurt us was the strict adherence to analytics vs. actually playing basketball throughout that contest, and the Rockets made the same mistake. Hmm...

Pretty sure analytics aren’t kind to missing all of your threes either.

So why keep taking them?

Because many of them were wide open and you get an extra point if you make them? You don’t need advanced analytics to tell you three is more than two and that wide open shots are good to take.

Yes, but a three pointer, open or not, is a much lower percentage shot as opposed to getting the ball deep in the paint to Al Horford being guarded by George Hill, lol .

Plus, how many threes do you have to miss in a row, not to mention overall, before you finally realize that it's just not your night from beyond the arc?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gambler%27s_fallacy

[Fafnir]

Summer League is one hell of a drug.

[Boston Garden Leprechaun]

The real mistake that game was not feeding Tatum the ball after his 3 and dunk over lebron. After that, we fed rozier brown and Morris who ended up shooting brick after brick

Yes and no, imo, as while I agree that playing through Tatum was obviously costly, what really hurt us was the strict adherence to analytics vs. actually playing basketball throughout that contest, and the Rockets made the same mistake. Hmm...

Astute observation and I couldn't agree more.  But, there were certain C's who tried to play BB the old fashioned (and still successful) way but weren't rewarded for their effort.

Ugh. I know. How many times was Horford being guarded by Hill right under the basket only for us to continue to jack threes? Yeesh .

just terrible stupid basketball since we could not throw it in an ocean. all 5 should have went to rim. we were in bonus.

[smokeablount]

I would love to find a way to lock Bird up as a bench player for a few years. I love his game. Plus his connection with Jaylen is just cool as a fan.

What’s the connection besides being teammates at Cal?  Something more specific I don’t know about?

Nah nothing crazy. Just the teammates thing. Also when Bird got in the regular season game last year, Jaylen seemed incredibly hyped whenever Bird showed out. Just a feeling, nothing concrete.

Thanks bro, TP, I like hearing about Jaylen getting hyped for Bird as a fan too. 

Them JBs gotta stick together!

[csfansince60s]

I would love to find a way to lock Bird up as a bench player for a few years. I love his game. Plus his connection with Jaylen is just cool as a fan.

What’s the connection besides being teammates at Cal?  Something more specific I don’t know about?

Nah nothing crazy. Just the teammates thing. Also when Bird got in the regular season game last year, Jaylen seemed incredibly hyped whenever Bird showed out. Just a feeling, nothing concrete.

Thanks bro, TP, I like hearing about Jaylen getting hyped for Bird as a fan too. 

Them JBs gotta stick together!

TPs to both you guys.

They've been good friends for a while. Bird was even living with Brown for a time when he wasn't in Maine.

Here's a good early last season article on their relationship and role reversal:

NEWPORT, Rhode Island – Friendship usually boils down to the connection between two people, but in the case of two young Celtics, their friendship boils down to the connection between two letters: J and B.

That’s where it all started for Jaylen Brown and Jabari Bird.

Two years ago, a young, wide-eyed Brown showed up to the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, as a highly-recruited 18-year-old looking to make a name for himself. Shortly after his arrival, however, he learned that someone else – Bird – had already taken claim to his accustomed nickname.

“I remember at (Cal) Coach (Cuonzo) Martin was like, "Hey, JB!” and we both looked,” Brown remembered with a smile, “and [Jabari] looked at me and hit me like this (with an elbow) and said, “I’m JB, punk.”

And so it began.

The JB-JB connection didn’t get off to a great start, if but only for a misunderstanding, but it quickly turned into a friendship that has grown immensely over time. Now, two years later, as their friendship has traveled all the way across the country to Boston, they describe themselves as “really good friends” and “brothers.”

Bird was an elder statesman, one who had already risen to his junior year, by the time Brown arrived at Cal, and that’s why he owned the right to the “JB” nickname. As such, he also owned the responsibility to take the younger Golden Bears under his wing.

He did exactly that, particularly with Brown, as he taught the young and athletic wing all he needed to know about college life and college hoops. They went on to become co-starters for 22 of Cal’s 34 games as they each averaged double-figures in the scoring column.

Life can be funny sometimes, and this is certainly one such instance. The JB-JB connection still exists to this day, but their roles have reversed in an ironic way. It’s now time for Brown to return the favor to Bird and guide him through a new experience.

Brown, still only 20, just began his second NBA season Tuesday morning as the Boston Celtics broke camp in Newport.

Bird, meanwhile, has turned into the wide-eyed rookie looking for guidance after being chosen with the 56th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by Brown’s C’s.

Fortunately for Bird, the original JB, the man who shares his initials has been there for him since Draft night back in June.

“It’s been fun, honestly,” Bird said of his relationship with Brown. “He’s done a really good job of helping me out, showing me around, telling me the things I should expect going into training camp of my first year.

“Honestly, I see it as an advantage going into my rookie year, to have somebody who’s been through it already and just came off a good rookie year and can kind’ve show me the way.”

Brown said he has spent most of his time trying to teach Bird about the off-the-court lifestyle of an NBA player, particularly in relation to the roadblocks Brown experienced as a rookie such as time management, sleep schedule, diet, and routine. Brown, however, doesn’t anticipate that Bird will be affected by all of those challenges, and Bird agrees.

“Being in college for four years, you kind of pick up on those things,” Bird said after his first day of training camp with Boston. “After a while you kind’ve mature. So for me, I feel like I should be able to adapt kind of easily.”

That is, at least off the court. On the court? That’s a different story.

Brown came out of Cal after his freshman year because he was an elite athlete with an NBA-ready frame. Bird remained in school for four years, improving all the while, but never showcased the type of speed, power and athleticism that induced the Celtics to select Brown with the third overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft.

NBA basketball comes easy for Brown, who excelled as a rookie for Boston. For Bird, succeeding at this level will require an incredible amount of hard work and patience.

“You get here, and all of a sudden you’re guarding All-Stars on the wing,” Bird said Tuesday evening, shaking his head for emphasis. “So it’s like, guarding Gordon Hayward on Day 1, compared to guarding a guy who might play overseas, is two different things.”

Bird admitted that stepping into the fire of training camp was quite the challenge, but he understands that there is plenty of time to recover and succeed.

“Day 1 was OK. I’m kind of learning the ropes,” he said. “Not like I wanted it to go, obviously, but I have a long way to go to reach my potential, and each day I’m going to come in here and try to get better.”

All the while, Brown will be right by his side, just as he was during their days back at Cal.

But neither will forget – their roles are now reversed.

“Brad (Stevens) knows who JB is,” Brown cracked before looking back over his shoulder. “He’s Jabari.”

/quote]

https://www.nba.com/celtics/news/sidebar/092617-camp-brown-bird-enjoying-role-reversal-of-friendship