Game 66: Boston Celtics (40-26) @ Los Angeles Lakers (30-35) - 8:30 PM ET

[zimpy27]

Some good fight tonight. Bullock is the only guys who's not doing anything out there.

Yeah he's been disappointing, I think he might potentially be worth bringing back though for next season if the price is right.

[TylersLakers]

LeBron's been really good. Starting with the Pelicans game at home, he's been amazing. It was too little, too late at that point however.

Also, in the last few minutes, Jason Tatum has failed in isolation situations to get by Caruso and a hobbled Josh Hart. Can someone point out to me what makes him special when he's not being force fed touches?

[NoseBleedLakers]

All I'm wondering now for the rest of the season is if this team can finish with more than the 35 win total from last year for any kind of consolation lol

[Landsberger]

James just about took Kyrie's head off....

[Landsberger]

We have our modern day Madsen.

[TylersLakers]

If I was LeBron after that elbow to Kyrie, I would have picked him up and offered to run and grab him an ice pack, a mask, an In-N-Out Burger, some McDonalds fries, whatever he wanted.

[TylersLakers]

The starting line-up going forward with Kuzma back should be: Caruso/Hart/Kuzma/LeBron/Williams (or Wagner)

[NoseBleedLakers]

A yawner of a game in a season full of crap

[Landsberger]

Bron with some tampering (I hope) through his T shirt.

[TylersLakers]

Currently the 10th spot in the draft and we have a real chance to get to the 7 spot, which would give us a 32% chance to get into the Top 4.

[zuju]

That 2 trades before the trade deadline do harm to us already

In the Bullock trade, Bullock was bought in to help the lakers to reach the playoff and to compete in the playoff. Now, playoff is out of reach and Bullock may/maynot be retained next season. Thatis, we lost a low salary 3-pt shooter in Svi and a future pick for nothing. Still think Svi can be useful if given the opportunity and confidence. Even if we retain Bullock, he would be much more expensive than Svi, who can handle a bit, drvie a bit, shoot with perfect mechanics and has a high basketball iq

The Zubac trade is as bad as everybody could think. Zubac himself can help us win 2-3 more games at least if he was not traded.I dare the front office does not plan to sign Muscala this offseason. How the rationale of trading Zubac because he would demand high salary stands. IF you want you get rid of Beas, buy him out. If you are really trading Zubac, trade for someone on rookie contract who can help you or even trade for a future / 2019 pick!!!

[NoseBleedLakers]

Just checked and the Lakers are on the same pace as last season. After 66 games last year and this year, an identical record of 30-36

[TylersLakers]

That 2 trades before the trade deadline do harm to us already

In the Bullock trade, Bullock was bought in to help the lakers to reach the playoff and to compete in the playoff. Now, playoff is out of reach and Bullock may/maynot be retained next season. Thatis, we lost a low salary 3-pt shooter in Svi and a future pick for nothing. Still think Svi can be useful if given the opportunity and confidence. Even if we retain Bullock, he would be much more expensive than Svi, who can handle a bit, drvie a bit, shoot with perfect mechanics and has a high basketball iq

The Zubac trade is as bad as everybody could think. Zubac himself can help us win 2-3 more games at least if he was not traded.I dare the front office does not plan to sign Muscala this offseason. How the rationale of trading Zubac because he would demand high salary stands. IF you want you get rid of Beas, buy him out. If you are really trading Zubac, trade for someone on rookie contract who can help you or even trade for a future / 2019 pick!!!

The worst part about the Zubac trade was the off-season. I seriously think the Lakers front office doesn't understand the cap fully. He has a ridiculously small cap hold of around $2M which is basically two "empty roster charges." The Lakers, according to Brad Turner, said that they wouldn't be able to retain him in the off-season. What? Literally, there's only one player on the free agent market where his cap hold would need to be waived in order to sign: Kevin Durant. Even if you sign a Kawhi/Klay/Kyrie, you could still keep his cap hold on and then go over the cap to re-sign him to any sort of salary.

It made no sense.

[soxfan2003]

LeBron's been really good. Starting with the Pelicans game at home, he's been amazing. It was too little, too late at that point however.

Also, in the last few minutes, Jason Tatum has failed in isolation situations to get by Caruso and a hobbled Josh Hart. Can someone point out to me what makes him special when he's not being force fed touches?

Tatum who just turned 21 should in the prime of his career be
1) 40%+ 3 point shooter. He is below that this year but was above it last year. This is very important since floor spacing is critical in the NBA.
2) 85%+ FT shooter. Very close to 85% this year. Shot free throws very well for a rookie and as a freshman in college.
3) 20 PPG scorer on a team in which he can have a modestly larger role. This years Celtics team has 4 SF's that deserve to play in Tatum/Brown/Morris/Hayward. (Averaged 18.5 PPG on very good efficiency in last years playoffs in a large amount of games. Granted weak EC but still against playoff/above average teams)
4) good to very good defender given his good length.

That sure isn't a "superstar" but it is someone with top 15 potential in the NBA without a lot of downside if he doesn't fully develop.

Warriors are my 2nd favorite team.... And I honestly did think Curry would be a top 10 player when he was a rookie. I liked Klay T early on but given his age/much less college experience, I see Tatum's potential certainly ahead of a young Klay. Klay was coached well to just play to his strengths. That is what Tatum (and Brown) must learn.

Caruso is a shorter player than Tatum and most other SF's are not going to blow by him. They can shoot over him but remember Caruso is fighting for his NBA life.

A few too many times this year, Tatum has made mistakes this year trying to force it against double teams and very congested areas. Those missteps should lessen when he has a larger role which he will if traded. Stevens isn't a hard **** as a coach but if he was, I suspect Tatum would have largely eliminated those mistakes by now. Perhaps, Tatum listening to Kobe this past off-season has in all seriousness hurt his game. Until later in his career, I don't think Tatum should be trying to ISO from midrange. He should move without the ball like he did last year and still does on occasion.

Basically, 3 players(Horford, Smart, Hayward) on the Celtics make the right unselfish play nearly all the time. Smart has grown as a player in recognizing bad shoot vs good shot. Brown is getting a bit better recently but he has forced things a bit too much at times. Kyrie can err on the side of selfishness at times but he is such a gifted scorer that he does deserve to shoot more than anyone else on Celtics.

[TylersLakers]

Just checked and the Lakers are on the same pace as last season. After 66 games last year and this year, an identical record of 30-36

Yeah, disgusting. The worst part? Nothing good has come out of the season outside of having LeBron on the roster.

It's not like Lonzo and Ingram are both going to play 70+ games and showed tons of promise. They've each played less games than last season. And like last year, as both started to hit new levels of success, they had season ending injuries. And with Brandon, he's all of a sudden developed a potentially serious issue that could impact the remainder of his career, which will obviously affect his value to our team and his trade value to other teams. Even if it's discovered it's not a serious issue and he's fine (god willing), teams will use it against us in potential trades.

Kuzma? His 3PT percentage dropped massively, and outside of being a stronger perimeter defender against wings, his game is basically the same as last season.

[hazy_01]

This was actually an encouraging game, loved the South Bay Lakers (Caruso, Williams and Mo). These are just smart role players who hustle and play defense. What a refreshing sight than those sad ass "vets" we signed.

[TylersLakers]

LeBron's been really good. Starting with the Pelicans game at home, he's been amazing. It was too little, too late at that point however.

Also, in the last few minutes, Jason Tatum has failed in isolation situations to get by Caruso and a hobbled Josh Hart. Can someone point out to me what makes him special when he's not being force fed touches?

Tatum who just turned 21 should in the prime of his career be
1) 40%+ 3 point shooter. He is below that this year but was above it last year. This is very important since floor spacing is critical in the NBA.
2) 85%+ FT shooter. Very close to 85% this year. Shot free throws very well for a rookie and as a freshman in college.
3) 20 PPG scorer on a team in which he can have a modestly larger role. This years Celtics team has 4 SF's that deserve to play in Tatum/Brown/Morris/Hayward. (Averaged 18.5 PPG on very good efficiency in last years playoffs in a large amount of games. Granted weak EC but still against playoff/above average teams)
4) good to very good defender given his good length.

That sure isn't a "superstar" but it is someone with top 15 potential in the NBA without a lot of downside if he doesn't fully develop.

Warriors are my 2nd favorite team.... And I honestly did think Curry would be a top 10 player when he was a rookie. I liked Klay T early on but given his age/much less college experience, I see Tatum's potential certainly ahead of a young Klay. Klay was coached well to just play to his strengths. That is what Tatum (and Brown) must learn.

Caruso is a shorter player than Tatum and most other SF's are not going to blow by him. They can shoot over him but remember Caruso is fighting for his NBA life.

A few too many times this year, Tatum has made mistakes this year trying to force it against double teams and very congested areas. Those missteps should lessen when he has a larger role which he will if traded. Stevens isn't a hard **** as a coach but if he was, I suspect Tatum would have largely eliminated those mistakes by now. Perhaps, Tatum listening to Kobe this past off-season has in all seriousness hurt his game. Until later in his career, I don't think Tatum should be trying to ISO from midrange. He should move without the ball like he did last year and still does on occasion.

Basically, 3 players(Horford, Smart, Hayward) on the Celtics make the right unselfish play nearly all the time. Smart has grown as a player in recognizing bad shoot vs good shot. Brown is getting a bit better recently but he has forced things a bit too much at times. Kyrie can err on the side of selfishness at times but he is such a gifted scorer that he does deserve to shoot more than anyone else on Celtics.

I look at Tatum very similarly as I do Ingram.

In a situation where everything is perfect around them and they are #1 options and are force fed touches, they can be big time players. But, when is that going to happen if they're going to be apart of good teams? It happened last year because the Kyrie injury happened when their playoff positioning was locked up and they caught lighting in a bottle. Now, I do think they could both go to the Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans or Orlando Magic tomorrow and average 25 PPG and be considered potential stars. But on a good team where they're not getting the ball every possession?

Ingram's not nearly the shooter from the FT line and 3PT line that Tatum is, but his combination of length/athleticism/defence/ball handling makes him a better "supporting" player in my opinion, which is what I think both Tatum & Ingram are.

Not saying Tatum is bad, but I just don't see potential "greatness" in him. I don't see it in Ingram either.

[TylersLakers]

This was actually an encouraging game, loved the South Bay Lakers (Caruso, Williams and Mo). These are just smart role players who hustle and play defense. What a refreshing sight than those sad ass "vets" we signed.

Yeah, makes you wonder if when LeBron came back against the Clippers a month and a half ago, if from that point on we took KCP/McGee/Rondo out of the rotation and replaced them with Caruso/Williams/Wagner and then more Hart/Ingram/Kuzma/Bullock.

Would we be in a playoff position? I think we'd be in the conversation. KCP, Rondo and McGee absolutely killed us during that stretch.

[soxfan2003]

LeBron's been really good. Starting with the Pelicans game at home, he's been amazing. It was too little, too late at that point however.

Also, in the last few minutes, Jason Tatum has failed in isolation situations to get by Caruso and a hobbled Josh Hart. Can someone point out to me what makes him special when he's not being force fed touches?

Tatum who just turned 21 should in the prime of his career be
1) 40%+ 3 point shooter. He is below that this year but was above it last year. This is very important since floor spacing is critical in the NBA.
2) 85%+ FT shooter. Very close to 85% this year. Shot free throws very well for a rookie and as a freshman in college.
3) 20 PPG scorer on a team in which he can have a modestly larger role. This years Celtics team has 4 SF's that deserve to play in Tatum/Brown/Morris/Hayward. (Averaged 18.5 PPG on very good efficiency in last years playoffs in a large amount of games. Granted weak EC but still against playoff/above average teams)
4) good to very good defender given his good length.

That sure isn't a "superstar" but it is someone with top 15 potential in the NBA without a lot of downside if he doesn't fully develop.

Warriors are my 2nd favorite team.... And I honestly did think Curry would be a top 10 player when he was a rookie. I liked Klay T early on but given his age/much less college experience, I see Tatum's potential certainly ahead of a young Klay. Klay was coached well to just play to his strengths. That is what Tatum (and Brown) must learn.

Caruso is a shorter player than Tatum and most other SF's are not going to blow by him. They can shoot over him but remember Caruso is fighting for his NBA life.

A few too many times this year, Tatum has made mistakes this year trying to force it against double teams and very congested areas. Those missteps should lessen when he has a larger role which he will if traded. Stevens isn't a hard **** as a coach but if he was, I suspect Tatum would have largely eliminated those mistakes by now. Perhaps, Tatum listening to Kobe this past off-season has in all seriousness hurt his game. Until later in his career, I don't think Tatum should be trying to ISO from midrange. He should move without the ball like he did last year and still does on occasion.

Basically, 3 players(Horford, Smart, Hayward) on the Celtics make the right unselfish play nearly all the time. Smart has grown as a player in recognizing bad shoot vs good shot. Brown is getting a bit better recently but he has forced things a bit too much at times. Kyrie can err on the side of selfishness at times but he is such a gifted scorer that he does deserve to shoot more than anyone else on Celtics.

I look at Tatum very similarly as I do Ingram.

In a situation where everything is perfect around them and they are #1 options and are force fed touches, they can be big time players. But, when is that going to happen if they're going to be apart of good teams? It happened last year because the Kyrie injury happened when their playoff positioning was locked up and they caught lighting in a bottle. Now, I do think they could both go to the Phoenix Suns, New Orleans Pelicans or Orlando Magic tomorrow and average 25 PPG and be considered potential stars. But on a good team where they're not getting the ball every possession?

Ingram's not nearly the shooter from the FT line and 3PT line that Tatum is, but his combination of length/athleticism/defence/ball handling makes him a better "supporting" player in my opinion, which is what I think both Tatum & Ingram are.

Not saying Tatum is bad, but I just don't see potential "greatness" in him. I don't see it in Ingram either.

Right now, I am not seeing true greatness which I kind of consider prime Paul Pierce or above play -- in 2006-7 Celtics record with and without Pierce was so different one would almost have thought PP was Lebron --- in Tatum either but I do think he is actually potentially a #2 player on a normal championship team because he has the skills(shooting) to do well off ball and the athleticism to be effective in other areas.

Where he is clearly lacking right now is decision making/strength/dribbling in congested areas but if he was playing with let's say Lebron or even Harden or Giannis, I doubt he is making those mistakes with any coach that is strict with him. Have to be really super talented to be doing some of the things Tatum is trying to do at times and he simply is not as talented as Kobe Bryant. That is not a crime since very few players are. Tatum I believe will be a better pure shooter than Kobe and he is longer but not nearly as athletic/explosive or as good of a dribbler. Tatum at times is trying to make plays that quite frankly I rarely see K. Leonard ever try to make. At times he really does appear to be trying to copy Kobe and he simply doesn't have that level of talent.

Put yourself in Tatum's shoes. 2nd best player on an ECFinals team. He realizes scorers often get maxed contracts so if not enough plays are being run for him given Celtics other talent that Stevens must satisfy, he is bound to force some things.

I may be a minority and Laker fans may think differently but if Ingram didn't have his medical condition and I knew he would be 100% healthy for the next 10 years, I would actually take and gamble on Lonzo Ball over him if I knew Ball would be healthy.

Ball I like since I think (if healthy) he has a chance to be an "elite role player" above the level of Marcus Smart who I really like as well as a role player -- not as a player that tries to score a lot. Dennis Rodman and Draymond Green have shown elite role players can be super valuable on the right teams. And their value increases if you can get them on relatively inexpensive contracts.

Ingram I kind of see a bit like Wiggins -- albeit different skills. Ingram surely seems the better scorer right now but he does have advantage of playing some games with Lebron and going a bit more under the radar. Even when Wiggins was averaging 23 PPG a few years ago, he wasn't very good at the stuff on offense that tends to win in the modern NBA like floor spacing/3 point shooting.

If Ingram ever becomes a very good 3 point shooter on a consistent basis and becomes smarter in playing to his strengths, I have no doubt he has the talent to be a star but I just have a tough time betting on that given his history shooting free throws and 3's.

Some may think I am nuts to prefer Ball given his free throw shooting but I see that as a small sample size and I would think he should be in the 70's in a few years. Not very good but decent enough if rest of his game develops moderately.

[NoseBleedLakers]

As bad as this team has been the last 6 years, still crazy to think that they have the most regular season losses since 2013, with 320. Yes, even more than the Knicks.