Celtics exposed?

[celtics543]

Celts are a playoff team but the interior defense is definitely an issue. Kanter isn't going to start though, they'll have someone in there for defensive purposes, whether it ends up being RW3, Grant Williams, Theis, Poirier, or whoever. There's been one preseason game so lots of things to work out but losing Al makes it really tough defensively. What I'm pretty sure of though is that Marcus Smart has to start next to Kemba and right now it looks like Hayward would be the odd one out of the starting lineup. I think Tatum and Brown can play better defense than Hayward and I'm not sure they need Gordon's offense with the starting unit.

Tacko Fall ? He has the height & rim protection

He has a long way to go. He can't switch out at all. He looked alright in limited minutes but if he plays it'll be short minutes in specific spots.

[celtics543]

Celts are a playoff team but the interior defense is definitely an issue. Kanter isn't going to start though, they'll have someone in there for defensive purposes, whether it ends up being RW3, Grant Williams, Theis, Poirier, or whoever. There's been one preseason game so lots of things to work out but losing Al makes it really tough defensively. What I'm pretty sure of though is that Marcus Smart has to start next to Kemba and right now it looks like Hayward would be the odd one out of the starting lineup. I think Tatum and Brown can play better defense than Hayward and I'm not sure they need Gordon's offense with the starting unit.

Grant Williams? LOL.

He's a better defender than Kanter. Against small teams he could be alright in that spot. Strong guy that will work hard.

[LloydFree]

Celts are a playoff team but the interior defense is definitely an issue. Kanter isn't going to start though, they'll have someone in there for defensive purposes, whether it ends up being RW3, Grant Williams, Theis, Poirier, or whoever. There's been one preseason game so lots of things to work out but losing Al makes it really tough defensively. What I'm pretty sure of though is that Marcus Smart has to start next to Kemba and right now it looks like Hayward would be the odd one out of the starting lineup. I think Tatum and Brown can play better defense than Hayward and I'm not sure they need Gordon's offense with the starting unit.

Grant Williams? LOL.

He's a better defender than Kanter. Against small teams he could be alright in that spot. Strong guy that will work hard.

The guy is 6'6, with a 6'9 wingspan. He isn't going to do anything for the Celtics Interior defense, and he isn't quick or athletic enough to be an impact on the perimeter defense. The guy is a poor man's Jared Dudley, that will stay in the league 10 years because he's a good guy and will practice hard. That's all.

[jason bourne]

I didn't understand why they shipped Baynes to Phoenix in what was basically a salary dump.
The guy is an excellent big defender and rim protector. They couldn't have found a use for that, at least situationally?

I believe they were hustling up last minute capspace so they could keep Horford's Caphold and still obtain Kemba. I believe they could have signed Kemba outright, without the Rozier sign and trade, if they renounced Horford's Bird Rights. Once they cleared Baynes and did the sign-and-trade, they could get both players. But Horford screwed them and left anyway.

Yes, for most part I think. I remember reading that Horford wanted to stay. I guess the big offer he got from the rival Sixers changed his mind.

[celtics543]

Grant Williams? LOL.

He's a better defender than Kanter. Against small teams he could be alright in that spot. Strong guy that will work hard.

The guy is 6'6, with a 6'9 wingspan. He isn't going to do anything for the Celtics Interior defense, and he isn't quick or athletic enough to be an impact on the perimeter defense. The guy is a poor man's Jared Dudley, that will stay in the league 10 years because he's a good guy and will practice hard. That's all.

He's a strong guy though. Not saying he's going to be a star by any means but he's always going to be a solid 7th-10th guy for a team that can come in and work hard. I'm not suggesting he starts at center but he can definitely come in and shore up the defense with his strength down low.

[Prokorov]

Funny how the BSPN analysts couldn't see this coming .No interior defense... You lose Morris, Horford, and Baynes, replace that with Kanter and what did they expect?Instead of talking about the Celts being a top 4 Eastern team and whether Kemba could replace Kyrie , they needed to be asking if they can even make the playoffs as a "donut" team.

It has been extremely under reported exactly what they lost outside of Kyrie....

-They had 3 bigs who could defend, and in horfords case at an extremely high level (Horford, morris, baynes).
-Those 3 bigs also stretched the floor. Morris and Horford are 2 guys you can space the floor with without going small.
-They lost NBA calibur depth. Maybe a young guy steps up, but right now they really only go 7 deep with nba players. and when we talk about depth, its not just the bench playing well, its having nba level players to step in and start when injuries happen

[Prokorov]

Celts are a playoff team but the interior defense is definitely an issue. Kanter isn't going to start though, they'll have someone in there for defensive purposes, whether it ends up being RW3, Grant Williams, Theis, Poirier, or whoever. There's been one preseason game so lots of things to work out but losing Al makes it really tough defensively. What I'm pretty sure of though is that Marcus Smart has to start next to Kemba and right now it looks like Hayward would be the odd one out of the starting lineup. I think Tatum and Brown can play better defense than Hayward and I'm not sure they need Gordon's offense with the starting unit.

Tacko Fall ? He has the height & rim protection

Fall isnt a good defender, he might be worse then kanter

[NjtoBk201]

what we should be talking about is who is going to be the first player to posterize Taco and how many games will it take

[GiannisAnte34]

The Celtics are going to be matadors in the paint, going to get bodied every single night and it would be extremely tough as a fan to watch that routinely

[LofJ]

Ainge will make a trade to improve their interior defense. He will be forced to pay fair value too because other teams know the situation they're in. They could of course have a disappointing season while Ainge stubbornly refuses to make a move, but I don't think the Celtics fanbase will stand for that.

[LloydFree]

Funny how the BSPN analysts couldn't see this coming .No interior defense... You lose Morris, Horford, and Baynes, replace that with Kanter and what did they expect?Instead of talking about the Celts being a top 4 Eastern team and whether Kemba could replace Kyrie , they needed to be asking if they can even make the playoffs as a "donut" team.

It has been extremely under reported exactly what they lost outside of Kyrie....

-They had 3 bigs who could defend, and in horfords case at an extremely high level (Horford, morris, baynes).
-Those 3 bigs also stretched the floor. Morris and Horford are 2 guys you can space the floor with without going small.
-They lost NBA calibur depth. Maybe a young guy steps up, but right now they really only go 7 deep with nba players. and when we talk about depth, its not just the bench playing well, its having nba level players to step in and start when injuries happen

The Celtics lost 3 of their 4 best Catch-and-shoot 3pt shooters (Irving, Horford and Morris). Outside of Tatum, I don't know if they have one other player (including Kemba) that was above league average in catch-and-shoot 3pt percentage.

[Asif16]

I like how the Knicks fan casually slips Morris in with Baynes and Horford in terms of defense lost

Morris defense is still better than Kanter

[Asif16]

They're probably gonna end up trading for Steven Adams somehow

[GotDaSauce]

Jump on the Celtics now and get your licks in! Ainge will make a move if its not working since I think he learned from last year. When your fraud teams start off slow this season don't go crying to the Mods when C's fans makes some comments about your team!

[Prokorov]

Ainge will make a trade to improve their interior defense. He will be forced to pay fair value too because other teams know the situation they're in. They could of course have a disappointing season while Ainge stubbornly refuses to make a move, but I don't think the Celtics fanbase will stand for that.

if ainge is smart he will stand pat and if he does make a move it will be fore more under 26 talent and/or picks.

there is no move that makes boston even a fringe contender. you have some good young pieces and picks. you trade to get the superteam, the KDs, the ADs, Kawhi and it didnt work out. you put your self in a good spot if it didnt. dont chase loses, pivot and rebuild.

worst thing boston can do is trade assets for win now piece unless they find another avenue to a superstar

[Rockice_24]

I'm just shocked it took this long for people to realize they are not nearly as good as they were. I mean people were lumping them in with INDY, TOR and saying they were clearly better then BK still when it's likely that BOS will be fighting with DET, ORL, MIA in the 5-8 range.

Fit and cohesion go a long way and BOS fans kept saying that now that Kyrie is gone it will be better. That may be true where they get along better but fit wise Kemba is a just worse version of Kyrie. If they wanted to kill Kyrie for not being a play maker why is Kemba going to all of a sudden be that and more. It's going to take a massive leap from Tatum, Brown, or Hayward bounce back to keep them going. If an injury hits to one of their top 4 players they are going to struggle for sure.

Depth is key more so in the regular season and BOS is lacking in that area for sure. I still think they edge in to the playoffs and will not be a cake walk due to their lack of depth not being an issue so much in the playoffs but they better hope CHI, ATL don't have a good season because they could be the team to slip out if things go south.

[LofJ]

Ainge will make a trade to improve their interior defense. He will be forced to pay fair value too because other teams know the situation they're in. They could of course have a disappointing season while Ainge stubbornly refuses to make a move, but I don't think the Celtics fanbase will stand for that.

if ainge is smart he will stand pat and if he does make a move it will be fore more under 26 talent and/or picks.

there is no move that makes boston even a fringe contender. you have some good young pieces and picks. you trade to get the superteam, the KDs, the ADs, Kawhi and it didnt work out. you put your self in a good spot if it didnt. dont chase loses, pivot and rebuild.

worst thing boston can do is trade assets for win now piece unless they find another avenue to a superstar

I agree that it would be a mistake for Ainge to use up his remaining trade assets for a big contract veteran. If they make a move for a player they need to line up with the Tatum/Brown/Langford/etc. timeline.

[Klayforspicy]

Even in the video game i thought ..Kanter is the center ??? this team is unusable..

[StojkoVrankovic]

Morris was a horrific defender last season and Baynes sucked according to realgm

Interesting how things change

[Prokorov]

I'm just shocked it took this long for people to realize they are not nearly as good as they were. I mean people were lumping them in with INDY, TOR and saying they were clearly better then BK still when it's likely that BOS will be fighting with DET, ORL, MIA in the 5-8 range.

Fit and cohesion go a long way and BOS fans kept saying that now that Kyrie is gone it will be better. That may be true where they get along better but fit wise Kemba is a just worse version of Kyrie. If they wanted to kill Kyrie for not being a play maker why is Kemba going to all of a sudden be that and more. It's going to take a massive leap from Tatum, Brown, or Hayward bounce back to keep them going. If an injury hits to one of their top 4 players they are going to struggle for sure.

Depth is key more so in the regular season and BOS is lacking in that area for sure. I still think they edge in to the playoffs and will not be a cake walk due to their lack of depth not being an issue so much in the playoffs but they better hope CHI, ATL don't have a good season because they could be the team to slip out if things go south.

yeah i dont think it really matters if kemba plays as well or better then kyrie did or is a better chemistry fit. the other losses were monumental and they didnt really fix their too many guys who need shots problem

They replaced one of the better, more versatile defending bigs with one of the worst defending bigs in the league. and they didnt replace any of their 3 stretch bigs with someone who can space the floor. unless they want to go super small all the time or play theis a ton floor spacing could be an issue

they also are replacing 3 starters. so as much as they may like how the personalities fit, thats alot to gain chemistry on floor with

the depth thing is huge. as you said an injury and they could see a long losing streak