Official Celtics 2022 Off-Season Thread

[bucknersrevenge]

Nice video about Jaylen on NBA.com...

https://www.nba.com/watch/video/nba-exclusive-jaylen-brown?plsrc=nba&collection=features

He’s making a concerted effort to try to play more within the actual offense, I give him a ton of credit. I don’t really care about the turnovers last night, he’s really improved when it comes to taking care of the ball.

I really hope he has a big night from three soon, is shooting 32% over the last 25 games, and last night you could tell he was overthinking the game.

I remember his quote earlier in the season where he said something like, "I shot it when I should've passed it. And I passed the ball when I should've shot it." There's a bit of that going on when he's turning the ball over in some of his reads. But agreed, he's trying to play within the team concept more than ever and he's improved from when the season started. It just doesn't come natural to him.

(Post above subject to review on where it falls on the hate scale.)

Just piggybacking on these two great observations here, over his last 10, JB is averaging 4.1 assists and 2.3 turnovers per game. Both numbers are better than his season averages of 3.4 and 2.8 respectively. None of this comes natural to Jaylen as far as playmaking. And Ideally with all of the passers and ballhandlers we now have on the team he shouldn't be asked to do that much. Just make the simple read when you get the ball. Doesn't have to be fancy. Be safe. When we don't turn the ball over, we're an awesome team. I'm happy to see Jaylen trying not to force as often as he used to and to trust his teammates more. I think as this group grows together for the rest of this season and into next year (as we should have pretty much everyone back) Jaylen should improve even further when it comes to picking his spots and knowing more where everyone is going to be in the offense.

[Feed Your Head]

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[Hal14]

He’s making a concerted effort to try to play more within the actual offense, I give him a ton of credit. I don’t really care about the turnovers last night, he’s really improved when it comes to taking care of the ball.

I really hope he has a big night from three soon, is shooting 32% over the last 25 games, and last night you could tell he was overthinking the game.

I remember his quote earlier in the season where he said something like, "I shot it when I should've passed it. And I passed the ball when I should've shot it." There's a bit of that going on when he's turning the ball over in some of his reads. But agreed, he's trying to play within the team concept more than ever and he's improved from when the season started. It just doesn't come natural to him.

(Post above subject to review on where it falls on the hate scale.)

Just piggybacking on these two great observations here, over his last 10, JB is averaging 4.1 assists and 2.3 turnovers per game. Both numbers are better than his season averages of 3.4 and 2.8 respectively. None of this comes natural to Jaylen as far as playmaking. And Ideally with all of the passers and ballhandlers we now have on the team he shouldn't be asked to do that much. Just make the simple read when you get the ball. Doesn't have to be fancy. Be safe. When we don't turn the ball over, we're an awesome team. I'm happy to see Jaylen trying not to force as often as he used to and to trust his teammates more. I think as this group grows together for the rest of this season and into next year (as we should have pretty much everyone back) Jaylen should improve even further when it comes to picking his spots and knowing more where everyone is going to be in the offense.

It's not easy. To play with a faster pace and move the ball really well, while keeping turnovers very low. But when we manage to do it, the results are usually VERY good.

[moonie_mcgee]

Re our talent, we're there right now with the starting 5.
The depth with White, Grant, Theis and Pritch can get us there but other teams 6 thru 9 may be better. Nonetheless I like our chances and trust that CBS and Ime will make continuous improvements going fwd.

[Floody100]

Wouldn’t mind finishing 4th. Let Milwaukee, Philly & Brooklyn deal with each other the first two rounds. Playing Chicago/Cleveland in the first round & then Miami in the second sounds a lot more appealing.

[zoyathedestroya]

Celtics have really won 3/4 of their games in 2022 (GMT+8).

Other than Philly, all their losses in 2022 were against below-.500 teams who are potentially missing the playoffs.

[Ticket]

Watch on YouTube

[BK_2020]

Well....The sample size is large enough to officially say that Ime & this Celtics team have turned the corner and have reached a point where they need to be taken seriously as a title threat. Granted I still think they're a year away, but defensively they are special which should be enough to give them an opportunity to win any series moving forward. This group is starting to remind me of the Warriors when they finally realized how good they were. Fun to watch.
Even my dad is commenting on how much he's enjoying this team and how good they are....He's not even the biggest hoops fan, albeit he likes watching the Celtics when he can.
anyway, I hope they keep this rolling. My fear come playoff time is if Tatum is off they will struggle to score enough. I still feel like they are 1 offensive weapon away.....Perhaps that's what the TPE will be used on this summer.

This team is a lot of fun. Similarities to last years Suns team, Kawhi Raptors, 2013 Warriors in that they are playing like best team in NBA but lack the top shelf talent to be clear favorites to win it all like say the Durant/GSW teams. Tatum is reaching the level of a great and the other guys are all playing cohesively. With a little luck they could win it all like the Raptors but I still think they are a player away. Maybe Brown can get healthy and return to the trajectory he was on before wrist surgery but right now with nagging injuries he has been shaky. I worry that the team lacks the star power needed to get past ECF.

Tatum put up 30 a game in the last year's playoffs, including a 50 piece and a 40 piece. His AVG would've been higher without the game 2 where he played only 20 mins. That was before Tatum took a step forward. I think this team has the top shelf talent, what's lacking is the 2nd playmaker/ scoring option who can control the floor.

[Curmudgeon]

I don't think anything is lacking if (1) Horford continues to play well and (2) Tatum and Brown take care of the ball.

[Feed Your Head]

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[Feed Your Head]

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[bisme37]

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Don't know if/how it ever happens, but I think he really does want to play with his Celtics buddies.

[bisme37]

We still killing them.

[Half-Full]

We are so much better than the 2020-21 version of the Celtics. Gone are Kemba, Fournier, and Tristan Thompson, replaced by Al Horford, Derek White, and Theis. In addition, Grant is playing much better, and is averaging 6 minutes more per game (18.1 vs 23.8), and RWill has elevated his game substantially. Every reason to believe that we will have a good playoff run, despite the level of competition we will be facing.

[Fencer reregistered]

Fun with power rankings: Celtics at #1.

We're going to need to come up with a new word for the level of heat the Celtics are producing with their play of late, winning all three games this week to make it 17 of their last 20. This week's wins came against solid opponents in the Grizzlies, Nets and Hornets, as Jayson Tatum put up gargantuan scoring efforts of 37, 54 and 44 points, respectively. Jaylen Brown also returned strong from a minor ankle issue, averaging 18 points and five assists in the final two games of the week.

https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/nba-power-rankings-dominant-celtics-take-no-1-spot-knicks-suddenly-red-hot-lakers-hit-latest-rock-bottom/

[zoyathedestroya]

In the wake of the Cs almost-shutout of the Pistons in the 4th quarter...

Celtics, 4Q, 1st 34 games: 27th in DefRtg, 29th in NetRtg
Celtics, 4Q, last 34 games: 5th in DefRtg, 4th in NetRtg

[playa-hater]

In the wake of the Cs almost-shutout of the Pistons in the 4th quarter...

Celtics, 4Q, 1st 34 games: 27th in DefRtg, 29th in NetRtg
Celtics, 4Q, last 34 games: 5th in DefRtg, 4th in NetRtg

Yes the defense has improved, but better offense leads to less turnovers and/or fast breaks, that and full health have all come together IMO. That and a shout out to PP!! sorry couldn't help the last part!!

[sam_I_am]

In the wake of the Cs almost-shutout of the Pistons in the 4th quarter...

Celtics, 4Q, 1st 34 games: 27th in DefRtg, 29th in NetRtg
Celtics, 4Q, last 34 games: 5th in DefRtg, 4th in NetRtg

Interestingly, our defensive rating over last 10 games has dropped to about 10th in NBA but our offensive rating is #1 over that span. Net rating dropped to about 5 as well. I think JB injury and drop off in play of RW may explain some of that. RW didn’t look quite right last night - fumbled most of lobs sent his way and fouled a lot in situations where he has been a stopper recently. I wonder if his hip is bothering again.

[zoyathedestroya]

Cs one of the healthier teams for once. Nuggets (Jokic) and Heat (Spo) have done an amazing job despite injuries.

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[zoyathedestroya]

Most Assists, PG-to-Wing Combos:
1) Ball to Bridges, CHA - 113
2) Paul to Bridges, PHX - 109
t-3) Harden to Durant, BKN - 97
t-3) Murray to Johnson, SAS - 97
5) Westbrook to James, LAL, 85
6) Smart to Tatum, BOS, 84