Celts Hungry for a Title, Start By Eating Big Apple! Opening Night Victory Cigar vs NYK 10/25

[Green89]

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[Fierce1]

JB's offense will be fine.

It's the high school level decision making from JB that's a problem.

[sam_I_am]

Great last 2 minutes. When it mattered most, down 99-93 on the road after blowing a big lead, the team methodically dominated and took the game.

Tatum was immense despite 4 TOs and a few too many hero ball plays early in 4th that didn’t work out. He’s going to a higher level this year.

KP looked like a max player in the 1st quarter but early in the 4th looked like a gimpy old man for a little stretch. That worries me but man did he game up in the last 5 minutes. Wow what a performance. I hope Joe keeps his minutes down and limits him to 60 games. We need him to be healthy in May and June.

White was shaky as the PG but overall is solid.

JB last season was the guy who came out of the gate scoring. Tonight both KP and Tatum were on fire so he looked a little lost. His commitment to playmaking was solid and he did have 5 assists. He did have that awful stretch but the whole team did too at that time.

Holiday also looked a little out of sorts and then forced some bad shots. I think Tatum/KP being so dominant in first quarter made JB and JH feel like they should be doing something and both lost the flow.

The defense on Randall and Brunson was great last night. The 3 point shot kept Knicks in game and then got them the lead.

Pritchard and Hauser were really bad last night. Every wide open 3 was bricked - not even close. They need to be better on the road. 40% 3 point shooter sounds great but it’s not if 90% of them are in garbage time.

Smart, Brogdon, Grant, Gallinari and Rob combined for 81 points last night.

[flintsky21]

So is this how it feels like to have a legit offensive big? Feels good!

KP was incredible. Tatum was awesome. Gutsy win. Still lots of things to improve on, but an opening night win against the Knicks is always a good thing.

[Triple7]

Zinger for Vc! Traded brick machine in the clutch smart for a 7ft clutch player yeah!!! Tatum played great. I likednhis drives to the basket, and his mid ranges. Jaylen is meh!

[ConstableGeneva]

VC and CP winner:

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[Patsfan1081]

Was it me or did it seem like Holiday seldom brought the ball up, felt like more White. Hopefully he isn’t regulated to the corners this year.

[Larry_Russell]

I will give brown 10 games to find his place.

He is 3rd scorer and needs to be a defensive stud and help rebounder.
Its not complicated.

[BK_2020]

I just want Jaylen to stop pedaling backwards after receiving a screen or a DHO.

[Fierce1]

I will give brown 10 games to find his place.

He is 3rd scorer and needs to be a defensive stud and help rebounder.
Its not complicated.

To us, it's not complicated.

But to Jaylen, it's very confusing, to say the least.

[hugepatsfan]

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Brown's best quality/utility past couple of seasons was as a volume scorer and finisher on okay efficiency. With the addition of KP, that won't be the case game-to-game anymore. So he really needs to raise his game in other areas to justify that supermax extension. Not getting screened off the play on defense or not overhelping/leaving his man would be a good start. He has less scoring responsibility. He can focus on less glamorous but equally if not more impactful aspects of the game. The five or six assists were nice. The late live turnovers that led to six free Knicks points, not so much.

I’d say Brown is going to have two different roles this year:

1) the one he plays when he’s out there with only one or none of Tatum/KP

2) the role he plays when he’s out there with both of them

#1 is what will get him his numbers and recognition as a primary offensive creator. And in the regular season it’s going to be critical. But #2 is what’s going to matter in the playoffs with shortened rotations/extended minutes for the stars. It’s going to be important that he doesn’t lose sight of #2 in the shuffle of the long regular season where #1 might arguably matter more game to game.

[ConstableGeneva]

Was it me or did it seem like Holiday seldom brought the ball up, felt like more White. Hopefully he isn’t regulated to the corners this year.

I would chalk that up to White having more familiarity with the stuff we run so he's better equipped to organize/initiate the offense. Smart as he is, Holiday needs a period of adjustment and learning.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

Bob Myers said during the halftime show of the ESPN broadcast that the Celtics have the highest margin for error in the entire league. It's hard to argue with that.

- The Knicks shot 13/20 on open triples (despite not having very good shooters). The Celtics shot 3/15.
- The Knicks have maybe the most continuity of any team in the league while this was game 1 of a completely reworked rotation for the Celtics.
- The Knicks are a good team, at home that won a playoff series last year and are a bad match up for the Celtics.

Boston pulling out a win in those circumstances is really impressive. Not sure too many teams could have managed that.

[ConstableGeneva]

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[darrendaye]

Was it me or did it seem like Holiday seldom brought the ball up, felt like more White. Hopefully he isn’t regulated to the corners this year.

I would chalk that up to White having more familiarity with the stuff we run so he's better equipped to organize/initiate the offense. Smart as he is, Holiday needs a period of adjustment and learning.

We'll see how this evolves and it's only been one game, but, I have been on team Jrue super 6th man since the trade went down. I felt/feel it is less problematic to set up offensive hierarchy.

[hugepatsfan]

I feel like people here are really mislabeling Jrue as some “true PG” type. That’s not his game at all. He’s more of a Marcus Smart type of PG that people grew tired of than the ARondo type people here swoon for. He’s just a much better version with the rough edges smoothed out a good deal.

I’d love to move White or Holiday to the bench and play Horford with the starters. I think moving Holiday is getting too cute and just move the lesser player in White. But the holdup there is the lack of another center. Starting Horford/KP creates the need for a better backup center than Kornet once you go to line up the rotations.

Get a Mason Plumlee type in here mid season or some other compatible talent level of player and I’m totally on board with bringing a guard off the bench.

[Larry_Russell]

I feel like people here are really mislabeling Jrue as some “true PG” type. T

Jrue is the best point guard since Rondo is relation to one that creates in a traditional PG way.

[darrendaye]

I feel like people here are really mislabeling Jrue as some “true PG” type. That’s not his game at all. He’s more of a Marcus Smart type of PG that people grew tired of than the ARondo type people here swoon for. He’s just a much better version with the rough edges smoothed out a good deal.

I’d love to move White or Holiday to the bench and play Horford with the starters. I think moving Holiday is getting too cute and just move the lesser player in White. But the holdup there is the lack of another center. Starting Horford/KP creates the need for a better backup center than Kornet once you go to line up the rotations.

Get a Mason Plumlee type in here mid season or some other compatible talent level of player and I’m totally on board with bringing a guard off the bench.

I tilt towards Jrue 6th man as he's more of a scorer than White.

[hugepatsfan]

I feel like people here are really mislabeling Jrue as some “true PG” type. T

Jrue is the best point guard since Rondo is relation to one that creates in a traditional PG way.

Probably true but doesn’t change what I said. He’s more Marcus Smart than Rondo stylistically. IT/Kyrie/Kemba we’re different styles entirely.

[hugepatsfan]

I feel like people here are really mislabeling Jrue as some “true PG” type. That’s not his game at all. He’s more of a Marcus Smart type of PG that people grew tired of than the ARondo type people here swoon for. He’s just a much better version with the rough edges smoothed out a good deal.

I’d love to move White or Holiday to the bench and play Horford with the starters. I think moving Holiday is getting too cute and just move the lesser player in White. But the holdup there is the lack of another center. Starting Horford/KP creates the need for a better backup center than Kornet once you go to line up the rotations.

Get a Mason Plumlee type in here mid season or some other compatible talent level of player and I’m totally on board with bringing a guard off the bench.

I tilt towards Jrue 6th man as he's more of a scorer than White.

Fair. In terms of staggering minutes for your best scorers/ball handlers/creators that might be the best way to line it up. We did that to some extent with Brogdon last year as a 6th man, though not sure he was clearly a better player Smart/White like Jrue is so a little different (I do contend that a fully healthy Brogdon is better than Smart, though White has grown to be better IMO).

But I would like to add another big at some point:

White / Holiday
Brown / (Pritchard/Svi/Banton)
Tatum / (Hauser/Stevens/Walsh)
Horford / (Brissett)
Porzingis / BIG MAN ACQUISITION

If you make the right big man acquisition who can stick in playoff rotation for 15-20 minutes I think that lets you line the top 6 up optimally. And then amongst all the guys in parenthesis you just need one to stick for a full playoff rotation.