Official Celtics 2021-22 Season Thread

[ballup]

From NBA.com's play tracking,

Celtics are bottom 5 in:
Cut
Hand offs
PnR handler

They are top 5 in:
Spot ups (great)
Off screans (great)
ISOs
Post ups (wtf)

Let's start with fixing this Ime. Horford shouldn't be posting up once every 4th possession. Tatum shouldn't be going ISO 22% of the time. There needs to be more two man action.

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[Gomes3PC]

The season literally just started, I'm not worried until it makes sense to be worried.

We are through 10% of the season. It's not a forgone conclusion but this is about as bad a start as anyone might have imagined.

[Fierce1]

The season literally just started, I'm not worried until it makes sense to be worried.

We are through 10% of the season. It's not a forgone conclusion but this is about as bad a start as anyone might have imagined.

Bad start is an understatement.

Celts have not won a home game 2 weeks into the season.

This is horrible!

[GoGreen]

"Too early to worry." No it ain't. This has been a pattern for a year plus, and we've seen it in other years. What we're talking about is not a sudden, one off thing. Something's rotten and imo it's not the coaching staff.

[keevsnick1]

Passing, transition D, rebounding. All issues, to various degrees. But honestly the biggest thing so far is Tatum has just kind of stunk at putting the ball in the basket.

There are 39 NBA payers who have played 5 or more games and have a Usage of 26% or more. Among those players Tatum has the 8th highest usage rate at 31.8%. There are only 8 players (of those 39) with a True Shooting percentage lower than Tatum's 48%. You can't have so much of your offense run through a guy who just can't buy a bucket.

So what's the issue? He is both shooting a lower percentage of his shots at the rim (17.4% this year, lowest of his career. This number has fallen every year), and shooting terrible on those shots (43% vs 66% for his career). He is also shooting terribly from three (27% vs 39% career). His Free Throw rate (FTr) has fallen (.209 vs .256 career), the lowest of his career. His FT percentage has also fallen (78% vs 84% career) So he's not getting all the way to the rim, not finishing at the rim, not hitting threes, not generating free throws and has seen a slight drop in FT shooting.

Now he starts off slow basically ever year. The difference is his Usage this year is so high that his poor start is jump torpedoing the teams chances to win. The good news? This will change. He will shoot better at the rim. He will shoot better from three. But it has to change soon or the Celtics will be deep in the standings hole.

[Matt5]

Smart is not Captain material. He points out flaws but doesn't take ownership. He envisions himself as a great passer and a great shooter when he takes " the right shots"!
https://t.co/SgQY3WG4K9
He is in no position to call out the Jays. Maybe if he backed something, anything up.

[Gomes3PC]

Smart is not Captain material. He points out flaws but doesn't take ownership. He envisions himself as a great passer and a great shooter when he takes " the right shots"!
https://t.co/SgQY3WG4K9
He is in no position to call out the Jays. Maybe if he backed something, anything up.

If not Smart then who? Ime already has as well, and I've heard nothing from the Jays that feels like (a) a sense of urgency or (b) an admittance they are a big reason for the bad start. Well, at least a little from Jaylen but Jayson has had his head stuck in the sand.

I do just worry if Tatum is not a guy who wants to shoulder the pressures of true leadership. Maybe this is a cold snap but even if it is just that, a true alpha would wake up soon here and just will his team to 2-3 victories through effort and maniacal focus. Tatum has just kind of a laissez-faire attitude to all of this that seems to be what Ime is struggling to break through.

Maybe the Jays just need a dose of a$$-kicking like of late to realize changes are necessary, but I'd prefer they not choose to learn the hard way.

[BostonCouchGM]

Passing, transition D, rebounding. All issues, to various degrees. But honestly the biggest thing so far is Tatum has just kind of stunk at putting the ball in the basket.

There are 39 NBA payers who have played 5 or more games and have a Usage of 26% or more. Among those players Tatum has the 8th highest usage rate at 31.8%. There are only 8 players (of those 39) with a True Shooting percentage lower than Tatum's 48%. You can't have so much of your offense run through a guy who just can't buy a bucket.

So what's the issue? He is both shooting a lower percentage of his shots at the rim (17.4% this year, lowest of his career. This number has fallen every year), and shooting terrible on those shots (43% vs 66% for his career). He is also shooting terribly from three (27% vs 39% career). His Free Throw rate (FTr) has fallen (.209 vs .256 career), the lowest of his career. His FT percentage has also fallen (78% vs 84% career) So he's not getting all the way to the rim, not finishing at the rim, not hitting threes, not generating free throws and has seen a slight drop in FT shooting.

Now he starts off slow basically ever year. The difference is his Usage this year is so high that his poor start is jump torpedoing the teams chances to win. The good news? This will change. He will shoot better at the rim. He will shoot better from three. But it has to change soon or the Celtics will be deep in the standings hole.

been trying to tell folks that Tatum seemingly goes on the sauce in the offseason to put on size. New muscles alters shooting form. It takes a minute to get used to the added strength. It generally takes 2-3 weeks. Tatum and his shooting should be fine. Whether that solves most of what ails us in another thing

[Shak_Celts]

I don't play the lottery and don't do scratch-offs, I worry about winning those more than I worry about Tatum.

[mg]

Smart is not Captain material. He points out flaws but doesn't take ownership. He envisions himself as a great passer and a great shooter when he takes " the right shots"!
https://t.co/SgQY3WG4K9
He is in no position to call out the Jays. Maybe if he backed something, anything up.

Smart has more seniority with the C's than anyone else on the roster, the HC, or the GM at this point. If the Jays needed a public wake up call there really wasn't anyone else outside of Smart to deliver the message.

[ConnorHenry]

Now the possessors of a 2-5 record, the Celtics blew a 19-point, third-quarter lead last night and spiraled to a 128-114 defeat in which they looked clueless, demoralized, desperate. Boston was outscored in the final quarter, 39-11, and outrebounded, 16-3. The Bulls shot 13-of-16 in the final 12 minutes. Of the three misses, the Celtics rebounded none of them.

You read that correctly.

The Celtics had zero defensive rebounds in the fourth quarter.

from: https://985thesportshub.com/2021/11/02/mazz-is-it-possible-the-celtics-have-the-wrong-coach-the-wrong-mix-the-wrong-everything/

Good short read overall.

[Matt5]

Smart is not Captain material. He points out flaws but doesn't take ownership. He envisions himself as a great passer and a great shooter when he takes " the right shots"!
https://t.co/SgQY3WG4K9
He is in no position to call out the Jays. Maybe if he backed something, anything up.

Smart has more seniority with the C's than anyone else on the roster, the HC, or the GM at this point. If the Jays needed a public wake up call there really wasn't anyone else outside of Smart to deliver the message.

The problem is that a mediocre player like Smart doesn’t have the right to call them out. When they pass to him he misses. When featured he is a chucker. His seniority should be as second teamer. Thus, he should not be captain!

Al: I love his game. But older and not vocal.

Smart: Talks the talk; but can’t walk the walk.

Jaylen: Perhaps, the best candidate. He is a very good player. Struggles with inconsistency at times. Owns his mistakes.

Tatum: Near great player until recent struggles. I am assuming that he will regain his form. Too passive.

I don’t see a clear captain at present.

Ime thought he saw a captain. Also thought he saw his starting point guard. Don’t think he had the full picture to start.


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[bmathieu5]

Smart is not Captain material. He points out flaws but doesn't take ownership. He envisions himself as a great passer and a great shooter when he takes " the right shots"!
https://t.co/SgQY3WG4K9
He is in no position to call out the Jays. Maybe if he backed something, anything up.

Smart has more seniority with the C's than anyone else on the roster, the HC, or the GM at this point. If the Jays needed a public wake up call there really wasn't anyone else outside of Smart to deliver the message.

The problem is that a mediocre player like Smart doesn’t have the right to call them out. When they pass to him he misses. When is featured he is a chucker. His seniority should be as second teamer. Thus, he should not be captain!

Al: I love his game. But older and not vocal.

Smart: Talks the talk; but can’t walk the walk.

Jaylen: Perhaps, the best candidate. He is a very good player. Struggles with inconsistency at times. Owns his mistakes.

Tatum: Near great player until recent struggles. I am assuming that he will regain his form. Too passive.

I don’t see a clear captain at present.

Ime thought he saw a captain. Also thought he saw his starting point guard. Don’t think he had the full picture to start.


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Allowing Smart to continue to play poorly shooting just 25% from the field and worse from 3-pt is not acceptable! Ime needs to own the coaching role and show that he can make the correct move to start a REAL point guard. We have two of them, Pritchard and Shroeder. Smart needs to shut up and sit his a$$ down. He is doing far more damage than almost any other player on the team.

[Celts17Pride]

Some "fun" facts after 7 games:

After allowing 128 points to the Bulls in their latest defeat, the Celtics’ 2-5 start is their worst through seven games since the 2006-07 season when they finished 24-58.

The Celtics have the fourth-worst defensive rating in the league (110.3).
They’re allowing the most PPG (119.7) and RPG (52.3).
They’ve allowed 115+ points in six of seven games this season — the lowly Rockets scored 97.
Last night, Boston became the first team in the shot-clock era (1954) to lose by 14+ points after leading by 14+ points entering the final 12 minutes.

[ballup]

Passing, transition D, rebounding. All issues, to various degrees. But honestly the biggest thing so far is Tatum has just kind of stunk at putting the ball in the basket.

There are 39 NBA payers who have played 5 or more games and have a Usage of 26% or more. Among those players Tatum has the 8th highest usage rate at 31.8%. There are only 8 players (of those 39) with a True Shooting percentage lower than Tatum's 48%. You can't have so much of your offense run through a guy who just can't buy a bucket.

So what's the issue? He is both shooting a lower percentage of his shots at the rim (17.4% this year, lowest of his career. This number has fallen every year), and shooting terrible on those shots (43% vs 66% for his career). He is also shooting terribly from three (27% vs 39% career). His Free Throw rate (FTr) has fallen (.209 vs .256 career), the lowest of his career. His FT percentage has also fallen (78% vs 84% career) So he's not getting all the way to the rim, not finishing at the rim, not hitting threes, not generating free throws and has seen a slight drop in FT shooting.

Now he starts off slow basically ever year. The difference is his Usage this year is so high that his poor start is jump torpedoing the teams chances to win. The good news? This will change. He will shoot better at the rim. He will shoot better from three. But it has to change soon or the Celtics will be deep in the standings hole.

been trying to tell folks that Tatum seemingly goes on the sauce in the offseason to put on size. New muscles alters shooting form. It takes a minute to get used to the added strength. It generally takes 2-3 weeks. Tatum and his shooting should be fine. Whether that solves most of what ails us in another thing

This is one of the most played, dumbest excuses. Did Tatum not practice his shots throughout the off-season? You don't gain muscles over night. It is gained gradually and someone as obsessed as him over perfecting his bag would have been adjusting as he got new gains

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[Hal14]

The season literally just started, I'm not worried until it makes sense to be worried.

We are through 10% of the season. It's not a forgone conclusion but this is about as bad a start as anyone might have imagined.

Bad start is an understatement.

Celts have not won a home game 2 weeks into the season.

This is horrible!

lol we've only had 3 home games.

[Hal14]

Some "fun" facts after 7 games:

After allowing 128 points to the Bulls in their latest defeat, the Celtics’ 2-5 start is their worst through seven games since the 2006-07 season when they finished 24-58.

The Celtics have the fourth-worst defensive rating in the league (110.3).
They’re allowing the most PPG (119.7) and RPG (52.3).
They’ve allowed 115+ points in six of seven games this season — the lowly Rockets scored 97.
Last night, Boston became the first team in the shot-clock era (1954) to lose by 14+ points after leading by 14+ points entering the final 12 minutes.

More fun facts!

Celtics are just 1 game behind the Bucks and Suns, who played in the NBA finals less than 4 months ago.

[BRUNiNHO91]

Read on Twitter

You can't get assists if your team can't shoot. Something tells me if we had a Joe Harris, Duncan Robinson, Seth Curry kinda guy these numbers would be slightly different.

Idk if the stat exists, but I'd love to see one that counts potential assists to teammates who ended up missing wide open shots. Something tells me they would be at the top of that as well.

Tatum/Brown's first instinct is to go ISO. That needs to change. I do agree with your point about the Celtics shooters. Celtics have multiple issues.

As is every other superstar in this league except maybe Harden and LeBron. It's what they do best and it's what we ask of them.

The issue right now is being pointed in the wrong direction. This teams issues are defense. They don't defend. They can't stop anybody. They put plenty of points on the board, but they need to guard better. To me it's simple as that..

[BRUNiNHO91]

Some "fun" facts after 7 games:

After allowing 128 points to the Bulls in their latest defeat, the Celtics’ 2-5 start is their worst through seven games since the 2006-07 season when they finished 24-58.

The Celtics have the fourth-worst defensive rating in the league (110.3).
They’re allowing the most PPG (119.7) and RPG (52.3).
They’ve allowed 115+ points in six of seven games this season — the lowly Rockets scored 97.
Last night, Boston became the first team in the shot-clock era (1954) to lose by 14+ points after leading by 14+ points entering the final 12 minutes.

Damn all the Smart BS. This is the issue here. This is on coaching and obviously effort. Solve this and you solve the season. A team that plays 7 guys who are absolutely above average defenders should be nowhere near the bottom of the league defensively. Nowhere near. It's absurd.

[djFan71]

After allowing 128 points to the Bulls in their latest defeat, the Celtics’ 2-5 start is their worst through seven games since the 2006-07 season when they finished 24-58.

The Celtics have the fourth-worst defensive rating in the league (110.3).
They’re allowing the most PPG (119.7) and RPG (52.3).
They’ve allowed 115+ points in six of seven games this season — the lowly Rockets scored 97.

Oof - ugly numbers. I quoted you just for those, the rest of this is just my general thoughts, not a reply.

In retrospect, we have a new coach with inexperienced assistants, a new D scheme and several key players missed large portions of training camp (Jaylen, Al). As of now, the issues on D seem to be communication/confusion related, and effort as well - esp getting back in transition.

Time/experience should hopefully sort out players knowing the scheme and executing / communicating it better. At some point we are either better at executing it and the pain pays off, or we realize it's just not gonna work and adjust. But, with the players we have - esp the ones getting time (ie, not Kanter, Juancho, Jabari and little time for PP/Nesmith) - we should rise to a top 10ish defensive team.

Effort is a little harder, but Ime seems to be calling people out / holding them accountable. In theory that can also help to fix things.

Offensively, we have been passing a little better in spurts. There are glimmers of ball/player movement. I'll give Smart a little more time to grow into the PG role as well. Jays are finally the only options out there and are learning on the job.

Overall, it's super ugly now, but this season is about growing for the future. Both players and coaching staff. If anyone was expecting wins outside of the 40s, you're in for disappointment. We really just have to hope for progress and enjoy the ride as best we can.