Official Celtics 2020-21 Regular Season Thread

[Parliament10]

This thought just occurred to me.

Celtics lose a play making wing in Hayward which will give Brown a lot more on ball opportunities this year. Brown is a 6'6 wing who needs to work on his passing to reach that All-NBA level and maximize teem success. Evan Turner meanwhile was a 6'6 wing who averaged 4.7 assists per 36 minutes in his career and was just hired as as an assistant coach to work on player development. Probably not a coincidence.

Same thing applies to Tatum, even Nesmith/Romeo to some degree.

Let’s hope we get the leap to all star level first before all nba

I don't see Jaylen Brown going All-NBA. He'll probably make the All-Stars a few times, though.
Now Jayson Tatum. He could be in the All-NBA talk for years to come.

[playa-hater]

Time to let it go, DA pretty much said Smart is going to start. I think we have to see it to retain Smart. I'm sure he's at the point of "start me or lose me!" He can start for a few teams who will pay him. I'm not sure who could pay him but the Knicks would likely throw a bag at him.

I have no problem starting Smart.

BUT it must be at the PG Not the SG position.

[playa-hater]

Time to let it go, DA pretty much said Smart is going to start. I think we have to see it to retain Smart. I'm sure he's at the point of "start me or lose me!" He can start for a few teams who will pay him. I'm not sure who could pay him but the Knicks would likely throw a bag at him.

this.

there's really no reason not to start marcus. he's part of our best 5. that lineup was successful last year. he brings energy and defense to the starters who often come out lackadaisical. the previous argument was that we have no vets on the bench but now we do plus our kids are a year older. not only would it be a slap in the face to marcus but it just doesn't make sense basketball wise.

i expect grant, teague, and thompson (who are our "vets") to get heavy minutes tho. or theis if TT starts. the rest is more fluid and we'll have to see who earns it. nesmith has a great chance because he brings a much needed skill, but he's got to translate that to the nba. pritchard's goal will be to beat out teague this year... shouldn't be a high bar. plus rwill needs to keep improving.

basically, we're like 11 deep with solid players and that doesn't even include future finals mvp semi.

I have no problem smart starting, as long as he plays the point. That way he focuses on playmaking and defense. The problem with him playinh the 2 next to Kemba, he turns into a chucker. Well maybe he learned a lot this past playoffs hopefully. Plus a lot of teams would want him, but it’s a career suicide to leave the celtics now.
Smart/teague
Nesmith
Brown
Tatum
Thompson

damn, just saw you beat me to this point... but this should be a universal agreement.

[Parliament10]

Time to let it go, DA pretty much said Smart is going to start. I think we have to see it to retain Smart. I'm sure he's at the point of "start me or lose me!" He can start for a few teams who will pay him. I'm not sure who could pay him but the Knicks would likely throw a bag at him.

I have no problem starting Smart.

BUT it must be at the PG Not the SG position.

Smart (for himself) doesn't have to Start. He knows he's getting Starter minutes, no matter what. He even said that.
But with Kemba down, IDK. Not sure who will take his place. Smart knows our system better.

Then also, Stevens tends to employ a 2-Ballhandler lineup. So, we'll see.
Gotta see how these other players advance.

[playa-hater]

Time to let it go, DA pretty much said Smart is going to start. I think we have to see it to retain Smart. I'm sure he's at the point of "start me or lose me!" He can start for a few teams who will pay him. I'm not sure who could pay him but the Knicks would likely throw a bag at him.

I have no problem starting Smart.

BUT it must be at the PG Not the SG position.

Smart (for himself) doesn't have to Start. He knows he's getting Starter minutes, no matter what. He even said that.
But with Kemba down, IDK. Not sure who will take his place. Smart knows our system better.

Then also, Stevens tends to employ a 2-Ballhandler lineup. So, we'll see.
Gotta see how these other players advance.

I guess my point was more that whether Smart starts or 6th man, I want him primarily as a PG more than a SG.

[Parliament10]

I have no problem starting Smart.

BUT it must be at the PG Not the SG position.

Smart (for himself) doesn't have to Start. He knows he's getting Starter minutes, no matter what. He even said that.
But with Kemba down, IDK. Not sure who will take his place. Smart knows our system better.

Then also, Stevens tends to employ a 2-Ballhandler lineup. So, we'll see.
Gotta see how these other players advance.

I guess my point was more that whether Smart starts or 6th man, I want him primarily as a PG more than a SG.

Yeah definitely to your point. We don't want Smart chucking, unless necessary.
It's great to have him in that flexible position.

[SMTBSI]

With Kemba out, seems like Smart's got to be starting. Will miss having him backing up 4 spots, but having him on with the highest usage players might be good too, in terms of keeping his FGA down. We'll also finally get to see what a core of Celtic-drafted players really looks like.

Three most obvious ways to finish the starting lineup:

1.) Smart and Teague
pros: vet presence
cons: poor PG depth on the bench (Pritchard, Waters)

2.) Smart and both Theis/Thompson
pros: vet presence
cons: poor C depth on the bench (Timelord, Fall); big-ball is not one of our core competencies

3.) Smart and a young player (Grant, Nesmith)
pros: best in terms of keeping depth at important positions (PG and C)
cons: young, unproven player in the starting lineup


#3 would be the best for the team, imo, both in terms of rotation balance, and because it probably means at least one of our young players is playing well. But it also may be the least likely for political reasons; could easily see Brad just playing it safe and giving all the starting spots to vets.

[Parliament10]

With Kemba out, seems like Smart's got to be starting. Will miss having him backing up 4 spots, but having him on with the highest usage players might be good too, in terms of keeping his FGA down. We'll also finally get to see what a core of Celtic-drafted players really looks like.

Three most obvious ways to finish the starting lineup:

1.) Smart and Teague
pros: vet presence
cons: poor PG depth on the bench (Pritchard, Waters)

2.) Smart and both Theis/Thompson
pros: vet presence
cons: poor C depth on the bench (Timelord, Fall); big-ball is not one of our core competencies

3.) Smart and a young player (Grant, Nesmith)
pros: best in terms of keeping depth at important positions (PG and C)
cons: young, unproven player in the starting lineup


#3 would be the best for the team, imo, both in terms of rotation balance, and because it probably means at least one of our young players is playing well. But it also may be the least likely for political reasons; could easily see Brad just playing it safe and giving all the starting spots to vets.

I just posted this in another Thread.
What do you think about this Lineup, to Start the Season?:

Starters: Teague - Smart - Brown - Tatum - Theis/Thompson
Rotation: Pritchard - Edwards - Nesmith - G.Williams - R.Williams

[SMTBSI]

Spoiler:

With Kemba out, seems like Smart's got to be starting. Will miss having him backing up 4 spots, but having him on with the highest usage players might be good too, in terms of keeping his FGA down. We'll also finally get to see what a core of Celtic-drafted players really looks like.

Three most obvious ways to finish the starting lineup:

1.) Smart and Teague
pros: vet presence
cons: poor PG depth on the bench (Pritchard, Waters)

2.) Smart and both Theis/Thompson
pros: vet presence
cons: poor C depth on the bench (Timelord, Fall); big-ball is not one of our core competencies

3.) Smart and a young player (Grant, Nesmith)
pros: best in terms of keeping depth at important positions (PG and C)
cons: young, unproven player in the starting lineup


#3 would be the best for the team, imo, both in terms of rotation balance, and because it probably means at least one of our young players is playing well. But it also may be the least likely for political reasons; could easily see Brad just playing it safe and giving all the starting spots to vets.

I just posted this in another Thread.
What do you think about this Lineup, to Start the Season?:

Starters: Teague - Smart - Brown - Tatum - Theis/Thompson
Rotation: Pritchard - Edwards - Nesmith - G.Williams - R.Williams

I just don't like starting both Smart and Teague. That's my least favorite option. Having only Pritchard/Waters/Edwards off the bench at guard feels like our weakest possible bench personnel grouping.

Well, we're flying a bit blind here. Maybe Pritchard really is going to be a competent backup from day one. That would open up a lot of flexibility. But, I'm not counting on it, until I see it.

Brad totally may go for Smart and Teague, because he loves his vets. But I hope not.

[Parliament10]

Read on Twitter

I haven't been down around the Garden in awhile. But, is that "Coward" sign really up there?

[Parliament10]

Watch on YouTube

[keevsnick1]

This thought just occurred to me.

Celtics lose a play making wing in Hayward which will give Brown a lot more on ball opportunities this year. Brown is a 6'6 wing who needs to work on his passing to reach that All-NBA level and maximize teem success. Evan Turner meanwhile was a 6'6 wing who averaged 4.7 assists per 36 minutes in his career and was just hired as as an assistant coach to work on player development. Probably not a coincidence.

Same thing applies to Tatum, even Nesmith/Romeo to some degree.

Let’s hope we get the leap to all star level first before all nba

I don't see Jaylen Brown going All-NBA. He'll probably make the All-Stars a few times, though.
Now Jayson Tatum. He could be in the All-NBA talk for years to come.

The distinction i would make is Jaylen Brown's play making doesn't need to get much better for him to be an all star, he was already arguably good enough to be that last year. All he really needs to do if get marginally better at stuff he's already pretty good at and he'll make some all star teams. He's close enough I kind of expect it without a ton of improvement.

If he wants to go up the NEXT level after that into that 10-20 range of guy who makes all NBA teams his play making does need to make a leap. Its his biggest weakness right now. This to me is far less certain.

[Curmudgeon]

Meh. When you guys see Payton Pritchard scoring and dishing the rock, you'll be saying "Kemba who?"

[Celts17Pride]

https://hoopshype.com/lists/most-untradeable-contracts-nba/

List of Top 25 Most Untradeable Contracts

Notable

4 - Gordon Hayward
8 - Al Horford
9 - Kemba Walker

[Justin33]

No camp invites?

[K For Three]

Are there fans anywhere this year?

Hearing there is already covid going on in the NBA.

Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen IMO.

[Triple7]

this.

there's really no reason not to start marcus. he's part of our best 5. that lineup was successful last year. he brings energy and defense to the starters who often come out lackadaisical. the previous argument was that we have no vets on the bench but now we do plus our kids are a year older. not only would it be a slap in the face to marcus but it just doesn't make sense basketball wise.

i expect grant, teague, and thompson (who are our "vets") to get heavy minutes tho. or theis if TT starts. the rest is more fluid and we'll have to see who earns it. nesmith has a great chance because he brings a much needed skill, but he's got to translate that to the nba. pritchard's goal will be to beat out teague this year... shouldn't be a high bar. plus rwill needs to keep improving.

basically, we're like 11 deep with solid players and that doesn't even include future finals mvp semi.

I have no problem smart starting, as long as he plays the point. That way he focuses on playmaking and defense. The problem with him playinh the 2 next to Kemba, he turns into a chucker. Well maybe he learned a lot this past playoffs hopefully. Plus a lot of teams would want him, but it’s a career suicide to leave the celtics now.
Smart/teague
Nesmith
Brown
Tatum
Thompson

damn, just saw you beat me to this point... but this should be a universal agreement.

Definitely!

[Triple7]

I just hope Stevens give Nesmith and Pritchard consistent minutes at the get go, especially Nesmith. I don’t get why some would say that he’s not ready to be a starter. He ‘s got two years in college, as compared to most prospects getting 1 year. Plus he will not be expected to carry a franchise, unlike some lottery picks, but probably be the 4th or 5th option if he starts. But the rewards could be great. He could be the deadset shooter that we lacked in the playoffs. Just imagine how easy would it be for the Jays, to attack inside, if things open up. He has the talent to rack up 6 or 7 in a game. That could spell the difference between us blowing out opponents. That could only happen if Stevens get outside of his box, and start taking risks.
Smart, nesmith, brown, tatum and thompson to start
Do it Stevens!
I would also give pritchard some burn. Give him carsens’ minutes, or wanamakers previous role.

[Fencer reregistered]

Smart absolutely should start opening night with Kemba out. He probably should start even when the team is at full strength. First, that makes basketball sense. Second, we should minimize the risk that he becomes the next important player to leave for a bigger role elsewhere.

[Fencer reregistered]

I continue to predict that pairing RobWill and Nesmith will make a lot of sense, assuming Nesmith's shot transitions fairly smoothly to the pros. If it does, Nesmith will be an excellent move-catch-shooter. Rob is an excellent move-catch-dunker, and a good passer as well.

And if you tend to play them with Kemba -- well, you have two guys who may be apt to need an eraser at center, plus a guy who's greatest defensive strength can be erasing.