cl2117 wrote:I still believe in this team. I'm not confident, but I believe in them.
Tatum and Brown are legit. There is no doubt about it. They both are still incredibly young and there is a learning curve to becoming superstars. They've nailed how to get their own and now they need to add in the ability to elevate others consistently. They're getting caught up in focusing purely on scoring and when the focus of the defense and in particular the double teams come, they become far far less effective. These guys are cornerstones and two have 2 of them immediately puts us in a position to have a puncher's chance against most teams.
Kemba is healthy. Unfortunately, so much of our season relies on Kemba because of how important having a legit scoring option outside of the Jays' is to giving them breathing room. His skillset is scoring, he's not going to deliver on the defensive end, he's not going to be the facilitator that can afford not to put the ball in the basket. His being healthy is half the battle when it comes to him being that legit 3rd scoring option for us. If he doesn't at least become consistently above average, we're probably sunk, but at least there is the potential for that.
The kids are WAY more promising than they looked at the start of the year. Nesmith is coming on both defensively and on the boards, when his primary skillset should be as a scorer. Pritchard looks like a low-ceiling, but high floor bench piece. Timelord is otherworldly, but just needs to be able to play 25+ minutes. Langford hasn't even gotten a shot, but his skillset is eating at the rim and we desperately need that.
Smart is going to come in and fill a LOT of holes. Defensively he's the heart and soul. Offensively he's a shockingly good facilitator (especially when he's not looking for his own shot). For such a young team, his leadership will go a LONG way.
And there is still 4 weeks until the trade deadline and Ainge has a huge chip with this TPE to be able to potentially add an impact player as well as a reasonable sized one via the Kanter TPE to add a more more moderate impact player and save the big move for the summer.
It's obviously been really ugly the last several weeks. There aren't enough excuses to explain away all the bad we've seen. But we are also incredibly lucky. The East has been brutal all year. We're 2 losses behind the 4th seed and 4 behind the 3rd seed. Despite being without guys for extended periods we haven't had any season ending injuries.
We've got plenty of potential, just need to put it all together. Not saying it will happen, but it's not a foregone conclusion that it won't. I believe C's can turn it around this season and make noise in the playoffs.
Hit on many of the relevant points. With Kemba coming back from injury and the abundance of young players on the team, it should have been expected to be a somewhat uneven start of the year with the idea of peaking late. Right now, to me, the most important aspect is for Stevens to continue to tell the Jays to trust their teammates.
Consider the Jays and Kemba likely expect to account for 70 points per game. Smart, Nesmith, Timelord, and possibly Pritchard should find enough shots to each average double digit ppg. As you allude, Langford's ability to slither into the paint and ability he showed in college to finish at the rim is a skill in short supply on the team. Tatum continues to be rather pedestrian in this regard. Romeo should be given a long rope to see how far he can develop.
Whether or not they add someone this year, if the locker-room doesn't meltdown, I believe the arrow will point back up later in the year with more speedbumps in the short term. Personally, I don't believe they need another scorer.
