Training Camp Thread, 2019-20 -- Strus, Gates & Maten Waived

FakeScreenName123 · Post #201 » by **FakeScreenName123** » Wed Oct 2, 2019 11:15 pm

how are you guys not more excited for Robert Williams?

this dude is tall, athletic, good at defense, good at rebounding, and in his 2nd year he's in incredible shape. you guys see that dunk from today? idc about the dunk just look at the physique. this guy should be hyped on this board way way more.

Post #202 » by **Parliament10** » Wed Oct 2, 2019 11:16 pm

5InOfLouisville wrote:
itrsteve wrote:
31to6 wrote:That was the thing with last year's team though -- they sucked right out of the gate, and we all (mostly) 'just pre-season'd' it for months, mirroring the team's malaise.

Correction, they were amazing for the first quarter of pre-season game 1. I was there with my wife and 6 month old boy and said, “You’re witnessing the start of something special”. They closed that quarter out 37 to 20 then ended up losing anyway.

BOY was I wrong. But was a little glimpse into the season.

But that’s behind us, very excited for this season to start. On the good vibes train.

At times, they seemed like they could have been great...like they SHOULD have been...and to me, that was the most frustrating thing of all.

Im not a great basketball mind, but i feel like i can usually at least formulate a reasonable theory about what’s happening on a ball court(some might disagree).

Im still not exactly sure why we sucked. Lots of little things, sure...and kyrie choked against the bucks and is an easy scapegoat...but despite him being kyrie irving...unpopular opinion coming...he was good at ball during the regular season

In the beginning it seemed to me everyone had the right attitude and really had a positive mindset, geological theories aside.

But i guess in the end, the easy answer is i was wrong and we just werent that good. Kyrie irving is always gonna be a good robin, gordo was broke, and the youngsters(all of whom i like) just werent ready

Yeah, you're right. They added 2 All-Stars to a team that was 5mins away from going to the Finals.
We All thought that they were going to Great.

Again, they look pretty good, this year.
But, what I think is more important, is that they get along together. The whole team, coaches included.

Post #203 » by **Parliament10** » Wed Oct 2, 2019 11:20 pm

FakeScreenName123 wrote:how are you guys not more excited for Robert Williams?

this dude is tall, athletic, good at defense, good at rebounding, and in his 2nd year he's in incredible shape. you guys see that dunk from today? idc about the dunk just look at the physique. this guy should be hyped on this board way way more.

We'll see how he does. We'll see how they all do.
We're not jumping up and down at anybody. We did that last year.

5InOfLouisville · Post #204 » by **5InOfLouisville** » Wed Oct 2, 2019 11:23 pm

Im optimistic. I think we are gonna win the trophy every training camp. Im a longtime uconn fan so im a sucker for some kemba. My allegiances were tested when he took out UK on his way to a title, but he was so damn likeable.

But it seems like its all love right now, with youngsters primed to step up, so might as well be all in now

itrsteve · Post #205 » by **itrsteve** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 12:32 am

FakeScreenName123 wrote:how are you guys not more excited for Robert Williams?

this dude is tall, athletic, good at defense, good at rebounding, and in his 2nd year he's in incredible shape. you guys see that dunk from today? idc about the dunk just look at the physique. this guy should be hyped on this board way way more.

Always been thrilled. There’s so much potential there, last year it came down to reps and experience. I questioned his ability to play sustained minutes without being a liability.

BUT and it’s a huge but. Where I’m most excited is that all worries of his work ethic have been laid to rest. When the kid is out on the court he’s hustling and trying to do everything.

I think this year with the clear opening in the front court, his usage goes up and things will come naturally to him versus playing in a panic with charity minutes from Dad Brad.

Elrod is Back · Post #206 » by **Elrod is Back** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 12:46 am

We've got four bigs fighting for at most 70 minutes of floor time between them: Kanter, Time Lord, Theis and Poirier. (I assume Grant Williams as a rookie is not going to be a rotation guy initially, and I know that is far from a safe assumption.)

Kanter is the only known quantity, and even he is still young enough to expand his game. Theis, in my opinion, if he returns to where he was his rookie year, should be a quality bench reserve getting major rotation minutes, and sometimes as a 4 alongside another big depending upon the match-ups. I am very eager to see Time Lord and Poirier. Both have exciting upsides and could force their way into the rotation or both could end up at the end of the bench all season.

GregB · Post #207 » by **GregB** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 1:06 am

FakeScreenName123 wrote:how are you guys not more excited for Robert Williams?

this dude is tall, athletic, good at defense, good at rebounding, and in his 2nd year he's in incredible shape. you guys see that dunk from today? idc about the dunk just look at the physique. this guy should be hyped on this board way way more.

Agreed, he’s the only way I see our starting lineup working with Jaylen, Gordon and Tatum.

CeltsfanSinceBirth · Post #208 » by **CeltsfanSinceBirth** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 1:15 am

5InOfLouisville wrote:
itrsteve wrote:
31to6 wrote:That was the thing with last year's team though -- they sucked right out of the gate, and we all (mostly) 'just pre-season'd' it for months, mirroring the team's malaise.

Correction, they were amazing for the first quarter of pre-season game 1. I was there with my wife and 6 month old boy and said, “You’re witnessing the start of something special”. They closed that quarter out 37 to 20 then ended up losing anyway.

BOY was I wrong. But was a little glimpse into the season.

But that’s behind us, very excited for this season to start. On the good vibes train.

At times, they seemed like they could have been great...like they SHOULD have been...and to me, that was the most frustrating thing of all.

Im not a great basketball mind, but i feel like i can usually at least formulate a reasonable theory about what’s happening on a ball court(some might disagree).

Im still not exactly sure why we sucked. Lots of little things, sure...and kyrie choked against the bucks and is an easy scapegoat...but despite him being kyrie irving...unpopular opinion coming...he was good at ball during the regular season

In the beginning it seemed to me everyone had the right attitude and really had a positive mindset, geological theories aside.

But i guess in the end, the easy answer is i was wrong and we just werent that good. Kyrie irving is always gonna be a good robin, gordo was broke, and the youngsters(all of whom i like) just werent ready

I was in denial all the way up until game 4 against Milwaukee. :lol:

Last year sucked so bad. Glad it's behind us.

31to6 · Post #209 » by **31to6** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 2:30 am

FakeScreenName123 wrote:how are you guys not more excited for Robert Williams?

this dude is tall, athletic, good at defense, good at rebounding, and in his 2nd year he's in incredible shape. you guys see that dunk from today? idc about the dunk just look at the physique. this guy should be hyped on this board way way more.

James Posey's right. We should be more hype about RWilliams. I guess the good spin is that we have a wealth of guys to be interested in/excited about, like the little marksman or the 7'6" human or the friendly Sullinger without the rebounding or the lottery pick I have to keep reminding myself of.

But if Robert W. can be our Capela then this whole thing gets a lot more viable. So giddyup! I'm onboard the RW hype train.

Curmudgeon · Post #210 » by **Curmudgeon** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 2:55 am

31to6 wrote: So giddyup! I'm onboard the RW hype train.

Not me. I learned my lesson with Jordan Mickey. Or maybe it was Brandon Hunter.

GregB · Post #211 » by **GregB** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 3:07 am

Curmudgeon wrote:
31to6 wrote: So giddyup! I'm onboard the RW hype train.

Not me. I learned my lesson with Jordan Mickey. Or maybe it was Brandon Hunter.

Sure but both of those guys were undersized. Mickeys only shot was as a stretch 4. He was like 6’7” and we were playing him at C.

Brandon Hunter wasn’t an nba level athlete. Which is what concerns me about someone like Grant Williams but I think his shooting allows him to be a solid player.

Robert Williams could bust. But we haven’t had a C prospect with his length and athleticism in decades.

Andrew McCeltic · Post #212 » by **Andrew McCeltic** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 4:41 am

I was at Brandon Hunter’s “breakout” game.. I think I posted something - on the old Celtics newsgroup, I guess - about Charles Barkley

Andrew McCeltic · Post #213 » by **Andrew McCeltic** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 4:41 am

Where is this Williams dunk?

Andrew McCeltic · Post #214 » by **Andrew McCeltic** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 5:23 am

Anyway I’ve been cautiously optimistic about Williams from day 1- I just don’t want to “jinx” him with hype - better that he’s working hard and mastering fundamentals than getting a big head or getting inflated hype like Mitchell Robinson.

But his defensive and rebounding stats were neck and neck with Ayton, Bamba, and Jaren Junior - he was hurt by being a year older and having plateaued as a sophomore, plus the negative buzz on his attitude and work ethic. But as a center prospect, I thought he was only a notch below them because of his apparent offensive ceiling. His raw talent is star level - Capela, DJ, Gobert, Larry Sanders, Myles Turner - if he works at it persistently, he can absolutely become that kind of rim protector - all the tools are there.

Post #215 » by **Parliament10** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 8:17 am

Read on Twitter

Watch on YouTube

Andrew McCeltic · Post #216 » by **Andrew McCeltic** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 9:24 am

That's a good dunk. Sometimes Williams' control of his arms - which is so fluid in spite of their length - makes me optimistic he could develop a little bit offensively.

His shot? :-/

Watch on YouTube

Andrew McCeltic · Post #217 » by **Andrew McCeltic** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 9:33 am

The good news on Williams is that he was calling the right plays on defense in summer league - that doesn't mean all his reactions are going to be right - but it shows he's made major progress on his reads. Cleaning up the nuances should come more easily with that in place.

CeltsfanSinceBirth · Post #218 » by **CeltsfanSinceBirth** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 11:47 am

Good news, guys. I was listening to the Celtics Talk podcast from last week and Sherrod said he wasn't sold on Kemba being a star player. Everything that Sherrod says or thinks is actually the opposite of what really happens, which means that Kemba is going to win MVP this year.

Post #219 » by **SmartWentCrazy** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 11:51 am

Listening to/reading the general national consensus on our team has led me to believe that were being pretty underrated. Seems like people are overcorrecting to us being very overrated last year. Thinking were much better than people expect next year.

CeltsfanSinceBirth · Post #220 » by **CeltsfanSinceBirth** » Thu Oct 3, 2019 12:51 pm

SmartWentCrazy wrote:Listening to/reading the general national consensus on our team has led me to believe that were being pretty underrated. Seems like people are overcorrecting to us being very overrated last year. Thinking were much better than people expect next year.

I actually enjoy this. The second our team bought into last year's hype was when it all fell apart. Low expectations feeds into the underdog mentality which, IMO, is where all of Brad Stevens' teams thrive. I just wish there were more media guys like the Nets board, who all think we are going to miss the playoffs. I want more fuel for the fire. Lol