Way to go Tacko!

Ernest · Post #1 » by **Ernest** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 3:07 am

When he got in the game in the 1st quarter I though, man this must be one of the best moments in his life. He's finally getting a chance. I'm not super optimistic about him as a player but he is so much fun to root for. He got a chance and he surprised me. He didn't wet the bed as they say. A bunch of blocks, changed some shots by guys driving, a bunch of boards. A cool dunk. He played 20 meaningful minutes and helped us win the game. We could discuss all day if he will ever be a rotation player in the NBA, but one thing is for sure, yesterday must have been one of the best days of his life. He finally got a real shot and did really well. As a fan, these moments are golden. Way to go Tacko!

SMTBSI · Post #2 » by **SMTBSI** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 3:42 am

Most players in the league could stick if they really wanted to. It's less a question of how good they are, and more a question of how good they think they are. A lot of guys want more money and a bigger role than they really deserve. A mediocre player can still be a good thing to have on the roster if the dollar value and role are correct. So can a well-below-mediocre player, if they accept the minimum and end-of-the-bench status and are a great teammate who's always ready when the call comes. You can't ever actually have 15 average to above average players on your roster all at once - some would get poached by other teams for more money and larger roles than you're willing to give them.

I was down on Tacko for a long time. I'm still not totally convinced (I never make conclusions based on one game). But, if he's one of those guys who's going to be happy just to be in the league, and work his butt off, while accepting his niche role, there's absolutely a chance he sticks with us. Just keep putting in work, day after day, year after year, accept the min, accept inconsistent minutes, be there always ready as a change-of-pace guy. Yeah, there's a path.

Ernest · Post #3 » by **Ernest** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 3:48 am

SMTBSI wrote:Most players in the league could stick if they really wanted to. It's less a question of how good they are, and more a question of how good they think they are. A lot of guys want more money and a bigger role than they really deserve. A mediocre player can still be a good thing to have on the roster if the dollar value and role are correct. So can a well-below-mediocre player, if they accept the minimum and end-of-the-bench status and are a great teammate who's always ready when the call comes. You can't ever actually have 15 average to above average players on your roster all at once - some would get poached by other teams for more money and larger roles than you're willing to give them.

I was down on Tacko for a long time. I'm still not totally convinced (I never make conclusions based on one game). But, if he's one of those guys who's going to be happy just to be in the league, and work his butt off, while accepting his niche role, there's absolutely a chance he sticks with us. Just keep putting in work, day after day, year after year, accept the min, accept inconsistent minutes, be there always ready as a change-of-pace guy. Yeah, there's a path.

Good points. Tacko proved me wrong kind of. I more than half way thought if we put him in for 20 rotation minutes in a real game he would get exposed. Either a lot of dumb fouls or guys would post him up and score- i don't really know. I just thought he wouldn't be able to hold down the fort so to speak. Sure it's only one game- but I didn't think he could do it for one game based on him never getting the chance before this crazy covid thing. I'm not going to set my expectations high after one game or anything. But it was fun to watch. And it was fun to be wrong.

I wonder if he could bulk up and how long that would take. He might just not be able to given how long his arms are. But if he wasn't so skinny out there he would be really scary.

SMTBSI · Post #4 » by **SMTBSI** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 4:02 am

Ernest wrote:Good points. Tacko proved me wrong kind of. I more than half way thought if we put him in for 20 rotation minutes in a real game he would get exposed. Either a lot of dumb fouls or guys would post him up and score- i don't really know. I just thought he wouldn't be able to hold down the fort so to speak. Sure it's only one game- but I didn't think he could do it for one game based on him never getting the chance before this crazy covid thing. I'm not going to set my expectations high after one game or anything. But it was fun to watch. And it was fun to be wrong.

I wonder if he could bulk up and how long that would take. He might just not be able to given how long his arms are. But if he wasn't so skinny out there he would be really scary.

It's funny. There was a poster on the GB the other day making this point, saying that if he was built more like Boban they'd have more confidence in his potential.

Boban is 7'4" 290
Tacko is 7'5" 310

Tacko's got to have muscle packed away somewhere. It's tough to see - he really does look skinny. But, there's something deceiving going on there.

Ernest · Post #5 » by **Ernest** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 4:08 am

SMTBSI wrote:
Ernest wrote:Good points. Tacko proved me wrong kind of. I more than half way thought if we put him in for 20 rotation minutes in a real game he would get exposed. Either a lot of dumb fouls or guys would post him up and score- i don't really know. I just thought he wouldn't be able to hold down the fort so to speak. Sure it's only one game- but I didn't think he could do it for one game based on him never getting the chance before this crazy covid thing. I'm not going to set my expectations high after one game or anything. But it was fun to watch. And it was fun to be wrong.

I wonder if he could bulk up and how long that would take. He might just not be able to given how long his arms are. But if he wasn't so skinny out there he would be really scary.

It's funny. There was a poster on the GB the other day making this point, saying that if he was built more like Boban they'd have more confidence in his potential.

Boban is 7'4" 290
Tacko is 7'5" 310

Tacko's got to have muscle packed away somewhere. It's tough to see - he really does look skinny. But, there's something deceiving going on there.

I forget what game it was but Tacko had the ball and got fouled or maybe tied up by a smaller player and he wasn't able to get the ball up. If he could bulk up he'd be able to get fouled and still make the shot- or at least get a shot off. But it might just be hard for some really lanky people to bulk up I know it is for me lol. I just wonder how hard it would be for him to bulk up over a year say. Certainly he'd make millions of dollars more if he could.

playa-hater · Post #6 » by **playa-hater** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 5:41 am

Since our esteemed Tacko fan Club Prez seems to be slacking, I will keep bumping this thread.

If Tacko had to start, for at least a month, and get 25+ min per game, I truly believe he would out-shine our incumbent starters at center.

In fact One Tacko > our Twin towers !!

I truly truly believe that.

Of course Tacko is the Nesmith of our centers

return2glory · Post #7 » by **return2glory** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 6:23 am

I guess some of you didn’t see Tacko vs Duke 2 years ago in the tournament. He was playing against 3 future NBA players, and he more than held his own.

Tacko has gotten better since then. He has gotten stronger. He was tossing Robin Lopez around. And he was pretty fast running up and down the court for a 7’6 guy.

Lockdown504090 · Post #8 » by **Lockdown504090** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 6:49 am

Is tacko too large to play in today’s nba? Like if he got more skilled and smarter could he be a17 mpg guy? Or is moving that size around going to limit him to Europe where the court is smaller?

Triple7 · Post #9 » by **Triple7** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 9:37 am

playa-hater wrote:Since our esteemed Tacko fan Club Prez seems to be slacking, I will keep bumping this thread.

If Tacko had to start, for at least a month, and get 25+ min per game, I truly believe he would out-shine our incumbent starters at center.

In fact One Tacko > our Twin towers !!

I truly truly believe that.

Of course Tacko is the Nesmith of our centers

I’m with you on this one.
Theis should be traded asap for veteran bench scorer wings.
Our bigs should be TT, then R.Will Tacko and G.Will. that is more than enough, since we usually play Tatum at the 4. besides, just as long as Theis is here, Stevens would continue to give him minutes, despite how awful he plays.
Tacko at the middle changes/alters shots. Beal literally changed his shot mid air against tacko. Plus i doubt guys like vanvleet, lowry, dragic and herro would attack us inside with no fear against tacko.

Ernest · Post #10 » by **Ernest** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 1:16 pm

If Tacko really steps up we would just move some of the Semi Grant minutes to him and play him with R Williams. I wouldn't trade Theis unless there are finacial reasons ie we will lose him anyways.

Tacko could help Brown and others score on the drive if he can just stay close the the hoop and be a real threat for a lob pass. Keep the opposing center from helping. The next game will be more telling. It really seemed like Washinton just didn't care all that much out there.

31to6 · Post #11 » by **31to6** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 3:51 pm

Fan club all up in here

playa-hater · Post #12 » by **playa-hater** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 5:19 pm

Triple7 wrote:
playa-hater wrote:Since our esteemed Tacko fan Club Prez seems to be slacking, I will keep bumping this thread.

If Tacko had to start, for at least a month, and get 25+ min per game, I truly believe he would out-shine our incumbent starters at center.

In fact One Tacko > our Twin towers !!

I truly truly believe that.

Of course Tacko is the Nesmith of our centers

I’m with you on this one.
Theis should be traded asap for veteran bench scorer wings.
Our bigs should be TT, then R.Will Tacko and G.Will. that is more than enough, since we usually play Tatum at the 4. besides, just as long as Theis is here, Stevens would continue to give him minutes, despite how awful he plays.
Tacko at the middle changes/alters shots. Beal literally changed his shot mid air against tacko. Plus i doubt guys like vanvleet, lowry, dragic and herro would attack us inside with no fear against tacko.

Agree times 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Bill Bradley · Post #13 » by **Bill Bradley** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 5:26 pm

Tacko fan here. Timelord and he are our centers of the future. I believe!

50yrceltsfan · Post #14 » by **50yrceltsfan** » Sun Jan 10, 2021 7:20 pm

Tacko is without a doubt the strongest man physically on the Celtics. He may the most academic/intelligent guy on the team, and very mature. He's probably the most motivated guy on the team.

His timing and quickness have noticeably improved over the past 2 years, and he appears to still be on a trajectory of physical maturity & improvement at age 25. I find it startling how athletic he now is for a 7'6 guy.

I wouldn't put any limits on what he may become.

Post #15 » by **Darth Celtic** » Mon Jan 11, 2021 3:55 am

The fact that he just hit age 25 is good. I think he can get meaningful backup min by age 27

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GWVan · Post #16 » by **GWVan** » Tue Jan 12, 2021 2:40 pm

I'm glad to see him defying the odds, he seems like a really nice guy.

playa-hater · Post #17 » by **playa-hater** » Sat Jan 16, 2021 6:53 am

Should be pointed out that Tacko probably wears shoes close to 24", which means he has to take longer 3s that the typical player. It's a shame. I would have been so happy to have declared Tacko as the top 3 point PCT shooter in NBA history. But his dang-nab-bit long feet F'ed that up.

shotsquatch · Post #18 » by **shotsquatch** » Sat Jan 16, 2021 7:04 am

If Boban Marjanovic can be a legitimate rotation player, I don't see any reason why Tacko can't at least ride the bench for years to come. He's worth a roster spot just for the publicity and meme value. Seems like a hardworking and likable person as well. No reason to give up such a popular fan favorite.

There is also an attractive strategic element to being able to sub in a literal giant to take advantage of certain matchups.

(Unrelated, but seeing Tacko play makes me really appreciate how special Yao Ming was)

SMTBSI · Post #19 » by **SMTBSI** » Sat Jan 16, 2021 8:38 am

Watching him stick with a guard as he dribbled from under the basket, all the way out to the three point line, then back to the basket, before swallowing up the shot with prejudice, was eye-opening for me. While he wouldn't be able to do that against every guard, doing it against any guard is still impressive. If he's going to have that kind of mobility, we may be in business.

Still don't think he'll ever be more than deep depth, but that's fine, you need good deep depth.

Now, watch someone offer him more than the minimum to try to pry him away from us.

return2glory · Post #20 » by **return2glory** » Sat Jan 16, 2021 3:24 pm

Another good game by Tacko!

This off season was was working on his dribbling with one of the assistant coaches. That play he made when he started behind the 3 point line, and drove to the basket and finished with a dunk, he could not have made that last year.

As I’ve said he is a smart kid and a hard worker. He is still improving and it’s nice to see. Also his teammates love him. They were all happy for him and going crazy on the bench, cheering for him.

Tacko was acting like it was no big deal. And it’s really not for him. He is talented and is putting in the work.

He is also moving well laterally and has been getting down the court pretty well. Go Tacko!