CAN the Celtics be Fixed this year?

[Bleeding Green]

They lost Hayward, Grant Williams took a step back, Smart looked bad, Brown took on more offense. Tristan Thompson plays 20 minutes a game.

[zoyathedestroya]

They lost Hayward, Grant Williams took a step back, Smart looked bad, Brown took on more offense. Tristan Thompson plays 20 minutes a game.

I can't believe you missed...

Wanamaker was also better than Teague on defense. Well, Wanamaker was just better than Teague, period.

[philing00]

No more drafting short slow forwards that can’t shoot like Oljeye and Grant.

[dans1230]

No more drafting short slow forwards that can’t shoot like Oljeye and Grant.

Its not about the draft picks, its about acquiring players to compliment their core. If they are going to have an offense where they give the ball to Tatum or Brown and let them play 1 on 1, then you better surround them with 3 pt shooters to keep the defense honest. Ainge tries to draft those guys (Nesmith, Edwards) and it isnt working. Either change the offense, or change the personel.
Defensively i think it has more to do with chemistry than anything else. With injuries and covid, we havent had consistent rotations and where defense is based more on communication and trust its hard to have that when we havent time to build that trust.

[Ernest]

Or maybe just draft the player you think is the best and then not freak out when a late pick doesn't become a star.

As for fixing the team, there are 2 options:

1- hope someone useful shakes lose at the deadline and get them. Maybe a player traded to a losing team and then bought out. Maybe we step into a trade that is already going to happen and use the TPE to save other teams some money and get the guy that way so he doesn't get cut and go to the Lakers instead of us.

2- Identify a player who is undervalued around the league but would help us as "over pay" to get him. By over pay I mean figure out if Rome or Nesmith are duds before anyone else and if so ship one of them off.


I don't see an option in the short term where we trade a rotation player and get better.

[BK_2020]

Pull a Warriors and sit Tatum and Brown and tank for this Evan Mobley fellow.

[SLCceltic]

as a whole, aren't we amongst the smallest teams in the NBA? 3 centers at or around 6'8 for starters. Throw in our multiple small guard lineups and a 6'6 PF/center.

According to ESPN stats, we have one of the lowest figures per game for defensive rebounds AND we have a below average number of offensive rebounds given up. Implication: There are fewer rebounds total off of Celtics shots than for most other teams. We also make fewer TOs than the average team. FTA are also below average. Our FG% is only mildly above average.

Do we just have fewer possessions per game than most teams??

Not sure TBH, but I still believe we are near if not the smallest team overall. And that certainly can make rebounding harder.

we were the same size last year, only swapped out kanter for TT. kanter didn't play sig enough role or mins to say his departure is the reason AND TT is an excellent rebounder ......this is a real problem and #1 reason we are losing games !

we play very good D, cause the opposition to miss but then surrender the board which results in easy put backs or kick outs to open shooters ....we've given up 3 and 4 extra chances many trips !! This is why we lose games ! this did not happen anywhere NEAR this rate last year. it is why we lose and why we cannot pull away from teams and put them away

anybody have any 2nd 3rd chance points given up stats for season, I know we are in bottom of the league from watching but would love to see some #s

[zoyathedestroya]

For a team that was tops defensively last season, what the hell happened?

Read on Twitter

Our starting five has only played 44 possessions so far this season. (The numbers are really good in REALLY limited, negligible sample.)

I'm not worried about our defense. Our offense is a real concern though.

[Fencer reregistered]

According to ESPN stats, we have one of the lowest figures per game for defensive rebounds AND we have a below average number of offensive rebounds given up. Implication: There are fewer rebounds total off of Celtics shots than for most other teams. We also make fewer TOs than the average team. FTA are also below average. Our FG% is only mildly above average.

Do we just have fewer possessions per game than most teams??

Not sure TBH, but I still believe we are near if not the smallest team overall. And that certainly can make rebounding harder.

we were the same size last year, only swapped out kanter for TT. kanter didn't play sig enough role or mins to say his departure is the reason AND TT is an excellent rebounder ......this is a real problem and #1 reason we are losing games !

we play very good D, cause the opposition to miss but then surrender the board which results in easy put backs or kick outs to open shooters ....we've given up 3 and 4 extra chances many trips !! This is why we lose games ! this did not happen anywhere NEAR this rate last year. it is why we lose and why we cannot pull away from teams and put them away

anybody have any 2nd 3rd chance points given up stats for season, I know we are in bottom of the league from watching but would love to see some #s

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/misc/?sort=PTS_2ND_CHANCE&dir=-1

[ballup]

What this team needs is wing depth, ironic I know, and a real starting center who gets boards and isn't a total offensive dead weight. We tried to do this mismash rotation of backups but the problem is that none are specialized enough to be hard impact players. We also don't have a natural 4 so lineups end up awkward.

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

[sonictecture]

Has there been any talk about a potential reunion with Al Horford?

[Bleeding Green]

I hope to god not. The last thing this team needs is an old as hell player on a 30mm/season deal who plays center.

[SLCceltic]

Not sure TBH, but I still believe we are near if not the smallest team overall. And that certainly can make rebounding harder.

we were the same size last year, only swapped out kanter for TT. kanter didn't play sig enough role or mins to say his departure is the reason AND TT is an excellent rebounder ......this is a real problem and #1 reason we are losing games !

we play very good D, cause the opposition to miss but then surrender the board which results in easy put backs or kick outs to open shooters ....we've given up 3 and 4 extra chances many trips !! This is why we lose games ! this did not happen anywhere NEAR this rate last year. it is why we lose and why we cannot pull away from teams and put them away

anybody have any 2nd 3rd chance points given up stats for season, I know we are in bottom of the league from watching but would love to see some #s

https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/misc/?sort=PTS_2ND_CHANCE&dir=-1

muchos gracias !
so ya, looks like we are 26th best in opp 2nd chance ugggh
wish I had time to identify some stats which shows how these opp 2nd chance impact momentum and flow throughout
this and FT shooting have really messed us up this year ...both inexplicablemente

maybe getting back home and then catching up on home games in general rights the ship ....we have played like 15/23 on road iirc

[Feed Your Head]

I never start threads, probably less than five over the years.

Simple premise, what do you all think is the path to turning this season around? And what do you think the best long term play is?

[Bleeding Green]

Bench everyone who ever takes a midrange jumper with more than 5 seconds on the clock. Immediate timeout and go to the end of the bench.

Bring in Antoine Walker and Jim O'Brien as special consultants if need-be. T he last thing i would do is trade for some more washed up veterans of the Teague/Thompson ilk. This team just needs to play smarter, there is a ton of talent on this roster and if the coaching staff can't figure it out, they need to go.

[ILC]

Get veterans in that will be smart, help the Jays, know their role and do the little things.

Tucker may be dreadful this season offensively (a lot of it is he's unhappy there and not a good team), but getting him for a 2nd or something really cheap would be very very good. Great defender, tough, doesn't need the ball, by all account a good locker room guy.

Send Kemba and a pick to OKC for Horford and Hill. Maybe Orlando bites for Kemba and pick for Gordon and Fournier.

This team needs depth and better decision making. No matter how washed you think they are having Hill, Horford, Tucker and (I know it's boring) ideally Rondo on this team starting in a lesser role/coming off the bench would make a world of difference.

[BK_2020]

Trade Jaylen and all the picks for a perennial MVP candidate who can get buckets at will and dish out 16 assists when he feels like. Oh wait, he sucks and Jaylen is better right?
Blow it up and build around Semi.

[captain green]

Two good things can happen in my opinion. 1 we have our first bad season get higher draft pick to roll out with after season tpe get we have 3 separate ones. Trade kemba for picks a mini restock of the assets if you will, you ave to play the rookies now and according to Stevens Nesmith will get his burn I'd think Langford would as well. Do I like option one no but it is an outcome that would be better than middle grind. 2 go all in get rid of options you know are stale meaning Edwards, gwill, green, Langford,taco,waters, and tt and teague are virtually gone already and semi is worth his money. Take all of that and grab a defensive big and defensive wing and then flip kemba in there as well. Build around smart brown Tatum pp thies timelord semi and pick one of nesmith or Langford. Basically find three players now that mix well with the core above. Obviously names I like are vucivic, Collins, gordan, Randal, Carter for bigs and I think think various wing help options should all be under 30. Since almost all EC teams are winning and losing at a weird clip if we upgraded soon and get a 7 or 8 win streak right back in the hunt but they have to commit to building a playoff roster now.

[RodyTur10]

Make sure you get rid of Thompson in some deal and develop the youngsters.
Maybe that will cost us a few games, but we need to build up value and learn who can be a rotation player on a contending team in the near future.

Trade guys who have no longterm future in Boston. Grant Williams is currently a 22-year-old, 44% 3-point-shooting power forward with a good BBIQ on a cheap rookie contract. I could see some team buying that.

Use the principle of sell high - buy low to surround the stars with more compatible talent.

And we need to change our offensive style. Less iso and more ball movement. Trust each other. Too many times I see Tatum, Brown and Walker go one-on-one because they believe it's the best option. This team is really disjointed, but that attitude only makes things worse.

[DarkAzcura]

Just take some actual risks. Overpay for a trade. It's not like trying to find value and make "fair" trades has worked out well the last few years. The strategy was right when it came to not overpaying for stars like KL, PG, Butler, etc. because the FO knew what they had in Brown + Tatum. They were in the right there. The rest, though? You are going to have to overpay for role players/mid-tier starters. It needs to happen. Who knows who is on the market, but guys like Gay, Mills, LMA, Gordon, Barnes, Tucker, etc...you need to try to get these types of players.

I may be tired of Brown and Tatum's tunnel vision, but I am more tired of watching anyone outside our main core play. It is literally G League talent.

EDIT: If you aren't going to actually put effort in and overpay to get 3-4 legitimate bench players, just blow it up. I wish I wasn't serious, lol. We are going to be capped out for years, so getting players for "free" via FA is going to be close to impossible.