Victory Cigar!!! BOS 130, LAL 108 (8-8)

[sam_I_am]

Paul Pierce made a very interesting comment when he said he always wanted to the guy that trusted his teammates and made the pass. It became a whole lot easier he said when the guys catching his passes were Ray Allen and Eddie House. I think Tatum is making that leap now because he does have guys to pass to like Schroeder, Horford, JRich, Smart and Brown who are veterans and know what to do.

Tatum made a pass last night in fourth quarter that I never knew he could make….it was a bounce pass through traffic leading to layup/dunk. I think by the time this season ends, Tatum and Brown will be much better complete players. The process is already happening.

[playa-hater]

People aren't going to think they are good shooters without proof. They will need shots to prove it. Where are they coming from? Which one of them are you calling a knockdown shooter? Pritch shot it very well last season, the whole season, but he also didn’t have to defend, our d was TRASH. So, not only will they have to find shots and prove they are shooters, they have to defend! The best shooters aren't defenders unless they are the top guys (not even then really). You cant expect ime to let them find their shots while also not being able to defend when the guys ahead are proving they can. Right now, ne nor pritch have proven to ime they can do anything positive in real games! You could see ime really thought pritch especially would give something (early), smart and schroo are eating all the minutes and doing it well, even without shooting great. Nesmith is really the only guy who could fight for a spot from romeo or jrich but romeo is shooting 41% from 3 and jrich has been shooting much better lately, but excellent defensively! (I was wrong on the total shots, its more like 11)

Defense was missing last season, pritch could play, we didnt have good players to fight for minutes ahead of him anyway. I dont know how long i want to see him or nesmith play when not only not shooting well, but looking lost out there. I dont know whats wrong with pritch but from the look of it, shooting is the least of his worries! Poor guy cant drive by anyone when hes been out there. How long do we force them until they find their way? Again, we are winning games now. Im not willing to trust JT/JBs happiness because ne and pritch may become useful if we force them ahead of guys who are. If we were still losing, fine, but we aren’t.

Ime said the shooting is getting to guys, you want to let guys who have been worse take over, just incase by game 50 one will be shooting 40% like romeo (who also defends)? Pritchard got 6 shots last season, yes 6! We’re talking about 6 shots only, on a team where kemba missed a lot of games (or was turrible) and smart was the only other player! Romeo was Injured (I could've shot better). Jb, injured. We had NO ONE, he still only took 6 shots! Shot 41% like romeo is shooting now.

There is so much to digest. not sure where to begin or if I want to.. Every truly competitive team in this Era has solid shooters. Ime decided to put all his eggs in the basket with his "defenders" in Smart, Schro and J Rich.. He put Nesmith from day one behind the 8 ball.(PP had a Broken nose so was set back regardless) Having invested in "Day One" you might be seeing a totally different Nesmith. Many/most was expecting Nesmith to actually be a starter. Most understood the need of Nesmith to play off the ball and allow the Js to do their thing, while in Theory knockin down the open shots the Js left them.

It may all be hypothetical and can not be proven, but my gut says put anyone in Nesmith's current role all season long, whether it be Smart, J Rich, Romeo and give them scant minutes. Sprinkle in some DNPs and watch how horrific their numbers would be. All while "in theory" Nesmith's confidence may have been sky high in their shoes, right now and results showing.

You bring up last years defense, but as a team they were far worse overall. playing TT and Theis together was perhaps the biggest culprit, Let's not forget how bad Kemba was. Throw in some of the small lineups Stevens would throw out here with Teague/Edwards/T.Waters and it was a recipe for disaster. Nesmith however showed a high energy, sometimes reckless ability in a good way to be a good defender. Certainly enough to make me believe if Nesmith was fully involved with THIS YEAR'S ROSTER vs last years roster, we could "in theory" be just as good defensively.

"In theory" is something every coach must do before a single regular season game is played. His theories on system, players to be used etc, will shape our season. The theory that Coach Spo used in starting a skinny white kid who never played a single minute in the NBA over a better more talented player in Herro, was all Spo had to go on.. But his "theory" payed huge dividends. I'd imagine if under Coach Ime, In theory, he would have said Duncan Robinson was not a good enough defender, relegated him to occasional spot duty, and today we might not even know who D Robinson was.

Before this season ends, the lack of shooting will come back to haunt us. assuming we want more than some middle of the pack finish.

If Robinson was shooting like Nesmith, he'd have been back on the bench too. We like these guys so we're going to look at the best case scenario guys around the league and say, that should be them. It doesn't work that way.

Maybe Nesmith isn't ready yet. It takes some people time to get it. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't find his way by mid season (again). People gloss over the fact that Stevens didn't play him either, he only played him when he played better, when he earned more time! I wanted him out there last season because we had no one, looks like he has to EARN his way like he did last season.

Of course the lack of shooting will bite us, but you're also assuming that Nesmith and Pritch will eventually shoot well again to save us.

I Hope that we can just agree to disagree on this one. Rather than just going back-and-forth both our opinions seem to be set in stone.. Who ever plays somebody better get the job done. I hate mediocrity..

[Shak_Celts]

There is so much to digest. not sure where to begin or if I want to.. Every truly competitive team in this Era has solid shooters. Ime decided to put all his eggs in the basket with his "defenders" in Smart, Schro and J Rich.. He put Nesmith from day one behind the 8 ball.(PP had a Broken nose so was set back regardless) Having invested in "Day One" you might be seeing a totally different Nesmith. Many/most was expecting Nesmith to actually be a starter. Most understood the need of Nesmith to play off the ball and allow the Js to do their thing, while in Theory knockin down the open shots the Js left them.

It may all be hypothetical and can not be proven, but my gut says put anyone in Nesmith's current role all season long, whether it be Smart, J Rich, Romeo and give them scant minutes. Sprinkle in some DNPs and watch how horrific their numbers would be. All while "in theory" Nesmith's confidence may have been sky high in their shoes, right now and results showing.

You bring up last years defense, but as a team they were far worse overall. playing TT and Theis together was perhaps the biggest culprit, Let's not forget how bad Kemba was. Throw in some of the small lineups Stevens would throw out here with Teague/Edwards/T.Waters and it was a recipe for disaster. Nesmith however showed a high energy, sometimes reckless ability in a good way to be a good defender. Certainly enough to make me believe if Nesmith was fully involved with THIS YEAR'S ROSTER vs last years roster, we could "in theory" be just as good defensively.

"In theory" is something every coach must do before a single regular season game is played. His theories on system, players to be used etc, will shape our season. The theory that Coach Spo used in starting a skinny white kid who never played a single minute in the NBA over a better more talented player in Herro, was all Spo had to go on.. But his "theory" payed huge dividends. I'd imagine if under Coach Ime, In theory, he would have said Duncan Robinson was not a good enough defender, relegated him to occasional spot duty, and today we might not even know who D Robinson was.

Before this season ends, the lack of shooting will come back to haunt us. assuming we want more than some middle of the pack finish.

If Robinson was shooting like Nesmith, he'd have been back on the bench too. We like these guys so we're going to look at the best case scenario guys around the league and say, that should be them. It doesn't work that way.

Maybe Nesmith isn't ready yet. It takes some people time to get it. I wouldn't be surprised if he doesn't find his way by mid season (again). People gloss over the fact that Stevens didn't play him either, he only played him when he played better, when he earned more time! I wanted him out there last season because we had no one, looks like he has to EARN his way like he did last season.

Of course the lack of shooting will bite us, but you're also assuming that Nesmith and Pritch will eventually shoot well again to save us.

I Hope that we can just agree to disagree on this one. Rather than just going back-and-forth both our opinions seem to be set in stone.. Who ever plays somebody better get the job done. I hate mediocrity..

ok. you agree with me a little tho, getting the job done is what's happening.

what we disagree on is that you don't like how it's getting done, I just want it done no matter how we get there. I agree with you on wanting nee and pritch to play, I just don't agree that we have to force them over guys who are performing well.