Official Celtics 2022 Off-Season Thread

[bfchs123]

I know it has been talked about but man the Smart and RWIII extensions look like really good moves now. Admittedly I was in the renounce everyone and sign Beal camp (which is a terrible take it appears right now) so glad I'm not the one in charge.

We have Al's expiring + White and Theis' mid-range deals as well to maneuver around if there's an opportunity for a third star in the offseason. Masterful executive work from Brad. Also love how he cleared out all the underbrush at the deadline (Kanter, Parker, Schroeder, Romeo, etc.) that was clogging minutes. Rotation is crisp and unbelievably effective - also unleashed PP as a potentially extremely valuable piece for this team going forward

[ITYSL]

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[Fencer reregistered]

Jay King on how smart and connected the Celtics OFFENSE has become. (Apparently it's #1 in rating since the trade deadline.)

3 of his 4 example plays are finished by Rob.

That said, a lesser leaper might have been able to finish them as well.

https://theathletic.com/3206769/2022/03/24/improved-offense-powers-celtics-to-win-over-jazz-were-thinking-great-shot-every-time-down/?amp

[Triple M]

Moving Rob on the wing for defence reminds me how Dray unlocked the Warriors in '15

Maybe it is a reach, but the parallels are there because the Celtics have seen success but never got over the hump in the past but now have clicked into what was always their full potential.

[shackles10]

Shaq last night said he's not impressed with the C's because we're inconsistent, haven't proven anything, and in the tier with the Bulls. Candace, Wade, and the host guy all told him he doesn't know what he's talking about.

In the last 26 games, how many bad quarters have we had?

It might be as little as 5 and no more than 9. If that isn't consistent, I don't know what more the Celtics could do to be more consistent.

The general public might be missing out on how dominant the Celtics have been because this is not the team from December. Boston is not only playing like a contender but an all-time great team.

That is where I feel like the Celtics will need to keep answering the question asked of them because I understand giving Milwaukee the benefit of the doubt or Miami, who has Spo and been there all season, but I like our chances.

Once again, we aren't just playing like a contender. We are playing like one of the best teams of all-time at this moment.

He was trying to say we're inconsistent in that we were bad at the start of the year and good now. So he's dismissing the current great play as just a fluke or something. Thing is we've been the most consistently good team for 3 straight months. I don't think he really knows that or cares though. The others tried saying it and he just talked over them.

A lot of NBA media people determine everything by the middle of the season. If you are a contender by then you stay one unless a major injury happens, if you weren’t it’s really hard to get on their radar. Same thing for MVP. The ballot is set by all star break at the latest and if you weren’t on their unofficial ballot it’s really hard to get on later. I feel like the team and Tatum fall into these two media traps. But I also feel like they like being doubted and Tatum likes to prove himself too.

[moonie_mcgee]

Moving Rob on the wing for defence reminds me how Dray unlocked the Warriors in '15

Maybe it is a reach, but the parallels are there because the Celtics have seen success but never got over the hump in the past but now have clicked into what was always their full potential.

Ya size matters and Stevens knew it better than Ainge.
Ainge tried to be too clever to a fault. Stevens wants length. Having 2 of either Rob Horf or Theis on the floor gives us great front court defense and rim protection. Add Tatum at the 3 to our new double big is gravy on the chix. Why I've always loved Tatum at the 3 is he will either over power of over quick his opponent. That's s great front court defense. Add Smart DWhite and JB to the perimeter. Get out! Even PRabbit and The Batman defend ss their playing time depends on it. Lastly I hope Knees comes back as I want his energy on D and shooting open 3s in the playoffs.

[moonie_mcgee]

In the last 26 games, how many bad quarters have we had?

It might be as little as 5 and no more than 9. If that isn't consistent, I don't know what more the Celtics could do to be more consistent.

The general public might be missing out on how dominant the Celtics have been because this is not the team from December. Boston is not only playing like a contender but an all-time great team.

That is where I feel like the Celtics will need to keep answering the question asked of them because I understand giving Milwaukee the benefit of the doubt or Miami, who has Spo and been there all season, but I like our chances.

Once again, we aren't just playing like a contender. We are playing like one of the best teams of all-time at this moment.

He was trying to say we're inconsistent in that we were bad at the start of the year and good now. So he's dismissing the current great play as just a fluke or something. Thing is we've been the most consistently good team for 3 straight months. I don't think he really knows that or cares though. The others tried saying it and he just talked over them.

A lot of NBA media people determine everything by the middle of the season. If you are a contender by then you stay one unless a major injury happens, if you weren’t it’s really hard to get on their radar. Same thing for MVP. The ballot is set by all star break at the latest and if you weren’t on their unofficial ballot it’s really hard to get on later. I feel like the team and Tatum fall into these two media traps. But I also feel like they like being doubted and Tatum likes to prove himself too.

Right on and get it while we can as by next season we could have a big target on our back and much much more hype.

[Bostondave]

I won't pretend to understand what switch got flipped that's resulted in this current Celts team. It's almost like magic happened. I've seen some great ball, great teams, great players. People overlook or forget perhaps the greatest celts team ever being the one year Walton played healthy with us. I go back to Cowens/Hondo/JoJo times. This celts team is doing something I've never seen before in snatching the freaking souls out of other teams. Deflating them. Demoralizing them. Can't ever recall seeing that happen before. Playing like they're Div 1 playing Div 3 teams.

If whatever this switch is on stays turned on I'd say the celts will win the championship.

[Fierce1]

Moving Rob on the wing for defence reminds me how Dray unlocked the Warriors in '15

Maybe it is a reach, but the parallels are there because the Celtics have seen success but never got over the hump in the past but now have clicked into what was always their full potential.

Ya size matters and Stevens knew it better than Ainge.
Ainge tried to be too clever to a fault. Stevens wants length. Having 2 of either Rob Horf or Theis on the floor gives us great front court defense and rim protection. Add Tatum at the 3 to our new double big is gravy on the chix. Why I've always loved Tatum at the 3 is he will either over power of over quick his opponent. That's s great front court defense. Add Smart DWhite and JB to the perimeter. Get out! Even PRabbit and The Batman defend ss their playing time depends on it. Lastly I hope Knees comes back as I want his energy on D and shooting open 3s in the playoffs.

Yeah, size matters in today's NBA.

I'm sure the Celts would've been in the finals in 2020 if the Celts had Horford and Theis.

Theis is just too small to be a starting Center in the NBA.

But he's great off the bench.

[jmr07019]

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[zoyathedestroya]

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Wolves and Cs...

[playa-hater]

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Wolves and Cs...

There are certainly more than one reason for this, but IMO clearly #1 was getting rid of Schro and J Parker (2 ball stoppers) and adding 2 extremely high IQ, quick decision makers in D White and PP, leaving us with far better ball movements. That and freakin spacing. Tatum + Horford's improved 3 point pcts with the addition of spacing GOD PP, and there you have it.

Tatum's better passing deliveries, which IMO comes from more confidence in teammates has led to great success.

Grant Williams shooting has been a strong point for spacing all year, but his newfound ability to fake and re-create has been a pleasant surprise as well.

Lastly, but not least has been the greatest Smart production Boston has ever seen. Still believe Smart's near death (trade threat) fears have locked him in Bigtime.

Can't leave this post without a shout out to underrated 3rd best 3rd string center Theis.

Stevens really killed it this trade deadline..

[sam_I_am]

CBS has Celtics as top team on their power rankings:

CELTICS OK, the Celtics are starting to get truly frightening. They beat the Kings, Nuggets, Thunder and Jazz this week by an average margin of 21.5 points, and most weren't even that close. They outscored their opponents by 22.3 points per 100 possessions this week, nearly doubling the next-best team, the Suns. We all know about Boston's defensive prowess, but it put up a ridiculous 133.4 points per 100 possessions in four games this week, as Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the way with 31 and 27.8 points per game, respectively. There is no hotter team in the NBA right now than the Boston Celtics, who have moved within a game and a half of the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Danny Green of 76ers called Celtics a sleeper to make finals on podcast.

These are good times.

[bisme37]

Always nice to have a top 4 MVP candidate on your team...

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[bisme37]

Last 15 games... apparently we've only been the #2 defense in that span... but the #1 offense! And #1 net.

[zoyathedestroya]

The basketball nerds and talking heads are taking notice of the Celtics as a legit contender alongside the Bucks and their players as award candidates.

[31to6]

As someone who started following the Celtics in 1987 (cool, but also “whoops”), I’m curious about how winning a title this year might compare to winning the 1981 championship. Neither expected, both a little “early”, but they all count the same?

Sorry if I just jinxed it. And for as much as I love JT, I won’t be prepared to make comparisons to Bird until he has like 25k points in kelly green.

Still, something I’ve been pondering a bit.
Also: **** the Lakers.

[Fencer reregistered]

Last 15 games... apparently we've only been the #2 defense in that span... but the #1 offense! And #1 net.

We're slipping.

In previous versions of that chart our gap vs. the rest has been much larger.

[steefP2]

Last 15 games... apparently we've only been the #2 defense in that span... but the #1 offense! And #1 net.

We're slipping.

In previous versions of that chart our gap vs. the rest has been much larger.

15 games ago was the Pacers game; once that gets erased from our last 15 we’ll be rolling again

[moonie_mcgee]

I won't pretend to understand what switch got flipped that's resulted in this current Celts team. It's almost like magic happened. I've seen some great ball, great teams, great players. People overlook or forget perhaps the greatest celts team ever being the one year Walton played healthy with us. I go back to Cowens/Hondo/JoJo times. This celts team is doing something I've never seen before in snatching the freaking souls out of other teams. Deflating them. Demoralizing them. Can't ever recall seeing that happen before. Playing like they're Div 1 playing Div 3 teams.

If whatever this switch is on stays turned on I'd say the celts will win the championship.

Hi Dave great post. I remember the late Hondo years a bit but what you describe is also how the Bird-led team operated. Those guys, especially on the road, loved CRUSHING THEIR OPPONENTS WILL TO WIN. Bird talked about it once. And the Celts, as a team, knew the moment it happened and that was their greatest satisfaction. Forcing them to quit. True.