More Changes Coming

https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/more-changes-come-celtics?int


Stevens explained part of his decision to have Hayward come off the bench was to pair him up more with Marcus Morris who has been arguably Boston’s most consistent player this season

My Comments

That pairing did not work out too well. They are trying to find a way for Hayward to be more of a focal point.

I think Brad needs to use Baynes when we have a big strong center to contend with. That was not the case against the Hornets. I can also see where putting Morris in the lineup may help the offense get off to a better start in the first QTR

I think Jason should never be the first guy going to the bench. Him and Kyrie need to play a lot together. Starting Morris also allows Tatum to play his preferred position at SF.


I think we are going to see trial and error until they figure this out.

Not much you can do when 4 players that logged at least 25 minutes per game last year ( Hayward the year before) while putting up outstanding efg numbers suddenly lose their touch - Last year figures for Brown .540--this year .425, Tatum .538--this year.496, Rozier .491--this year .349, Hayward at Utah .536-- this year .448. Sometimes you just need to sit back and hope for devine intervention to right the ship. Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be a case of last years shooting being a mirage.

swish

Patience grasshoppers.

I can see the numbers and the Cs are playing good "numbers" defense (points allowed, etc), but if they are to turn this season around they need much more toughness.

AND, toughness starts on the defensive end. So, even though the defense has been "decent/good" it needs to get even better. .

The Irving-Brown-Hayward-Tatum-Horford line up has the dubious distinction of being less than the sum of its parts thus far. The chemistry is just not there. This has been difficult for fans to watch given the ridiculous expectations for this team. Everyone was envisioning the best case scenario, where Hayward and Irving's return provided a turbo boost to an already smoothly running machine. Unfortunately, something closer to the worst case scenario has manifested so far - 1) Hayward is not close to the player he once was; 2) Irving is still an offensive force, but is sometimes a defensive liability and doesn't seem to make those around him better; 3) Brown and Rozier's rhythms are off while they try to adjust to reduced roles; 3) Tatum has been good, but people were talking like he could be top 10 this year (give him time); 4) Big Al seems to be further on the down-slope of his career than expected. Ironically, Morris, one of the more maligned Celtics over the summer, has been a bright spot. The fact that some people are hoping the rookie Williams can help right the ship is a bad sign. Hence, the perception of the Celtics has swung from shoe-in contender to fundamentally flawed roster.

However, it is possible that this current 'negative' take on the team is exaggerated similarly to the more 'positive' take that every writer and fan (including me) echoed this summer. The truth is likely somewhere in between. We may have been mislead by a well-timed hot streak during last year's playoffs, annointed Rozier-Brown-Tatum a little prematurely, and naively underestimated the challenge of incorporating two new players who will need the ball. But we are also probably over-reacting to untimely cold streak coupled with the inherent challenges that come with integrating Irving and Hayward. It is likely the real Celtics are somewhere in between. Fortunately, it is still early and there is plenty of time to figure things out. If indeed the whole is less than the sum of the parts of this Celtics team, at least the parts still have value and thus Danny can make some moves as necessary.

swish wrote:Not much you can do when 4 players that logged at least 25 minutes per game last year ( Hayward the year before)  while putting up outstanding efg numbers suddenly lose their touch - Last year figures for Brown .540--this year .425, Tatum .538--this year.496, Rozier .491--this year .349, Hayward at Utah .536-- this year .448.  Sometimes you just need to sit back and hope for devine intervention to right the ship. Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be a case of last years shooting being a mirage.

  swish

Swish Are these numbers based on the full season last year or up to this point in the season? I am quite sure that TRo's numbers will be very similar to the first month of last season. Tatum won't because he was shooting 53% from 3 the first two months last season. If you did compare full season vs first month perhaps you could recalculate so we aren't asked to compare apples to oranges? It might not make a difference but I recall slow start for some individuals even though the team went 16-2. Just one reason while I'm staying patient.

dboss wrote:https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/celtics/more-changes-come-celtics?int


Stevens explained part of his decision to have Hayward come off the bench was to pair him up more with Marcus Morris who has been arguably Boston’s most consistent player this season

My Comments

That pairing did not work out too well.  They are trying to find a way for Hayward to be more of a focal point.

I think Brad needs to use Baynes when we have a big strong center to contend with.  That was not the case against the Hornets.  I can also see where putting Morris in the lineup may help the  offense get  off to a better start in the first QTR

I think Jason should never be the first guy going to the bench.  Him and Kyrie need to play a lot together.  Starting Morris also allows Tatum to play his preferred position at SF.  


I think we are going to see trial and error until they figure this out.

that's what i see also...use Hayward with the second team and have him BE the focal point of that group. Start Baynes or Morris depending on the match up.

having three SF's starting is not working well, IMO.

mulcogiseng wrote:

swish wrote:Not much you can do when 4 players that logged at least 25 minutes per game last year ( Hayward the year before)  while putting up outstanding efg numbers suddenly lose their touch - Last year figures for Brown .540--this year .425, Tatum .538--this year.496, Rozier .491--this year .349, Hayward at Utah .536-- this year .448.  Sometimes you just need to sit back and hope for devine intervention to right the ship. Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be a case of last years shooting being a mirage.

  swish

Swish   Are these numbers based on the full season last year or up to this point in the season?  I am quite sure that TRo's numbers will be very similar to the first month of last season. Tatum won't because he was shooting 53% from 3 the first two months last season. If you did compare full season vs first month perhaps you could recalculate so we aren't asked to compare apples to oranges?  It might not make a difference but I recall slow start for some individuals even though the team went 16-2. Just one reason while I'm staying patient.

Good point. We are not looking at year over year numbers. I did look at Jaylen the other day and did pretty good right out of the box.

I certainly hope the current numbers get mych better.

mulcogiseng wrote:

swish wrote:Not much you can do when 4 players that logged at least 25 minutes per game last year ( Hayward the year before)  while putting up outstanding efg numbers suddenly lose their touch - Last year figures for Brown .540--this year .425, Tatum .538--this year.496, Rozier .491--this year .349, Hayward at Utah .536-- this year .448.  Sometimes you just need to sit back and hope for devine intervention to right the ship. Hopefully it doesn't turn out to be a case of last years shooting being a mirage.

  swish

Swish   Are these numbers based on the full season last year or up to this point in the season?  I am quite sure that TRo's numbers will be very similar to the first month of last season. Tatum won't because he was shooting 53% from 3 the first two months last season. If you did compare full season vs first month perhaps you could recalculate so we aren't asked to compare apples to oranges?  It might not make a difference but I recall slow start for some individuals even though the team went 16-2. Just one reason while I'm staying patient.

mulcogiseng

Last year is for the entire seasom - this year is year to date. Just an overview of how well things seem to go when the shooting is great - and how gloomy the picture can be when there's a lid on the basket. Fortunately there's ample time left this year to turn things around.

swish

worcester wrote:Patience grasshoppers.

Ditto

!!!!!!!agree Worcester!!!!!!!!!!!!