OFFICIAL SAM'S CELTICS FORUM 2013-14 GLIMMER THREAD

[Sam]

I'VE EDITED THIS SINCE I FIRST POSTED IT.

We've had some fun posting glimmers in the past, so I thought it might be interesting to start an official season-long Glimmer Thread.  Before each game, I'll put a headline for that game on this thread, and people can post glimmers after that headline.  Let's use the same thread all season long.

The first order of business is agreeing on the definition of a "glimmer."  Most dictionary definitions allude to a flickering or faint light.  But it seems to me that a basketball glimmer should reflect more of a hope with possible future implications.  In other words, a nice play would not necessarily be a glimmer unless it suggests something new and positive that could have some relevance for the future.  So, when Rondo makes a great pass, it's not necessarily a glimmer because he's done that before.  However, if he's the middle man on a break with two team newbies on the wings and his great pass connects perfectly for a solid finish, that might represent a glimmer that suggests improvement in the chemistry or jelling of the team.

Another part of the definition of a "glimmer" would emphasize the word "new."  Once something is a bona fide glimmer, it has already been identified.  While there's nothing wrong with reinforcing it over time, a steady diet of the same old glimmers could be a bit boring.

Anyone is welcome to suggest modifications in this definition of "glimmer."

Experience shows that, as the season rolls along, new glimmers can become increasingly hard to find.  In a sense, there eventually comes a time when most of the good glimmers have been "taken."  Please do not be discouraged.  There's no particular compulsion to force new glimmers with every game.  And developments such as trades, injuries (unfortunately), or changes in a coach's philosophy/strategies usually provide opportunities for updated glimmers.

From time to time (maybe each 10-12 games), it might be fun to write a synopsis of what all the observed glimmers are adding up to.  What trends are emerging from recent glimmers?  What general strengths, weaknesses, needs, assets, etc. are being demonstrated?  Anyone's welcome to provide such synopses; and, if it doesn't happen, I'll take a stab at it.

I hope this ongoing thread will be a constant reminder that, while Rome wasn't built in a day, Home Depot constantly provided new tools to help in the effort.

Thanks,

Sam

Monday, October 7, 2013 vs. Toronto at TD Garden

[Matty]

i thought "glimmering" was something like twerking or twitting or something, this sounds more interesting.

[beat]

Like pulling a new car out of the showroom..........let's see what this baby has under the hood.

I do like the coaching staff that is assembled. Will that translate to wins remains to be seen but it does appear that Stevens and his staff have the knowledge to make this a competitive bunch. The marathon begins this evening with the prelims.

Sometimes you need to step back to move ahead.

beat

[dboss]

This is a great format.

Sam just think how many times this team has found itself at the beginning again although I am hoping we are somewhere in the middle.

Most intrigued by Brad Stevens.

For a guy about to coach his first NBA game, he is quite impressive.

Dboss

[Sam]

Dboss,

Among other things, I hope a glimmer thread will encourage maximum viewership of the games and, at least to some extent, maybe even broader participation in the game-on threads.

And, in terms of how many times this team has had to start again, I can count at least seven in my lifetime: (1) When the NBA was founded and Cousy joined the team and started bouncing passes off people's heads; (2) when Russ joined the team, although that wasn't starting over as much as it was heaping onto existing riches; (3) Henry Finkel's first year; (4) 1979 after the Wicks/Rowe debacle; (5) the year after Reggie Lewis died, (6) pick any year from Reggie's death until KG and Ray hit town; and (7) now. When I actually list them all, my shoulders tend to droop, and I think I can better understand Doc's reluctance to regress to square 1 (or maybe it's square 1 5/9ths—whatever).

Brad inspires as much confidence, without actually having coached an NBA game, as I can imagine.

Sam

[bobheckler]

What's also nice is that a 'glimmer' is in the eyes of the beholder, so you can just say what you think you see.


bob


.

[dboss]

My first glimmer was some impressive fast break basketball where the bigs were getting up and down.

dboss

[Sam]

My glimmers (lifted, for the sake of completeness, from my post on the post-game thread; sorry for the redundancy):

• The Celtics are going to be playing uptempo basketball. Dboss and I are doing daily tribal dances to the transition gods in hopes it continues.

• At this moment in time, Gerald Wallace is arguably the Celtics’ most complete player. He does a lot of things well—playing really tight defense, being a running stuff threat in transition, and spacing the floor as a legitimate three-point threat in the half-court offense—all with zero turnovers and four assists last night. He doesn’t appear to be that much of a rebounder.

• I love Olynyk and Sully’s passing abilities and instincts and their inside and outside offensive versatility. As Bob mentioned, playing those two together could give the Celtics a serious inside-outside weapon.

• Aside from his other attributes Kelly Olynyk sets timely and solid picks. Despite his lack of bulk, he has the ability to spread out and take up space.

• Olynyk in a motion offense is like a mongoose confronting a cobra. How's that for an analogy, BobH? But seriously, Kelly is amazing at taking advantage of openings created by motion and spacing. He can anticipate instantly and has the ability to thread passes through traffic. And he just loves to get out on the break. Let someone else be the trailer when this guy's on the floor.

• Pending Phil Pressey’s appearance on the court, Jordan Crawford deserves some time at PG because he's currently the best ball distributor on this Rondo-less team. And he took three shots in 18 minutes—not exactly the calling card of a shameless gunner. And he made two of his three shots—both three-pointers.

• The Celtics showed an ability and a tendency to space the floor well on offense, especially with Olynyk, Sully and Wallace occasionally complementing guards on the perimeter.

Sam

[dboss]

Sam

It will be interesting to see how the 2 groups (frontline groups) are integrated. How will they play with Green, Olynyk and Sully playing together.

Dboss

[Sam]

Dboss,

Given that Bass and Humphries are constantly mentioned as trade bait (although rumors don't mean anything), and given the obvious chemistry that exists between Olynyk and Sully, I won't be shocked if they're the starting bigs in the not-too-distant future. I'm not exactly overwhelmed by Vitor in the early going, and I like Green more at the "3" than at the "4."

Yes, I know all about Kelly's lack of bulk and defensive question mark, but there's no one on the team who doesn't have at least one question mark. I care about building on what they CAN do rather than worrying about what they canNOT do.

I don't mean to imply that Olynyk is the next coming of Bill Russell or even that he will necessarily be a Celtics headliner (or even with the team) down the road. But what the Celtics need right now is to develop a temporary core with enough chemistry so that others players can find their comfort zones a.s.a.p. by being shuttled in and out of that womb (as I call it) of relative chemistry.

I believe Kelly and Sully can contribute to that kind of chemistry sooner rather than later. And, right now, I think the experience and versatility of Wallace, the court sense of Crawford (yup, that's not a typo), and the two-way capabilities of Lee make a combination of Olynyk, Sullinger, Wallace, Lee and Crawford the group most likely to gain the best temporary chemistry the most quickly.

I'm looking only at the present, not at the future. And I realize I've excluded Jeff Green. That doesn't mean I think Jeff shouldn't play big minutes. I just think he needs the ball distribution skills of Rondo to be able to give his best effort and to contribute to growing chemistry rather than having to focus on on honing his own skills.

What happens over time is a very different story and will probably take place with a lot of different players.

Sam

[worcester]

Speaking of chemistry - What happens when you combine these elements?
#8 - O (oxygen) Olynyk
#9 - F (fluorine) Faverini
#16 - S (sulphur) Sully
# 74 - W (tungsten) Wallace
#86 - RN (radon) Rondo

[Sam]

Wednesday, October 9, 2013 vs. Knicks at Providence

[Sam]

Glimmer: The Celtics are running at every single opportunity; and, when they're not actually running, they're still pushing the pace.  That is currently helping them overcome the fact that their plays are sometimes taking a while to develop.  When they smooth out their execution of those plays, they should be shooting a lot with plenty of time still left on the clock.  Sounds like volume basketball to me, and I love volume basketball. An average of 82 FGA per game is three more than last year, and I wouldn't be surprised if, when they hit their stride, they're flirting with 85-90.

Sam

[Sam]

Friday, October 12, 2013, vs. 76ers in Delaware

[Sam]

I've got nothing after this one.

Sam

[bobheckler]

I'm throwing in a glimmer even though I didn't see the game vs Philly.  I'm calling Sully showing no ill effects of his back surgery a glimmer.  Sully is one of our core when we finish up this transition.  His being able to play at his previous level is one key step forward through the transition.  Consider where we'd be if he could only come back and play as damaged goods, both as a Celtic or as a trade chip?


bob



.

[k_j_88]

Glimmer: Brad Stevens has a level-headed demeanor. He isn't shouting and screaming, but keeping a cool head. His players in the long run will respond to positively to this and I think they'll respect him for it.


KJ

[Sam]

BobH.

I spoke too soon in my post above. As I said on the Game-on Thread, Sully seems to be the only Celtic so far who's comfortable in his role. For the most part, it looks like business as usual as far as he's concerned.

[cowens/oldschool]

I just made a similar comment about Sully on another thread, knock on wood, thrilled he looks so good.

[Sam]

KJ,

I guess being even-tempered is a good thing. I just wonder if a relatively soft-spoken demeanor can give them a sufficient kick in the butt, when needed. After all, most of these guys have probably been exposed to emotional coaches who yell a lot.

I haven't yet seen any "miked" huddles in this preseason. Doc was pretty good at registering his frustration in venting something like, "C'mon guys, you're better than this. They're getting all the 50/50 balls. How about some effort out there?" And you'd usually see a palpable response to his exhortation.

I mean, is it better for a coach to camouflage his frustrations and appear relatively placid, or would it better for him to display some emotion? Maybe Brad does the latter in the locker room, but I'm betting against it. You may have put your finger on one very important difference between coaching the college game (and not breaking anyone's spirit) and coaching the pro game (and motivating players emotionally).

Sam

[k_j_88]

Sam,

Stevens has yet to reach the end of his rope. If he perceives his team to not be responding properly, then perhaps we could see him light a fire underneath them. For the moment, I don't have a huge problem with his calm attitude. Everyone still has adjustments to make to fit within the system. It'll be interesting to watch.


KJ

[Sam]

KJ,

I hope you're right. It sometimes takes a fire to light a fire.

Sam

[Sam]

Saturday, October 13, 2013, vs. Knicks at Manchester, NH

[Sam]

Wednesday, November 6, 2013, vs. Jazz at TD Garden

There's been a drought since I was last motivated to list a game in this thread, although anyone is welcome to do so at any time.

Glimmer: Kelly Olynyk seems to be asserting himself better on the defensive board. Hopefully, a major weight program is starting to kick in.

Glimmer: Gerald Wallace is emerging as the ideal 6th man, as long as Brad can make him realize how important that role can be.

Glimmer: Jeff Green is beginning to fulfill his promise as the Celtics scoring leader an go to guy.

Glimmer: Although he may have hit his PG ceiling, Jordan Crawford is doing a creditable job at the position. Between his passing ability and his ability to create his own shot, e's the PG to have in there when the Celtics absolutely need a basket.

Glimmer: Phil Pressey is better than Crawford at setting a pace and may soon supplant Jordan as the starting PG until Rondo returns.

Glimmer Brandon Bass is as close to "Mr. Reliable" as it gets. He has really improved at creating his own shot when he's in trouble.

Glimmer: The Celtics are finally getting the knack of collapsing their defense so they don't need great height to protect the rim from the other team's bigs.

Glimmer: They're also developing a penchant for gang-rebounding, which reduces their vulnerability to height and bulk.

Sam

[k_j_88]

Glimmer: They finally held it together in the fourth despite the opposing team mounting a significant comeback.


KJ

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