Post-Game Thread, Pistons - Away

[bobheckler]

What I found interesting about last night is that we beat Detroit even though they have two bigs that are considered elite, Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe.  Yes, they beat the hell out of us in the paint, 58-36, but so what?  We won the game and that's what counts.  The Detroit Pistons are NOT a good team, they are 7th from the bottom, but their two starting front court players are players everybody ooohs and ahhhs about.  What's up with that?  I think it's a combination of a couple of things:

• Some of it is that the league has changed.  Bigs can shoot from outside now and because of that you get a lot more of Scal's "spread pick-and-rolls" that break drivers free from 25-30' away and not just from the top of the key.
  

• Some of it is that it is critical that the players you have on the floor be able to be on the floor at the end of close games.  That means they have to be able to hit their free throws.  Hack-a-Howard, Hack-a-Rondo, Hack-a-Jordan and, last night, Hack-a-Drummond.  Those players which dominate through much of the game force coaches to go to less effective, less winning units because you cannot have them on the floor in crunch time because their free throw shooting equates to a turnover.
  

• Their perimeter defense is not good and that puts tremendous pressure on their bigs, especially Drummond since Monroe doesn't play defense.
  

The league has changed.  Maybe for the better, maybe for the worse, but it has changed.  Adapt or die.

Our defense was pretty damn good last night, especially at the perimeter.  We switched really, really well on their guys.  Yeah, we had trouble with Drummond down low but who doesn't?  It's why he's in the league.  Three days off and we looked sharp.

Doug Collins was the color commentator last night and I thought he was really good.  He nailed Monroe's preference to spin back to the right so he could use his left.  Every.  Time.  Collins segued from Monroe's spins to another player named Monroe that used to feel you and then spin off you that he used to play against, NYK great Earl "The Pearl" Monroe.  He said that he helped Monroe into the HOF because of all the points Monroe scored off him and then said that, when Monroe sat down he helped Walt Frazier get into the HOF too.  He brought up JoJo and his recent acceptance into the HOF and took credit for JoJo's successes (tongue placed firmly in cheek) and then said that, when JoJo sat down, he then helped John Havlicek get into the HOF.  It was suggested that Collins be nominated to the HOF as a "contributor".  Btw, Doug Collins, who is NOT in the HOF, was the #1 pick in the 1973 draft.  It was a crap shoot even back then.  Collins said a few times that "the Celtics have come a long way this year, now Danny Ainge has to find a "difference maker" in the off-season to take them up another level".  Well, he found one this year...

1.  You know, I usually have no sympathy for the Master of Disaster, Stan Van Gundy, but I had to feel a little sorry for him tonight. He was asked by a sideline reporter "what happened?", why was his team, which had sliced our lead down to 1, suddenly find themselves down double-digits again and he said "Isaiah happened".  He was then asked "what are you going to do about that" he said, with remarkable honesty "nothing".  Everything we've tried hasn't worked yet".  

Evans Clinchy @evansclinchy
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Reporter: "What turned?"
SVG: "Isaiah Thomas. We can't guard him whatsoever."
R: "How do you change that?"
SVG: "I have absolutely no idea."
5:56 PM - 8 Apr 2015
41 RETWEETS  22 FAVORITES

He was right, Isaiah sliced his defense up into little, tiny pieces and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.  Detroit, as it is normally, doesn't have very good perimeter defense anyway but Thomas made them look inept.  You can tell when SVG is just stunned.  He gets a blank look on his face (as opposed to the "squinched up eyes" look he gets when he just doesn't like what he sees).






We saw a lot of #2 last night, mostly when the ball was in Thomas' hands.  


Chris Forsberg @ESPNForsberg
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Isaiah Thomas impact: Celtics P&R ball-handlers average 0.727 points per play. Thomas is 0.919 ppp, 89th percentile (@SynergySST data)
5:59 PM - 8 Apr 2015
5 RETWEETS  20 FAVORITES
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SVG himself has said he hasn't liked his defense all year but last night IT tortured him.  34 points for IT, 4 short of his career high 38.  10-17 from the field and 10-11 from the line.  What a refreshing change from the 22 points on 5-17 games we've been seeing.  He also had 6 assists and only 2 TOs.  He hit a cutting Kelly for a beauty at the rim.  Still want Greg Monroe?  Fine, just understand that our baseline/paint defense will suffer.  He is NOT a good, nor attentive, defender.  Kelly had a fast break dunk because Monroe was watching Turner come up the floor and forgot about his man running straight down the middle of the lane on the break and Turner hit Kelly in stride for a two-hander.  Great game by IT.  Isaiah was the difference maker last night.  He was the game changer.  He was the guy that had the opposing coaching staffs scrambling to come up with new ideas to stop the arterial bleeding.  One down, Danny, a shot blocker/intimidator and maybe a true starting point guard.  I agree with Sam, I like IT coming off the bench.  He played 30 minutes last night, what more does he want?  Thomas was a mind-boggling +35.  I don't think I have ever seen any player having that big of a +/- in a non-blowout game.  If he isn't 6th Man of the Year, then I'm not watching Sportcenter enough and I'm not likely to watch it more anyway (I don't own a TV and I don't watch Sportcenter, nor anything else on TV, unless I'm in a bar with a TV or I'm streaming the Celtics on my computer).  ESPN described Thomas as "diminutive and dynamic".  They need to stop listening to Walt Frazier doing Knicks broadcasts and learn how to announce and astound without any alliterations.  "Verbally vary their vocabulary", if you will.




btw, has anybody else noticed the similarity between Stan Van Gundy and Ron Jeremy?  Stan is probably understandably disappointed the similarity is in their face only.




2.  Greg Monroe is a very talented offensive player.  He is also a horrible, horrible defensive player.  Collins was right about his inside game, very predictable.  Somebody will pay him what he wants but I hope it isn't us, not if it prevents us from getting that defensive length we need.  We are 30th out of 30 in blocked shots this year.  The fact that we still play good defense is a testament to Brad and the players using defensive schemes that our roster can make work but one year of being last is plenty.  Monroe had 19 points on 9-14 and 10 boards in 31 minutes in his first game back after injury but Kelly, in fewer minutes, did ok against him.  Kelly had 12 points on 5-9 and 4 boards in 18 minutes.  On a /minute basis, Kelly scored .667 points/minute while Monroe scored .61 points/minute.  For a player whose game is all about his offense it is not good that he is less efficient than Kelly Olynyk.  Kelly at least tried to play defense, occasionally.  He collected two blocking fouls on drives, but he moved his feet, got to the spot and gave up his body, he just moved a little at the moment of contact and that's why they were blocks and not charges.  My point is, he moved his muffins on defense.  Monroe doesn't.  That doesn't mean Kelly's defense was all that active.  He was positively statuesque on a drive by Reggie Jackson.  I'd like to think Reggie just froze him with shoulder twitch but it's hard to say.  I was too engrossed by the image of pigeons resting on Kelly's head and shoulders to watch Reggie that closely.  Still, Kelly played harder defense than Greg Monroe and man, that is a sad, sad thing to report.

3.  Tyler Zeller had trouble with Drummond.  Ok, I can understand that, Drummond is a load-and-a-half but he should have dominated them when Drummond picked up his 2nd foul and had to sit down.  He didn't.  His inconsistency is why he is likely to be a bench player next year, unless Danny drafts someone like Cauley-Stein and Brad decides to bring the rook along slowly.

4.  Steady Eddie was grinding them up.  Not a big stat night but he was dunkin' like a pumpkin.  If he wasn't getting "Passes for Basses" he was putting it on the floor and getting easy dunks.  Most of the time he dunks in traffic but he was getting easy uncontested ones last night.  So was Drummond but he was getting them off of defensive rotations and pick-and-rolls.  Bass was getting them because we had the floor spread so wide there was no help defenders within a parsec of him.

5.  Another meat-and-potatoes game for Crowder.  Just grinding it out.  17 points on 4-8 and 9-9 from the line.  Is he Kawhi Leonard?  No, but Leonard is truly elite.  Crowder is not quite at that level but he's getting pretty damn close.  I have no idea what kind of contract Danny is going to offer him but I hope he likes it.  This system is perfect for him, the fans are warming to him (in Sam's case, is a 3-alarm raging fire) and we're on the way up.  Is Crowder the "difference maker" Collins was talking about?  Not if I understand what he meant by "difference maker", he was referring to a player who can just take over a game, but Crowder is gorilla glue.  He's the one, along with Bass, that keeps it together even when we hit a pothole.  Last night our 15 point lead shrank to 1 and Crowder just slammed the brakes on them with defense, rebounding and timely shooting.  He took his obligatory 3pt miss, but he only took 1 so that's ok.  Did you know he was the 34th pick, by Cleveland, in 2012?  A 2nd rounder and he is looking better than a lot of 1st rounders.  Moe Harkless is a good player, I like him, but is he better than Jae?  I don't think so and Harkless was the #15 pick in the same draft year.  Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was the #2 pick that year.  Crap shoot, the draft is a crap shoot.  I'd take our #34 pick over their #2 and #15 anyday.  Draymond Green, the much talked about swing man in GSW, was picked right behind Jae at #35.  Green, Leonard and, of course, LBJ are probably the only SFs I would rather have than Jae (I'll wait to see how Paul George comes back from his horrendous injury before I add him to the list).  If the draft was such a reliable source of championship talent the Charlotte Hornets would have a dynasty.  Instead, they're changing their name from Bobcats to try and make you forget who they really are.

6.  Jonas Jerebko is a really, really good defender.  Where Bass uses his strength and wingspan to play defense Jerebko uses his mobility.  He stayed with Reggie Jackson's drive and blocked his layup (without even leaving his feet) and with :40 left he blocked Tolliver's 3pt fga.  Blocking/intimidating small guards like Jackson at the rim is something you would expect a PF to do, but closing out 6'8" shooters at the 3pt line to keep the game at 10 points?  That's the type of effort that has to make Brad Stevens smile in his sleep.  He's not a big scorer, doesn't take a lot of shots and doesn't demand the ball, but he has that sweeping hook shot across the lane that must make Tommy's heart go pitter-pat.  Another player I hope Danny re-signs.  He's in the same situation as Crowder and Turner and even Gigi.  He's being given a chance to show what he can do by a coach that isn't trying to force his square peg into a round hole.  He is letting Jonas Jerebko play his game and he is looking good out there, just like the others.  Sure, everybody wants the big money but playing crunch minutes on an up-and-coming team with a winning system has got to be worth something to his peace of mind.  I hope he gives us a hometown discount.

8.  Andre Drummond can dunk.  Andre Drummond can rebound.  Andre Drummond cannot hit a free throw to save his life.  Watching a contest between Drummond and Jordan to see who can hit 100 fts first would last as long as a game of cricket.  Pack a lunch.  And dinner.  Bring a sleeping bag and coffee for the morning.  He is shooting 39.6% from the line this year.  That's down, slightly, from his 40% career ft%.  If you have a defense that is based upon his ability to defend the rim then your defense will fail you in tight games because you can't have him out there at the end of them.  Like last night.  With 1:27 left in the game Drummond went to the line to miss 2 ftas.  With 1:02 left, he was pulled for Tolliver's offense from 3 and his 78% ft% and that was the end of the game for Andre Drummond.  The fact is that Detroit cut our lead down, in the 2nd half, with small-ball, with Monroe playing center and Reggie Jackson going wild.

7.  Their starters outscored ours 72-40, largely on the strength of Reggie Jackson, Drummond's dunks and Monroe's spins-and-wins (now I'm citing Frazier too much).  Our bench not only outscored their bench, they outscored their starters 73-72.  What's great is that, even if you subtract Thomas' 34, our bench outscored their bench 39-31.  That's why I'm harping so much on re-signing Crowder and Jerebko.  They're not Difference Makers, but they are difference-makers.

8.  We took 34 ftas to 10 by them.  That is HUGE.  Isaiah had 11ftas but Crowder had 9 and Bass had 6.  What's really great is that, out of those 34 ftas, we only missed one.  Such a strange thing, free throw shooting is.  The Center for Disease Control should look into this because it is highly contagious.  One player starts missing and then everybody starts missing, but if a player is hitting then others do too.


We are now in 7th place thanks to Brooklyn's loss to the Atlanta Crips and we owning that tiebreaker.

Chicago has a chance to drive a coffin nail into Miami tonight in Miami.  Charlotte, who is almost dead anyway, is in 'da hood of Atlanta tomorrow.  Washington is in Brooklyn tomorrow too.  Indy, who is in 9th and only 1 game behind us in the loss column, is in Detroit tomorrow.  We, of course, are in Cleveland.  This will be tough.  A little help from Detroit would be nice, since the game tomorrow for us is going to be a war.   Especially after the last time we played them.  I'm hoping every single Celtic remembers that game and wants payback since, if we end up in 7th, we'll be playing Cleveland in the 1st round.

Our remaining 4 games are @Cleveland, Cleveland, Toronto and @Milwaukee.  Tough games, all against playoff teams.  Still, we have 36 wins this year already with many, if not most, of them without Rondo and Green.  Not even me, with my green goggles on, predicted 36 wins this year and I assumed Rondo and Green would be here.  No all-stars, really no almost all-stars either, a roster that got churned like buttah all year and we still will have a minimum of 11 more wins than last year.  If that doesn't impress the hell out of you then you're a block of stone.  There are a lot of different ways of rebuilding a team but they all boil down to the same thing.  Winning.  If you win, you are rebuilding well and if you don't then you're not.  When I see Sam Hinkie's way produce wins then maybe I'll reconsider this but it seems blindingly obvious to me.  Just win, baby, and we are.

Who would you rather be?  The Celtics, who will win a minimum of 11 more games this year than last year or the Lakers, who won 26 games last year and only have 20 this year with 4 games to go?  Sure, they'll get a great player in the draft, but they got a great player in last year's draft too, but that still has to translate into wins, right?  I'm not saying this to knock the Lakers specifically, I've done more than my share of beating on Charlotte and other teams that have had the pick of the draft litter year-after-year and still suck, I'm trying to point out that "living for the draft" is like spinning your wheels in Purgatory until you can get the hell out of there (but hopefully, not to Hell).  I have a lot of friends who are Laker fans.  If you think they are happy about getting the pick you're crazy.  They are just as proud of their franchise as we are and the past two years are killing them.  Losing in order to win is like destroying the village to save the village.


bob


.

[beat]

Bob

Sure they beat us in the paint but how many of our FOUL SHOTS were scored because we took the ball to the paint and got fouled....is that factored in at all?

beat

[bobheckler]

Bob

Sure they beat us in the paint but how many of our FOUL SHOTS were scored because we took the ball to the paint and got fouled....is that factored in at all?

beat

beat,

Virtually all of our free throws were due to drives by Thomas, Crowder and Bass. I think maybe there were 4 ftas by Crowder and Thomas that were on jumpshots, the rest were due to aggressive attacks on the rim.

Thanks for pointing that out. Can't catch everything, that's why I have you guys. LOL.


bob


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[bobheckler]

.gifs courtesy of celticsblog.com


























bob



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[tjmakz]

Bob,

In your last paragraph, you really aren't giving the Lakers a fair chance when you bring up the draft.
Julius Randle played 14 minutes this season.
Jordan Clarkson has turned into one of the biggest steals of the draft.
They will have a top 5 pick this summer.
The Lakers had 6 season ending injuries from their players.
Yes, we are VERY HAPPY it looks like the Lakers are keeping their pick this season.
Winning 20 games is better than 35 for the Lakers in this lost season.
My son follows many Lakers twitter accounts and almost everyone wants the Lakers to lose/keep the pick.
If the Lakers get Towns or Okafor or Russell/Mudiay becomes a star, this lost season would be well worth it.
Sometimes you have to go through some pain to get to a better place.

[pete]

Anyone miss Rondo??? I can't believe I don't, thought I would.

Anyone think we would be talking about the playoffs? Boy, good thing I'm not an NBA GM, I'd starve!!!

I cannot believe what has transpired this year,  with this team, not sure any of us saw it coming. If you did, my money is on you!!

Holy @#$%^&*() My hat is off the these guys and DA!!!!!


Pete

[dboss]

Hi Pete

It is nice to see you posting.

I thought I would miss Rondo more than I do but I do not.   I still love rondo and think he is a very talented player....but not for this team and the style they play.  

There is no way anyone can say we expected this given the numerous players transactions that have been initiated.    

This team still has a huge mountain to climb to make the playoffs but there is one thing for certain...The Celtics have set into motion a system that works even in the context of limited talent.  The future has already begun.

Real fun team to watch.

dboss

[dboss]

Bob

Last night Sully was in the game late in the 4th qtr.

Sully is in horrible shape and his timing and everything looks so out of place.

The Celtics need to integrate him back into the rotations.  I would like to see Brad insert him in the lineup early 1st QTR.  I would just have him sprint the court for 3-5 minutes.   There is little practice time so getting him conditioned must be in the game.   Overall the Celtics could use his rebounding but other than that he is not really missed when you consider the big picture.  But the Celtics need to help rehabilitate his image.

When DA publically cited him for non-compliance with their directive to lose weight and get in shape that alerted other teams to the fact that there is in issue with Sully which in turn would tend to diminish his value if the Celtics decided to move him.

I think the Celtics should make an effort to get him going again.

dboss

[bobc33]

I always thought Doug Collins was the best color commentator in the business, though haven't heard him in a long time as I only watch the Cs and our own crew. He always seemed to nail what the teams and players were doing or should be doing.

[Sam]

One reason I prefer Isaiah to come off the bench is that I believe he thinks like a knight in shining armor.  He relates to being the guy who pulls the team up by the bootstraps and snatches victory from the jaws of defeat.  Another reason is that I think Isaiah and Crowder are in the conversation as the best two-man bench catalyst in the NBA.

We pretty much saw Isaiah at his best last night.  I believe his optimal talent involves drives to the hoop, each of which stands a great chance of producing two or three points via field goals, free throws, or both.  Isaiah is the closest thing to a guaranteed scorer the Celtics have.  Even the other night, when he drove and didn't score the winner, he pulled the defense away from Marcus Smart who DID score the winner.

As for Crowder, he's just as great a catalyst as Isaiah, but Jae's magic is dispersed over a wider range of capabilities.  How many times, in the clutch, does Jae make a transformative play (e.g. a key rebound or steal or assist) that gets lost in the shuffle when another Celtic scores the big basket that never would have occurred without Jae's contribution?  He just knows where to be and when, when to take a risk, the optimal moment to double an opponent, how and wen to recover on defense, when to take off early and when to hang back to grab the key board.  His basketball instincts are amazing.  And Jae's most important commonality with Isaiah is that both of them "default" to the drive when things get tough, reversing the trend of so many Celtics to default to the jumper or the three.  In short, Jae plays basketball the way it should be played, and any coach of kids' basketball could do no better than to focus his charges on how Jay Crowder does it.

There's always another side of the coin; and, in this case, it's the fact that the Celtics starters seldom fare as well against their opponents as the bench does against it's opponents.  Last night, the starters were a collective -5 and the bench was a collective +13.  And that's becoming a recurring theme, which makes this version of the Celtics very much like an upside-down cake.

Of course, it's obvious that the starters have a greater burden than the bench by being pitted against superior competition, which is undoubtedly why the starters play more minutes (135 last night, compared with 105 by the bench).  But basketball is a game of matchups, and it's a simple fact that the Celtics bench outdoes the starters in matching up favorably with their competition.

If I had to handicap the starters:

• I'd rate Brandon Bass as being the starter who comes closest to being consistent in gaining an all-around offensive and defensive advantage over his opponent.  Steady Eddie deserves his nickname because he shoots 50.4%, and his offensive rebounding and general work around the rim often verge on the spectacular.  I also believe he's Boston's best-defending big, although that may be faint praise.

• I realize how many strides Avery Bradley has made in his distance shooting.  But I do feel his defense has peaked, and his shooting is too consistent (4-13 for a starting SG in 29 minutes last night?). We've had recent reminders of how effectively taller opponents can shoot over him.  I love his curl/jumper move and consider it his best offensive weapon.  But a 43% shooting percentage from the SG position seems decidedly un-robust from my point of view.

• Evan Turner is the starter about whom my opinion vacillates most often. It's very possible that he ranks second only to Isaiah as the Celtic most able to go off on an offensive burst.  Moreover, I feel he is a bit of a victim in having to seesaw back and forth between the "1" and "3" positions.  And he does average one assist and one rebound for every five minutes on the floor.  Sometimes he can disappear for a while, and he'll never be an all-league defender.  But his mid-range jumper is almost as consistent as Bass'.  Put it all together, and I feel his versatility merits another year with this team—perhaps continuing as a starter although I'm unsure about his most appropriate position. 

• In my eyes, Marcus Smart's defense is sometimes good enough to offset his lack of consistency in contributing to the offense.  And his lack of shyness means that he occasionally hits HUGE shots.  Moreover, his youth is in his favor in terms of improving over time.  However, at this juncture, he shoots only 36.1%—by far the lowest percentage among all Celtics rotation players.  The best term I can think of for his offense is "sporadic."  The starters' combined shooting percentage is 45.3% with him and 47.8% without him.  Even allowing for potential offensive improvement in taking the ball to the hoop, I have difficulty envisioning him as a first team stalwart in the near future. I'm still far from sold on him as a floor general, and I like him best as a pawn for Brad's offense/defense moves toward the end of games.

• It seems that the jury has come in on Tyler Zeller.  He can come up with occasionally spectacular first halves of offense, although he often seems to fade over the rigors of the entire game.  The speed of his shot at the rim makes him very difficult to defend on the pick-and-roll.  On occasion, he can even make strong defensive stands, but they tend to be the exception more than the rule.  I think he might be suitable to become the center off the bench, where fewer minutes might give him more resilience over the course of the game.  And he could also become a valuable part of Brad's offense/defense scheme if the Celts wind up with a center intimidator who is offensively challenged.

The two guys who are in a sort of limbo in this discussion are not currently starters.  But the development potential of Sully and/or Kelly is still unknown.  Even if Sully loses weight, can he content with taller bigs?  Even if Kelly gains strength (perhaps he could borrow some of Sully's girth), is he (Kelly) agile enough to play "attack defense" at a championship level?

The net conclusion I draw, for whatever it's worth, is that the greatest strengths among the starters are Bass and (believe it or not) Turner.  If Bradley, Smart and Zeller remain with the team (which I wouldn't necessarily doubt), they'll present Brad with the greatest challenges as to how to present them with the optimal matchups.  And the final stories of Sully and Avery will definitely not be written this season.

Sam

[worcester]

astute Sam, astute

[pete]

Hey dboss,

They sure are a fun team. Its great to have a team exceed your expectations, especially when they were so low this year.

Hope all is well.

Pete

[dboss]

Sam

Thomas has certainly established himself as a top 6th man in the NBA, an envious piece to have on any team.  He is so good that if he started the Celtics would have more firepower in the starting lineup.  You have already pointed out the inconsistencies at the 1/2 spots.  And in particular the poor shooting from Avery Bradley when taking threes.  Interestingly, Collins pointed out during the game that Avery is shooting 41% on corner 3's.  

Marcus is a developmental shooter.  However he has shown a knack for making big shots down the stretch.  His biggest problem is in his technique.  When his mechanics are fluid he shoots well but when he introduces that hitch he shoots poorly.  I have seen nothing that makes me think PG and nothing that makes me think SG but this kid has something special.  Maybe that is it.  Perhaps Marcus Smart will develop into an excellent specialist.  bringing energy, toughness and multiple skills into play.  I would bet that Boston will be adding a PG and SG over the next two years but that may not diminished his impact.

I like EV, I hate him, I Like him, no I hate him but I must say he has started to grown on me.  He has definitely gotten better as the year has progressed.  I  do not think he is a fit as a fulltime 3.  He is best with the rock in his hands and not so good as a deep threat at the 3.  imo

Tyler Zeller would be a top BU center in the NBA playing 20 energetic minutes but we already know that.  Tyler is not our future center,  Every good Celtics team of the past had a center that could play D.

Sully is a BIG question mark and KO fits very well into Brad's offense however his defense defending the rim is pathetic.  The way I see it there is room for KO to stay and an opportunity for Sully to go.

The Celtics will add some dynamic shooters and 2 more quality bigs.  Once that is in place the defense will improve and the offense will be even better.  In two years we will be scaring the bejesus out of everyone.

dboss

[dboss]

Hey dboss,

They sure are a fun team. Its great to have a team exceed your expectations, especially when they were so low this year.

Hope all is well.

Pete

Pete and they are still sitting there with a bundle of first rounders, etc.

DA has never had this many assets to invest

dboss

[bobheckler]

Bob,

In your last paragraph, you really aren't giving the Lakers a fair chance when you bring up the draft.
Julius Randle played 14 minutes this season.
Jordan Clarkson has turned into one of the biggest steals of the draft.
They will have a top 5 pick this summer.
The Lakers had 6 season ending injuries from their players.
Yes, we are VERY HAPPY it looks like the Lakers are keeping their pick this season.
Winning 20 games is better than 35 for the Lakers in this lost season.
My son follows many Lakers twitter accounts and almost everyone wants the Lakers to lose/keep the pick.
If the Lakers get Towns or Okafor or Russell/Mudiay becomes a star, this lost season would be well worth it.
Sometimes you have to go through some pain to get to a better place.

TJ,

The Lakers are a lock for the 4th worst record.  If the pingpong balls bounce against you and you pick #6 or #7, the Phoenix Suns get your pick.

Rooting for a 20 win season gives you something in common with Cowens.  (I almost gagged on my tea from laughing writing that).  Humor is where you find it.  

Injuries are part of the game.  That's why you have a bench and a system for them to plug into.  That's why a team like the Celtics, who have no stars on them, have been able to lose their star, Rajon Rondo, and an almost-star, Jeff Green, and go on a winning streak.  At this point I think my antipathy towards Dim Buss is well known.  I see this season as evidence of the difference between him and Danny Ainge.  Danny didn't just "sit tight" and count pingpong balls.  He made changes to make us better, even though it cost us pingpong balls.  The best thing that could happen to the Lakers franchise and for Laker fans world-wide is for Dimbo to retire to his yacht and sulk.  Jeannie Buss has said that this season "makes her uncomfortable" and that she would hope that her brother would know to step down when it is time.  Right from your mouth to God's ear, Jeannie.  Somewhere, in Manhattan, Phil Jackson is enjoying some very unzen-like schadenfreude...


bob



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[Sam]

Dboss,

The way I've started to think about the draft is not to think too much about the intimidator.  Maybe they get him, maybe they don't.  Maybe Danny trades up, maybe he doesn't.  Obviously, some degree of luck will be involved.  Perhaps, after some pre-draft or in-draft trading activity, the real order of selection won't be known until the draft is under way.  The possibilities could turn a crap shoot into a field of meadow muffins.

So I figure that fate will have much to do with whether the Celts will get their defensive center of the future through the draft.  I'n terms of unknowns, I'm actually more interested in whether, elsewhere in the draft, Danny could steal a sharpshooting SG with some height who could give Avery Bradley some serious competition at the position.  As for the "1" position, I'd like another year of seeing how things get sorted out between Thomas (can he be a real "1?", Smart (can he run a team well enough?) and Turner (can he become more consistent?).

I understand the temptation to inject the starting lineup with the scoring punch of Isaiah.  However, I believe his defensive liabilities are less prominent against opposing bench players than against guys like Wall, Parker, Westbrook, Irving, Conley, Lillard, Paul, Lowry and Curry.  And, besides, I'm not sure Thomas is the easiest type of player with whom to develop chemistry with other first-teamers.  The chemistry of the bench, right now, approaches the sublime.

Perhaps Isaiah will make the decision by demanding a trade down the road.  But, for a guy who needs adulation, he's getting loads of opportunity for favorable exposure the way Brad's using him now.

Already looking forward to the summer and next season.

Sam

[bobheckler]

Isaiah Thomas post-game interview with ESPN, talking about the team and his role on it. He certainly isn't afraid of "the moment", is he?



http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:12650655



bob



.

[Sam]

Afraid?  He RELISHES it!

(I still can't believe I root for a player named Isaiah Thomas—different spelling and all.)

Sam

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