Odds and Ends

our 3 pt shpoting was bound to be improved this season.

1) turner and Sullinger left

2) Smart HAD to shoot better than last year.

kdp59 wrote:our 3 pt shpoting was bound to be improved this season.

1) turner and Sullinger  left

2) Smart HAD to shoot better than last year.

kdp,

33.5% last year, 37% this year.

What surprises me is that our assists/game is exactly the same as last year.  I would have thought we'd have a drop off this year with the loss of Turner, but our assists in 2015-2016 is identical to 2016-2017, 24.9 assists/game.

Where we have lost some is rebounding, with the loss of Sully.  From 44.9 rebounds/game down to 41.2.  That's actually a pretty big drop.

Our TOs are down this year too, from 13.7 to 12.6/game.  Not only did our 3pt fg% go up but we gave the ball away less without Evan Turnover.


http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2016.html


http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2017.html



As far as Marcus Smart is concerned, yes, he is shooting 3s better this year.  He went from a projectile-vomiting 25.3% last year to to still-terrible 30.3% this year.  Considering there are over 80 players in the NBA this year who have not taken a single 3pt fga this year, and the league average is 35.9%, you can just imagine how close to the bottom of the league his 30.2% puts him. He is also taking slightly fewer 3pt fgas/minute this year, so he isn't hurting us as much with them.


bob



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well......a man has to know his limitations.

kdp59 wrote:well......a man has to know his limitations.

kdp,


Indeed.






bob


.

GSW with 99 points AFTER 3. In Houston.

Washington is hot.  Toronto is not.

Today's game gives new meaning to the Beat LA..Beat LA chant!

Depth on Celtics is becoming a reality.  No AB, no problem.  Next man up.

IT is a legit candidate for MVP.  MVP's help their teams win games.  Games are won or lost in the 4th quarter.  IT best 4th quarter player in the NBA.  Unreal performance game after game.

Expect loud reception for Paul Pierce.

Dboss

Watched the GSW-Sacto game last night.  Sacto won in OT.  It was Boogie vs the world.  Talk about unreal, he put that team on his back.  Lots of bad body language, the inevitable T, but 32 points on 13-30, 13 boards, 9 assists, 2 steals and a block.  He had 7 TOs, but I'm telling you he was getting hammered like nobody's business and not getting whistles.  This is the downside of getting a rep for pissing off the refs, they won't protect you.  Anybody else, and he would have gotten at least twice the 6 ftas he got.  Draymond Green was beating on him.  Gotta give it to Green, Cousins outweighs him by 40# and he stood in there.

I would take WCS in a trade.  Very limited offensively, but he's good defensively.  Other than him I didn't like anybody on that team.  Nobody wanted the ball.  A guard rebounded the ball and passed it to Cousins to bring it up court.  Can you believe that?  Everybody was afraid of "the moment" except Cousins and WCS.  WCS doesn't have anywhere near Boogie's skills, not even remotely close, but at least he showed ganas.  Him and Boogie, the rest of the team was afraid.  No wonder they suck.

Curry with 35 and 8-14 from 3.  9 assists, 3 TOs.  He is unreal.  Thompson was on last night too, although not with the same efficiency.  He hit a falling left out of bounds catch-and-shoot left corner 3 that was pure Ray Allen.

Javale McGee might be the dumbest player in the NBA now that Kenyon Martin has retired.

I have no idea what Boogie's attitude would be if he was on another team, since he has never been on another team, but if I was in the league as long as him and played as hard as he does every night and never played in a playoff game, not one, in over 6 years I think I'd be damn unpleasant to be around too.


bob


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Sacko does not plan to move him. He plays great but his team stinks.

Dboss

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/244831/Agent-Mitch-Kupchak-Is-NBAs-Only-GM-Who-Doesnt-Engage-Before-July-1st



Agent: Mitch Kupchak Is NBA's Only GM Who Doesn't Engage Before July 1st


FEB 8, 2017 11:23 AM


The Los Angeles Lakers have been unsuccessful in free agency over the past few years, missing out on the likes of Isaiah Thomas, Kyle Lowry and Trevor Ariza.

Magic Johnson has heard from agents and executives from other teams that Mitch Kupchak's deliberate style can be frustrating to deal with and has likely been the reason for the free agency struggles.


Said one player agent, who has dealt with Kupchak on several contracts, "He's the only GM in the league who won't engage at all before 9:01 p.m. [PT] on the first night of free agency. Then when he calls to express interest, there's no stickiness to it."

Thomas told Grantland's Zach Lowe in 2014, "I always envisioned myself playing with the Lakers," but they were "waiting on Carmelo [Anthony] and other moves." Thomas took a new four-year, $28 million deal with the Phoenix Suns (via a sign-and-trade with the Sacramento Kings).

Kupchak perhaps overcompensated this past offseason when he quickly moved on a four-year, $72 million deal with Luol Deng and a four-year, $64 million deal with Timofey Mozgov.



RAMONA SHELBURNE/ESPN



bob
MY NOTE:  I used to rank Kupchak as one of the top GMs in the league, whom I included Danny, RC Buford (SAS), Sam Presti (OKC) and Pat Riley (MIA).  My opinions have changed.  For one, I don't see Pat Riley as a Jedi Mind Master so much now as a well-worn used car salesman.  Secondly, since the passing of Dr. Jerry Buss, I now am starting to see Mitch Kupchak for who he really is, a plodder.  When he had a dynamic genius like Dr. Buss to make decisions quickly for him, and leave it to Mitch to just execute them, his foibles were masked.  With Dim Buss in charge instead of his father Mitch now has to carry more of the load himself and it isn't working.  I realize that Mitch can only do what Buss permits but this article says that he isn't even doing his basic job which, as Danny says it, is to "pick up the phone when it rings".


.

Bob,

It's not really Kupchak's job to contact players or agents before they are allowed to.
The Lakers were waiting for the bigger prizes before they settled for a player like Isaiah Thomas.
With this being said, if Kupchak is an old school plodder, perhaps it is time to get some fresh, innovative ideas in that role as Lakers GM.

Dragan Bender is done for the season, according to Croatian journalist Bernard Djurisic. The Croatian rookie will need ankle surgery and miss at least three months of action. – via Sportando



bob



.

tjmakz wrote:Bob,

It's not really Kupchak's job to contact players or agents before they are allowed to.
The Lakers were waiting for the bigger prizes before they settled for a player like Isaiah Thomas.
With this being said, if Kupchak is an old school plodder, perhaps it is time to get some fresh, innovative ideas in that role as Lakers GM.

TJ,

1.  It IS Kupchak's job to keep in touch with agents, as well as other GMs.  What else is a GM's job, if not to stay in touch with his counterparts in the NBA front offices and with people representing the players he is interested in?  He cannot contact players under contract to other teams, of course, but he can talk to their agents, at least to get some idea as to the player's interest level and salary expectations.  That's what agents are for, their job is to field questions on behalf of their clients, that's what the players pay them to do.  If Mitch is not availing himself of that resource the players are paying for him to utilize, then he isn't doing his job.

2.  As far as waiting to land the big fish goes, sure, that makes sense.  Danny told Amir Johnson and Jonas Jerebko (two players he, admittedly, already had under contract) that he wasn't going to resign them if they landed a 2nd marquee player (e.g. Durant) but even if they weren't one of his he could have told their agent that.  

3.  The Lakers blew it with LaMarcus Aldridge, per what Aldridge himself said, because they were selling the glitz and glamour of Hollywood and not basketball (in fact, he said he gave them a 2nd bite at the apple out of respect to Kobe, who made a personal appeal to him for it, and despite his underwhelming response to their first presentation).  Modern players can make money anywhere, land international sponsorships from anywhere and hang out with celebrities wherever they are, they don't need to be in media hubs like LA or NY anymore.  That failure, specifically HOW AND WHY they failed, says tons about the Laker front office's approach to recruiting.  As this article suggests, Kupchak might have overreacted to that failure with the signings of Mozgov and Deng to bigger contracts than they otherwise would have landed elsewhere.  Sure, that's what lower ranked teams have to do, you cannot attract high quality talent to a team that isn't a playoff team in a league where > 50% of the league makes the playoffs, but what that doesn't show me is where Buss and/or Kupchak have changed their approach and started making presentations based upon basketball and not just $$$.  I am expecting this will change, some, with the addition of Luke Walton.  He will understand this from his GSW days.  Still wait-and-see though.  I'm a fan of Luke, so I have some hope for the Lakers especially after Jeannie brought in Magic.  I have no idea what impact he can/will have but it cannot hurt.  Players and agents respect the hell out of Magic and will listen to him and that is all good.  We saw a similar change when GSW brought in Laker great and NBA logo Jerry West.  When he talks, agents and front office personnel listen because they respect the hell out of him.


bob


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LaMarcus Johnson? Aldridge you mean.

worcester wrote:LaMarcus Johnson? Aldridge you mean.

Thanks Worcester. Stuck in the past with Bucks great Marques Johnson. I'll change my original post so TJ won't know what you figured out this summer.

I'm a little nuts.


bob


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Coconuts or peanuts?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA9OqUuA6a0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM1JSa8r3XM

Draymond Green with the 1st triple double in NBA hiatory where scoring was not one of the doubles.

Vs Memphis, in Memphis.  Against a good team, on the road.

12 rebounds, 10 assists, 10 steals.  5 blocks and 4 poin5s on 2-6.

He is their Matcus Smart.


bob


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If he had scored 10 it would be a quadruple double. Isn't Alvin Robertson the king of those?

Just googled it, Alvin, David Robinson and Nate Thurmond had one each, Hakeem had two. Russell and Wilt probably had them though full stats weren't kept in their day.

Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
about 11 hours ago
MOST 3's - BOSTON CELTICS HISTORY 2003 - 719 2016 - 717 2002 - 699 2015 - 660 2017 - 654* * 54 games
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bob
MY NOTE:  So, 4 more 3pt fgs and this year's team sets a new Celtics record.  At the rate we take them we should do that halfway into the 1st quarter tomorrow. Literally. We are averaging 33.1 3pt fgas/game (4th in the league), so 5:48 into the game we should be seeing our 4th.

The 2003 season featured Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker, the man who, when he was asked, "why do you take so many 3s?" responded "because there aren't any 4s".


.

bobheckler wrote:Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
about 11 hours ago
MOST 3's - BOSTON CELTICS HISTORY

2003 - 719
2016 - 717
2002 - 699
2015 - 660
2017 - 654* * 54 games
reply retweet like



bob
MY NOTE:  So, 4 more 3pt fgs and this year's team sets a new Celtics record.  At the rate we take them we should do that halfway into the 1st quarter tomorrow.  Literally.  We are averaging 33.1 3pt fgas/game (4th in the league), so 5:48 into the game we should be seeing our 4th.

The 2003 season featured Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker, the man who, when he was asked, "why do you take so many 3s?" responded "because there aren't any 4s".

.

4 more threes and we will have 658 in 2017.  That's not a record   , we will still need another 60 plus to get there.  We may be on a record setting pace, however.  I think these are makes, not just threes taken.

Without a calculator, it looks like we make (more or less) 12 3 pointers per game.  That means we will break the record in 5 or 6 games.

gyso

3/4/17:


Michael Pina @MichaelVPina
about 3 hours ago
Boston has 135 more assists than opponents when Smart is on the floor this year. That's 8th highest mark in league (2nd if GSW are excluded)
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Adam Himmelsbach @AdamHimmelsbach
about 3 hours ago
Don't look now--OK fine look I don't care--but the Celtics have the NBA's 4th-ranked defense over the last 9 games.
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bob



.

Watched the Jazz-Cavs game last night.  

My thoughts:

Good offense beats good defense in this NBA.  Gobert was doing an excellent job of defending the paint and attacking the rim on offense (21 points on 10-13 and 19 rebounds and 2 blocks) but that's not how the game works anymore.  Good defense, now, is based upon having a bunch of raptors flying around the perimeter or swarming the ball if it is in the paint and not having woolly mastodons anchoring the paint by themselves. Perk's game, playing effective one-on-one man-to-man defense against beasts like Dwight Howard, is passe, as is Dwight Howard. The raptors are never too far away from the paint to collapse and help and quick enough to recover and get back out to close out the shooters at the perimeter. Low block defense is about positioning and help and not about manning up anymore.

Good offense needs go-to guys.  Players who can get theirs.  We have IT, and that's it.  The Cavs have LeBron and Irving.  The Jazz have Hayward and he disappeared in the 2nd half.  I don't watch Jazz games but if this game is what Hayward can do when he is playing an aggressive and fast defense then he is not worth the max.  Towards the end the Jazz had Joe Ingles running the offense and he didn't do well.  That should tell you about the state of Utah's floor generalship.  Only 16 points for the Jazz in the 4th.

In the final minutes, the Cavs executed, led by alpha LBJ.  JR Smith hit a big 3 to close it out but it was the alphas that drew the defense away for the open 3.

Tristan Thompson struggled against the MUCH taller Gobert, who looked very active and aggressive but, as I said, that's not where the game has gone.  I love bruisers, I love bangers  but they have been relegated to complementary player role playing status.  Thompson is a bruiser and a starter but he usually isn't the guy who wrecks you on that team.  It's the scorers who are.  Gobert was a force inside last night but he couldn't carry them.  This isn't Moses Malone's NBA anymore.  Zizic will give us something, I'm convinced of that, but he isn't our missing link.  We need another go-to guy scorer, another guy who, if IT has an off night or is injured, can carry us or if they are both in makes it impossible to defend us.  Jaylen Brown is turning out to be a much better shooter than his rep coming out of Cal gave him credit for.  Could he become that player?  First, he'd need to have IT's attitude when it comes to wanting the ball in his hands.  I know he's a rookie and is taking a "watch and see" approach, and that makes sense in this, his rookie year, but next year and the year after that has to start to change.  Secondly, he'd need to improve his ft% from 68% to over 80%.  You cannot have the ball in the hands of a high-volume usage player who cannot hit fritos.  It doesn't matter if he's a shooter or a pass-first point guard ala Rondo, if he touches the ball in crunch time he needs to be able to hit fritos because the defense will be keying on him and that means contact (and fritos) is more likely.

Stating the obvious, I know, we discuss this everyday on this board, but I saw some convincing evidence last night watching another couple of teams and Utah is a good team.  Their record before last night was the same as ours in the better WC but in the end their lack of ability to stop the alphas and their inability to call upon alphas of their own croaked them.


bob


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Watched the 2nd half of rhe UCLA game.  Not impressed with Ball.  Man.  And I thought the release point on Buddy Hield's shot was low!


bob


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bobheckler wrote:Watched the 2nd half of rhe UCLA game.  Not impressed with Ball.  Man.  And I thought the release point on Buddy Hield's shot was low!


bob


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I crashed after the Celtics game so I missed the UCLA game. Ball does have a weird shot. Would need to complete a 10 step program to break that one down.

dboss

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/18947080/kevin-durant-travel-golden-state-warriors-upcoming-road-trip

GS 5-5 without KD. Looks like he is ready to return soon.

dboss

LeBron not happy with Lavar Ball

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2699346-lebron-james-tells-lavar-ball-not-to-mention-his-kids-family?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial


I can see it now. If Celtics Drafted Ball his dad would be all in the news. That is a distraction.

dboss