Preseason Almost done

At 5-1 The Celtics have played well although there is still a lot of room for improvement in many areas

Through 6 games Boston leads the league in 3 point shot attempts (183) and their 3P % is 35%. The Celtics will be a better 3 point shooting team this year because Sully and Turner will not be able to drag down the numbers while Al Horford will push the needle forward. There are still some horrendous numbers from key wing players. I have yet to see Smart's new jumper. Shooting 15.8% from behind the arc and the battle on the fringe between Young and Hunter is being won by Young who is shooting 40% while Hunter is shooting 26.3% from behind the arc. We need reliable 3 point shooters however as we know there is more to the game than shooting 3's. Rookie Jaylen Brown is shooting 21.4% from behind the arc but his ability to score at the rim levels things off a bit at 44%. One very interesting stat is MPG. Brown leads the entire team in MPG at 22.7. Demetrius Jackson has played very well in limited minutes (10.4 MPG)

There is one preseason game left and the regular season begins next week! Changes are coming. DA has to make several decisions and none of them will be easy because all of the bubble guys are clustered together.

dboss

I hope Danny doesn't make any big deals before the season starts. Aldridge and Cousins are both being bandied about as possibly being moved by their teams.

I think we should see what we have with this team now, our starting five can match up with most teams. But our 10 man rotation is the best in the NBA, IMO.

IF Danny can do a two for one for the end of the roster, sure.
Move one of the player on a guarantee , OK.

but a major deal before the season starts...I say no way.

Disappointed by both Young and Hunter. Do they both need to go for us to keep Demetrius Jackson, or is he becoming trade bait? What's his 3 point %?

kdp59 wrote:I hope Danny doesn't make any big deals before the season starts. Aldridge and Cousins are both being bandied about as possibly being moved by their teams.

I think we should see what we have with this team now, our starting five can match up with most teams. But our 10 man rotation is the best in  the NBA, IMO.

IF Danny can do a two for one for the end of the roster, sure.
Move one of the player on a guarantee , OK.

but a major deal before the season starts...I say no way.

kdp59

I tend to agree with you about making a big move however what if it is a great deal for the Celtics?  Problem is I am having a hard time trying to come up with a player (s) that would be a good fit for this team that is also on the trading block.  

At this juncture it is really difficult to judge things given the small sample size of only 6 games.  My concerns are the same ones that I had last year.

Rebounding
3 Point shooting

Through 6 preseason games Boston is being outrebounded by their opponents 44.7 to 43.5.  There rebounding woes is more acutely reflected in their opponents offensive rebounding advantage 10.3 to 8.3.  Since the bigs have played short minutes thus far it is very difficult to project if they will be a better rebounding team this year.  My initial thoughts are that they will not be as good.  

The 3 point shooting will be improved this year and I have no doubts about that.  But how do they get in the 36% to 40% area?

So if a trade is made now given the current roster configuration I am all for it if it specifically addresses these two weaknesses on the team.  

Brad and Danny however may prefer to maintain cap flexibility for next year and not make a deal for a player that blows that flexibility up.

dboss

worcester wrote:Disappointed by both Young and Hunter. Do they both need to go for us to keep Demetrius Jackson, or is he becoming trade bait? What's his 3 point %?

Jackson is shooting well from 3 point land. Even so, he is unlikely to get any meaningful rotation minutes.

I think either Young or Hunter will be on the team because we need dept at wing. However DA may be thinking that Brown and Green can also play the 2 and 3 spots so we do not really need Hunter or Young. Next year's draft features some high end wings so maybe Danny will secure a shooting guard next year.

There are 5 PG listed on the Celtics roster including Avery Bradley. Truth be told the team only needs 2 PG's to be in the rotation and that would be IT and Smart or Rozier. PG's are a dime a dozen so Boston can also find one to be a backup.

dboss

DJ is trade bait then and not our next DJ at PG...

Some are gonna say Marcus Smart still can't shoot, well Dwayne Wade also couldn't hit 3's.

Smart still impacts a game in many ways and is best 6'4" defender in the league.

cowens/oldschool wrote:Some are gonna say Marcus Smart still can't shoot, well Dwayne Wade also couldn't hit 3's.

Smart still impacts a game in many ways and is best 6'4" defender in the league.

Cow

I am still waiting to see that new swing he has been working on. So far it goes far left or far right. That's the ugly but all of the other things that he does makes him a 'special player' Take him off the roster and the defense goes down a notch or two.

Seems like DA should be able to trade any combination of Young/Hunter/DJ/Mickey maybe a 2nd rounder or 2 for a big.

dboss

worcester wrote:Disappointed by both Young and Hunter. Do they both need to go for us to keep Demetrius Jackson, or is he becoming trade bait? What's his 3 point %?

I think Jackson stays and either Young or Hunter is cut loose. I also think the competition between those two  is closer   than some on the board do. Hunter makes the occasional flashy play, but he also is turnover prone and extremely frail. Skinny guys can play in the league (Reggie Miller, Steph Curry), but if they are going to get pushed around on the defensive end , they better possess some outstanding talent. I think Young does a better job of holding his own physically. They don`t have to cut both guys to keep Jackson, who is a much more finished player than either of them and has been a spark plug when he gets extended minutes.

to be honest Mickey hasn't impressed me all that much in his second year so far. I think there is a chance he may go also.

Hunter and Young can both go, because we have Green now as a outside shooter off the bench.

with Smarts injury (again) Jackson may have a better shot at making the club.

The battle between Hunter and Young continues.  One minute Hunter looks good and then Young shows us something.  I think it is great competition.  Both players are really trying to earn a spot on this roster.  I think that the strength and weaknesses of these players is evident.

Young has more size and strength than Hunter and is a better defender and rebounder.  Hunter has a much better handle and is more diverse offensively.  I have been up and down on this one just like a yo-yo but I am ready to make a final judgement and we will have to see what Danny and Brad decide.

I’m going with James Young.  He shot the 3-ball better during pre-season 35% to 30% for Hunter and he is physically stronger and more athletic.  Plus Young is a better rebounder and defender.

Sorry RJ but I like the other guy better.

Kdp59 I have a slightly different take on Mickey than you do.  He continues to get limited opportunities.  He is 21 years old and he does provide some rim protection.  Through 7 games he logged 15 MPG shot 50% from the field 19/38 averaging 6 Points and grabbed 5 rebounds (rounder up).  The Celtics have a lot of front line players but that is not really quality depth.  We got one really good front line player in Horford and the rest of them are pretty average.  There is little separation among them.  KO is the better offensive player of the group.  But even his 20 MPG only produced 10 points and 4 boards.  I think Mickey is a keeper and has done nothing to hurt his chances.  During the pre-season I thought he gave us more than Jonas.

Jonas 17 MPG shot 13/35 from the field (37%) average 3 rebounds and 5 points per game.

Jackson is not going to make this team.  He is a right handed player that does not go to his left very well.  Perhaps that is something that he could develop but the Celtics have little room for developing 2nd rounders given their treasure chest of future picks.  I like Jackson but he is redundant and now that Rozier has exploded on the scene I see no reason to keep 4 PG’s.

Marcus Smart cannot shoot the damn ball.  Sooner or later all the Marcus fans including myself must accept this reality.  He can play some point and he can play some 2 but he is not very good at either position.  His strength is reflected in his defensive abilities, his toughness and his ability to make big time plays even when he is challenged offensively.  All the talk about his new jumper has not produced any meaningful improvement.  The eye test says he still cannot make open shots.

Gerald Green is on the bubble.  I was thinking that his veteran status would save him from being cut but right now I am not so sure about that. Maybe he can be packages along with other assets to produce another block buster deal…lol.

Most likely to be cut in the order of being most likely to be cut…Jackson, Hunter, Young, Green, Mickey.

dboss

to clarify my thoughts on Mickey somewhat.

I agree he has done nothing to lose a roster spot, I just feel he hasn't shown that he will ever be anything more than a end of the roster type player (to date).

I do think his limitations (size) is his biggest hurdle with the game he has in the NBA.

I was thinking if there was a more established NBA vet who becomes available from the waiver wire, I may look to replace Mickey then.

kdp59 wrote:to clarify  my thoughts  on Mickey somewhat.

I agree he has done nothing to  lose a roster spot, I just feel he hasn't shown that he will ever be anything more than a end of the roster type player (to date).

I do think his limitations (size) is his biggest hurdle with the game he has in the NBA.

I was thinking if there was a more established NBA vet who becomes available from the waiver wire, I may look to replace Mickey then.

Good morning kdp59

I could envision a trade for a quality big that could involve Mickey. But I think Danny and Brad see a future with this kid. As you mentioned he is undersized at 6' 8" but he can still play PF even at that height given his 7' 3" wing span.

Until Mickey gets quality minutes and not just cameo appearances we will not be able to really judge his ability to contribute to the team. The question that I want to ask you is to share your thoughts on what type of production from him would justify him becoming a rotation player. Secondly if that happens who gets shorter minutes?Getting in mind that Stevens likes to play small ball and is using both Crowder and Brown at the 4 some times.

With KO still recovering from the shoulder injury there may be some minutes for Mickey to be on the active 12 man roster.

dboss

dboss wrote:

kdp59 wrote:to clarify  my thoughts  on Mickey somewhat.

I agree he has done nothing to  lose a roster spot, I just feel he hasn't shown that he will ever be anything more than a end of the roster type player (to date).

I do think his limitations (size) is his biggest hurdle with the game he has in the NBA.

I was thinking if there was a more established NBA vet who becomes available from the waiver wire, I may look to replace Mickey then.

Good morning kdp59

I could envision a trade for a quality big that could involve Mickey.  But I think Danny and Brad see a future with this kid.  As you mentioned he is undersized at 6' 8" but he can still play PF even at that height given his 7' 3" wing span.

Until Mickey gets quality minutes and not just cameo appearances we will not be able to really judge his ability to contribute to the team.  The question that I want to ask you is to share your thoughts on what type of production from him would justify him becoming a rotation player.  Secondly if that happens who gets shorter minutes?Getting in mind that Stevens likes to play small ball and is using both Crowder and Brown at the 4 some times.

With KO still recovering from the shoulder injury there may be some minutes for Mickey to be on the active 12 man roster.

dboss

Dboss,

A lot of people feel that Olynyk's injury will give Mickey more minutes, since they both play 4, but I'm not as sure.  I think Jonas, Green and Brown (with Jerebko getting the biggest chunk) will get those minutes.  The reason for my contrariness is that the role Kelly plays on the team is closer to Jonas' game than Mickey's.   Kelly is a floor stretching big, shooting 40+% from 3.  So is Jerebko.  What Brown and Green give up in size they compensate for with speed and range.  Mickey will be an upgrade to our rim protection over Kelly and those others but he isn't the floor-stretcher they are.  If Brad needs more inside minutes he can spread them among Horford,  Amir and Zeller but he cannot give enough of Kelly's outside minutes to Horford because he will already be playing 30+, Amir is 100% inside and we have yet to see if Zell has extended his range any further than Mickey.  Brad is about abilities to fill certain roles and not about traditional roles and positions.  For example, you are seeing 6'7" 235# Jaylen Brown playing some 4.  I do think Mickey will get more chances this year, assuming he stays with the team (if you remember, Mickey and Rozier were generating some trade I Teresa last year) but I'm not convinced he is suddenly going to start getting 20+ just because Kelly is out.

Watch Brad make me look foolish.


bob


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