Primary Concerns Going Into 2017 Season

by **dboss** Mon Sep 11, 2017 4:33 pm

I am sure there are many other factors to consider.

What is a realistic expectation for some key metrics that reflect aspects of the team?

In spite of my optimism about this team moving forward it would be remiss not to mention 3 areas that I have concerns about. They include 3 point shooting, defense and offensive fire power from the rotation.

The 3 point shot is an ever expanding weapon for this team. Last year during the regular season Boston improved their 3 point shooting percentage to .359 Rounded up they shot 36% from behind the arc. I have doubts that they will be able to maintain that level. I anticipate a decline.

Going into this new season we have 3 reliable 3 point shooters in Irving, Hayward and Horford. Last year we had Crowder, Bradley, KO, Thomas, Johnson, Horford and Green. This appears to be an issue since Brad's offense heavily relies on taking and making 3 point shots. I cannot name a single other player that I can point to and say, yea he will shoot at least 36% from the field.

The defensive question has already been discussed and there is little else for me to comment on other than a hope that Irving gets better and that Hayward gets better (without having the benefit of a true rim protector like he had in Utah) I think Morris provides a better on the ball option than Amir but probably less at the rim. Rosier is a go getter and depending how expansive his role becomes, he will be critical as an on the ball defender. We still have Smart and Horford but the biggest shoe to fill will be at the SG. Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart and Rozier, all rotation players last year are going to have to play even better. I think our interior defense will be a little better because of Baynes. My main concern is with on the ball defense.

Last year KO and Smart led the bench in scoring. Who do we have this year that is a double digit scorer off the bench? Consider that either Smart or Brown move into the starting lineup. The bench looks weaker because it will be stocked with inexperienced unproven offensive players.

dboss

by **Matty** Mon Sep 11, 2017 6:53 pm

Dboss,

The biggest thing for me about this team is something I have seen mentioned numerous times in the press but I feel is entirely inaccurate, its something to this effect, "the Celtics, fresh off a 53 win season.." or mentioning the Celtics who "..just made it to the Eastern Conference Finals"

Other than the name on the front of the jerseys, the coach and 4 players this team and that 53 win, eastern conference finals playing team is nothing like the one we currently have.

Just think of that, Marcus Smart is the longest tenured Celtic and is still on his rookie deal. The most mature Celtic Horford has a single season of putting on the green behind him. Last seasons team was gutted. Danny has done this sort of thing before, with the 06/07 season team being gutted, but even then the next season he brought back 6 players from that squad, four of those guys had at least 3 seasons in green with Paul the longest.

This upcoming season cannot be compared to last season, its a completely different beast, no one on the team can really be subjectively looked at and have decided about them how past play, usage or tendencies can really be projected onto this upcoming season. We just don't know (ok maybe Brad has something cooked up, but even that's just theory on paper at this point)

Rotations and minutes will have to be figured out, chemistry will have to develop (or maybe it wont) ego's and expectations will have to dealt with. Its all going to be all new. What this all means for what the team will accomplish this season is totally unknown.

On a side point, Thomas is now gone, the attitude we had before of being a team with chips on our shoulders and being overacheivers is gone with him and Crowder. This has been a part of the teams identity. But something else I worry about, Thomas was a part of the delegations that brought Horford and Gordon both here. He was a part of the sale. How do those guys feel about Thomas getting the ax on a team he helped to get them here to play on?

by **dboss** Mon Sep 11, 2017 8:36 pm

Matty wrote:Dboss,

The biggest thing for me about this team is something I have seen mentioned numerous times in the press but I feel is entirely inaccurate, its something to this effect, "the Celtics, fresh off a 53 win season.." or mentioning the Celtics who "..just made it to the Eastern Conference Finals"

Other than the name on the front of the jerseys, the coach and 4 players this team and that 53 win, eastern conference finals playing team is nothing like the one we currently have.

Just think of that, Marcus Smart is the longest tenured Celtic and is still on his rookie deal. The most mature Celtic Horford has a single season of putting on the green behind him. Last seasons team was gutted. Danny has done this sort of thing before, with the 06/07 season team being gutted, but even then the next season he brought back 6 players from that squad, four of those guys had at least 3 seasons in green with Paul the longest.

This upcoming season cannot be compared to last season, its a completely different beast, no one on the team can really be subjectively looked at and have decided about them how past play, usage or tendencies can really be projected onto this upcoming season. We just don't know (ok maybe Brad has something cooked up, but even that's just theory on paper at this point)

Rotations and minutes will have to be figured out, chemistry will have to develop (or maybe it wont) ego's and expectations will have to dealt with. Its all going to be all new. What this all means for what the team will accomplish this season is totally unknown.

On a side point, Thomas is now gone, the attitude we had before of being a team with chips on our shoulders and being overacheivers is gone with him and Crowder. This has been a part of the teams identity. But something else I worry about, Thomas was a part of the delegations that brought Horford and Gordon both here. He was a part of the sale. How do those guys feel about Thomas getting the ax on a team he helped to get them here to play on?

Matty

You are right. We really cannot compare this team to last season's team because of all the new faces.

Regarding Thomas, Horford and Hayward are seasoned pros and will probably take it in stride. Both will be earning at a premium level. I however wonder how it affects guys like Smart and Rosier. They will be looking for new contracts in 1-2 years and will be restricted free agents.

At some point you would hope that Danny settles on 7-8 guys and is willing to retain them. But he would need to reach a level of satisfaction. Turning over a team every 3 years or so will not provide the stability to compete at the highest level over an extended period of time.

One thing for sure..Danny likes to shake things up.

Dboss

by **cowens/oldschool** Mon Sep 11, 2017 9:30 pm

Danny gutted the team because he knew as was, no way were getting a sniff of getting past Cavs.

I think Amir, KO and Zeller all had serious enough flaws that Danny went in a different direction, while I will miss AB's defense, we were way too small in the backcourt too. Hopefully Lakers can do us a favor, as they should have a bad enough record this year. Were gonna see how great a coach Stevens is, hes got a lot of new talented parts and young talent, we have a new roster and its still not finished yet. Gonna be exciting watching team jell and see how Brad puts them in their best positions/roles and seeing our youngins grow and develop, whats that saying? the sum could be better than the parts...???

by **swish** Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:15 pm

Equaling or exceeding last years high efg shooting percentages - especially from 3 point land.

swish

by **wideclyde** Mon Sep 11, 2017 10:58 pm

My primary concern for the coming season is our apparent lack of rebounding, again.

The ball has the chance to change from one team to another mostly by rebounds at every level of basketball. When our team gives this opportunity to opponents about 3/4ths of the game we play, we are at a decided disadvantage.

Here is my thinking relating to some math....getting outboarded by 12 per game yields the other team 12 extra possessions, those 12 possessions yield somewhere between 8 and 11 points per game. Go back to see how many games are decided by 8 points or less to follow my line of thinking.

Being ranked 26th in the league last year was terrible and I am not sure that Ainge has done much to make this number change in our favor. With such a ranking last year, it is quite amazing that the Cs won 53 regular season games and then two playoff series. Ranking even in the middle of the league may have gotten us 60 regular season games and perhaps a better run at the Cavs in the finals in the east.

by **swish** Mon Sep 11, 2017 11:30 pm

wideclyde wrote:My primary concern for the coming season is our apparent lack of rebounding, again.

The ball has the chance to change from one team to another mostly by rebounds at every level of basketball. When our team gives this opportunity to opponents about 3/4ths of the game we play, we are at a decided disadvantage.

Here is my thinking relating to some math....getting outboarded by 12 per game yields the other team 12 extra possessions, those 12 possessions yield somewhere between 8 and 11 points per game. Go back to see how many games are decided by 8 points or less to follow my line of thinking.

Being ranked 26th in the league last year was terrible and I am not sure that Ainge has done much to make this number change in our favor. With such a ranking last year, it is quite amazing that the Cs won 53 regular season games and then two playoff series. Ranking even in the middle of the league may have gotten us 60 regular season games and perhaps a better run at the Cavs in the finals in the east.

Just wondering where you got the 12 rebound per game stat ?

swish

by **beat** Tue Sep 12, 2017 6:50 am

Only offensive rebounds yeild an extra possession. I don't think we got outrebound by 12 of those each game.

beat

by **kdp59** Tue Sep 12, 2017 8:54 am

I'll take a stab at your 3 questions, with my opinions.

3 pt shooting:

you need to compare players in the rotations IMO.
Career per 36min for each below:

Crowder- 5.3 3 pt shots- 34.6%
Morris- 4.9 shots- 35.5%

Thomas- 6.4 shots- 36.7%
Irving- 5.2 shots- 38.3%

Bradley- 4.4 shots- 36.6%
Hayward- 4.2 shots- 36.8%

I compared those players as they are likely to play the most minutes replacing the 3 left. as you can see 3 point shooting there is not really an issue.

HOWEVER, we do NOT have anyone on the current roster with experience to replace Kelly and Jerebko's 3 point shooting, here is their per 36 career #:

Kelly- 4.3 shots- 36.8%
Jerebko- 3.0 shots- 35.2%

asking Tatum, Ojeleye, Theis or Baynes to replace that could be a tough task for sure.

Amir didn't take enough 3's to be considered and Green wasn't a rotational player until the playoffs. So I am not concerned about them from a 3 point perspective.

OVERALL

IMO, we have BETTER 3 point shooters now...but LESS of them.

Defense:

I am on record as pointing out that Morris is generally considered to be one of the best defenders on the King in recent years. Hard to think he is a bad defender and I am not sure why that idea is talked about here.

Hayward is also a good defender, not a bad one. Again not sure why he is a bad defender is always repeated here.

I can understand why some look at Bradley and Crowder gone, replaced by Morris and Hayward as see a major downside on the defensive end. I agree it is not as good, but how much less is where I differ. We shall see.

Since the Bradley trade I have been saying that Smart and Morris will both be starters. My guess right now on starters is:
Horford
Morris
Hayward
Smart
Irving

BTW, that is not a bad defensive team, Irving aside.

this leave the main bench players as: ( in my projected order of minutes)

Jaylen (1800 min)
Tatum (1400 Min)
Rozier (1400 Min)
Baynes (1400 Min)
10th spot between Theis and Yabusle

which means Jaylen and Tatum should be our top bench scorers.

that's my take on your concerns listed anyway.

MY primary concern right now is lack of depth.

we went from being a team that was 11 deep to a team that is 9 deep now. Not counting unproven players except Tatum.

Larkin could provide NBA depth at the point for sure, but everywhere else we will be counting on either rookies or players like Theis and Nader if we need to go deeper into the roster .

That may work if there are no long term injuries. But if we do have any injury problems our depth could be an issue, IMO.

which is why I now agree with some others here who have said that Danny may wait on filling that 15th roster spot ( at least on any type of guaranteed contract).

Keeping a salary slot open, could be a buffer if we have any injuries during the season.

What if Baynes would get hurt, Danny would need to find a Back up caliber big man.

how about Jaylen or Rozier? he may need to sign a guard.

We see each year that vet players become or are available later in the year. Danny may have to hold his fire on that 15th guaranteed salary roster spot, due to the lack of deep depth.

so for me the primary concern is our lack of depth, due to our UPGRADING of our main rotation overall.

by **mrkleen09** Tue Sep 12, 2017 9:02 am

This season is for building chemistry and finding out who will be a legit member of the next Celtics championship team and who will be shipped out.

In my view, this year the Celtics take a step back (they may even finish below Washington or Toronto) - but all the key pieces that will be here when they are ready to make a run in a year or two, will be gaining invaluable on the job experience.

If Smart and Rozier do not show they are special players this season, they are gone next summer. If Brown and Tatum do not make big leaps forward, then the C's are not as far along as we hope. Should be fun.

by **NYCelt** Tue Sep 12, 2017 9:21 am

The Celtics ranked 27th in combined rebounding last year. A few forwards changed places, but it doesn't look like anything has been done to help on the boards.

The fact that it's largely a different team from last year has been covered several times here, so no need for me to go down that road. Still, the rebounding concerns remain.

by **fierce** Tue Sep 12, 2017 9:59 am

I think this current Celtics team will rebound better compared to last year's team.

Last season the guards were IT and AB.
IT is only 5-9.
AB is only 6-2.
This year the Celts will have taller players at the 1, 2, and 3 position.

I really believe the Celts, as is, will be a better rebounding team this year.

by **cowens/oldschool** Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:09 am

wideclyde wrote:My primary concern for the coming season is our apparent lack of rebounding, again.

The ball has the chance to change from one team to another mostly by rebounds at every level of basketball. When our team gives this opportunity to opponents about 3/4ths of the game we play, we are at a decided disadvantage.

Here is my thinking relating to some math....getting outboarded by 12 per game yields the other team 12 extra possessions, those 12 possessions yield somewhere between 8 and 11 points per game. Go back to see how many games are decided by 8 points or less to follow my line of thinking.

Being ranked 26th in the league last year was terrible and I am not sure that Ainge has done much to make this number change in our favor. With such a ranking last year, it is quite amazing that the Cs won 53 regular season games and then two playoff series. Ranking even in the middle of the league may have gotten us 60 regular season games and perhaps a better run at the Cavs in the finals in the east.

I'm concerned about this too, maybe Yabu and Theis will surprise us and help Horford.

by **bobheckler** Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:36 am

I'm worried about rebounding, like many others, because we were a weak rebounding team last year and we didn't add a player who is well-known for his rebounding. We had a guard who rebounded far above his weight class (Avery Bradley) who is now gone. Jonas occasionally rebounded well but other times didn't. Amir and Kelly had their specialties but rebounding wasn't one of them.

I'm hoping that Morris and Theis will more than make up for the loss of Amir and Kelly on the boards and, if TRo gets more minutes as I expect him to, he'll make up for the loss of Bradley. Have I mentioned that Terry Rozier is a great rebounding guard?

In the end my fears might be overblown. Morris might become a better rebounder this year because we don't have a primary rebounder like Andre Drummond who will grab most of them. Last year, however, was not encouraging. He averaged .2 rebounds/game less than Kelly Olynyk despite playing 12mpg more than Kelly. His career rebounds/game average is lower than Kelly's too.

Rim protection and rebounding. Same as last year.

bob

.

by **dboss** Tue Sep 12, 2017 11:14 am

Cow you hit the nail on the head regarding the size of our backcourt.

kdp59

Well you broke it down quite nicely. I still think that collectively, last year's players (all) shot the 3 ball better. We cannot assess the 3 point shooting abilities of so many players that are NBA newbees. The comparisons that you presented are relatively razor thin.

We lost 3 solid 3 point shooter in IT, Bradley and Crowder

Hayward is better than Crowder .368 vs .346 and Kyrie is better than IT .367 vs .383 but what about Bradley who is a career .366 shooter from distance?

Then if you look at KO and AJ 3 point shooting we have no qualified replacement for them at this point. I used career 3 point shooting numbers above.

kdp59 I only mentioned that Morris was a better on the ball defender than Amir but Amir was probably better at the rim. Overall I think Morris is a defensive upgrade.

Clyde and NYCelt brought up the rebounding issue again as well they should. I do not see an improvement there but probably more of the same. This issue cannot be solved by just adding a solid rebounder because their defensive schemes which rely heavily on switching creates a lot of mismatches on the glass. Perhaps having bigger guards will help. I can foresee rotation where we play 3 SF together. Their combined quickness could be a useful tool.

dboss

by **sinus007** Tue Sep 12, 2017 11:54 am

Hi,
I have 3 concerns for this year and beyond.
#3 - will Yabu, Theis, Semi, and I'd put TR in this group, become solid bench players.
#2 - will JB and Tatum become all-star level players
#1 - will the current core of the team develop chemistry.
I hope that this season will give us answers to these questions. If the answers are mostly "yes" I have no doubt that Celtics are in the Finals in 2019 on the even ground with whoever comes from the WC.

AK

by **bobheckler** Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:01 pm

sinus007 wrote:Hi,
I have 3 concerns for this year and beyond.
#3 - will Yabu, Theis, Semi, and I'd put TR in this group, become solid bench players.
#2 - will JB and Tatum become all-star level players
#1 - will the current core of the team develop chemistry.
I hope that this season will give us answers to these questions. If the answers are mostly "yes" I have no doubt that Celtics are in the Finals in 2019 on the even ground with whoever comes from the WC.

AK

Sinus,

You are thinking that Jayson Tatum might play at All-Star levels in his rookie year?

bob

.

by **kdp59** Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:03 pm

the future is now, my friends.

this team will again out play the aging Cavaliers and end up with the top seed in the east.

we also have the players to dethrone " the king and his court" come playoff time (though we may need one of those old timers over their to come up lame).

will we beat the warriors..probably not.

i am not overlooking this season, as we should be one of the top 3-4 teams in the NBA.

by **dboss** Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:18 pm

sinus007 wrote:Hi,
I have 3 concerns for this year and beyond.
#3 - will Yabu, Theis, Semi, and I'd put TR in this group, become solid bench players.
#2 - will JB and Tatum become all-star level players
#1 - will the current core of the team develop chemistry.
I hope that this season will give us answers to these questions. If the answers are mostly "yes" I have no doubt that Celtics are in the Finals in 2019 on the even ground with whoever comes from the WC.

AK

I think TR is already a solid bench player but now the Celtics need him to be more consistent on offense.

I definitely do not expect a lot from Tatum. Skill wise he may be ahead of Jaylen but Jaylen had an NBA ready body from day one. I expect that Tatum will need to add more weight and strength top to Bottom.

I do not see Brown anywhere near an allstar player this year.

I think both Brown and Tatum have the potential to become top of the line wings but they need big minutes to make that happen.

Chemistry is also of vital importance.

This team will have a very young and inexperienced rotation but they have a chance to grown together.

This team may nor outperform last year's edition but this team has been built for the future.

dboss

by **sinus007** Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:23 pm

Bobh,
Probably not. But after a year you'd have solid indicators of his abilities to get to the All-star level. Similar to JB.
OTOH, what, a man can't dream? Cool

AK

by **bobheckler** Tue Sep 12, 2017 12:49 pm

sinus007 wrote:Bobh,
Probably not. But after a year you'd have solid indicators of his abilities to get to the All-star level. Similar to JB.
OTOH, what, a man can't dream?

AK

Sinus,

This is a Boston Celtic-centric sports board, aka Dream Central.

bob

.

by **mulcogiseng** Tue Sep 12, 2017 1:13 pm

Not much doubt that the issues experienced in the past remain to be solved. If it isn't right to speculate on how all these new players will gel and perform it isn't right to say they won't or can't.

But since this is an opinion based forum colored by conviviality, here is mine.

We will be a better team this season. I'm scratching team chemistry off my list of worries. These guys are professional basketball players and they are fully aware of how important it is to build chemistry. So far, Brad's teams have started slowly, gelled around the all star break, and then powered home. I see this as no difference this season.

As far as 3 point shooting is concerned I expect a dramatic upgrade. We have many more accomplished 3 point shooters this season and that has deepened the bench as far as this aspect of the game is concerned. Theis, Yabusele, Abdel and Semi are all upgrades. Yes that is reliance on rookies but 3 of those rookies have pro experience but the only thing that makes this unacceptable is American jingoism.

While we may still not have a 7foot rim protector our rebounding will be improved. Morris, Baynes, Theis and Yabusele are a definite upgrade. Brown will be a much improved rebounder as well.

Our biggest obstacle this season will be how Brad mixes and matches his assets. The assumption is that Danny has provided him with the players that match his overall game mindset. He has the talent on the bench that upgrades last year's talent pool. That new talent, when used properly, will see an improvement in most if not all statistical categories.

I do not expect a decrease in the number of players who make up the regular rotation. In fact, I expect all players to get a chance to earn minutes the first two months of the season. Chemistry on court will decide who plays in which situation.

Those who still think in terms of the five traditional positions will be in for a rude awakening. This team has been constructed to play the game of the future NBA. Our much overstated old way expectations are about to be thrown out the window.

by **dboss** Tue Sep 12, 2017 10:10 pm

mulcogiseng

You flipped the script and I am going to follow right along behind you because every coin has two sides.

Yes I have concerns about some things and none of them have been completely dispelled by the comments I have read thus far. But let me share with you a few positives that I also recognize.

Danny has significantly upgraded this team despite the players that are gone. One thing in particular is the fact that we have more players that can create off the dribble. Last year we had one. IT and to a lesser degree Bradley. What we have in Irving and Hayward are two players with complete offensive weaponry. They can attack from all three areas because they can create their own shots or create for their teammates. They shoot the deep ball with confidence either off the dribble but also in catch and shoot situations. They both can get to the rim and finish with either hand. They are both excellent free throw shooters and they both have great size for their respective positions.

But it does not end their. If you check out some film on Morris you will also see that he too can take his man off the dribble and create shots. Last year we did not have a big with that level of fluidity.

Danny drafted Tatum. While just a rookie his skill level is suited for the NBA and in particular the Boston Celtics. He too can create his own shot and facilitate the offense.

Rosier is another player that can handle the ball. I would bet that being around Kyrie he is going to learn from one of the best ball handling PG's in the NBA. Jaylen Brown continues to improve his ball handling skills and as we saw last year it makes him a constant threat to take his man off the dribble and get to the hoop and Smart rarely gets the ball taken from him.

The overall ball handling skills on this team has improved dramatically. This ability is one of the reasons why Golden State is virtually impossible to stop on offense.

Finding the right chemistry is a natural process that this team must go through. It could take a bit longer because of the number of new players that must fit in.

I do not think Brad will have any problem with his starting unit. The rotation players will get their chance but guys like Smart, Brown and Rosier already know the system. Either Smart or Brown will probably be in the starting unit. Tatum is a high end young talent and I have the feeling that he is going to be in the mix from the beginning. Baynes is a veteran and an effective P N R guy who will become a darling of Celtics fans. He sets some mean picks.

There are so many options that it is hard to keep track. Shane Larkin played 78 games last year for the nets and shot 36% from deep. I like that. Our International guys like Yabusele and theis bring talent to the table. Nader the forgotten man is another wing (SF) that established himself in the G-league averaging 21 per game and shooting 35% from deep. The upgraded Crowder (Semi Ojeleye) shot over 40% from deep in college.

This team has more wings than a large order from Hooters!

This team is easily 12 deep where I think every single player can be plugged in and contribute.

If someone does not perform up to standard there is another wing waiting in the wings to step in.

dboss

by **mulcogiseng** Wed Sep 13, 2017 10:54 am

Thanx dboss, your positive post has done my heart good this beautiful morning in the desert. Last year at this time I was excited because I thot Danny had drafted for need and most of our needs had been accounted for That is why I was so disappointed that Yabusele, Zizic, and Nader weren't invited to camp to compete. For me they were definite upgrades over Amir who couldn't produce, Zeller who couldn't find his way onto the court, and all the end of bench players.

This year Danny drafted for need again but in a different way. Tatum has a mature NBA offensive game. We needed players who can create their own shot and he definitely can. His game will only improve once he gets into Brad's system. Because we play a wing dominant, space and pace game Semi fits the needs of the team as well.

Just those two additions would improve the back end of a 53 win team. But Danny didn't settle for improving on a team that struggled to make the ECF. He completely reworked the team via trade and free agency. It's a masterpiece on paper. \

IMO, Guerschon has a more mature and developed offensive game than Jaylen. He produced in the minor league of France, he produced in China, and he produced in the D-league before injury slowed him down. But what might be more important, he had that experience in the Celtics system which could seriously flatten his NBA learning curve.

Theis is a seasoned pro who played in superior leagues to Yabusele, won championships and recognition as DPOY. His team plays a similar style to the C's so he has a chance at that flattened curve as well. Again this is a serious upgrade over last year's team.

All of this coupled with your description of what Baynes, Morris, and especially Kyrie and Hayward brings to the team makes me much more optimistic than I was last year. Our all star candidates are Horford, Hayward, and Irving. Brown and Tatum should make the rookie challenge.

Having a solid 12 deep rotation as you suggest is almost a given. And those other three? They can contribute too. Plus we have two players in the new G-league who can be brought in if needed. We just didn't have that kind of potential last year.

This is not going to be an easy first two months of the season. But like our last championship season, we are in good position to make the ECF and beat Cleveland, and then take our chances with Golden State. "Anything is Possible" and this year it is probable too.

Thanx for following along and advancing the cause. It won't be long until we start getting a report or two about players working out and bonding with each other and an update of Guerschon's rehab. Yippie! bounce

17goingon18

by **KyleCleric** Thu Sep 14, 2017 1:07 am

The number one concern is the main goal of the regular season: can the Celts gain the team chemistry that will allow them to compete. It's hard to know at this point if those other concerns noted are weaknesses to this team considering all the turnover. Looking at the offensive talent, it's hard to see scoring or shooting being an issue this year. Defense and rebounding are usually about chemistry. The Celts rotation is full of versatile defenders who compete. The size is better as well at the 1 to 3 spots. There could be struggles for this team because of the turnover and the number of rookies, but this very well could be overcome quickly.

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