New Celtics center Aron Baynes is an enforcer under the boards

by **bobheckler** Tue Oct 03, 2017 7:44 pm

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/sports/20171003/new-celtics-center-aron-baynes-is-enforcer-under-boards?rssfeed=true

New Celtics center Aron Baynes is an enforcer under the boards

Celtics center Aron Baynes (46), bringing the ball up court during preseason win over the Hornets on Monday, adds toughness to the team's frontcourt. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

By Scott Souza

ssouza@wickedlocal.com

Posted at 4:02 PM
Updated at 4:04 PM

It didn’t take Aron Baynes long to become a TD Garden fan favorite. Ten points in 18 minutes of Monday’s exhibition opener vs. Charlotte, to go along with five rebounds, four hard fouls and a couple of doses of mocking intimidation of Dwight Howard and the Hornets, will quickly do that in a city like Boston.

WALTHAM — It didn’t take Aron Baynes long to become a TD Garden fan favorite.

Ten points in 18 minutes of Monday’s exhibition opener vs. Charlotte, to go along with five rebounds, four hard fouls and a couple of doses of mocking intimidation of Dwight Howard and the Hornets, will quickly do that in a city like Boston.

“It’s always great if you can get the crowd behind you,” Baynes said following Tuesday’s 75-minute practice. “That is always fun for us. There is a lot of energy here at the Garden. If I can bring that a little bit more, I am all for it. I am thankful for the fans being behind me.”

Teammates are already starting to line up behind what Baynes can bring to the Celtics as well — especially four-time All-Star Al Horford, who shared the starting frontcourt with him Monday night and may to start the regular season as well as the Celtics await a resolution of Marcus Morris’s assault trial in Arizona.

“He makes everything a lot easier for us, for me,” said Horford, whose face lit up when speaking about the veteran big man on Tuesday. “It’s exciting because it allows me to be all over the place on the court helping, blocking shots off the help side, and just doing different things. Very excited to have him on board. He looked very good (Monday) night.”

In his first season in Boston, Horford was often forced to bear the brunt of the entire interior defense. As part of an undersized frontcourt that wasn’t exactly stacked with “tough” guys, Horford had to be the rim protector, helper on the pick-and-roll out on the perimeter, one-on-one stopper of opposing centers and the guy who kept the biggest guy off the boards long enough for some of the Boston guards to swoop in for the rebound.

But on Monday night, it was Baynes doing much of the dirty work inside defensively as Horford pulled down six rebounds in just 16 minutes.

“That was nice,” Horford said. “A lot of times those things that I did last year don’t show up on the stat line. People don’t understand it. It’s nice to have him in there battling. That’s what he does best. A lot of times I have to do that with the group. When he’s in there with me, I’m going to take advantage of that.”

Baynes said he spent time in the offseason watching film of Horford to try to emulate his play in some situations and gauge how he can best complement it in others.

“We can try to help each other,” Baynes said. “That’s what it’s about. It’s about team basketball. We’re first and foremost trying to guard one-on-one. But at the end of the day, when things break down, it’s about trying to scramble for your teammates. It’s more important to get those stops as a team.

“Then it’s five guys rebounding. Once we get that ball, we can turn it into some pretty good offense.”

Baynes was involved in the offense a little more than expected on Monday working with Kyrie Irving in the two-man game as he drilled five of his eight shots — including his first four in a row.

“He’s a big strong guy and he’s very capable shooting as well,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “So his ability to knock down 15- to 17-footers off those little pick-and-pops I thought was good for us.”

The primary impact of the 6-foot-10, 260-pound Australian, however, should be felt as a defensive lane-clogger and paint intimidator as potentially the team’s starting center on opening night.

“It’s just about putting your body on the line,” Baynes said. “You are pretty susceptible to anything at that point. Some guys question it. But I love going out there and creating contact, and just try to make it harder for those plays.

“That’s my job just to make it as hard on the opposition as possible.”

bob
MY NOTE: Aussies and Kiwis, born bangers (if you've never watched Australian Rules Football, look for it. You'll see a bunch of crazy mofos, and New Zealand has the elite national rugby team, The All Blacks. Having been to NZ, and loving it, I can tell you they are a country of rugby fanatics. If it involves adrenaline you will have no problem talking a Kiwi into trying it). Baynes was born in New Zealand but grew up in Australia. As far as Aron Baynes goes I predict he will become a crowd favorite very quickly. Not only is he a bruiser but he has the right personality for it. Food, fun and banging people around because it's fun.

.

by **fierce** Tue Oct 03, 2017 9:02 pm

As far as Aron Baynes goes I predict he will become a crowd favorite very quickly.

Totally agree, bob.

We've been looking for that banger since Kendrick Perkins got traded for Jeff Green.

It was only a few weeks ago that there was this thread about Baynes being traded once he's eligible to be traded in December.

Totally ridiculous idea.

by **worcester** Wed Oct 04, 2017 11:51 am

OMG Fierce. Please do not mention KP again. We're likely to get a string of 100 posts on the topic of how Danny destroyed the team by trading him. I hope Cow misses this post, otherwise we are in trouble!

by **Matty** Wed Oct 04, 2017 1:34 pm

worcester wrote:OMG Fierce. Please do not mention KP again. We're likely to get a string of 100 posts on the topic of how Danny destroyed the team by trading him. I hope Cow misses this post, otherwise we are in trouble!

Lol.. well THAT was the biggest blunder has made to date, though resigning mark blunt early on is a close second.

by **worcester** Wed Oct 04, 2017 1:49 pm

True dat.

by **KyleCleric** Wed Oct 04, 2017 2:00 pm

Perk was an extremely limited player. Ainge tried to extend out the window with Green. It didn't work but it also wouldn't have worked killing our cap by extending Perk's stay here.

by **bobheckler** Wed Oct 04, 2017 2:06 pm

KyleCleric wrote:Perk was an extremely limited player. Ainge tried to extend out the window with Green. It didn't work but it also wouldn't have worked killing our cap by extending Perk's stay here.

Kyle,

Perk, in his prime, was more a more limited than Baynes is now. I'm not basing that upon just one game, but on the games I watched him play with Detroit last year and, at $4.3M for this year, he's a steal. Perk signed with OKC for 4 years/$36M. It is widely believed that Perk's contract is what forced OKC to trade Harden.

bob

.

by **dboss** Wed Oct 04, 2017 3:55 pm

Is there anyway to hide posts from certain members?

When it comes to Perkins, Cow is like a bulldog on the porch with a pork chop in his mouth ...he won't let go.

But Cow is definitely my guy.

On Baynes - It is nice to finally have a tough guy. A guy that will not back down. OK so he will pick up a few offensive fouls but that just sends a message to the guy chasing one of our guys around a pick. Make him think he is going to get hit and hit really hard by a very big physical guy.

Given the thin depth at 5, Baynes is a very important piece to the puzzle.

I like him.

dboss

by **cowens/oldschool** Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:32 am

You guys are clamoring for this, Baynes has better overall game, his post defense is good, but not quite at Perks level.

Danny should have just kept Perk for that season, he wasn't going anywhere, then dealt with the contract after we had won another title and we would have. Lebron hadn't jelled with that team as he had a terrible Finals that year vs Mavs. Green sucked and was big disappointment that year and every year he was here, our chemistry was never the same that year, after the Perk trade.

by **cowens/oldschool** Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:43 am

It's gonna be refreshing this year not having to see soft lousy players like KO, Zeller and James Young, we haven't even seen Morris yet, this team has the deepest bench in years of young players with upside. KO was the biggest waste, should have gotten rid of him after his rookie year, instead of 4 years of spastic misery.

by **cowens/oldschool** Thu Oct 05, 2017 1:54 am

That wasn't so bad worse.

by **Matty** Thu Oct 05, 2017 7:57 am

Being a big fan of Perks and having pretty much the same opinions as Cow on the matter I'm always glad to see him chim in these conversations, saves me from having to do it myself. Lol

Cow your the flag bearer here.. keep up the good work.

by **dboss** Thu Oct 05, 2017 9:24 am

cowens/oldschool wrote:You guys are clamoring for this, Baynes has better overall game, his post defense is good, but not quite at Perks level.

Danny should have just kept Perk for that season, he wasn't going anywhere, then dealt with the contract after we had won another title and we would have. Lebron hadn't jelled with that team as he had a terrible Finals that year vs Mavs. Green sucked and was big disappointment that year and every year he was here, our chemistry was never the same that year, after the Perk trade.

Hey Cow

Was watching Cavs game and guess who enters the game? Perk...and he was getting up and down the court. Count them...4 former Celtics on the Cavs now.

Dboss

by **dboss** Thu Oct 05, 2017 9:26 am

dboss wrote:
cowens/oldschool wrote:You guys are clamoring for this, Baynes has better overall game, his post defense is good, but not quite at Perks level.

Danny should have just kept Perk for that season, he wasn't going anywhere, then dealt with the contract after we had won another title and we would have. Lebron hadn't jelled with that team as he had a terrible Finals that year vs Mavs. Green sucked and was big disappointment that year and every year he was here, our chemistry was never the same that year, after the Perk trade.

Hey Cow

Was watching Cavs game and guess who enters the game? Perk...and he was getting up and down the court. Count them...4 former Celtics on the Cavs now. Including Jeff Green. How ironic.

Dboss

by **cowens/oldschool** Thu Oct 05, 2017 9:46 am

Matty wrote:Being a big fan of Perks and having pretty much the same opinions as Cow on the matter I'm always glad to see him chim in these conversations, saves me from having to do it myself. Lol

Cow your the flag bearer here.. keep up the good work.

no problem, we've always seen the game the same way, Perks value to that team was not in stats

by **cowens/oldschool** Thu Oct 05, 2017 9:50 am

dboss wrote:
cowens/oldschool wrote:You guys are clamoring for this, Baynes has better overall game, his post defense is good, but not quite at Perks level.

Danny should have just kept Perk for that season, he wasn't going anywhere, then dealt with the contract after we had won another title and we would have. Lebron hadn't jelled with that team as he had a terrible Finals that year vs Mavs. Green sucked and was big disappointment that year and every year he was here, our chemistry was never the same that year, after the Perk trade.

Hey Cow

Was watching Cavs game and guess who enters the game? Perk...and he was getting up and down the court. Count them...4 former Celtics on the Cavs now.

Dboss

was definitely a move by Lebron, that's a guy you want on your team covering your back, now hes gonna teach Zizic further infighting in the paint. For all the posters that were blasting Zizic, I liked him and was sorry to see him go.

by **bobheckler** Thu Oct 05, 2017 10:32 am

cowens/oldschool wrote:You guys are clamoring for this, Baynes has better overall game, his post defense is good, but not quite at Perks level.

Danny should have just kept Perk for that season, he wasn't going anywhere, then dealt with the contract after we had won another title and we would have. Lebron hadn't jelled with that team as he had a terrible Finals that year vs Mavs. Green sucked and was big disappointment that year and every year he was here, our chemistry was never the same that year, after the Perk trade.

Cow,

I'm not sure we've seen how good Baynes' post defense is yet. He did really well vs D12 the other day (admittedly in just the first pre-season game of the season, but still...) which we have always used as the gold standard for measuring how well a player can defend the paint vs the brutes of the league. To be honest, I cannot remember his play in San Antonio and that would be the best indicator to use, much better than SVG's system. In San Antonio he got to play alongside Timmy, and in Pop's system. SVG's system has always been about having a big brute center in the low post, patrolling the baseline (D12 in Orlando and now Drummond in Detroit) but those centers never came out to even the frito line except to set a pick for a pnr, NOT a pnp. Neither Howard nor Drummond can execute the pnp and I do not remember Baynes ever doing a pnp in Detroit. It's not SVG's system. Has SVG ever successfully utilized a 5 as a high post option on offense? I suspect Brad's use of him will really pop Baynsy's eyes wide open. He'll be told to do things on offense that the Master of Disaster would never want him doing, things that will take him back years to the Spurs and Pop. On defense he never played with a long, mobile defender like Horford in Detroit, this really is a KG/Perk duo we have here again.

Baynes said he came here because he wanted a chance to become more than what he was in Detroit behind Drummond (which means "in SVG's system"). Wait until he gets a load of Brad's ATOs in the regular season, he's going to think he died and went to heaven (or, maybe, back to heaven in San Antonio).

bob

.

by **worcester** Thu Oct 05, 2017 12:00 pm

Cow, the funny thing is, most of us agree with you about the Perk-Green trade. How could we not?

I especially agree with this quote. It's such a relief that the Charmin squad has gone....

"It's gonna be refreshing this year not having to see soft lousy players like KO, Zeller and James Young, we haven't even seen Morris yet, this team has the deepest bench in years of young players with upside. KO was the biggest waste, should have gotten rid of him after his rookie year, instead of 4 years of spastic misery."

by **cowens/oldschool** Thu Oct 05, 2017 6:02 pm

Bob I'll be the first to admit I didn't follow Baynes, but I did see the Spurs a lot cause they were on a lot and Baynes always did well, did enough big man things to help his team. I remember seeing more than a few occasions him being in at crunch time for Detroit, because Drummond was such a FT liability and I remember thinking he does a lot of Drummond like things very well, just not quite as overpowering. He seems to have added a reliable 12 ft jumper to his game which is something Howard, Drummond, D Jordan, Perk all the dinosaurs never quite could get, that is an obvious asset in today's game.

by **cowens/oldschool** Thu Oct 05, 2017 6:06 pm

worcester wrote:Cow, the funny thing is, most of us agree with you about the Perk-Green trade. How could we not?

I especially agree with this quote. It's such a relief that the Charmin squad has gone....

"It's gonna be refreshing this year not having to see soft lousy players like KO, Zeller and James Young, we haven't even seen Morris yet, this team has the deepest bench in years of young players with upside. KO was the biggest waste, should have gotten rid of him after his rookie year, instead of 4 years of spastic misery."

when I saw my name mentioned, I felt a lot of love Lol

anyone seen rambone, he thought Kelly could do no wrong and had stats to prove KO was like an MVP level player?

by **fierce** Thu Oct 05, 2017 8:33 pm

cowens/oldschool wrote:
worcester wrote:Cow, the funny thing is, most of us agree with you about the Perk-Green trade. How could we not?

I especially agree with this quote. It's such a relief that the Charmin squad has gone....

"It's gonna be refreshing this year not having to see soft lousy players like KO, Zeller and James Young, we haven't even seen Morris yet, this team has the deepest bench in years of young players with upside. KO was the biggest waste, should have gotten rid of him after his rookie year, instead of 4 years of spastic misery."

when I saw my name mentioned, I felt a lot of love Lol

anyone seen rambone, he thought Kelly could do no wrong and had stats to prove KO was like an MVP level player?

Stat manipulation.

While it's true that stats will give us an idea of how good the player is, it doesn't tell the whole story.

One example is Greg Monroe.

Monroe's stats looks good.
But why isn't he starting or given more playing time by coach Kidd?

Reason is Monroe is bad on defense.

Stats only tell part of the story, not the whole story.

by **kdp59** Fri Oct 06, 2017 7:50 am

cowens you know rambone comes and goes here.

I'm sure he's working on getting his scouting business up and running right now.

by **cowens/oldschool** Fri Oct 06, 2017 10:15 am

kdp59 wrote:cowens you know rambone comes and goes here.

I'm sure he's working on getting his scouting business up and running right now.

rambone definitely knows the game, we just had disagreements more than a few times, apparently Danny himself didn't agree with rambone based on his actions.

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