Celtics proving, even without Gordon Hayward, they’re better than last year’s team

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics/2017/11/bulpett_celtics_proving_even_without_gordon_hayward_they_re_better_than_last




Bulpett: Celtics proving, even without Gordon Hayward, they’re better than last year’s team








Steve Bulpett Wednesday, November 08, 2017

Credit: Matt Stone

ALL TOGETHER: The Celtics joke around on the bench during a recent victory.




The Gordon Hayward injury was a gut punch to Greenhearts who had great expectations for this season. The blow also rattled the brains of fans and even those who are paid to observe this team and league.

In what was viewed during the immediate aftermath as a lost season of sorts, the Celtics now have won nine straight. And while they’re bound to descend from the cloud at some point, in a larger sense, should we be surprised at what we’re seeing? 


Really?

They most certainly are not as good as they would be with Hayward, but with three weeks of evidence since the season-opening stunner, the light of perspective has revealed a club that is better than last season’s edition.


Conversations with general managers and scouts around the league in the past two days confirmed the latter notion.

“You can go player for player in their rotation, and it’s just a better team now,” one personnel director said.


OK, so let’s begin at the point where Kyrie Irving is replacing Isaiah Thomas after the summer’s most significant trade. This should in no way be taken as a denigration of Thomas, who is about as real a person and player as I’ve encountered on this beat. What Thomas did for the Celtics franchise is priceless, and the ovation he should hear will bring down the house when he shows up at the Garden with the Cleveland Cavaliers on Jan. 3.


And if he’s healthy enough to play, and throws 40 at the Celts, well, good on him.
However, if you’re asking the people who are paid to make these decisions who they would pick between the two, Irving would be the choice. Both define clutch, and Thomas became a better and more willing passer as he progressed with the Celts, but Irving has a more complete skill set.


“Kyrie’s more of a point guard,” one GM said. “(Brad) Stevens has him playing off the ball some at the start of their sets, but when he gets it, he knows how to really beat you with the pass. And part of it is because of the way they play defense there, but Kyrie’s looked much better and made much more of an impact on that end than he has (in the past).”


That team defensive aspect brings us next door to Jaylen Brown replacing Avery Bradley. It might be hard to compare the second-year Brown to Bradley and his on-ball defense, but at 6-foot-7, Brown is rangier and better able to handle switches when he finds himself on even bigger opponents.


Jae Crowder gave the Celts a needed measure of toughness, but right now, the switch to Jayson Tatum is looking good and figures to look even better when the rookie grows to be, oh, 20. He doesn’t have the same physical component as Crowder, but he’s a willing defender, and his offensive game is more varied. And those large 3-pointers Tatum hit against the Hawks (and the one he stuck over Carmelo Anthony in Oklahoma City last Friday) indicate he’s not overwhelmed in even these early stages of his development.


For the other starter’s spot next to the far more assertive Al Horford, the Celts have used Aron Baynes, Marcus Morris and Daniel Theis. Baynes gives them a needed bruiser, and Morris is tough and more versatile. While Amir Johnson was underrated in some aspects, this would have to be considered an upgrade.


Said Gregg Popovich of former San Antonio pupil Baynes and the edge he brings, “He exudes that, and, like osmosis, that can move a little bit into other people. He’s always going to play like that. He’s going to give it to you every night. He’s solid. You know exactly what you’re going to get.”


Off the bench, the Celtics have a more experienced Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier in place of Marcus Smart and Terry Rozier. Theis and the non-starter between Morris and Baynes work with a rising Semi Ojeleye and tempo-changer Shane Larkin. Kelly Olynyk, Jonas Jerebko and Gerald Green (and Brown) all had their part in getting the C’s to the conference finals, but it’d be hard not to take the current crew.


“I think one of the things that really helps is you have a bunch of young guys that are really itching to contribute, and in any way,” Stevens said. “For Semi to come in and do what he did is pretty impressive. We’re asking Jayson to do a lot. We’re asking Jaylen to do a lot. And they’re antsy to do it because they’re learning.


“They’re going through this — Jaylen for the second time, but some of these guys for the first — and I think that helps, because it adds a responsibility to the older players to do the right thing because everybody’s watching.”


With Hayward, the Celtics believed in their heart they had a very good shot at getting to the NBA Finals and would have been only too happy to play with house money there. Now they’re on a free roll of sorts anyway, with at least an outside chance they get Hayward back before the postseason.

“But I bet they’re not even thinking about that,” one scout said. “And they shouldn’t be. They’re good now, and they’re going to get better as the kids get more experience. But even if Cleveland wasn’t going through what it is now, I’d still like Boston’s chances against them.



bob




.

I feel like, with respect to trades, people make the mistake of looking at previous year's stats and trying to extrapolate the players' impact from that. It doesn't work that way.

Systems and overall coaching matters.


KJ



KJ

k_j_88 wrote:I feel like, with respect to trades, people make the mistake of looking at previous year's stats and trying to extrapolate the players' impact from that. It doesn't work that way.

Systems and overall coaching matters.


KJ



KJ

KJ,

You never met Sam, but you are practically quoting him word-for-word.  He always used to preach that the same player moved to a different system will perform differently and that's why you cannot just look at last year's numbers, you have to look at what style of play do they do well playing in.


Here are some points made in this piece that I liked:

Conversations with general managers and scouts around the league in the past two days confirmed the latter notion.

“You can go player for player in their rotation, and it’s just a better team now,” one personnel director said.






They’re good now, and they’re going to get better as the kids get more experience. But even if Cleveland wasn’t going through what it is now, I’d still like Boston’s chances against them.






bob






.

By season's end, I think we will be better than the Cavs. I feel as though the mental aspect of it matters the most: does the team believe they can beat Cleveland? We certainly should match up well against them.


KJ