Talking Heads and the State of The Celtics

Now all the talking heads are filling up air time talking about what The Celtics need.

OK, yes, it's obvious some change will be needed. But so is some patience. And yes, I'm tired of hearing, and saying, be patient with this team. But it is true. Patience doesn't mean stand still, however. It does mean you don't make changes just for the sake of changing out of desperation.

No, Boston is not anywhere near what anyone expected this year. Yes, at mid-season it's obvious they're unlikely to hit the finish line far from where they are. But there are several ways to get where the team should be, and all take some thought, planning, and preparedness to take advantage of an opportunity if and when it presents itself.

The problems don't take a PhD in Hoops-ology to figure out.

- A severe need for a big or two who can dominate the paint and board.

- Too many players who need more minutes to adapt to the game's rhythm.

- Players who look for their shot too often, and short-circuit ball movement toward an open shot.

- Players with proven capability to defend, who have been slow to transition off missed shots.

- Too many ill-advised 3s, too soon in the shot clock, without anyone positioned to board.

- Conflicting styles of leadership; notably Smart and Irving.

- Rapidly aging players; notably Horford and Baynes.

- Players who may possibly be thinking more about their next contract than filling a needed role.

There you go. Nice, big, list. Also, one that can be solved with a few adjustments in a relatively short term.

So, I'll give Charles Barkley and even Stephen A. Smith their due in recent opinions on The Celts... they're both right. And I hate to ever say that about Steven A.

But is it time to panic and blow it all up? I think not. Strengths seem to still outweigh weaknesses. Lots of draft picks coming up over the next several seasons. Lots of talent that are at All-Star or near All-Star level. An upcoming off-season with an improving cash position.

Ainge has thought out the moves needed to get this far. One would expect the management staff is carefully evaluating the current roster, its play, and what adjustments would help. Certainly change will be coming, team management is not populated by fools.

In the meantime, columns and op-eds will probably get very amusing. That's nice. We all want something interesting to read.

My own guess is a couple of small moves and changes in playing time are soon to come. Bigger roster and draft moves in the coming off-season.

This is still a competitive team, however, with a half-season to go. I think we'll see some changes for the better. Stay tuned.

Thank you, NYCelt, for simplifying things down to their bare essence. Nicely summarized and all true. I was just about to quit watching for a couple of weeks up through the All-Star Break!

db

I think this proves in this new age of 3 ball or positionless etc, you still need bigs in the paint to defend and board and some inside scoring close to the basket wouldn’t hurt. We might have one of those pieces in Williams and I hope he can get minutes and be allowed to play through mistakes.

One thing that worries me is that the Celtics could be becoming less and less attractive to AD due to their mediocre play and the perceived tension/dysfunction in the locker room

That is the least of their worries.......AD is going to make the choice he wants, period. My guess is that it is LALA land.

What has happened to the Celtics is such a shock to all of us because we placed the ceiling so high from the middle of last year. Granted, the young guys have taken some of the blame for this. But, from the beginning, I felt that they needed another gun slinger off the bench who could come in and get ten-plus points as fast as can be. Everyone thought that was going to be Rozier (not me, I have never been on that Rozier train), and he has just fallen into a black hole. Read his press clippings too much and built himself up to be the second coming of Kyrie. He will never be that good. But this is not a Rozier bashing post.

We need someone in the middle, a rebounder/scorer/shot blocker. Much as I love Al, those days are gone for him. I am betting he opts out of his contract and settles for less or is traded.

Danny is no fool, he sees much more than we do. Think he isn't on the phone right now? In the meantime, I emplore all of you who have followed for a long time, keep the faith. This may turn around, you never know. I won't give up, but then I have been this way for over 50 years. I never go to the bridge ready to jump off when they lose a few games and play like garbage. They are capable of much more.

Go Celtics.........Toronto is waiting......Are you ready to watch them kick them in the rear? I am!!!!!!!!

RosalieTCeltics wrote:That is the least of their worries.......AD is going to make the choice he wants, period. My guess is that it is LALA land.  

to

He is going to 'want' to go to a team that has a chance to win and has a strong locker room culture, which is not currently the Celtics. But I do agree that we have no control over that, so no point in worrying about it now.

NyCelt nicely done!

Danny may be tempted to make a minor deal now. If they have no intentions to keep Morris and/or Rozier why not move one of them? If you can get a quality big man and again I will mention Atlanta Dewayne Dedmon then I think you should pull the trigger. This would solve our big man issue for the remainder of the year and open up minutes.

Whatever they do, Danny is very likely to retain maximum assets just in case the AD situation becomes a bidding war. Atlanta is in a full blown rebuilding mode. They have a big sign posted "Estate Sale".

I think I would move both Rozier and Morris since is seems highly unlikely that you can afford to keep them. Rozier's minutes can easily be absorbed by Kyrie, Smart and Wannamaker. Morris has been our most consistent shooter all year long but Dedmon is a defense and rebounding first player but his 9.8 PPG and 7.6 board and shot blocking ability would more than make up for what Morris brings to the table. Other wings would get more shots which is precisely what is needed on this wing centric team.

The Draft is coming up and the Celtics have a lot of first rounders to bid on Davis or to draft replacement players that are cheaper then keeping Rozier or Morris.

But is it time to panic and blow it all up? I think not. Strengths seem to still outweigh weaknesses. Lots of draft picks coming up over the next several seasons. Lots of talent that are at All-Star or near All-Star level. An upcoming off-season with an improving cash position.


not sure I would agree with this part.

Irving is the only All-star we really have, lets all be honest here. Horford WAS one in the past and Hayward WAS a marginal one in the past also. Tatum is not yet.

as for improving cash position, that does not seem to be the fact either. We are OVER the tax line this year now and with Irving, Morris, Rozier, Theis all up for new deals next year, it will swell even higher over the tax line next season (Irving alone with send it soaring).


might not be time to blow is up, but we needs to be honest that we are stuck with this group unless Danny makes something happen. IF Morris or Rozier leave next year , there will not be much money for replacements.

I really wonder if Morris will not be with this team next year. And, now certainly is not the time to trade him. Our offense is struggling at times, with Kyrie and Morris the most consistent players on the offensive end.

I do not think Danny is blowing up anything right now. And the only real blow up will be if AD is available and they are willing to barter with Danny over what they want. I think we need to take a step back, get Baynes back on the floor, and go from there. If there is a decent big available before the deadline, go for it, but letting anyone go now is crazy.

Breathe everyone, somehow I feel this mess will turn around. I do agree that Al's skill set has diminished. But I wonder, is he hurt????

kdp59 wrote:But is it time to panic and blow it all up? I think not. Strengths seem to still outweigh weaknesses. Lots of draft picks coming up over the next several seasons. Lots of talent that are at All-Star or near All-Star level. An upcoming off-season with an improving cash position.


not sure I would agree with this part.

Irving is the only All-star we really have, lets all be honest here. Horford WAS one in the past and Hayward WAS a marginal one in the past also. Tatum is not yet.

as for improving cash position, that does not seem to be the fact either. We are OVER the tax line this year now and with Irving, Morris, Rozier, Theis all up for new deals next year, it will swell even higher over the tax line next season (Irving alone with send it soaring).


might not be time to blow is up, but we needs to be honest that we are stuck with this group unless Danny makes something happen. IF Morris or Rozier leave next year , there will not be much money for replacements.

kdp59  I do not think that moving players that are unlikely to be on-going concerns can be characterized as blowing the team up.  By doing nothing I do not see any resolution for this year.  I do not think they can stand pat and expect a trip to the finals this year.  If Morris and/or Rozier leave as FA you can pretty much find replacements because drafts picks make less money.  Those picks will likely have lesser roles which may be good moving forward given the traffic jam rotations that we have now.

Making a move with them to address a need in the middle makes sense I think.  The benefit of bringing more balance to the roster may outweigh any concerns moving forward.

As far as the CAP is concerned when Marcus Signed his new contract that put us over the CAP.  We are a tax payer like so many other teams and will likely remain there for a while but if you tried to resign either Roizer or Morris it would add even more to the tax.  Once Horford's $30 million contract comes off the books next year it will provide some relief.  

Neither Rozier or Morris help much as free agents if the Anthony Davis pursuit hits the front burner.  

The bottom line is that the Celtics should consider their immediate situation but still remain mindful of their future.

Rosalie Al is not 100% because of his knee but his decline in productivity is an unmistakable trend.  The decline did not begin this year.  The knee issue just hastens his fall off.

This always happens when the Celtics sign a 10 year vet whose best years are already behind them.  As you mentioned getting Baynes back should help but Boston has been an up an down team all year long with and without Baynes.  

We seemed to be stuck in 5th place and playoff seeding matters now even more because of our 10-13 road record.

All of this is not on Al Horford but he is the center and that is our least productive position.  

There is a natural attrition built into this team as far as changing the configuration.  Free agency  does that for you.  The Celtics long term goal is to have JT play the 4 and also let GH play some 4.  JT is not their yet physically and GH will never be there.  So Morris has been elevated to starter status but he is no long term answer at the 4 and he is a free agent that is very likely gone.

Why not move him now if you can?

Terry Rozier was offered $13 million to reup but I have the feeling that he would have been including in a trade regardless.  Once they resigned Smart, Terry's days were numbered.  Smart is having a very solid year and he remains unless the pursuit of AD forces Boston to include him in a blockbuster deal.

I really do not think Boston is going to be much better this year so a low risk change seems in order.

kdp59 wrote:But is it time to panic and blow it all up? I think not. Strengths seem to still outweigh weaknesses. Lots of draft picks coming up over the next several seasons. Lots of talent that are at All-Star or near All-Star level. An upcoming off-season with an improving cash position.


not sure I would agree with this part.

Irving is the only All-star we really have, lets all be honest here. Horford WAS one in the past and Hayward WAS a marginal one in the past also. Tatum is not yet.

as for improving cash position, that does not seem to be the fact either. We are OVER the tax line this year now and with Irving, Morris, Rozier, Theis all up for new deals next year, it will swell even higher over the tax line next season (Irving alone with send it soaring).


might not be time to blow is up, but we needs to be honest that we are stuck with this group unless Danny makes something happen. IF Morris or Rozier leave next year , there will not be much money for replacements.

kdp,

I am taking some healthy liberties here, and figuring we probably won't be paying Rozier, Morris and Horford in the near future. Irving will undeniably cost more though. My personal guess is we could be paying Rozier, if Irving is gone. Possible, but perhaps another topic for another discussion entirely.

As far as All-Stars, or near All-Star level, I'm thinking primarily Irving, Tatum and Smart. Hayward would be a complete wild card. Brown might be considered close if he can climb back on the 2017 wagon.

Regards

dboss,

I agree a player like Dedmon would be exactly what the team needs.

Or at least someone similar. Don't know who might be available as the deadline nears.

Regards

NYCelt

I have been searching through rosters just to see who might be a good fit and Dedmon fits right in that sweet spot of $6.3 million.

He would be low risk because of his upcoming free agency but he would sure up our front line. The knee issue with Al is very troubling. At the end of the season the Celtics may very well have an opportunity for their ultimate prize. But if that does not work out you just use the draft and come back the next year where guys like Irving, Smart, Tatum, Brown and Hayward become our core moving forward. You will still have Baynes for another year and you can decide if Dedmon can be retained on the cheap. (provided he helped us down the stretch and in the playoffs)

I am sure there are other options available but the key is money. The Hawks have no reason to keep him (They have 3 centers plus Collins, a younger version of Al Horford) They have the CAP space to sign either Morris or Rozier.

With Horfords scoring continuing to go down and Rozier and Morris more than likely to be leaving this year - I would like to see both Brown and Tatum given the chance to join Irving as the top volumn shot takers. This is now, and always has been, a league dominated by a couple of superior scorers on each team. They both had very high EFG'S last year - now lets see what they can do playing a bigger scoring role in the offense - Ive seen enough of bench ball.

swish

Rosalie , you are a very good writer and have a keen basketball mind.

Dboss, as much as I like Morris this year, we have even greater need for a center like Dedmond.