The ideal outcome for every single Boston Celtics rookie during the 2019-20 season

by **dboss** Mon Sep 09, 2019 7:25 pm

My Notes: I do not fully agree with the conclusions in this article. The one rookie we have an immediate need for is Carson Edwards. We will need shooting off the bench and he looks capable of doing that. The writer suggests that G Williams will get between 20-23 MPG as a PF and small ball BU center. No sense in thinking about him at the 3 given our wings. Expect to see Tatum and Hayward get minutes at the 4 along with Semi, maybe Theis and even RW in big lineup options. I doubt there will be 20 minutes available for him at the 4.

Anyways here is the link and below that I have posted the content of the article.

https://hardwoodhoudini.com/2019/09/09/ideal-outcome-every-single-boston-celtics-rookie-2019-20-season/4/

Romeo Langford: 12-15 minutes as a backup

Romeo Langford was the highest Boston Celtics draft pick this year, but his expectations shouldn’t be as high as his fellow 2019 NBA Draftees. Langford might turn out to be a long-term project, and the makeup of the team could be the primary reason.
Now, obviously any minutes projection assumes there won’t be any injuries. Boston Cetics fans should know not to assume that either.
The 2017-18 season started with Gordon Hayward’s gruesome leg break on national television at the very beginning of opening night. The season ended with Kyrie Irving nursing a knee injury.
Already, this offseason has claimed Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum to minor injuries. The coming season (knock on wood) will probably claim at best a few games from the Boston Celtics wing rotation.
Anyway, Langford isn’t going to be a major player with Hayward, Brown, Smart, Tatum and even Semi Ojeleye potentially ahead of him. Instead, expect minutes at the end of games that are decided, and spot minutes here or there when Brad Stevens wants to experiment with his lineup.
Langford will simply be squeezed by all of the established All-Star and Team USA talent ahead of him. That’s just how things are for a team looking to win now.

Grant Williams: 20-23 minutes as primary backup power forward/small ball center

Grant Williams is the most physically imposing rookie of the Boston Celtics 2019 draft class. Williams is a force in the paint and a good athlete with a beastly six-foot-eight, 240 pound frame at just 20 years old.
With the Celtics’ big man rotation facing far more uncertainty than their wings, Williams is all but certain to snag a healthy amount of minutes out of the gates. Obviously he will have to prove he is deserving, because Boston could just as easily stagger their minutes to play mostly small-ball when Enes Kanter needs time off the floor.
My money is on Williams making it work, though. You don’t win the coach’s SEC Player of the Year award two years in a row or be a 2x All-SEC forward without busting your tail. That was for the University of Tennessee’s benefit as an unpaid student. An NBA salary can help a young player find extra motivation, something Williams likely doesn’t need anyway.
Williams has the best chance of any rookie to make the biggest impact this season. Ideally, he will translate his college success into being an integral member of the Boston Celtics rotation.

Carsen Edwards: 12-15 minutes as primary backup point guard

Simply put: the presence of Kemba Walker will likely stifle Carsen Edwards’ potential contributions for at least the next two years. The two have very similar games, and with both being aggressive shot-takers and a little undersized as defenders, the idea of them sharing the court isn’t an attractive one.
Smart or Brown should be on the floor for almost the entirety of the game to defend all of the deadly guards the NBA possesses at both the 1 and the 2. Edwards likely doesn’t have much of a chance to see much time at the shooting guard spot, however, even though he is more of a combo guard than a pure point guard.
That heavily limits his chances this season. Walker is due for the lion-share of the minutes at point guard. He didn’t sign a four-year max contract to not play for most of the game. In a few years when he is approaching his mid-thirties that may be a different story.
Right now, he is the person responsible for keeping the Boston Celtics afloat. He is the reason this offseason wasn’t considered a disaster.
Edwards’ time will come. It just won’t be during the 2019-20 season unless the worst case scenario of Waker suffering a serious injury comes to fruition.

Tremont Waters: Graduating from the G-League and making the roster

Truthfully, a second round pick in the modern NBA has a long-road ahead to sustainable minutes in the NBA. It’s not impossible, however, to go from the second round (or even un-drafted) to being a headliner. In recent years, several second round draft picks have struck gold after humble beginnings. Nikola Jokic is the most obvious example of unknown to superstardom, but I don’t think Waters would turn down the career Chandler Parsons has had.
As the point guard rotation stands, Walker has a stranglehold on most of the minutes as previously mentioned. Edwards is next in line, and with him being signed to a four year deal this offseason, the safe bet is on him being groomed to be Walker’s primary back-up.
It’ll be a long road ahead for Waters to get any significant minutes for the Boston Celtics this year. However, it’d be a solid victory for Waters if he can have his contract converted from a two-way deal to a guaranteed contract.

Tacko Fall: making the Boston Celtics roster

Tacko Fall is in a different scenario than any other incoming rookie…and few players in the history of the NBA in general. Fall is seven-foot-seven, snd like disgraced former WWE superstar Enzo Amore used to say: you can’t teach that.

There will always be excitement surrounding the former UCF titan. Even though the league has shifted more to small-ball in recent years, the need for easy buckets in the paint will always exist. Fall will always be considered for a roster spot as long as his body holds up.

For the Boston Celtics, they are lucky enough to not only have Fall, but he genuinely enjoys being with the team. Just yesterday, he was seen attending the New England Patriots season opener.

That comes after a summer spent touring the local Boston sports scene attending the Boston Red Sox’ Fenway Park for a Liverpoool game. It seems as though Fall is genuinely enjoying his time in Boston, and the feeling may be mutual, if Enes Kanter’s words are to be believed.

Fall is a longterm project no matter where he goes. He has a lot to learn when it comes to defensive positioning, having picked up the game in his teenagers years after showing more interest in soccer.
The best case scenario for Fall is to continue his NBA career in Boston. Be honest Boston Celtics fans: that’s your dream scenario as well.

by **bobheckler** Mon Sep 09, 2019 8:01 pm

Dboss,

I don't think GWill get that many minutes either. I think Edwards will get more than the author is projecting too. Just like with Avery Bradley before him people pigeonhole players into positions based upon their height. I don't see why Edwards couldn't/wouldn't defend PGs but be the designated shooter on offense. Smart running the offense and Edwards gunning might be a potent backcourt. On defense they could both be very effective with Edwards playing the role of Terry Rozier on defense.

bob

.

by **dboss** Mon Sep 09, 2019 9:29 pm

bobheckler wrote:Dboss,

I don't think GWill get that many minutes either. I think Edwards will get more than the author is projecting too. Just like with Avery Bradley before him people pigeonhole players into positions based upon their height. I don't see why Edwards couldn't/wouldn't defend PGs but be the designated shooter on offense. Smart running the offense and Edwards gunning might be a potent backcourt. On defense they could both be very effective with Edwards playing the role of Terry Rozier on defense.

bob

.

Bob I agree with your take on how Edwards may be utilized. Carsen is strong enough and fast enough to be our Vinnie Johnson. Plus he can shoot the 3 ball and create off the bounce. He handles the rock better than AB and has a deeper 3 pointer.

by **jrleftfoot** Tue Sep 10, 2019 12:08 am

Vinnie Johnson is a great comparison.

by **dboss** Wed Sep 11, 2019 3:40 pm

I think in time GW can do on defense what we got from Marcus Morris. Morris was not particularly quick but he was physical. Grant is built like an NFL linebacker. He is not going to get pushed around.

by **sinus007** Wed Sep 11, 2019 3:52 pm

Hi,
I wonder what is a realistic outcome?
I doubt that any of the rookies will see more than 5-7 minutes.

AK

by **dboss** Wed Sep 11, 2019 4:23 pm

sinus007 wrote:Hi,
I wonder what is a realistic outcome?
I doubt that any of the rookies will see more than 5-7 minutes.

AK

Sinus

I think Edwards and William will get around 12. Carsen will definitely get minutes. There is no one else off the bench that can stretch the floor. Langford has a flaw in his shooting mechanics and that will take a while to fix.

by **cowens/oldschool** Wed Sep 11, 2019 11:28 pm

dboss wrote:I think in time GW can do on defense what we got from Marcus Morris. Morris was not particularly quick but he was physical. Grant is built like an NFL linebacker. He is not going to get pushed around.

If his defense is only at Morris’s level I will be disappointed

by **dboss** Thu Sep 12, 2019 12:28 pm

Cow

That would put him on SG Josh Richardson, a 6' 6" athlete. There no easy matchup solution. Philly has a size advantage at the point so the Celtics need to find a way to help Walker. I think playing more zone will help to neutralize Philly's size advantage.

Philly no longer has a zone buster in JJ Reddick.

Teams really do not like playing against zone defenses. Help defense on Simmons, when Boston is playing man to man, can come from Brown or Smart.

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The ideal outcome for every single Boston Celtics rookie during the 2019-20 season