Filling The Hayward Void

Marcus Smart moved into the starting lineup and was great at both ends of the court.

The real void is finding bench production to replace Marcus.

Wannamaker is a steady as she goes option off the bench but he is really slow getting the ball up the floor.  He plays solid defense but is really not much of a scorer.  He protects the ball and that makes him reliable.

Edwards is a SG in a PG body.  The NBA finds little desire to run plays for rookies and he has struggled to impact the game.  Defensively he got exposed the other night.  He can help if Boston runs more screens for him and you pair him with a bigger guard like Marcus for example to protect him on the defensive end.

Another option would be to activate Waters who plays with a pace that is more suitable for the style that Brad wants to run.

Kanter is ready to play center which means there is no good reason to play Grant Williams at center.  There are just not enough minutes available at 5 and Grant does not look good playing small ball 5.  The notion behind going small especially at the 5 is based on giving yourself a speed advantage.  You want guys that can play off the bounce but mostly you want to outquick your opponents.  Unfortunately Grant is slow getting up and down and he does not have the handle to open up scoring opportunities for himself.  His inability to be effective on the perimeter is another thing.  He needs to work on his ability to make uncontested shots from the perimeter.  I think a vacation in Maine may be a good thing so that he can work on his game.   As his playing time goes down the reality of his limitations sets in.  I still think his best fit is at the 4.

Javonte Green is a 26 year old rookie who made this team on his sheer ability to score off the bounce and play man to man defense.  With Smart moving into a starter role, Green will become a rotation guy.  He is a great fit for uptempo basketball.   

Semi is nothing more and nothing less than a spot minute guy that you use to give someone a blow.  He has been a big disappointment.

VP is irrelevant.  If he couldn't get any minutes with Kanter missing 7 straight games, I see no pathway for him.  He ain't taking minutes away from Theis and RW.  He looks to be a reserve center that is outside of the rotation.

That brings us to Romeo Langford who remains an unknown.  He got called up from Maine because he is a 6' 6" wing that can handle the ball, get to the glass, rebound and play some defense.  It is time to get him in the game.  We are going to need more bench scoring at the guard/wing position than what Green can give us.

Yes Dboss. But I doubt Romeo is in playing shape. He needs 2 to 3 weeks running on the court.

worcester wrote:Yes Dboss. But I doubt Romeo is in playing shape. He needs 2 to 3 weeks running on the court.

Worcester he looks in shape right now

see clip from his G league game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwO5YKYW1yQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4_Up9DMRw08

Good news dboss.

With so many inexperienced players on the roster there are mostly trial and error options. I say try them all and see what works.

Dboss, I just watched the Red Claws game. Yes Romeo is def in shape to play in the NBA. LOOKS LIKE Tremont Waters is too.Wow, can that little kid play. Tacko was no slouch scoring, either.

I’d love to see Tremont Waters get a shot, after looking good in preseason, shocking how lost CE and GWill look on offense and cannot hit open shots at all. G League is there just so they can work on their games, hope they can get these flaws straightened out.

I really hope CE is not a shooting star. It is a weird role to fill. Don't know/remember how Vinnie Johnson did it so effectively. I don't believe he earned the name Microwave until later in his career. Seems like Curry was making 3's from Day 1 but being on the West Coast he wasn't an instant hit either. Eddie House kind of came in out of the blue but knew his job well and did it very effectively. Give him time, That's all I can say. Let Brad be Brad and work his magic. It looks like he knows exactly what he's doing.

db

Vinnie Johnson played a whopping 325 minutes as a rookie.

I would say anymore minutes than that for Edwards is playing above his pay grade myself......as a ROOKIE that is.

my contrarian nature always tells me to NEVER expect much from any NBA rookies unless they were a top 10 pick.

Edwards will be fine in time, IMO.

CE could use some screens to help open up his shot.

Funny that before the season began minutes were being awarded to the rookies.

Nice, BobH!! Don't know if I thanked you in the other thread for finding an NBA poll that had Boston at the top. ESPN is still rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic today with their love fest article on LAL about how quickly LeBron and Davis are jelling, synergizing, (wait, I'm going to throw up!!) etc. That ship can't sink quick enough. NOTHING about Boston having the best record in the league or anything. NOTHING. WTH, Bo?!!

db

Smart, Wanamaker, Green, even Edwards.

Plus, Tatum and Brown are already out on the floor.

This one's well covered.

NYCelt wrote:Smart, Wanamaker, Green, even Edwards.

Plus, Tatum and Brown are already out on the floor.

This one's well covered.

Can the bench get us more scoring and overall great play?  Green appears to be able to go and Wannamaker can play the point.  My concern is not just having Smart slide into the lineup.  We know he can do that.  The rotation has a chance to really make an impact.  It will be interesting to see how this develops over the next 6 weeks or so.

So here is the question.  Can the Celtics win consistently without Gordon Hayward?  We are going to find out, like it or not.

dboss...So far we're 2-0 sans Gordon. This 5-game West road trip will tell all really.

db

Dbrown gets linguistic points from the French teacher.

I am already tiring of the ESPN love fest for LeBron and Davis, Embid and Simmons, and Giannis.
How many times are we going to have to watch the Knicks on tv as if they were at the top of their division?

Good, keep the Celtics flying under the radar. Let them think they can beat the Celtics. We just may prove them all wrong. I am enjoying the season so much already. I can tune the others out, time will tell.

I heard last night on a talk show here in Boston that Hayward may be back in as little as 3 weeks. Time will tell, but I am not going to jump off a bridge because of his injury. He will be back and will prove them all wrong. This five game trip will show what we can do with Hayward, but, before long he will slow att

That's what I'm betting on, Rosalie. Docs are going to have to have a really good reason to keep him out six weeks.

Small little detail. Noticed GH was in street clothes on the bench last game. HE doesn't have to be there. And given the risk of a player flailing into the bench with a ball going out of bounds, it's probably safer he not be there...but he was. All about being on a team.

db