Bubble Talk

Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
about 1 hour ago
In part because of remaining strength of schedule, ESPN’s BPI metric projects Celtics with only a 3.6% chance of sliding back to No. 4 seed. Being 2 up on Miami in the loss column because of Heat’s extra game aiding Boston’s hold on 3 seed.

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bob


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bobheckler wrote:Chris Forsberg @ChrisForsberg_
about 1 hour ago
In part because of remaining strength of schedule, ESPN’s BPI metric projects Celtics with only a 3.6% chance of sliding back to No. 4 seed. Being 2 up on Miami in the loss column because of Heat’s extra game aiding Boston’s hold on 3 seed.

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bob


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It's hard to know what place is best in the East right now.
I can't imagine having to play Philly, Toronto, then Milwaukee in the East.
Toronto is playing great ball.
They might be the best team in the league right now.

All the teams are good and all of the teams have beaten Boston so pick your poison.

Regarding Memphis, with JJJ out for the year, I can't see them making the playoffs.
If Portland gets the 8th seed, the Lakers will have a battle on their hands.
Nurkic is back and playing great ball right now.
It's not a stretch to think that Portland could upset the Lakers.

Ben Simmons left the Sixers-Wiz game with a "left knee problem".


bob


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tjmakz wrote:Regarding Memphis, with JJJ out for the year, I can't see them making the playoffs.
If Portland gets the 8th seed, the Lakers will have a battle on their hands.
Nurkic is back and playing great ball right now.
It's not a stretch to think that Portland could upset the Lakers.

Agreed was really impressed with them, they have 3 legit 7 footers, when Lillard and McCollum get going they can be unstoppable and this kid Gary Trent came out of nowhere and apparently can get in zones himself. The Lakers best on ball defender for lights out little guards is gone in AB, they have no one to match up defensively on the Blazers best players right now.

Anybody been following Michael Porter, this kid looks like a legit 6'10" version of Tatum? With him and Jokic that franchise is gonna be set, the winner of the Finals, if not this year will be a young team in the very near future.

True. Blazers are hot. Blazing.

Good news is that the Grizz are crawling back into their winter cave early, and as a result we may have a better draft pick from them. I hope they lose all of th e next five games.

Porter has really come on. The Nuggets GM has done a great job drafting.

worcester wrote:Porter has really come on. The Nuggets GM has done a great job drafting.

Incredible how he built that team with no top lottery picks, it can be done, Raptors also have done great job....then you have the Knicks lol

bobheckler wrote:Ben Simmons left the Sixers-Wiz game with a "left knee problem".


bob


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https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2020/08/philadelphia-76ers-star-ben-simmons-suffers-knee-injury-out-indefinitely.html



Analysis: Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons suffers knee injury, out indefinitely



Updated 2:06 PM; Today 1:35 PM




Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons (25) walks up the court during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Washington Wizards Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020 in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)AP



By John Karalis | JKaralis@masslive.com



The Philadelphia 76ers announced on Thursday that star guard Ben Simmons suffered a subluxation of his left patella in Wednesday’s game against the Washington Wizards, and will be out indefinitely as the team considers its treatment options.

A patellar subluxation is a temporary, partial dislocation of the kneecap. Normally, the knee sits in two grooves along the thigh bone. A sudden straightening or impact on the leg, however, could force the kneecap out of those grooves. That is apparently what happened in the third quarter of the Wednesday afternoon game.

gifdsports
@gifdsports
Ben Simmons limped off the court and went straight to the locker room
https://twitter.com/i/status/1291127462286495744


Simmons immediately left the game and walked out of the arena under his own power, albeit gingerly.

The exact timeline for his return is not yet known. A search of medical sites for the typical recovery time for this kind of injury says it could take four-to-six weeks. Head coach Brett Brown said the team will have a better idea of the timeline within the next 24 hours. There is no ligament damage in the knee.

The loss of Simmons puts Philadelphia in an interesting position because it takes a dynamic transition playmaker and elite defender out of the mix. However, playing without either Simmons or Joel Embiid has allowed the Sixers to firmly play to the strengths of the other star.


For example, according to Cleaning the Glass, the Celtics best offensive lineup with Joel Embiid and without Ben Simmons (Josh Richardson, Shake Milton, Tobias Harris, Al Horford, Embiid) is averaging 127.4 points per 100 possessions. The best lineup playing meaningful minutes with Simmons and Embiid together (Milton leaves the floor), scores 106.4 per 100 possessions.

Without Simmons, the Sixers run their offense primarily through Embiid, which is something he has wanted in general anyway. The Sixers don’t have a tremendous amount of shooting, but their effective field goal percentage drops two full points when Embiid and Simmons share the floor versus when Embiid is on the floor without Simmons.


The loss of Simmons will take away from the Sixers defensively. He is an elite perimeter defender and whatever negative impact he has on the floor spacing and overall shooting numbers, he can make up for in stopping opponents and getting into transition. However long the Sixers are without him, they’ll have to be a slow-down team that relies on Embiid to either score, or draw defenses and kick out to shooters.

The Sixers very well could become the Boston Celtics first-round opponent. If this injury does, in fact, take four weeks to heal, Simmons would miss that entire series. The playoffs begin in 11 days, and games will be played every other day.

Again, it’s yet to be seen if this is a good or bad thing for Boston. The Celtics have beaten Philadelphia in the past by packing the paint when Simmons is on the floor, daring him to shoot (which he rarely does). Milton running the point is at least a threat to shoot, hitting 45.7% of his 3-pointers this year. That means sagging off him to help on Embiid could be costly.


But it does open things up on the other end. Without Simmons defensively, the Sixers will lose a key defensive weapon against Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Gordon Hayward. Any perimeter lapses could pull Embiid out of position and cause him to get into foul trouble, especially later in games if he’s a bit winded.

The team is expected to announce further details of their treatment plan for Simmons in the coming days.


bob
MY NOTE:  If Simmons is out for the rest of the playoffs that is a MAJOR loss for Philly.  Who will bring the ball up?  Who will penetrate and kick?  He was moved to 4 so he could rebound and bring the ball up himself, who will do that now?  Horford?  He'll bring it up at half the speed and can't put the move on at the top of the key and finish in the paint, that's not and has never been his game. They just got very vulnerable.  Expect LOTS of slowball, LOTS of halfcourt from Philly.  Indy, Miami or Philly in the first round?  Now I'm thinking Philly.  Their forte was their size with Embiid, Horford and Simmons.  Now they're just big and slow.


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So that player many were high on the year we drafted Jaylen, Buddy Hield is getting less and less playing time. The player ahead of him, Bogden Bogdanovic I don't know anything about his game, but he went off today....

cowens/oldschool wrote:

worcester wrote:Porter has really come on. The Nuggets GM has done a great job drafting.

Incredible how he built that team with no top lottery picks, it can be done, Raptors also have done great job....then you have the Knicks lol

Denver has a very interesting draft history over the last few years.

In 2019 Denver took a chance on Bol Bol with the 44th pick.
Bol was projected to go in the late lottery or definitely in the 1st round.
That looks like a very good decision by Denver to draft Bol with a mid 2nd round pick.

In 2018 Denver drafted Michael Porter with the 14th pick after 13 teams passed him up because of his injury history and knowing he would miss his whole rookie season.
That looks like a great decision by Denver.

In 2017 Denver drafted Donovan Mitchell with the 13th pick and immediately traded him to Utah for Tyler Lydon and Trey Lyles.
Lydon is out of the league and Lyles is mostly a bench guy for SA.
That was a great decision to draft Mitchell and an absolutely terrible decision to trade him.

If Denver had Jokic, Porter, Jamal Murray and Donovan Mitchell, they could be a perennial powerhouse.
Denver is playing well and have been without their 2nd and 3rd scorers in Murray and Will Barton.
A possible 2nd round match-up of LAC vs. Den would be very entertaining.

cowens/oldschool wrote:So that player many were high on the year we drafted Jaylen, Buddy Hield is getting less and less playing time. The player ahead of him, Bogden Bogdanovic I don't know anything about his game, but he went off today....

I have not seen SAC play yet, but apparently Buddy Hield is not in shape.

Nobody of any consequence will be playing for the Lakers tonight, is what I hear. And why should they? Lakers are eyeing the playoffs. Period.

tjmakz wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:So that player many were high on the year we drafted Jaylen, Buddy Hield is getting less and less playing time. The player ahead of him, Bogden Bogdanovic I don't know anything about his game, but he went off today....

I have not seen SAC play yet, but apparently Buddy Hield is not in shape.

I always thought he looked slightly pudgy, with their lifestyle and so much time to train and workout everyday you'd think he would know to train better.

Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
2 minutes ago
Suns beat the Heat...Celtics cannot finish lower than 3rd. Nine days from the playoffs, it's a 3-way dance to meet the Celtics in round one. 2. Toronto 49-19 3. BOSTON 46-23 4. Miami 43-27 Indiana 43-27 6. Philadelphia 42-27 Pacers and Heat meet twice next week.


bob


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Suns have been terrific lately. Almost no chance of making the playoffs, but they are gearing up for next year.

Wow!! What a game and duel between Lillard and Caris Lavert!! Worthy of a mention with Larry-Dominique and Pierce-Lebron game 7. Blazers just held on, Lillard’s last 3 games 51 60 42....unbelievable!! might even be better than Curry. I pointed out Lavert 2 years ago when he was an unknown, showed that the 51 he put on us was no fluke. Nets could be very tough next year, are gonna have a Big 3 with Lavert, KD and Kyrie, but Kyrie will probably ruin it.....

Portland has had an amazing run thanks to Dame, and Kuzma so unwisely poked at Lillard the Tiger with his disrespectful words. Dame is the last player any team needs to rile up. With Avery MIA who on the Lakers can guard Dame?

No one on LAL can check Dame or for that matter he is so good he nay be in the unstoppable category against anyone.

But who on Portland checks James or Davis?

In the end, the team that makes the most of their 3 point shooting probably wins.

If LA gets beat it would rank up there with one of the biggest upsets in history.  8th seeds do not beat a team with 2 of the top 5 players in the NBA.

I was hoping for a Boston/LAL final.

As much as I would like to see this particular #1 Seed bounced, with no defense, the Lakers win this one, probably easily. Lillard has been phenomenal, no question. The whole team has played well. But LAL is a whole different animal.

You have to admire and respect DL's stoic determination and will to lead his team. I'd love to see 2.0 version vs. LAL. But I'm not betting my wife's paycheck on this series with POR. POR will be a problem out West next year though.

db

CJ played a helluva game too for someone with a bad back...and Trent was a real draft pearl to find. I like how they've scrapped in the bubble, and I am sure glad we beat them.

The Suns did amazingly well too. Question - why are they called the Suns? We only have one in our solar system.

Finally, and I was censored for bringing this up before, the NBA is now going to allow certain other people into the bubble, but specifically not IG Models. I had no idea what that was before hearing it for the first time from the NBA. I thought maybe it was some kind of sports car. Well, they are not. Apparently it's an InstaGram thing, and I have never used InstaGram.

Who actually came up with the Bubble idea? I have to give them kudos. I was a skeptic before this all went down but this has worked out amazingly well. I'm sure Silver will divert the praise.

db

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2020/08/the-top-5-developments-for-the-boston-celtics-inside-the-nba-bubble.html



The top 5 developments for the Boston Celtics inside the NBA bubble
Updated Aug 15, 2020; Posted Aug 15, 2020



Boston Celtics guard Kemba Walker ( dribbles the ball against Orlando Magic forward James Ennis III (11) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Sunday, Aug. 9, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (Kim Klement/Pool Photo via AP)AP



By John Karalis | JKaralis@masslive.com



The Boston Celtics are getting ready for another playoff run, or, at least, what they hope is a run. The Philadelphia 76ers are without Ben Simmons, which hurts them, but that doesn’t mean Philly will be a pushover.

Here are the five biggest developments of the restart for the Celtics that will help fuel the deep run everyone is hoping for.


1. Kemba Walker’s knee is ok

Late in the Memphis Grizzlies game, Kemba Walker drove, stopped on a dime, put his left hand on the floor, and pulled himself back into position to drill a 15-footer.

We’d seen him make that move a lot, but not much since the swelling in his knee threatened to derail his season in March. Now, after weeks of rehabbing his knee and getting himself back to somewhat normal, Walker whipped it off again.

“I was really comfortable making my moves and stuff like that. It was good to make that move and see the ball go in as well,” he said after that game. “I’m working every single day to continue to get my leg stronger, to get my knee stronger. I’m feeling good. Hopefully I can continue to feel good and just continue to take care of myself.”

That he’s here, able to play at least 30-something minutes per game and feel good afterwards, is the biggest development of this bubble for the Boston Celtics. The threat of Walker opens up the world for the Celtics, as does his mere presence on the floor.

Walker has a mentality much like 2008 Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, or Paul Pierce. He’s still, obviously, extraordinarily good, but he’s willing to defer to others if needed to accomplish a goal. When he’s 100% healthy, the threat of his attack mixed with the willingness to let others work can be a deadly combination. Jayson Tatum has become an All-NBA player in that space. Jaylen Brown is a borderline All-Star in that space.

And if anyone gets stuck, Kemba can channel his old self and take over. He doesn’t have to anymore, but him having that option unlocks a lot for the Celtics.


2. Gordon Hayward is his old self (mostly)

Much like Walker, Hayward’s emergence as his old self makes the Celtics a different team. Much like Walker, it’s Hayward’s willingness to do whatever the game needs that makes this especially dangerous for Boston.

Don’t get me wrong, Tatum and Brown are also willing passers (more on that in a minute), but Hayward’s added pressure on the rim mixed with his pass-first mentality adds a “pick your poison” element to the Celtics that, when it’s all clicking, can be almost impossible to stop.

There was a moment early in the restart when Hayward seemed to become self-aware. Like a basketball robot achieving sentience, Hayward admitted that, maybe, he should look for his own shot more.

“Being a facilitator is my natural position – it’s how I grew up playing the game. It’s what I like doing the most is passing,” Hayward began. “I often over-pass sometimes when I should look to score and be aggressive. But I relish that role.”

Getting Hayward to admit he over-passes is no small feat. Usually he just stops at telling the media that this team is loaded and he’s trying to make the right play. The added aggression and looking for his own shot has been obvious, and he’s gone back to playing through contact and dunking on people.

His willingness to absorb that contact and still try to finish just makes his passing all the more dangerous because teams know they have to challenge him all the way to the rim. That creates gravity that carves open passing lanes for kick-outs and clearer 3-point looks.

This isn’t new, per se, but it’s new for Hayward in Boston. He’s as close to his Utah self as he’s ever been, and we’re finally seeing the type of player Danny Ainge envisioned when he signed Hayward as a free agent.


3. The passing (especially Tatum and Brown)

The Celtics have hit a passing groove in the bubble, with assist totals of 29, 27, 32, and 29 in their four-game winning streak. The Celtics don’t need assists to score (they finished the season with the league’s fourth-best offensive rating while ranking 26th in assist percentage), but adding them turbo-charges their offense.

Five of Boston’s top 14 scoring performances this season have come in the bubble. Their best scoring night was the 149 point explosion against Brooklyn and they put up 122 in each of the other three wins in that streak.

Assists can mean different things at different times. A center kicking out to shooters can rack up assists if his teammates are knocking down shots. And while made shots are obviously a key element to the assist, hot shooting isn’t what necessarily fuels Boston’s totals.

Boston’s assists are almost always fueled by two things: their defense, and ball movement. When the Celtics get stops and get out into transition, they’ll pile up easy assists on breakaway baskets. When they are in the half court, they get their assists when players are driving and kicking and getting multiple attacks on the paint.

Each of those drives opens up the defense a little bit more, which is important for creating easier scoring opportunities. The real development within this development is how well Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are passing.

“It’s great to get to see that those guys, they’re getting better, man. Just reading the game,” Kemba Walker said. “So much attention is going to be on those guys because of how much they’re improving, how much their scoring, how efficient they are. I think the next step is the passes they make... for them to make the plays they’ve been making lately, it’s pretty special.”

This falls into the same category as Walker and Hayward being great scorers willing to pass. When Boston’s top-four options are all willing to give the ball up, it puts a lot of pressure on the defense to make choices.

Choices are death for defenses, because invariably, one of the five guys on the floor is going to make a different choice than the other four. The fewer dimensions of an offense, the fewer choices defenses have to make. By increasing their court vision, Brown and Tatum join Walker and Hayward as triple threats who can drive, shoot, and pass.


4. Jayson Tatum found his groove

There isn't much to be said about this particular development.

Tatum came into the bubble with the highest of expectations, but he struggled at the outset. Oddly, his performance in the bubble mirrored his progression over the course of the season. He went from struggling with layups to hitting Damian Lillard-type shots over the course of a few weeks.

All the stuff I wrote about the passing and the triple threats stands, but the playoffs are still about talent, and Tatum is the best talent on the team. When it hits the fan, every team needs a guy they can give the ball to and say “ok, buddy, time to bail us out.”

Luckily, the Celtics have a few guys who have been that on other teams, but even with them on the floor, Tatum needs to be the guy who can elevate his game and hit shots against the elite defenses Boston will face. He’s proven he can do that and his January/February run wasn’t some fluke of hot shooting.


5. Robert Williams became an option

This has the potential to be a big deal.

Williams, if he truly can be an option for the Celtics, provides a change of pace for the Celtics. He’s the equivalent of bringing a fireballer out of the bullpen for a baseball team. Batters spend an inning or two swinging through 101 mile per hour fastballs because they’re not used to the speed.

Williams’ rolling ability stands in such stark contrast to Daniel Theis’ popping ability that the other team will usually spend at least a few possessions defending the wrong way.

It’s not a surprise that Williams comes in and catches lobs almost immediately in games.

Williams doesn’t have to do much. He just needs to give Boston about 15 minutes a night, roll hard off pick-and-rolls, move the ball when he gets it in the high post, and focus on his defensive fundamentals on the other end.

He doesn’t have to light up the world. Williams has shown that he is slowly grasping the details of his responsibilities. He just needs to keep that up.

Maybe it’s best for Williams that Boston is in this bubble. He has a tendency to fall into bad habits, and the juice from a hostile Philadelphia crowd or pumped-up Boston crowd could cajole him back into his old Timelord’s-a-leaping days. Without that, and with clear, audible direction from his coaches, it could be easier to keep Williams focused on the task at hand.


bob


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