Players, coaches and head guy

This team played well overall this year and were mostly stymied by inconsistencies, lack of depth and  average coaching in certain critical disciplines.
 
We however did witnessed tremendous improvement from several key players as Marcus Smart, Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown all put up career highs in several categories.  Jayson and Jaylen added 7.7 and 7.3 points per game to their scoring average.  That is remarkable for two guys to show that much improvement YOY.  Marcus averaged a career high of 12.9 PPG, assists 4.9 and  at the line 83.6% and was named first team all defense.  Jaylen also had a career high in rebounds at 6.4 as did Jayson at 7.0.  They also posted career highs in assists.

While Jayson emerged as their top  go to guy,  Jaylen was right there.  Many people have proclaimed that Jaylen is actually the best player on this team.  One thing is for certain.  They have already developed as one of the most potent 1, 2 punches in the NBA.   Jayson is an allstar and it is going to be hard to keep Jaylen off of that team next year.  I thought he should have made it this year.  Gordon Hayward regained his form along with his multi-skilled contribution.  Daniel Theis saw his playing time increase to 24 MPG and he had career highs in scoring, rebounding,  assists and blocks 9.2/6.6/1.7/1.3 .

Not a lot of improvement came from other guys.  Semi remained an unreliable shooter.  Wanamaker established himself as a reliable rotation guy off the bench. RW was injured early in the season but still managed to put up 5.2 PPG along with 4.4 rebounds and was second on the team in blocks in 13 MPG  The only rookie that got to play regularly was Grant Williams who averaged 2.4 PPG and 2.6  rebounds in 15 MPG.

The team was missing depth off the bench and that is the reason why their bench was ranked near the bottom in scoring in the NBA.
 
The area in most need of an upgrade is at center.  We have a starter in Daniel Theis but he plays rotation level minutes.  Brad's approach was to use the 3 headed monster rotation at center plus the undersized Grant Williams.  Basically, the center rotation was mess because you never knew who would play because Brad Stevens screwed around with his center rotation more than any other position.  The Celtics still need an upgrade at this position.   DT is already 28 and i do not see much if any upside in store for him and his 6'8" size limits his overall effectiveness.
 
Enes Kanter is a short timer and if he opts in he will be with us for another year.  But you can't teach an old dog new tricks.  Nothing to see here...move along

RWIII development has been hampered by two things.  Staying healthy and getting enough playing time to improve through repetition.  While his offensive skill level is undeveloped he shows abilities as a screener and passer out of the high post.  In very limited opportunities he displayed elite level athleticism off alleyopps and scoring from his offensive rebounds.  Defensively he is unsure if he should stay back or come out.  He has the potential to be a solid rim protector.

Our other so-called part time center is Grant Williams.  He is a rookie and will need to work on all aspects of his game.  He is an undersized PF and a extremely undersized center.  He is 6' 6"  and is playing out of position based on his profile which is not going to change.  I think Stevens should develop him at the 4 spot because his post play at both ends is well below average.
 
The other guys on this team are fillers and they have not played enough to get better if they can get better.

Our top draft pick Romeo Langford is smitten by the injury bug.  This was a lost rookie year for him.
 
recommendations for the players

Jayson Tatum has elite level abilities.  The only thing missing is his decision making.  He has become a more willing passer. a better rebounder and a more efficient scorer.  His body has thickened substantially which will make him more difficult to stop.  He just needs to continue to refine his skills because the sky is the limit.

Jaylen Brown probably experienced the most noticeable improvement in his skills YOY.  He handles the ball better, he is a better rebounder and his free throw shooting is better.  He also became a better play maker.  He needs to continue to work on all of those skills and become better with drives and short pullups.  His offensive package is just about complete but he just needs to keep working on all of his skills.

Marcus  Smart only needs to be mindful of his volume of 3 point shots.  He is not a great 3 point shooter but he shoots them well enough to take them.  He took 6.6 per game this year.  That is too many. He does not shoot well enough to be the 3rd most frequent 3 point shooter on the team.  Case in point he takes more 3 pointers than Jaylen Brown.

Robert Williams needs to work with a trainer and a big man coach.  You never hear any of our so-called bigs mentioning a big man coach.  You never hear Brad say this guy or that guy is working with John Doe our big man coach.  He needs to work on his handle, passing, rebounding positioning and defensive decision making.  We saw him take a few jumpers this year and he appears to have workable mechanics at the line.  He needs to work on his conditioning to add stamina and more strength.  He needs to work on all of his skills through instructional inspired repetitions.

Grant Williams needs to become a better ball handler.  If Brad continues to play him out of position at the 5 Grant needs to maximize his mobility with the ball.  He needs to work on his shooting from everywhere.  It is hard for a short player like him being defended in the paint to shoot over a defender but he has to learn a few tricks to help him free up his shot.  He has no signature go to move.  He needs work all around on his offensive game in particular.

Others

If you did not get to play much then you need to work on everything related to the game of basketball

Coach

Work on coaching your team up to play against a zone

Develop a more consistent center rotation because right now you are looking like the yoyo master Jr.

Implement more plays to get RW easy opportunities at the rim.  You need to prioritize that element because it works.

Work on all the fundamentals like how to pass the basketball as your team has developed some bad habits.

Increase the pace of the game.  Use your athletes to get up and down.  Start in training camp and make them run until they puke and then make them run some more.

Redefine what is and is not a good shot.

Implement specific accountability measures to gain control so that the team plays the way that you want them to.  If they do not listen to you and follow your coaching instructions that makes you a bad coach.

Refocus the teams scoring priorities around your top guns.
 
The Architect

Danny, Danny, Danny.  You did not address all of your teams needs.  You assembled a team without quality depth and instead you added 7  rookies.  No teams adds 7 rookies unless they are a start up expansion club.  You should be ashamed of yourself.  You promised to rebuild this team in 5 years and you have not done it.  That is because you have made bad signings, trades  and too many questionable draft picks.  You are a classic tinkerer.  You are no draft savant.  You would do better going with all the consensus picks by the experts.  Go get us a center and add a bench scorer and find a future starting PG that is not a midget.

now here are the final grades that I would Give based on both the reg season and the playoffs

Tatum A
Brown A-
Smart B+
Kemba B+
Theis B
Hayward B
Wanamaker B-
Grant W  C
Kanter C
RW      C
Semi C-
All the Rest Incomplete or F
coach b
Danny c-

dboss

what would you think about adding Dave Joerger as Stevens top assistant next season (assuming he doesn't get one of the 6 openings as a HC)?

I think Brad needs an NBA vet HC on the staff (probably should have always had one). Someone Brad can see as an equal, to  give him another perspective.

kdp59 wrote:dboss

what would you think about adding Dave Joerger as Stevens top assistant next season (assuming he doesn't get one of the 6 openings as a HC)?

I think Brad needs an NBA vet HC on the staff (probably should have always had one). Someone Brad can see as an equal, to  give him another perspective.

Joerger was fired over a year ago by the Kings. He did a fairly solid job in Memphis, But if the Celtics are looking to strengthen their coaching staff how about finding a former NBA player. Brad stocked his coaching staff with college coaches.

I would really like to see a big man coach.

Joerger is already a candidate for the Sixers job so I do not think he would take a asst coaching position.

I was assuming he doesn't get one of the HC jobs of course.

I think Stevens does need a former NBA HC (not player) , but I thought he needed that on day one too.

I actually forgot about Joerger until I saw an article about the 6 opening and candidates and saw his name listed.

however it may be, I hope they do add a vet NBA HC to the staff. I think Stevens needs someone that can give Stevens a different perspectives at certain times

dboss wrote:now here are the final grades that I would Give based on both the reg season and the playoffs

Tatum A
Brown A-
Smart B+
Kemba B+
Theis B
Hayward B
Wanamaker B-
Grant W  C
Kanter C
RW      C
Semi C-
All the Rest Incomplete or F
coach b
Danny c-

I think I would agree with most of those grades; they seem accurate. I might just elevate Smart to an A-. As we know, nothing is ever off the table, but in an effort to improve the roster the only two Celtic players I would consider untouchable are Tatum and Smart. Therefore my A- for Smart based on his play and leadership this season.

NYCelt wrote:

dboss wrote:now here are the final grades that I would Give based on both the reg season and the playoffs

Tatum A
Brown A-
Smart B+
Kemba B+
Theis B
Hayward B
Wanamaker B-
Grant W  C
Kanter C
RW      C
Semi C-
All the Rest Incomplete or F
coach b
Danny c-

I think I would agree with most of those grades; they seem accurate. I might just elevate Smart to an A-. As we know, nothing is ever off the table, but in an effort to improve the roster the only two Celtic players I would consider untouchable are Tatum and Smart. Therefore my A- for Smart based on his play and leadership this season.

I thought about upgrading Smart but I decided that giving him an A- would give him the same grade as Jaylen. I did not think that they graded out the same (combined offense, defense and leadership)