Re: Celtics Media Week

by **cowens/oldschool** Sat Dec 05, 2020 1:06 pm

dboss wrote:It will be a next man up early season.

I am actually looking forward to it. They should not rush Kemba back and I do not care about our record. I think we have enough veterans on this team to keep us competitive.

Our second year guys are not as green as they were last year and our 2 rookies were high quality picks.

We should be better in the middle.

The Jay's have stepped up every time they needed to.

Celts play Crooklyn on XMAS.

Ditto, as long as there is growth we will be fine, think the 2 rooks may be able to contribute earlier than people think, have to let them play thru mistakes.

by **bobheckler** Sat Dec 05, 2020 3:10 pm

cowens/oldschool wrote:
dboss wrote:It will be a next man up early season.

I am actually looking forward to it. They should not rush Kemba back and I do not care about our record. I think we have enough veterans on this team to keep us competitive.

Our second year guys are not as green as they were last year and our 2 rookies were high quality picks.

We should be better in the middle.

The Jay's have stepped up every time they needed to.

Celts play Crooklyn on XMAS.

Ditto, as long as there is growth we will be fine, think the 2 rooks may be able to contribute earlier than people think, have to let them play thru mistakes.

Cow,

The season is only 72 games long, and Kemba and sophomore Langford will miss the first month to 6 weeks. I don't think we can afford to let them play through too many mistakes this year.

Unless you're ok with 6th place and no home court series in the playoffs with a very young team?

Bob

.

by **cowens/oldschool** Sat Dec 05, 2020 3:25 pm

Bob

We need them to get experience for the long haul and including Williams brothers in that group that need to get some PT this year....

by **bobheckler** Sat Dec 05, 2020 4:14 pm

cowens/oldschool wrote:Bob

We need them to get experience for the long haul and including Williams brothers in that group that need to get some PT this year....

Cow,

Unless the experience you're talking about will make them significantly more appealing trade bait I say "sit'em unless you really need'em". That's my perspective on "long haul". Unless you're a high draft pick, like Smart and the Js were, the "long haul" is "what have you done for me lately?". With the exception of Nesmith I would trade #12 - 17 for a legit, veteran NBA #9 or #10 who just a few years ago was a legit, veteran NBA #4 - #6 on shitty teams, like Teague and Thompson.

The shorter season means less wear and tear on the veterans, so they don't need as many rest days. Our kindergarten will likely get minutes due to Kemba and Romeo's injuries but that's a matter of necessity, throwing bodies into the NBA meatgrinder because we have no choice, not preference or strategy.

Boba

.

by **dboss** Sat Dec 05, 2020 4:48 pm

Bob and cow

The Celtics have no choice but to play some inexperienced guys.

GH is gone and both Kemba and Romeo are on IR. There is no way to compensate unless rotations are expanded.

by **bobheckler** Sat Dec 05, 2020 7:09 pm

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
about 1 hour ago
Brad Stevens confirms Tristan Thompson is still out from practice due to a hamstring strain he suffered during recent workouts, so he is doing light strength and conditioning work for now. Hopes to have Thompson ramped up in time for start of regular season in 3 weeks.

Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 1 hour ago
Brad Stevens on the C's schedule release: "My focus on the schedule is how difficult our first stretch is."
MY NOTE: That would be the stretch without Kemba and Romeo and counting on rookies...

Brian Robb @BrianTRobb
about 1 hour ago
Payton Pritchard on opportunity early in the season due to injuries: "If my number is called, I'll be ready."

reply retweet like
Jay King
Jay King @ByJayKing
about 1 hour ago
Payton Pritchard said he’s hoping to soak in how Kemba Walker and Jeff Teague approach the job to help form his own routines.

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
about 1 hour ago
Brad Stevens says he runs training camp using whole-part-whole teaching method: 1.) Opens w/ speech on a point of emphasis (POE) 2.) Whole: Scrimmage emphasizing POE 3.) Part: Assess weaknesses and conduct targeted activity 4.) Whole: Scrimmage again with refined improvement.

Jay King @ByJayKing
about 1 hour ago
Payton Pritchard said Danny Ainge is considered probably the greatest athlete ever to come out of Oregon. Said people talk about Ainge like he could have played in the NFL in addition to the two pro sports he did play. Solid brown nosing by Pritchard if you ask me.

Bob

.

by **bobheckler** Sat Dec 05, 2020 7:38 pm

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2020/12/boston-celtics-grant-williams-ready-for-evolving-role-whatever-brad-asks-me-to-do-im-prepared-for.html

Boston Celtics Grant Williams ready for evolving role: ’whatever Brad asks me to do I’m prepared for’

Updated 6:33 PM; Today 6:33 PM

By John Karalis | JKaralis@masslive.com

Things are going to be different for the Boston Celtics this year. Exactly how different is still being determined, but with Gordon Hayward out, Tristan Thompson in, and Kemba Walker working through his knee soreness, the Celtics’ style of play is going to change.

“We’ll try to be ready as quickly as we can,” Brad Stevens told reporters on Saturday evening. “It won’t be a full team for that early part of the season, which is why it’s important that we find a few guys that can impact winning against the best of the best.”

One of those guys will very likely be Grant Williams, the second-year forward who found increasing success as his protracted rookie year progressed. His notorious early shooting struggles (he didn’t hit a 3-pointer until December) gave way to playoff shooting prowess (he shot 10-for-17 in the postseason). But as the roster evolves, he understand he must do the same.

“I just kind of think that with Brad you kind of never know,” Williams said. “So I might play 5, I might play the 4... whatever Brad asks me to do I’m prepared for.”

Williams has valuable traits. He’s strong, so he can hold his own in the post, but he’s also nimble enough to hang with many of the more dynamic power forward of today’s NBA. He also isn’t interested in doing anything but his job, so the Celtics can count on him to not waste possessions by searching for his own offense.

“(I) just pick and choose my spots a little bit better, taking advantage of matchups, as well as understanding that necessarily, I don’t need to score but others can,” he said. (Like, set a screen for Payton (Pritchard), set a screen for Jayson (Tatum), down the line and also just crashing the glass using my physicality.”

Williams has learned a lot, but he’s also in a great position to learn more. The addition of Tristan Thompson can be a huge help for someone like Williams, because Thompson has played a similar “glue” role on a championship team. They also share another trait.

“Just even in the short time I’ve talked to Tristan, he actually might talk as much as I do,” Williams said. “It feels pretty cool to even know someone in the league like myself, in terms of speaking a lot. But he definitely came in with a smile on his face and seems like he’s ready and prepared to hopefully get this team to where we want to be.”.

The Celtics need someone to step up and help them win games early as possible. The schedule is not going to be kind to anyone, and the re-tooled Celtics have very little court time to get acclimated. A player like Williams who has familiarity and growth on his side can be very important in the early going, even as he continues to learn more of the game along the way.

“I’ve seen the game a little bit better, being able to make reads, and everything’s just kind of slowed down a little bit more for me,” he said. “It feels crazy to think I’m already a year into the league but hopefully just continue to improve and take it step by step along the way.”

Bob
MY NOTE: I think we need to understand and appreciate the importance and pressure this second year player has, especially with Thompson missing most of training camp. He averaged 15mpg last year, an impressive number for a late first round pick, but he's going to be relied upon even more this year I think. Brad loves to switch on defense and Grant can defend at least 3 positions (although I'm not crazy about him @ 5), maybe even 4 positions. Thompson will play more than the 16.9mpg Kanter played last year but, mark my words, GWill will play more than 15mpg this year too. This will be about how Brad divvies up Gordon's minutes. He'll give 10-12 to Thompson (on top of Kanter's 17mpg) and, if he gives 5-7mpg more to Grant (taking him up to 20-22mpg). Wanny played 19mpg last season. If Teague plays 25mpg that's 6 more.

5/7 + 10/12 + 6 = 21/25mpg. Gordon played 33.5mpg last year. That leaves 8.5/12.5mpg unaccounted for. Who will get the rest? If RWill gets a bump up from his 13.4mpg then Nesmith and Pritchard get how many?

.

by **gyso** Sat Dec 05, 2020 8:10 pm

The season is only 72 games, but they will precede at a higher rate, game per day. There may be an unprecedented amount of back to backs with very little time to rest up.

The new way they play the same team two consecutive times in the same location with a day off in between is a great way to give them some down time. Whoever came up with that gets a big attaboy from me.

I hope they can pull this off, covid and all.

by **bobheckler** Sat Dec 05, 2020 10:10 pm

by **cowens/oldschool** Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:27 am

dboss wrote:Bob and cow

The Celtics have no choice but to play some inexperienced guys.

GH is gone and both Kemba and Romeo are on IR. There is no way to compensate unless rotations are expanded.

Exactly again, why am I agreeing with you so much lately? Sou might as well get the young guys some real live experience. Example a young guy I’ve been following is Mitchell Robinson, he played on a crap team, but got minutes, developed and is further along than RWill now and both have similar games. There has to be a balance of playing kids and getting them ready during the season, so later in season they will be ready for the bigger stages.

by **cowens/oldschool** Sun Dec 06, 2020 4:36 am

bobheckler wrote:https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2020/12/boston-celtics-grant-williams-ready-for-evolving-role-whatever-brad-asks-me-to-do-im-prepared-for.html

Boston Celtics Grant Williams ready for evolving role: ’whatever Brad asks me to do I’m prepared for’

Updated 6:33 PM; Today 6:33 PM

By John Karalis | JKaralis@masslive.com

Things are going to be different for the Boston Celtics this year. Exactly how different is still being determined, but with Gordon Hayward out, Tristan Thompson in, and Kemba Walker working through his knee soreness, the Celtics’ style of play is going to change.

“We’ll try to be ready as quickly as we can,” Brad Stevens told reporters on Saturday evening. “It won’t be a full team for that early part of the season, which is why it’s important that we find a few guys that can impact winning against the best of the best.”

One of those guys will very likely be Grant Williams, the second-year forward who found increasing success as his protracted rookie year progressed. His notorious early shooting struggles (he didn’t hit a 3-pointer until December) gave way to playoff shooting prowess (he shot 10-for-17 in the postseason). But as the roster evolves, he understand he must do the same.

“I just kind of think that with Brad you kind of never know,” Williams said. “So I might play 5, I might play the 4... whatever Brad asks me to do I’m prepared for.”

Williams has valuable traits. He’s strong, so he can hold his own in the post, but he’s also nimble enough to hang with many of the more dynamic power forward of today’s NBA. He also isn’t interested in doing anything but his job, so the Celtics can count on him to not waste possessions by searching for his own offense.

“(I) just pick and choose my spots a little bit better, taking advantage of matchups, as well as understanding that necessarily, I don’t need to score but others can,” he said. (Like, set a screen for Payton (Pritchard), set a screen for Jayson (Tatum), down the line and also just crashing the glass using my physicality.”

Williams has learned a lot, but he’s also in a great position to learn more. The addition of Tristan Thompson can be a huge help for someone like Williams, because Thompson has played a similar “glue” role on a championship team. They also share another trait.

“Just even in the short time I’ve talked to Tristan, he actually might talk as much as I do,” Williams said. “It feels pretty cool to even know someone in the league like myself, in terms of speaking a lot. But he definitely came in with a smile on his face and seems like he’s ready and prepared to hopefully get this team to where we want to be.”.

The Celtics need someone to step up and help them win games early as possible. The schedule is not going to be kind to anyone, and the re-tooled Celtics have very little court time to get acclimated. A player like Williams who has familiarity and growth on his side can be very important in the early going, even as he continues to learn more of the game along the way.

“I’ve seen the game a little bit better, being able to make reads, and everything’s just kind of slowed down a little bit more for me,” he said. “It feels crazy to think I’m already a year into the league but hopefully just continue to improve and take it step by step along the way.”

Bob
MY NOTE: I think we need to understand and appreciate the importance and pressure this second year player has, especially with Thompson missing most of training camp. He averaged 15mpg last year, an impressive number for a late first round pick, but he's going to be relied upon even more this year I think. Brad loves to switch on defense and Grant can defend at least 3 positions (although I'm not crazy about him @ 5), maybe even 4 positions. Thompson will play more than the 16.9mpg Kanter played last year but, mark my words, GWill will play more than 15mpg this year too. This will be about how Brad divvies up Gordon's minutes. He'll give 10-12 to Thompson (on top of Kanter's 17mpg) and, if he gives 5-7mpg more to Grant (taking him up to 20-22mpg). Wanny played 19mpg last season. If Teague plays 25mpg that's 6 more.

5/7 + 10/12 + 6 = 21/25mpg. Gordon played 33.5mpg last year. That leaves 8.5/12.5mpg unaccounted for. Who will get the rest? If RWill gets a bump up from his 13.4mpg then Nesmith and Pritchard get how many?

.

I realize as a 5 he was very undersized, great his outside shooting progressed as season wore on, but even as a 4, the other aspect would love to see him improve upon is rebounding, saw too many games he had very poor Semi like numbers on the boards....

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