Post Game Orlando - PRESEASON - Home, 10/4/21

I didn't see the game, so I'm watching highlights and waiting for you all to chime in.













Bob


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I started this over on another thread with dboss...

dboss,

Last night's game was very interesting. There were a few bright spots as well as some not so good flashbacks (bricklaying in 3ville, sloppy successive sequences, for example.)

Superstars looked good to very good. They have to adjust to all the new moving pieces on the fly. So 5 TO's between them not so bad. Game still looked a little sloppy but for G1-Preseason, no biggie.

RWIII looked a little awkward at times/out of sync, but he did start off with a quick couple of blocks. He just needs to get used to starting...consistently!

Pritchard and Nesmith looked very good coming off the bench. Nesmith really did some work over the summer and could be a huge contributor playing like that. Pritchard obviously did a lot of long ball shooting over the summer. That paid off going into the first game of the season. He could be big trouble for the opposition as well sharp shooting like that.

Langford with a quite 4 until the big game winner! Good for him. He needs that. Just like when Pritchard made that offensive rebound put back for a game winner last year, I think. Solidifies his status.

To be honest, I went to bed about midway through the 3rd and succumbed to the fact that this was not going to be a win. Then I had to let the dogs out around 3am and turned the game back on via recording watched the rest unfold.

Marcus has some work to do in his new role. He'll figure it out. Hernangomez looked pretty good. Can match Tatum with free throws. Very accurate, nice stroke. Al did nice work as always filling space. Doesn't need to camp out behind the 3-line building shopping malls, though. Schroeder just needs time to adjust. He'll be fine.

All in all, a pleasant surprise. Wasn't expecting a victory or a last minute thriller for an opener. Coach was good getting all the different looks and sticking with the hot team at the end for the comeback win. That may say a whole lot. Let's see where we are after G4 of the pre-season.

db

This preseason game was very entertaining even with the cobwebs.

Udoka said not to look at the starting lineup as set in stone.  He even mentioned in his post game interview that Romeo will likely get a start.  

This game featured our two young allstars, Jaylen and Jayson.   As usual they did their thing.  Surprise starter (not really) Hernangomez showed some good energy out there. nothing spectacular just rotation solid as a candidate for our BU 4 spot.

Grant lost some weight and made a 3 pointer.  He also had 2 rebounds in very limited playing time. He attempted a nice jump hook in the paint and I am not sure if it touched iron but I liked the attempt. Basically him and Lanford were 3rd stringers last night.  

Al Horford came off the bench paired with Dennis Schroder and you can see they have a history of playing together.  Al played ok in 18 minutes.  Dennis showed his energy and man he really did look like Rajon Rondo.  Schroder can handle the ball and defend and has a real quick step off the bounce.  He looked like that seasoned veteran that you love to see in your backcourt.  not much of a jump shooter as we already know,

Josh did not look good at all.  His shot looked really bad.  I did not see much ball handling either.  He said he was working on his shooting over the summer.  But his mechanics were unsettling.

Marcus was pretty average overall.

RW took 4 jumpers last night, all misses and his timing was a bit off however the TimeLord defies time and space. lol  he did have 5 rebounds and 2 assists and 2 impressive perimeter blocks on jump shots.

I noticed that Udoka had our bigs playing up high but that was probably the results of switching everything on defense.  That scheme does not work with Kanter in the game.  He cannot defend in space so like I mentioned in another thread maybe coach uses some zone defense with Kanter in there.

The 3 young pups that ultimately came back and won this game for us were Pritchard, Nesmith and Langford.  

Pritchard had 9 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in 22 minutes.  He also went 3-6 from deep.  This team needs his shooting especially when you consider that Smart, Schroder and Richardson are not knock down perimeter shooters.  

Nesmith played with energy and purpose.  Was one of 3 double digit scorers from us last night behind the jays.  He made 2-3 from deep and had 3 rebounds.  He made a magnificent play were he was able to save the ball from going out of bounds, race down the court to receive a pass and score on a contested layup.  He scored 8 straight points.

Last but not least sleepy eyed Romeo hit a 3 pointer and also went 1-2 from the line and then he was driving along the baseline line at a pace that was slower than you can imagine.  He tried to pass the ball into the corner and it was stolen.  But he came back with a great save and pass to PP who gave it back to him for a 3 pointer that went in.  Romeo won the damn game.

Some takeaways from this game and my take on this roster in general

I would like the Celtics to go with a 3 wing lineup, a center (RW)and a PG (MS).  I do not believe that a lineup with AH and RW3 will be effective.  I also believe that the 3rd wing has to be a guy that can knock down catch and shoot opportunities.  That guys is probably not Josh Richardson so I would really like to see Aaron Nesmith in the starting lineup.

Peyton has to play.  He can be paired with either Marcus or Dennis.  This kid shoots the ball too well to be buried on the bench.

I have only watched the first half of the game so far, but I can already agree with all of the points dboss makes above.

Except for the "big" starting lineup. In my opinion a starting 5 of Marcus, Jaylen, Jason, Al and Rob will be a MUCH more effective starting 5 than last years. That comes with a couple of IFs of course:
- If the coaching staff manages to set up some set plays for Al Horford as well. Not necessarily for him to score, but to initiate the offense from the inside. This is something we have been SORELY missing ever since he left. Also it was NEVER BRad's thing for which for me and some others here was always a bit of a sore sport
- If Smart plays better at PG than last night. I am confident he will find his place. He is trying to do too much right now and prove "he can be the starting PG".
- If J&J stop hero balling it and look to pass inside to Al more as relates to point 1

All of those are not so hard to achieve in my opinion and I do believe Smart will figure it out. So my expectation is actually that this is the line up we will be rolling out with come first game of the season and that it can be a great lineup. I am cautiously excited about this season

I have just watched Ime Udoka's post-game conference. I like his attitude so much! Professional, to the point... No nonsense guy.

If he can keep this attitude up through the rough patches of the season as well it is bound to leak into his players and I think this is exactly what our "young core" needs at the moment. Brad was a good coach, but he always gave the impression of "finesse" for me. Ime has a true blue collar attitude and I like it a lot! Unsurprisingly perhaps he reminds of Pop when he was younger and was coaching the "Twin Towers".

Hi,
Celtics are back! Yay!
It was exciting to see the players back in action and see them being excited to be back.
I don't want to judge/analyze the game or the team as a whole because it's the first game and it's a pre-season game. I'd rather comment on individual players.
The Js looked a little rusty or relaxed. No worry - they'll get fully back by the start of the season.
Smart didn't look very comfortable in this new role. Hope he'll settle, get acclimated.
Similar was RW3.
It was great to see Al - same solid, smart, efficient player as before.
Schroeder looked totally ready for a fight, like the last game of the previous season was just 2 days ago.
I didn't expect Juancho to start. He was so-so, weak on defense.
Richardson also was so-so, IMO. Hope it's a rust and the need to adjust to the new team.
The youngsters were good. If Romeo continues to shoot as he did yesterday this team will go very far.

AK

Our perimeter defense was less than great last night as the Magic put up 42 3 point attempts and made 17. That kid Cole Anthony launched some really deep ones. I was surprised that they shot the ball so well from deep. Funny, we get rid of Wagner and he actually looked pretty good while going 4-7 from deep.



I plan to keep a close eye on the fundamentals category this season. Last night we won the fast break contest 18-9 and the FT contest going 20/23 to their 8/14. I like those numbers but they can get much better especially if we also reduce the turnovers.

Vankisa wrote:I have only watched the first half of the game so far, but I can already agree with all of the points dboss makes above.

Except for the "big" starting lineup. In my opinion a starting 5 of Marcus, Jaylen, Jason, Al and Rob will be a MUCH more effective starting 5 than last years. That comes with a couple of IFs of course:
- If the coaching staff manages to set up some set plays for Al Horford as well. Not necessarily for him to score, but to initiate the offense from the inside. This is something we have been SORELY missing ever since he left. Also it was NEVER BRad's thing for which for me and some others here was always a bit of a sore sport
- If Smart plays better at PG than last night. I am confident he will find his place. He is trying to do too much  right now and prove "he can be the starting PG".
- If J&J stop hero balling it and look to pass inside to Al more as relates to point 1

All of those are not so hard to achieve in my opinion and I do believe Smart will figure it out. So my expectation is actually that this is the line up we will be rolling out with come first game of the season and that it can be a great lineup. I am cautiously excited about this season

The question that I have as it relates to a double center lineup is mainly related to the defensive side of the ball. The fact is, I really do not know if it will work. I do know that a smaller lineup will be a lot quicker going back and forth end to end. I am sure Udoka will experiment and give it a go to see if it works. Teams have gravitated to smaller lineups but there remains a few team that are big on their frontline. Udoka did say that he does not feel compelled to match up with other teams. Basically make them matchup with us.

This should be a fun season.

Every once in a while I think we need to remember that Romeo averaged 36 PPG in his senior year in high school and was the third highest scoring freshman in IU history, with a bum thumb. The kid can score. No one mentioned his defense until we saw him play here.

atcross wrote:Every once in a while I think we need to remember that Romeo averaged 36 PPG in his senior year in high school and was the third highest scoring freshman in IU history, with a bum thumb. The kid can score. No one mentioned his defense until we saw him play here.

Different level, he hasn’t shown that on this level he can score at all near that….

Romeo should be ready to play a role this season.

I would not put to much weight behind his high school achievements.

https://www.masslive.com/celtics/2021/10/romeo-langford-young-celtics-stole-show-in-preseason-comeback-win-against-orlando.html



Romeo Langford, young Celtics stole show in preseason comeback win against Orlando


Updated: Oct. 05, 2021, 1:27 p.m. | Published: Oct. 05, 2021, 1:27 p.m.
r m



(AP Photo/David Zalubowski)AP



By Souichi Terada | sterada@masslive.com



BOSTON — Romeo Langford sat for the first 38 minutes of the game Monday, waiting for his shot. While first-year coach Ime Udoka tinkered with certain lineups, Langford was one of the odd men out, at least for most of the preseason opener.

But when he finally got this shot for the final 9:56 of the game, he came out aggressive. It wasn’t a perfect performance — much like the team — but Langford earned the main highlight, nailing the game-winning 3-pointer to boost the Celtics to a 98-97 victory over the Magic.


“To sit there for three quarters and come in and play the way he did in the fourth quarter was obviously good for him, good for the team,” Udoka said. “But it should give him a huge confidence boost. He was able to hit some big shots late.”

While preseason is about working through issues and new teammates, the youth partly stole the show Monday. Langford was joined by Aaron Nesmith and Payton Pritchard as the closing lineup as the C’s mounted their comeback run.

Nesmith looked poised as he got some early run with starters and rotation players alike. He finished 4-for-5 from the field, 2-for-3 on 3-pointers and hit some massive shots down the stretch. It was him and Pritchard’s 3-pointers which evaporated Orlando’s lead late in the fourth quarter.

It was each player’s shot to show Udoka and his staff how they fit on a roster that boasts depth and veterans. The Celtics won’t need to rely on their youth as much this season, but steady improvement from their players on rookie contracts can be a bargain and go a long way for value.

“Really just make the most of the opportunity I had,” Langford said of his fourth-quarter minutes. “Coach put me in the fourth and I played my game and luckily had a chance to hit a shot for the win. I just made the most of it.”


While Udoka was mixing and matching his players, there was a noticeable difference in bench depth compared to last year. There wasn’t much dropoff dipping into the bench, and as Stevens has pointed out, the Celtics have seven or eight players who can conceivably finish games on a nightly basis.

That leaves the young players in an intriguing spot. They’re still improving and trying to find their niche in the league as role players. But they’ll need to prove they deserve minutes for a team with more veterans.

Langford figures to get more minutes in the coming games, Udoka said. Monday was about specific lineups, and the third-year pro out of Indiana will get some more opportunities in the other preseason games.

“We’re looking at different lineups,” Udoka said. “So he’ll get more of a shot in another game and another guy might not. So we want to see him with the starting lineup and the second unit as well. Credit to him for staying ready and coming in the fourth quarter and hitting those big shots.”


Bob
MY NOTE:  Interesting that Ime is saying Romeo will get more minutes in upcoming games.  Richardson and Nesmith figure to be getting minutes off the bench too.  How will Ime spread it around?


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BTW, I'll re-post this in the proper thread when it presents itself but I'm going to go on the record as doubling down on BKN from my previous prediction.  

The fact that Kyrie and now the media are making such a big deal about his vaccinated status and it becoming a huge distraction to the team and its future trek to a perceived championship shows that not only have they not learned anything from last year's train wreck, they've doubled down on their thought that they can still win a championship in spite of all the noise and total lack of unity.  My wife's paycheck isn't enough to cover this new bet.  Going to have to come up with something different.  

I'm on the fence as to when the wheels will actually come off, since they made it to the 2nd round last season before folding up.  With Kyrie going out on his own yet again here showing complete self-centeredness and complete disregard for the team, I couldn't make this up if I tried nor help dig BKN's grave any faster going into this season.  BKN is going to regret not blowing this ill-fated lab experiment up last season.  I tried to tell them!

I'd like to blame this upcoming season's demise on a ongoing injury or injuries to KD or Harden, which for their age and history suggests this would be a sucker's bet, but I believe this season for BKN will be taken care of by an internal nuclear bomb-like personality-type explosion that will take everyone with it.  Given the mixture of those 3 narcissists and the hubris/arrogance of management and ownership, this looks like the safer, guaranteed bet.      

I think Shaq (or maybe Perk) suggested BKN ax Kyrie...Right now.  He's right or whoever said that.  Couldn't happen to a nicer, more deserving guy.   But alas, BKN management is still comfortably riding on the Titanic.   

Kyrie is about to discover very quickly no one cares anymore about his antics or even if his elevator reaches the top floor or is a few bricks short of a full load.  (Non one really cared about his carrying on in the first place.) Get on board like Wiggins in GS did reasoning for himself or find yourself on the outside looking in.  There's no more platform.  Never was one.

db

dbrown

Two of the top 5 teams in the East have problems.

The Sixers will have to move on from Simmons. They have to make a trade and no team is willing to pay the full asking price. One day they will be advertising: Reduced, Divorce forces sale.

The Nets have had to deal with Kyrie's ongoing injury history as well as his penchant for sabotaging the team. That was before NYC implemented the vaccination mandate. The Nets are a top team but they would have to fight like hell to win with 2/3 of their big 3. KD and JH have been very supportive of Kyrie but that relationship could fracture.

dboss wrote:Romeo should be ready to play a role this season.

I would not put to much weight behind his high school achievements.

Dis Indiana high school hoops at your own peril. But third highest PPG for a freshman in IU history behind only Mike Woodson and Eric Gordon and doing it with a torn ligament in his thumb is nothing to sneeze at. My point is that we should not be surprised when he scores. That's what he's expected to do.

dboss,

That's where I'm placing my money.  On the fracture.  Until those two bring the GM along and say, "Hey look, we know you're a bit wackadoodle, but we can't win a title here this year in BKN without you.  So, you either go get the dang shot today, shut the eff up and play or Mr. Marks here has your trade/severance papers for you to sign in the next 15 minutes.  Otherwise your contract is null and void and BKN owes you nothing."

Something like that will work.

db

atcross wrote:

dboss wrote:Romeo should be ready to play a role this season.

I would not put to much weight behind his high school achievements.

Dis Indiana high school hoops at your own peril. But third highest PPG for a freshman in IU history behind only Mike Woodson and Eric Gordon and doing it with a torn ligament in his thumb is nothing to sneeze at. My point is that we should not be surprised when he scores. That's what he's expected to do.

It's HS basketball.  So while I do expect him to make some shots he is still a ways from living up to the hype.

dboss wrote:

atcross wrote:

dboss wrote:Romeo should be ready to play a role this season.

I would not put to much weight behind his high school achievements.

Dis Indiana high school hoops at your own peril. But third highest PPG for a freshman in IU history behind only Mike Woodson and Eric Gordon and doing it with a torn ligament in his thumb is nothing to sneeze at. My point is that we should not be surprised when he scores. That's what he's expected to do.

It's HS basketball.  So while I do expect him to make some shots he is still a ways from living up to the hype.

IU is not HS. I don't think his stats are hype. Hoosier Hysteria may add hype but it doesn't add stats.

atcross wrote:

dboss wrote:

atcross wrote:

dboss wrote:Romeo should be ready to play a role this season.

I would not put to much weight behind his high school achievements.

Dis Indiana high school hoops at your own peril. But third highest PPG for a freshman in IU history behind only Mike Woodson and Eric Gordon and doing it with a torn ligament in his thumb is nothing to sneeze at. My point is that we should not be surprised when he scores. That's what he's expected to do.

It's HS basketball.  So while I do expect him to make some shots he is still a ways from living up to the hype.

IU is not HS. I don't think his stats are hype. Hoosier Hysteria may add hype but it doesn't add stats.

Atcross

I will continue to be surprised when Romeo scores until such time that he becomes a verifiable consistent scorer. I cannot use HS or Indiana as a bench mark because he has not shown the same proclivity to score at the NBA level. I am glad that he played well the other night in limited minutes.

Ime also said he may get a start during the preseason.

It’s difficult to tell what kind of scorer he can be. He’s basically been injured/extremely limited the past 3 years. Last time he was healthy, he was an elite high school scorer.

KyleCleric wrote:It’s difficult to tell what kind of scorer he can be. He’s basically been injured/extremely limited the past 3 years. Last time he was healthy, he was an elite high school scorer.

RL has a lot to work on as do several of our young guys. He may never become a high end scorer because he looks slow off the bounce in creating separation. The sample size is small 15.7 MPG last year and I do not see him in our top 9-10 rotation this year.