The MAINE Celtics 2022-2023

Starting a thread so we can keep track of our "other Celtic team".


Some nice stuff here from JD.





Bob



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JD sure has plenty of ups.

They have played just 2 games. Kabangele is averaging 17 and 9.

The Celtics are sitting at 6-3 on the strength of their offense most notably the volume and accuracy of 3 point shooting.

We are 27th in the league in rebounds compared to 12th last season. Our center rotation has been abysmal. our centers do not control the glass and they do not defend the paint. We have seen Noah, Kornet, Blake and Al. Al's 6 rebounds per game is the lowest of his career.

I think the Celtics need to give Kabengele an opportunity to play. So far we have seen everyone else except for him. In cases like these you have to ask yourself if the guys that have been playing are doing the job.

So far, fans on this site have made the correct observations on the need for the Celtics to play Brogdon and Hauser more minutes.

I think it is way past the time for Kabengele to get some gametime.

By the way, JD looks good. Once he improves on his 3 point shooting his value will increase. He definitely has point guard skills.

Kabengele vs the Long Island Nets (sans Dr. J, Super John Williamson, Larry Kenon, Tiny Archibald, Rick Barry, "The Whopper" Billy Paultz and a host of others who made names for themselves in the NBA).

The announcer says the Maine Celtics lead the G-League in 3pt fgm.  Not surprising, is it?

Fi needs to show he can hit outside shots.  That is a requirement for all NBA players now, including dominant bigs.




Bob


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They say, and I believe, that point guards aren't taught, they're born. JD Davison looks like he was born to play point. He seems to know where all his teammates are at all times.





Bob


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Kornet's lifetime 3 point % is 33.1 Vonleh has only attempted 0.3 per game during his NBA career. Kabengele's career percentage from deep is 31.4, but he showed good form in the Summer League and is 3 for 8, 37.5 %, in Maine. The only celtic center who can hit 3s with regularity is Horford. Why are we requiring K to do what none of the other backup centers can do?

In 3 games Kabengele is avg 29.8 minutes 18.7 points 11 rebounds 1.7 blocks. We could use some of that production here on this team now IMHO.

cowens/oldschool wrote:In 3 games Kabengele is avg 29.8 minutes 18.7 points 11 rebounds 1.7 blocks. We could use some of that production here on this team now IMHO.

Cow,

Here's Fi's G-League stats.  He's shooting 46.2% from 3, so far., this season.  Last year he shot 25%.  Unfortunately this stat sheet doesn't tell me how many total 3pt fgas that 46% is based upon.  I suspect the answer to that would be "not many", so it might be very misleading, but it's better to start off hot and look good than to start off like Grant did in his rookie year and go ohfer-25.

No player in NBA history has ever shot 46% from 3 for his career and Fi isn't going to be the first, but if he can shoot 35% (which is still below league average) for real, on a respectable number of attempts, then yeah, get him to Boston.  At least until RWill is back, and then we'll see.

Although, I have to say, if Blake can't get off the bench except to start when Al's resting there should be very little confidence Kabengele would get minutes even if he was with the team.  Joe seems to have decided how he wants to work his bigs.  We have the #1 record in the league at 11-3 and we're on a 7 game winning streak, so I'm not inclined to second-guess Joe at this time.


https://stats.gleague.nba.com/player/1629662/


Bob


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149-100.  They were up 52 at one point.

Maine team record 26 3p fgm.  A chip of of Joe's block.





Bob


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bobheckler wrote:They say, and I believe, that point guards aren't taught, they're born.  JD Davison looks like he was born to play point.  He seems to know where all his teammates are at all times.





Bob


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I disagree even though some can show point skills right away, look at Smart. Was he ready to play full time point his first 3-4 years? Look at him now. We might have really found a diamond in the rough in Davidson, so strong and athletic and just a baby. If he develops his jumper/shot, look out….

No reason not to give the kid a shot. He's athletic, plays hard and can rebound. Rebounding is something we need. Luke has surprised everyone, but who knows if he will maintain this level of play. It is always good to have options.

cowens/oldschool wrote:

bobheckler wrote:They say, and I believe, that point guards aren't taught, they're born.  JD Davison looks like he was born to play point.  He seems to know where all his teammates are at all times.





Bob


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I disagree even though some can show point skills right away, look at Smart. Was he ready to play full time point his first 3-4 years? Look at him now. We might have really found a diamond in the rough in Davidson, so strong and athletic and just a baby. If he develops his jumper/shot, look out….

Cow,

Smart was focused on his defense early on. In his rookie year Rondo and IT were on the team and were running point. Evan Turner was on that team too and, if you remember, Brad used him as a point forward.

Davison is averaging 6.0apg and 4.1TOpg. That's not that great on the turnover side, and that's against the slower, smaller G-league. He needs to be left in the pot a little longer, he's not fully cooked yet.


Bob


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bobheckler wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:

bobheckler wrote:They say, and I believe, that point guards aren't taught, they're born.  JD Davison looks like he was born to play point.  He seems to know where all his teammates are at all times.





Bob


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I disagree even though some can show point skills right away, look at Smart. Was he ready to play full time point his first 3-4 years? Look at him now. We might have really found a diamond in the rough in Davidson, so strong and athletic and just a baby. If he develops his jumper/shot, look out….

Cow,

Smart was focused on his defense early on.  In his rookie year Rondo and IT were on the team and were running point.  Evan Turner was on that team too and, if you remember, Brad used him as a point forward.

Davison is averaging 6.0apg and 4.1TOpg.  That's not that great on the turnover side, and that's against the slower, smaller G-league.  He needs to be left in the pot a little longer, he's not fully cooked yet.


Bob


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Totally agree, I wasn’t saying put him on the varsity yet, keep him at JV; let him keep getting reps, can definitely see why Brad drafted him, kid can be a very good player.

Inside JD Davison’s transformation into one of the G League’s top playmakers


By Khari Thompson Boston.com Staff,
Updated February 18, 2023, 5:00 a.m.



PORTLAND, Maine — It’s late January and JD Davison, playing for the Maine Celtics, sets a pick at the top of the key.

He screens for the ball-handler, then opens his stance, faking as if he’s looking for a pass while taking a step back.

The tiny shift creates just enough of an opening for Davison to race down the left side of the lane, using an elbow screen from a big and taking off from the block for a forceful two-handed alley-oop.

It’s the kind of electrifying athletic play the lone rookie in the Celtics’ 2022 draft class routinely makes. A 6-foot-1-inch, 195-pound point guard, Davison is capable of rising up and catching lobs off of designed alley-oop plays.

An explosive first step, open-court speed, scoring ability, and an extensive list of highlight-reel dunks earned Davison a five-star recruiting ranking in high school when he was considered as one of the top-15 prospects in his class.


“The first thing is, he’s fast,” says Maine guard Kamar Baldwin. “First step, everything. Sees the floor really well. He doesn’t get sped up, he’s always attacking and getting everyone the ball.”

Since being selected with the No. 53 pick in last year’s NBA Draft, Davison has split time between Boston and G League affiliate Maine as he shapes his natural ability into a skill set that will allow him to thrive at the professional level.

For the 20-year-old guard who played one year of college basketball at Alabama, that means rounding out his game as a more efficient playmaker.

After leading the Summer League in assists, Davison’s success has carried over into the regular season.


Leading the G League’s highest-rated offense

Davison leads all two-way players in assists per game with 8.8, more than twice as many as he averaged in college. With 145 total assists against 49 turnovers, his assist-to-turnover ratio is 2.96.

“I just think he’s doing a really good job getting into the paint,” Maine Celtics coach Alex Barlow said. “In high school and college, when you get into the paint it’s a little bit easier to score than it is at this level. He could just jump over dudes pretty easily at that level and finish. Here, guys are a step quicker, so as he’s getting into the paint someone is rotating over a step quicker than they were in college or high school, so someone else is open.”

Davison has always been able to read defenses and see the floor well, but one of the main pre-draft concerns was if he’d be able to put it together consistently so his game would translate to the NBA.

At the G League level, he’s shown consistency hasn’t been much of an issue. Davison has the second-fewest turnovers per game (2.6) among the league’s top-five assist leaders He’s helped lead Maine to a league-best offensive rating of 119.4. And he’s shooting 51.8 percent from the field.

“I think the game is slowing down for him,” Baldwin said. “When he first started he was doing well also, but once you get in the system playing in the G League, you learn the speed of the game and things start slowing down for you. I feel like he’s seeing things before they happen. He’s making the right reads and people are getting easy shots because of it.”

Barlow pointed out that Davison is getting hard-earned assists in the half-court offense instead of just in transition, a sign of his ability to run the offense and create open looks for others.

“There’s not many guys that can just blow by dudes like he does,” Barlow said. “As he continues to grow and get more reps and experience, he’s going to get really good at being like this is a kick, this is a finish, this is ‘oh I’m in the paint nobody’s open, I’m going to keep dribbling it out and then I play.’ He’s made a lot of strides in that area.”


Always repping Lowndes County

Portland, Maine, is almost 1,400 miles away from Letohatchee, Alabama, where Davison played high school basketball at The Calhoun School just two years ago.

He grew up in Lowndes County the same area as four-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace.

Davison’s eyes light up when he speaks of home. It’s where he learned to dunk in the backyard by pulling a trampoline close to the basketball hoop.

“I’m always repping my hometown no matter where I’m at,” Davison said. “A lot of people don’t know what it is. A lot of people from my hometown will tell you they’re from Montgomery. I’m always telling people I’m from Lowndes County, because that’s where I was born, that’s where I was raised, that’s where my friends and family are.”

To say Davison has been a source of inspiration for the county of just more than 10,000 people would be an understatement.

The title of a 2020 Montgomery Advertiser profile on Davison reads: “God may have ‘forgot’ Lowndes County, but he blessed it with 4-star point guard JD Davison.”

The piece quotes Phillip Alston, an expert on extreme poverty and human rights for the United Nations: “I traveled to a lot of places in the US where poverty jumps out from behind every corner,” he said, “but Lowndes County is one of the bleakest and most determinedly neglected counties once one gets out of the city area and into the rural parts.”

As Davison puts it, he’s from the “country, country” part of Alabama, where they ride four-wheelers and ATVs for fun. He remembers the food shop inside of a local Chevron gas station — he claims it has the “best pizza in the world.” He remembers running up hills in the summer heat with his older brothers as he trained.

His mom Katrina sends him daily words of encouragement and bible scriptures via text message. She said being in Boston to see Davison score his first NBA points in November was the coolest moment of her life.

She’s intensely proud of her son, and she said the best two words to sum him up would be “quiet and humble.”

“JD hardly goes anywhere,” his mother said. “After practice, if he’s not shooting, he’s in his room playing video games. He’s always been like that. We’re from a very small town. What you do is sports and home.”

As he continues to climb toward his NBA dream here in New England, Davison hasn’t forgotten about that small town in rural Alabama.

“It’s small,” Davison said. “But the people in the town work for everything that they’ve got. That definitely translates to my game, because once you see everyone working hard to feed their family it’s just built in my genes to go hard.”


Bob
MY NOTE:  He's only shooting 34% from 3 in Maine, so that MUST come up to make it in today's NBA (especially if he's going to replace Payton next year).  That's the bad news.  The good news is that he's shooting 52% from the field.  That means he's either not taking a lot of 3s, not enough to really dilute his fg%, or his 2pt fg% is sky-high.  As this link shows, scrolling down to 'Scoring Splits', 26.5% of his points come from 3pt fgas.  I don't see how that's anywhere near as many 3pt fgas as Joe would like.  To fit into Joe's system he needs to shoot a lot more 3pt shots and he needs to do a lot better than 34% on them.

https://stats.gleague.nba.com/player/1631120/



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