Who Should Start In Our Front Court Alongside Porzingis?

I think it's a reasonable assumption that Z will start at one of the big spots.  He may not start at the start of the season, that would depend upon how recovered he is from his plantar fasciitis, but when he's healthy he's going to be a starter.  Brad didn't give up Marcus Smart for a bench player.

But who fills out the rest of the front court?

The choices are:

Jayson Tatum.  It'd be a small starting unit with him being the other big, but it's not crazy talk (in my admittedly less than humble opinion).  Jayson is a very efficient defensive rebounder, but he's undersized to play true "big" for the season.  On the other side of the ball, however, there isn't a big in the game that could even slow him down.    

Al Horford.  The OG.  Definitely a glue guy.  Starting to show his age, but we're talking about starting, not whether he plays 30+mpg.  That's a whole other question.  Playing alongside Z gives us a double-big look, with both bigs being able to play outside.  Both Al and Z are above average high post passers and shooters.  That would open the floor up for cutters because you cannot fall off of either of these two at the arc.  Big Al is also an emotional leader on this team.  Players are inspired by his professionalism and that has value too.

Robert Williams III.  The Time Lord.  Not a threat from outside but the best lob threat in the league when he's healthy (he would have been the #1 fg% shooter in the NBA if he stayed healthy long enough to make the minimum number to qualify).  Pairing him with Z makes us a high-low double big threat.  Both Z and RWill are high quality passing bigs.  In fact, the only big we have that isn't a high quality passer is Luke.  Even then it's pretty good.  Luke's assist-to-turnover ratio is 2:1 (.8apg and .4TOpg).  So, you can go 4 deep on our depth chart at big and that player still has an assist-to-turnover ratio that is better than most bigs (Rudy Gobert's is .4:1.  Nazr Reid, Minny's 3rd center, is .91:1.  Montrezl Harrell of Philly is 1.18:1 and Mo Bamba, also with Philly, is 1.1:1.  Even Embiid's ratio is only 1:1).  Back to RWill, his apg:TOpg ratio is 1.55:1.  Starting him alongside The Unicorn also takes some of the responsibility for interior defense off of Z which will keep him fresher and less battered.  It also creates something we really haven't had in Boston before, and that is a double-big two-man pnr game where both bigs can set the pick and roll effectively or make the pass from on top.  Bird was pretty big, but he didn't play "big", he played a very big SF.  McHale and Parish weren't a pnr pair because they were both black holes.  KG and Perk didn't do that either because of Perk's inadequacies with passing, ball handling and finishing on offense because he kept bringing the ball down below his waist where guards could swipe at it.

A final possibility is that Joe's starting front court will vary from game to game, starting matchup by starting matchup.  I think this would be a very disruptive coaching strategy, but we saw an affinity for that mindset in Joe last season.  Last season was last season, he was thrown into a very high-pressure situation with limited prep time, but this is now and this is his team from the get-go with lots of time to think about how he wants to coach it.

My assumption is that none of our three primary centers will play 30+mpg unless Joe hasn't learned a freaking thing from last year and is completely unaware of his players' injury histories.  So the essence of this poll is to determine who starts, not who plays the most minutes, nor who finishes the games.

Multiple choice is NOT allowed.  Pick a player and explain why you picked him (or, if you vote 'Other', explain what that alternative front court you are forming looks like and why).  Vote Cancelling is allowed, so you can change your mind.  IF YOUR CHANGE YOUR VOTE please explain what the change is and what prompted you to make it.  Who knows?  Maybe you'll convince someone else to rethink their votes too.


Bob


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I picked Rob at center because he can rebound, score via lobs, pass out quite efficiently, and defend. Plus he can give Al a chance to rest and be ready for the playoffs. If RW breaks down early, so be it. We can't baby him forever.

I picked Williams to start the 1st and 3rd quarters paired with Porzingis.

I also want Horford to finish out the first half and be available to finish out the end of the fourth quarter paired with Porzingis. If we are ahead by 20 in the fourth, Horford stays on the bench. In the process, Horford will play less minutes when not needed at the end of games. Over the season, the minutes saved will add up.

I hope the plan is to always have two out of the three (Z, Rob and Al) on the floor together all game long, not counting blowouts. This way, Horford will get enough minutes to keep sharp, while keeping him on the bench whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Smart, Gyso. Smart.

I said Horford.

I'm taking a shortcut here, since Joe has said the lineup is Tatum (3), Horford (4), Pozingis (5), White (1) and Brown (2).

I would start RWIII at C and Porzingis at PF with Horford off the bench. I'm pretty sure Joe isn't too concerned with what I would do, however.

NYCelt wrote:I said Horford.

I'm taking a shortcut here, since Joe has said the lineup is Tatum (3), Horford (4), Pozingis (5), White (1) and Brown (2).

I would start RWIII at C and Porzingis at PF with Horford off the bench. I'm pretty sure Joe isn't too concerned with what I would do, however.

Dang it, you saw the published roster before the question was asked. I do, however, like your last sentence.

I picked RWIII. It's his time. Just as it is everyone else's time THIS YEAR.

I like the Kripsy Porkchop and RWIII sets with all the assists on the line. Heck, they might even hook themselves up for a few RWIII & PK reverse/backdoor/pnr/And 1 dunks!

Al knows his days are numbered. If we start him, he's going to just get injured earlier than we all expect. While the same can and will be said about RWIII, he needs to pull an AD from out West and get some really good minutes on the floor and be effective. We will also more immediately see if RWIII has developed his mid- and 3-point-game effectiveness. Kinda need so see that sooner rather than later since there is no consistency to his injury status. So starting makes sense out of the gate.

We can't discount the switching, situational starting line ups depending upon whom we are playing that night, more so in the playoffs than regular season. But for the regular season, it's the regular season thus giving plenty of time to experiment.

Just had a crazy non-related idea. Has the league ever considered changing up the regular season to look more like the NBA playoffs and/or regular season MLB? Would it not generate more excitement and better gate revenues? I believe most same division conference games are 4 times a season. So you go 2 & 2 for the week. It might even cut the travel budgets in half. Same Conference non-divisionals play 3 times I believe.
That one may be a little more difficult. Vs. opposing Conferences you'd just alternate each year 2 games home, 2 games away.

I don't know just an idea. It would work and possibly save a ton of travel money. MLB is consistent from season through the playoffs using this format.

db

I think Al should start, who knows how long ? Just remember that he ran out of steam against Miami, we worked him like a horse against Philly and it killed him. His shot was off for the whole Miami series. He will start, be the first off the floor, and then Rob takes over. Al can save what he has to help us pull ahead in the third, and Rob finishes the game?????? My real thinking is....it is tie for Rob to shine, stay healthy and show the world how good he really is, but the fear is there that he will get injured early in the season and BOOM.............there goes all the hopes for him, Four years ago I predicted he would be the starting center for the Celtics after they beat Milwaukee here at home in November. He was phenomenal. I am wishing for that Rob to show up this year for the whole year

Might depend on the opponent and who their bigs are, whether they are bangers or if they can defend the perimeter. Matchups. Just a thought. On the other hand, it might be better to establish a certain rhythym with a regular staring lineup.

There is not doubt about that. Williams cannot handle Embid for sure so you are right there. Depends on the opponent