David Lee will have a bounce back season with the Boston Celtics

David Lee will have a bounce back season with the Boston Celtics
Posted on August 31, 2015 by Chris Barnewall






Mar 5, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo (9) and Golden State Warriors power forward David Lee (right) go for a loose ball during the first half at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports



David Lee was once one of the top box score-stuffing big men in the NBA. It was never a rarity to see his name at the top of a scoring chart to end that night’s NBA action, and sometimes he’d top the rebound totals as well. His career that started with the New York Knicks, and continued with the Golden State Warriors; Lee was a constant source of statistical production no matter where he went. Twice he has averaged 20 points per game, and four times has he averaged 10-plus rebounds. A consistent double-double threat, Lee was pure volume production. His efficiency numbers were nothing crazy, but it’s hard to complain about a player that’s averaging over 18 points and nine rebounds per night. Maybe that’s how he found himself on two all-star teams, one with the Knicks and another with the Warriors.

For many fans and experts, pure production can overshadow other important parts of the game such as fit and versatility. Lee, despite how good he is, can be a problem at times for certain teams due to these factors. The NBA is no longer a league where players can post up, rely on two-pointers, and play an inefficient style. Big men of a certain sort are getting squeezed, and there’s an expectation that they bring something on the defensive end to make up for their sometimes naturally inefficient play style. This raises a lot of questions about Lee. Is the good that he brings helpful for his team, or do his numbers only benefit him, and how much does his play on defense help or harm the teams he plays for?

These questions about Lee were under a massive spotlight during his final season with the Warriors. Under new head coach Steve Kerr, Lee’s role changed drastically. He was no longer a focal point of the offense that was allowed to take 14 shots per game. In fact, he was lucky to see the court at all, and was reduced to a situational matchup role. Quite a fall from grace for a player that was an All-Star in 2013.

Why did Lee’s role change? Well, fit was the biggest part of it. The Warriors already had plenty of scoring in Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. On top of this, the entire perimeter was filled with three-point shooting. Inside, they had a defensive monster in Andrew Bogut that could create with his passing. Lee, a historically poor defender with an inside game, didn’t fit the system Kerr wanted to run.

Now usually when there’s a player that doesn’t fit, a good coach can still find a role for them in some shape or form. That’s what Kerr did, but it still wasn’t getting the most it could out of a player like Lee. The problem is that the Warriors couldn’t afford to play Lee outside of situations that fit him. When he was on the floor, the Warriors defensive rating went from an incredible 97, to a very poor 105.8. To compare, when Draymond Green was on the floor the Warriors had a defensive rating of 96, and when he was off their defensive rating rose to 102.1. Somehow, Lee was even worse than the typical drop in defense the Warriors faced when their best defender left the floor.

So it’s safe to say that Lee has a lot of faults. That said, he’s still an incredible player that is being very overlooked due to his one season on the bench. At the moment, Lee’s popularity rating among fans and experts is probably at an all time low. Lee was traded to the Boston Celtics over the summer, and there’s talk that maybe the Celtics should play some of their other big men over him, or that he’s not as good as what they already have. Not only is this ridiculous, but it’s massively overlooking the good that comes from raw production.

The Boston Celtics aren’t a very good team despite their playoff run last year. Outside of Marcus Smart, their roster is full of role players with what appears to be limited upside, and what’s holding it all together is a great young coach in Brad Stevens. Would a roster like this really be making the playoffs, even in the east, without a player like Stevens?

Throw in the addition of Lee, and all of a sudden things change for the Celtics. He may be 32, and has recently battled some injuries, but Lee’s ability to purely produce has not changed. Last season, Lee’s per 36 numbers were still in double-double territory, and there’s no reason he can’t do that in Boston. He can’t harm the fit of a team that isn’t all that great to begin with, and if anything what the Celtics are in need of most right now is someone that can purely produce for them. After all, their offensive rating of 101.7 was only good enough for 20th in the NBA last season. Forget the defense. Forget the spacing. Forget the details. Just give Lee the ball and let him score points.

Sometimes when looking at players it’s possible to go too deep. We get carried away with the details, and overlook the forest for the trees. In many ways this is a good thing. It’s those details that explain to us why David Lee taking a backseat role in Golden State was a good thing. However, it also leads to us overlooking how good some of these players are. Lee is a talented scorer with the potential to pull down 10 rebounds on a nightly basis. What he does isn’t as replaceable as some might think, and a team like the Celtics will benefit from it. Expect a bounce back year from Lee.



bob
MY NOTE:  I agree with the basic premise; if Brad gives him minutes David Lee will give us good production. He won't be in green in 2016-2017 but he will help us in 2015-2016 and he'll be a good mentor to our young'uns and be a double-double guy with 30mpg. He won't get 30mpg, but on a /minute basis he will average that. He is only 32, still has a few years left and he wants to prove his diminished minutes and role last year were due to the emergence of Green and nothing to do with him or his game.


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Lee will be very motivated to not only play well for the Celtics this season but to also show himself as a leader and total team player.

He certainly knows that next summer he will sign his last big money contract in the NBA and will want some nice stats and some nice things noticed about him for his season in Boston. He cannot afford to pout about minutes, touches or anything this season and expect to achieve one more pretty decent contract. I predict that he will be a role model in every aspect of his play and team stature as the eldest player on the roster.

He will also have a good season with maybe 12 points per game and 8 rebounds while playing some forward and some center minutes.