Brad Stevens: Boston Celtics big man David Lee like a point-forward

Brad Stevens: Boston Celtics big man David Lee like a point-forward





Boston Celtics player David Lee listens to a question during the Boston Celtics media day at their training facility in Waltham, Mass., Friday, Sept. 25, 2015. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)


Print Email Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com

on October 01, 2015 at 5:53 PM





WALTHAM -- Early in training camp, David Lee's passing has excited the Boston Celtics.

The big man's court vision was on full display during an intrasquad scrimmage Tuesday night. Several of Boston's best ball-movement sequences featured Lee in some fashion, whether he was firing outlet passes or delivering great looks out of the pick-and-roll. One perfect full-court bounce pass hit a streaking Tyler Zeller in stride for a transition layup at the other end of the court.

"He's a playmaker," head coach Brad Stevens said Thursday before practice. "The old term point-forward probably applies to him with how we want to play, especially if he's playing when Isaiah (Thomas is) not in, in those types of situations, because I think he's a guy you can play through, he's a guy that plays with the ball in the middle of the floor. He's played in spacing systems before. The game comes pretty easy passing the ball."

When Thomas is on the bench, especially, the Celtics run a lot of offense through their big men. Lee won't operate as an actual point guard, but should work well in a playmaking capacity since he has been finding open teammates for a long time.

The big man isn't known for his defense, but has drawn a few compliments on that end so far.

"David is a guy I think can add to us defensively," Stevens said, "especially from his knowledge and his ability to communicate and tell people where to be and directing and telling people where to be, and will continue to guard 4s and 5s for us."

Boston's other frontcourt addition, Amir Johnson, is known for his defense. With those two veterans in the fold, plenty of Celtics are fighting for minutes at the 4 and 5. Stevens referenced that competition when asked about Jared Sullinger's conditioning.

"We've done a lot of work," the coach said. "We've done some running, we've done all that stuff, and I think that he is running, especially in the running at the end, well. I think we all probably need to continue to get into game shape. And I don't expect anybody to be in game shape on Oct. 3. I think that's part of the process of getting ready. He's in a competition with a lot of guys for minutes, but he's a good player and he's done a lot of good things.

"I thought the other day (at the scrimmage) he didn't have the benefit of getting in the rhythm, because (he had) a couple of offensive fouls where, the one he had Kelly (Olynyk) sealed and probably would have been a layup otherwise. And then our guys doubled him. He was the only guy they doubled in the post and he made great plays to Tyler (Zeller) and got Tyler a couple of open looks. So he's playing pretty well, but again it's stiff competition at that spot."



bob
MY NOTE:  As I have said all along, I think we are all going to be very happy with Lee's rebounding and passing.  If his defense is no worse than ok, then he's a plus.  The onus will be, I think, on Evan Turner to adapt.  He's not going to have the ball in his hands in the halfcourt as much anymore.  Last year we had no choice, we really didn't have a "point-anything" except for him after Rondo left and IT arrived.  This year we have Lee.  Will he run full court with the ball like a point guard?  I sure hope not, but the ball will move in the half court. Notice that Brad said he expects the ball to go through Lee more when IT is sitting. Didn't even mention Turner.


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dboss wrote:Bob

I read where they want to see Turner paly off the ball more.  They want him to become more of a wing player however last year there was a degree of recognition that Turner plays better when he has the ball in his hands.  It will be interesting to see how this will impact his productivity.

And also they want to see Smart step up and run the offense.  Smart in all likely hood will be the starting PG just like last year except they want him to develop into a PG that can run the offense.  Lee will be a guy that will read defenses and make passes but that is really not the same thing as a guy that can put the ball on the floor and run the offense.

I do not really see Lee as a Point Forward.  

dboss

dboss,

I agree.  Lee is not a point forward as I have heard it described and defined.  He is going to be a great read-and-react passer in the half court and he will open eyes with his outlet passes but a point forward has to be able to put it on the floor and push it up court. Kelly is much more of a point forward than Lee. We have seen Kelly dribble full court.

Evan Turner has never been an off-the-ball player.  He wasn't in Philly and he wasn't in Indy (he wasn't much of anything except dead meat in Indy).  He is not a traditional wing.  That is both his strength and his weakness.  He's also not much of a point forward either, since I can't remember ever seeing him running a fast break with the ball.  If they want to see Evan Turner play off the ball more, make more cuts and get open for shots I predict he will not be on this team by the trade deadline.  He might not anyway, who knows who will with Danny stalking the sidelines like Death at a battlefield, but this will move his name up on the "to be traded" list.  I hope I'm wrong, but it isn't just a skill he needs to develop like the corner 3 or free throws, it's a completely different way to play his game and that's a big deal.


bob


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Didn't mention Turner. He also seemed measured in his assessment of Sullinger, like he was looking for a positive to say, unlike Lee, where the compliments came easy.

When discussing Sullinger's conditioning, if the guy had truly been working out as we'd been led to believe, I'd think that Stevens would've noted how much better his conditioning was compared to prior training camps. Instead, Stevens gave a generic line about how no one is in game shape yet.

At this point, there's a lot of parsing of statements and reading tea leaves. Once the season starts, we'll see how the minutes are allotted, at the 4 and 5 in particular, which rookies are on the big club roster, and how well everyone plays. I won't be surprised if Johnson and Lee start, and we'll see what happens to Turner.

[quote="bobheckler"]

dboss wrote:dboss,

I agree.  Lee is not a point forward as I have heard it described and defined.  He is going to be a great read-and-react passer in the half court and he will open eyes with his outlet passes but a point forward has to be able to put it on the floor and push it up court.  Kelly is much more of a point forward than Lee.  We have seen Kelly dribble full court.

Exactly. A point forward may not bring the ball up the court all the time, but even when he doesn't, he gets the ball right away and then initiates a traditional offense like a traditional point guard. Pierce served that role whenever Rondo wasn't available.

What Lee can do is create and dish when he does get the ball. In a pace-and-space offense, the key is that the ball doesn't "stick" with any one player, to keep the ball moving until you find a quality shot. What Lee can do is attack with the ball, finish pretty well around the basket, and find open teammates with both interior passes or kickouts when they have a better opportunity. Those are important skills that are well-suited to what Stevens wants to do, but it's not really being a point forward.

I don't see Lee as a 'point' forward either. And, I would not want to see him so far from the hoop either as his interior game has been his strength as an NBA player whether it is rebounding, scoring around the hoop or passing when nearer to the basket.

Be patient with worrying about playing time. It will all workout to start the real season and then will work out later when changes are made along the way.

50 wins this season!!!!