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Post by DERRENMATTS on Nov 21, 2020 16:41:31 GMT -5
We lost Gordon Hayward, Vincent Poirier, Enes Kanter and possibly Brad Wanamaker.
But the old adage in football is, Next Man Up.
All is not lost — on the contrary, I think a fire will be lit under our players that will cause them to play with a big chip on their shoulders because they know not one publication will give them a chance to win the East, let alone the championship.
Tatum and Jaylen have another level to reach, and Kemba will prove he’s not washed up. Marcus always plays with a chip. Grant Williams is already thinking of ways he can contribute more. RWill still has all the talent in the world, and his confidence is growing. He made some big impressions in flashes — let’s see it more consistently.
Theis is solid and knows Brad’s system.
Nesmith and Pritchard will come out shooting, and it’s a good thing they are good shooters.
Not expecting much from Romeo early on, since he’s still wearing a cast on his hand. But by mid season, Romeo should be back on track.
But it all comes down to Tatum and Jaylen’s impact. They need to play with the attitide to prove doubters wrong.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Nov 21, 2020 21:26:02 GMT -5
Add Jeff Teague and Tristan Thompson to the roster.
They are playoff tested players who know their roles, and should add veteran know-how to this young team.
I like it 👍
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Nov 21, 2020 21:29:54 GMT -5
Wonder if Theis or Thompson will start?
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Nov 23, 2020 12:39:31 GMT -5
Wonder which international player Ainge will sign this year? Look at the players he’s brought over in recent years:
Gigi Datome Vitor Faverani Shane Larkin Daniel Theis Brad Wanamaker Vincent Poirier
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Post by jmost on Nov 24, 2020 10:51:24 GMT -5
Tacko has agreed to another two-way contract with the Celtics/Red Claws, so we get to keep him, and develop him further, without needing to allocate a roster spot to him.
We are better at backup PG with Teague and Pritchard replacing Wanamaker. Brad was solid but Teague is better.
We are better at center with Thompson replacing Kanter and Poirier. Better defensive rebounding and defense. Maybe not as good on the offensive boards. Apparently Thompson started shooting 3s at decent clip last year too.
Time will tell how much we miss Gordon. If Nesmith can step right in and hit open 3s we'll miss Gordon's playmaking skills the most. Maybe Teague can help there.
I think we'll be approx as good as last year, but with the ability to match up better with quality centers.
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Post by eja117 on Nov 24, 2020 11:06:14 GMT -5
Tacko has agreed to another two-way contract with the Celtics/Red Claws, so we get to keep him, and develop him further, without needing to allocate a roster spot to him. We are better at backup PG with Teague and Pritchard replacing Wanamaker. Brad was solid but Teague is better. We are better at center with Thompson replacing Kanter and Poirier. Better defensive rebounding and defense. Maybe not as good on the offensive boards. Apparently Thompson started shooting 3s at decent clip last year too. Time will tell how much we miss Gordon. If Nesmith can step right in and hit open 3s we'll miss Gordon's playmaking skills the most. Maybe Teague can help there. I think we'll be approx as good as last year, but with the ability to match up better with quality centers. I think losing GH is an addition by subtraction move. I think the one of the steps badly needed that could happen is significant improvement from Romeo, R Will, G Will, C Edwards, Tacko, and Tremont. Or at least two of these key guys. I am looking forward to seeing Nesmith vs Romeo. I'm also looking forward to seeing R Will vs G Will. I'm also looking forward to seeing PP vs Tremont vs C Edwards. And a guy on his last chance who really needs to show something is Semi. I don't see him emerging, but you never know. He could beat out G Will.
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Post by jmost on Nov 24, 2020 11:20:24 GMT -5
I don't see any role for Edwards on this team. He doesn't have PG skills and he isn't as good a shooter as Nesmith.
Of the guys you mentioned, I'd be thrilled if Tremont or PP showed stepped up as playmakers and pushed Teague, because I think we need guys who can create off the dribble. Romeo showed the ability to get into the paint - but needs to improve his results once he's in there.
RWill showed, on a few occasions, the ability to hit 10 footers. They weren't really even jumpers; more set shots. But if he can extend his range a little maybe we could play him side by side with either Theis or Thompson, giving us stronger interior D.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Nov 24, 2020 20:13:53 GMT -5
Guys, I’m excited about the future of this team, as in the 2021-2022 team and going forward. What Ainge has done the last couple of drafts is accumulate solid and inexpensive role players to surround our superstar in the making Tatum and our other All-Star in the making Jaylen Brown.
We’re on our way toward filling our roster with capable players. Shooters, defenders, athletes, height, length, ball handling, wings, etc. Not many holes. It’s like a baseball lineup that has every single batter averaging better than .280.
And once Kemba’s contract is done, or we trade him, we’ll have space to add another big time star.
Who knows if Giannis is going to be here, but Ainge has put us in good position to be ready to make a play for that 3rd star.
Once RWill, GWill, Langford, Nesmith and Pritchard (and a couple more drafts of acquiring solid players) are ready to perform in the heat of the playoffs, we’re in the mix to make the Finals out of the East. Just need that 3rd star.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Nov 30, 2020 2:44:34 GMT -5
This is officially Year 1 of the Jayson Tatum era.
The training wheels have been removed and this is now his team. It actually started the second half of the 2019-2020 season, when Tatum sported incredible numbers across the board. But as long as Hayward was around, and Kemba was healthy, it was still a three headed monster. But now with Gordon gone and Kemba’s arthritic knee, the onus is now squarely on Tatum for him to carry this team.
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Post by jmost on Nov 30, 2020 11:32:49 GMT -5
Maybe JB will step up too. JT posted bigger scoring numbers but JB had a helluva season too, and I'd argue he did it while being overly deferential at times.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Nov 30, 2020 12:15:35 GMT -5
Maybe JB will step up too. JT posted bigger scoring numbers but JB had a helluva season too, and I'd argue he did it while being overly deferential at times. I really want to believe that Jaylen can be the No. 2 guy on a championship, I really do. I had doubts about him on draft day, and it’s carried on since. But he’s been proving me wrong every step of the way. I mean, he averaged 20 ppg last season without being the main focus. If he can bump that up to 22-23, I think I’m finally be convinced.
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Post by jmost on Nov 30, 2020 14:06:02 GMT -5
I think he could score 25 PPG if he took one extra shot per quarter. As a team we really need to do a better job of having the better shooters take the shots. NOT Smart!
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Post by freshnthehouse on Nov 30, 2020 14:26:48 GMT -5
And the big thing is both JT and JB are excellent defensive players. Having two all-star caliber two-way wings in today's day and age is huge. And they're both here for at least the next 2 years. These are good times to be a celtic fan.
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Post by jhvos7979 on Nov 30, 2020 14:41:28 GMT -5
To improve this roster, we definitely need to see more organic growth among our player development especially from the youngsters on the bench. Romeo, GWILL and Neismith need to step-up at the tweener spot to add efficient minutes to cover some of the lapse production that'll be miss with GH departure. Without that growth, I would suspect Ainge will need to use TPE to supply bench scoring that this team desperately need. I have no issues with the big-man spot especially with the TT addition. If he can provide spot-up 3-point shooting with good PnR defense he'll definitely replace Theis as the starter. Teague is also great addition as his play making skill set and shot creation add sufficient production for the 2nd unit or spot-up starts on offense. We will see on the young guards as Water/Edwards/Pritchard will be question-mark going forward. If they can get some spark-plug scoring from any of those three will be great help in improving the bad bench scoring that we had last season.
I suspect Tatum/Brown/Smart will improve statistically on the offensive side but, not substantial enough to cover the play making capabilities that Gordon brought to this roster. Hoping internally Celtics can cover those gaps so TPE get use on All-star caliber player than fixing bench issues. Outside on using a big TPE on a talented player will be lackluster especially going forward they'll be up against the luxury tax after JT extension start to count against the salary cap.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Nov 30, 2020 14:55:04 GMT -5
Agreed, JHVOS. The biggest help will come internally (though the additions of Thompson and Teague should be felt).
GWill, I think, will have a much more noticeable impact, both defensively and offensively. He’ll be an impactful role player.
I do feel good about Pritchard and Nesmith — think they’ll be contributing early on with their perimeter shooting.
I don’t think we’ll see much from Romeo early on. But Romro and RWill have the upside we’re banking on, so the sooner they refine their game, the better.
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