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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2023 14:24:32 GMT -5
Playing a dangerous game
The Celtics have some tough decisions to make.
By AdamTaylorNBA
:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/72063132/1471956952.0.jpg) Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images
Grant Williams is reportedly dealing with an elbow injury, Robert Williams has a hamstring issue, Payton Pritchard is out, and Marcus Smart has revealed he re-tweaked his ankle during a recent game for the Boston Celtics.
With just a few weeks remaining of the regular season, the Celtics find themselves at a crossroads: do they start sitting some of their primary rotation to allow their starters to heal up before the playoffs begin? Or do they push them to play through the minor tweaks to secure seeding and potentially look to reclaim the #1 seed from the Milwaukee Bucks?
On the latest episode of Vitamin C’s, I propose potentially moving Marcus Smart and Robert Williams to the bench for the remainder of the season. Derrick White has shown enough to earn himself a spot in the starting rotation, and reducing the workload on Smart can give him time to heal while also re-discovering his best form on both sides of the ball.
Furthermore, the Celtics would also be keeping Williams fresh for the postseason, when his defensive upside will be at its most valuable, at which point, you can start throwing out lineups dependent on matchups (as should be the case, of course.)
One thing which I state should be a non-starter is moving Malcolm Brogdon into the starting five — he’s been phenomenal as the Celtics' sixth man and has been available for the majority of the season. Piling additional workload onto his body this close to the postseason should be avoided at all costs; after all, Brogdon was acquired to resolve the lack of on-ball creation on Boston’s bench when facing set half-court defenses in...the playoffs!
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2023 15:19:59 GMT -5
The PR machine for the C's is at work pumping Kornet:
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2023 15:42:46 GMT -5
Wag the dog: finding the best version of the Celtics heading into the playoffs
Are Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown products of the Celtics offense or does Boston rely on their two All-Stars?
By wjsy
![]() Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
There’s no doubt that Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are superstars, but as Weiss points out, not in the same “heliocentric” way that we traditionally define superstars. They can of course create off the dribble and out of the pick-and-roll and spray the ball to open teammates. The great ones all can and do — to an extent. For the Celtics, head coach Joe Mazzulla has built a more democratic style of basketball and President of Basketball of Operations Brad Stevens has filled the roster with players to complement it.
"The Celtics head coach can field a fivesome where everybody can do everything all the time."
The Jays will still get the bulk of the shots and all the responsibilities they can handle. However, it’s how all that is generated that makes the biggest difference between a good Celtics team and a great Celtics team that could hang Banner 18 this summer.
During your average Luka Doncic or LeBron James offensive possession, you might see them start working off a screen or even clearing out the side in isolation — a single engine star surrounded by specialists. Boston, on the other hand, has put together an 8-10 man rotation of “do everything” players with Brown and Tatum as their best “do everything” players that work more like the randomness of the Big Bang rather than a solar system of planets revolving around a sun.
You want your best players with the ball in their hands as much as possible, but herein lies the key to Mazzulla ball. The Celtics head coach can field a fivesome where everybody can do everything all the time. And with the ball whipping around the floor quicker than the defense can rotate and eventually, all those defensive recoveries yield a great shot. Maybe eventually it ends up in Jaylen and Jayson's hands, maybe not.
Sam Hauser is a good barometer of how well Boston is moving the ball. This Spain PnR involving Tatum, Malcolm Brogdon, and Blake Griffin ends with neither of them in great scoring position. Instead, it’s Hauser that ends up with — you guessed it — another corner pocket three-pointer. Hauser might actually be the most limited offensive player in the Celtics extended rotation. However, if the ball’s poppin’, it just seems to find him in the right spot. If he’s getting great looks, Boston is playing the right way.
However, if there’s an ideal Celtics player, it’s Derrick White. Back in October, I wrote:
He thrives in Boston’s system like Manu Ginóbili on the beautiful basketball Spurs. Need him to act as a screener like a big and then become a point guard in the short roll? He can do that. Fill a driving lane on a fast break, be a threat in the corner, and cut into space in semi-transition? Sure.
Per ShotQuality, the Celtics rank 4th in adjust shot quality and 1st in Rim & 3 Rate, shooting a whopping 75% of their shots from either behind the arc or at the rim. On Wednesday, Mazzulla addressed some the hand-wringing over the amount of three-pointers the team has taken this year. “I always had a question when we shoot a lot of threes and miss, everybody asks me questions, but when we shoot a lot of layups and miss, nobody asks me anything,” he said after Boston missed ten layups against Portland.
Celtics shot chart vs. Trail Blazers courtesy of NBA Stats
The Celtics shot 19-of-29 in the restricted area and 18-of-49 from behind the arc with just ten of their shots in between. He continued to say that Boston’s shot profile was really good throughout the night, but his comment was another reminder that at Game #67, the Celtics have a very deliberate way they want to approach their offense.
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Post by kyceltic on Mar 11, 2023 15:55:21 GMT -5
Giannis out tonight, maybe the Warriors will help us out!
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Post by kyceltic on Mar 11, 2023 15:56:27 GMT -5
The PR machine for the C's is at work pumping Kornet: BS |
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2023 17:00:10 GMT -5
Blake maynot be able to leap over cars in a dunk contest anymore but if the Globetrotters call he's been working on his "hide & seek" ball skills:
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2023 17:08:22 GMT -5
Giannis out tonight, maybe the Warriors will help us out!
The Warriors will continue to be shorthanded for Saturday’s home game against Milwaukee, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Second-year forward Jonathan Kuminga, who sprained his right ankle in warmups prior to Thursday’s game, has been ruled out, while Andrew Wiggins continues to be away from the team for personal reasons.
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Post by cole on Mar 11, 2023 17:40:45 GMT -5
Giannis out tonight, maybe the Warriors will help us out!
The Warriors will continue to be shorthanded for Saturday’s home game against Milwaukee, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic. Second-year forward Jonathan Kuminga, who sprained his right ankle in warmups prior to Thursday’s game, has been ruled out, while Andrew Wiggins continues to be away from the team for personal reasons.
They have enough. Pick the Warriors. They'll get calls, too |
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Post by elvissurfs on Mar 11, 2023 17:54:56 GMT -5
Giannis out tonight, maybe the Warriors will help us out! Lol, Admin 'liked' your post...a Warrior fan for a night!... |
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Post by elvissurfs on Mar 11, 2023 17:57:47 GMT -5
Got my green undies on kids!...
And green flannel!...
Too early for my green jammie bottoms...
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Post by cole on Mar 11, 2023 18:25:37 GMT -5
Got my green undies on kids!... And green flannel!... Too early for my green jammie bottoms... Eating lucky charms... |
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Post by DaCeltics on Mar 11, 2023 18:50:30 GMT -5
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Post by kyceltic on Mar 11, 2023 19:04:03 GMT -5
Giannis out tonight, maybe the Warriors will help us out! Lol, Admin 'liked' your post...a Warrior fan for a night!... Whatever it takes! |
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Post by fierce on Mar 11, 2023 19:40:58 GMT -5
Taiwan's version of Kardashian ass.  |
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Post by fierce on Mar 11, 2023 19:41:27 GMT -5
I wonder what version of the Celtics will we see in this game.
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2023 19:42:01 GMT -5
Q1: Hawks lineup change (Trae Young, John Collins, Dejounte Murray, De'Andre Hunter, Clint Capela)
Celtics lineup change (Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, Al Horford, Marcus Smart, Jaylen Brown)
Hawks win the tip ...
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2023 19:43:33 GMT -5
Smarts 3 makes it 7-3 ATL
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2023 19:43:58 GMT -5
Tatum 3 ... 9-6 ATL
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2023 19:44:24 GMT -5
Smart 3 ... 11-9 ATL
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2023 19:46:06 GMT -5
Al 3 ... 13-12 ATL
JT layup ... 14-13 BOS
JT dunk ... tied @ 16
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2023 19:47:04 GMT -5
Tatum 3 Brown running layup ... 21-16 BOS
Hawks TIME OUT
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Post by fierce on Mar 11, 2023 19:47:08 GMT -5
It's all offense so far.
JT already 10 points and there's still 7 minutes remaining in the 1st.
Just like Udoka, this Hawks team is also homeward bound.
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Post by fierce on Mar 11, 2023 19:47:51 GMT -5
Hawks are just bad on defense.
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Post by kyceltic on Mar 11, 2023 19:48:54 GMT -5
They're hot boys!!
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Post by Admin on Mar 11, 2023 19:49:13 GMT -5
Good ... we need to go at least 4-2 on this road trip
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