23-24' Game 6: @ TWolves (Mon 11/6 @ 8M on NBCSB)

Got another big one tonight vs. Philly! Will White play?
Will Jrue drop his Marcus Smart imitation?
Will we go to Porzingis more often tonight?
Will Pritchard find his shot?
Will anyone be able to slow Embiid?
We shell see in a few hours!!

good eye! But notice the development approach. Maybe Strawther is a better player. Maybe Walsh has a bigger upside. Whatever the case is, one gets a chance. The other, just like the majority of our picks, goes to a wait and see.

NBA prospects just dont get a ton of minutes on good teams. Unless there are injuries.

we can come up with hypothetical injuries for this celtics team, chances for a rookie to crack that rotation are very slim. It takes a confident club like denver, that trusts their players from 1 to 15, to give a rookie a chance. I believe denver is not the only team.

On this team, yes.  Because we dont have a promising rookie who is ready now.

And draft strategy plays a part. For the last 4-5ish years the Celtics have fancied themselves contenders and for good reason. We've been playing meaningful postseason games. So when they draft- they generally look for someone who can help in the short term. Generally guys who have played a few years at NCAA. Like Pritch/GWill. Strawther, at 21, is kind of old for a first round pick. Usually the 19 year olds go in the first. Because teams chase that upside. SO maybe the Nugs did what we have done in the past and go with a guy a little older but can help you in the short term. ANd its paying off for them, sure.

And we got away from that this recent draft. Going with a 19 year old. ANd maybe that was the mistake. Id like to have Strawther. I like his 6'6 size because you can play him at multiple positions and increase the coverage/insurance he would provide (vs a strict PG or C only player who would only get a chance if you have an injury to their exact position), but Strawther can back up multiple positions and to me that (in addition to being a little older) makes him a good pick for a team like the Nugs and Celts.

Like I often go back to, its a trend we are seeing. 6'6 guys use to be considered "tweeners" and teams would avoid. "Hes too big to be a guard, not big enough to be a forward". People were saying this when we drafted Brown. But trends change, and these versatile bodies are now sought after, and for good reason. Id like to have Strawther.

And I bet if we had him, he would have gotten some minutes these last 2 games w White out. Maybe not as many as he got last night w the Nugs because I think its too early to pull the plug on PP so I think even w Strawther they would have given most of those extra minutes (w white out) to PP. But Strawther would have likely gotten some.

Now that I think of it. Last years playoffs, Christian Braun got his chance as well. No injuries I believe. We are talking about rookies drafted in the mid 20's.

And maybe they just draft better than us!

I'm starting to like him!

Its hard to know w certainty what mazz would do because we havent had been in a position where we had a quality rookie (we've been trading our picks).

But I do see your point that we can assume that the rook wasnt the only option in Denver and your implication is kind of like "dont act like it was obvious to give the rookie the mins. That deserves a pat on the back to coach malone and i dont think mazz would have done that"

but yes - i see your point that malone deserves some cred for giving him a shot and I also see Kys point he deserves some cred for selecting him.  Im not 100% sure that mazz wouldnt have done it, but brad would have traded the pick anyways. hahaha

And I dont hate that. And thats prob where you and i disagree cab, and thats fine.  I say, if you are in a championship window - trade those picks!

I can see talking about a good on-paper team with disappointing results as bad soup. As in , the players are good individual players but the mix isnt right. So good ingredients but bad soup. But Im not sure if thats what Janos is referring to.