OT: Play GM, fix my Celtics this season

[elmcityboy]

Ainge doesn't have a plan but he's been lucky. Now, not so much luck and they stink.

i mean, the celtics had one of the worst breaks in recent nba history when hayward broke his leg. i don't know that you can say that everything has been good luck...

ainge had a crazy run (nets trade, isaiah thomas mvp-type years, horford and hayward signings, brown draft, kryie trade, trading down for tatum, the kemba sign-and-trade) where it seemed like he could do no wrong. now things are breaking the other way. i still have faith, but i think he should be on thin ice if they aren't able to retool this offseason.

 

[the Q]

i mean, the celtics had one of the worst breaks in recent nba history when hayward broke his leg. i don't know that you can say that everything has been good luck...

ainge had a crazy run (nets trade, isaiah thomas mvp-type years, horford and hayward signings, brown draft, kryie trade, trading down for tatum, the kemba sign-and-trade) where it seemed like he could do no wrong. now things are breaking the other way. i still have faith, but i think he should be on thin ice if they aren't able to retool this offseason.

Not selling high on IT for picks rathe than the Irving gamble really hurt them.

The pick they traded could’ve been mikail bridges or Michael Porter jr. both of which fit what this team badly needs right now

 

[elmcityboy]

Not selling high on IT for picks rathe than the Irving gamble really hurt them.

The pick they traded could’ve been mikail bridges or Michael Porter jr. both of which fit what this team badly needs right now

you could play the could-have-been game with a lot of nba picks/trades, though.

ultimately, ainge traded a late lottery pick for a player who (many believed) turned the celtics into legitimate contenders. it's the exact kind of trade a lot of people wish he would have made with the langford and nesmith picks.

 

[mauconnfan]

Don't trade Enes Kanter for one thing. We all know he mails it in a lot but he is still an 11/11 guy this season in 26 minutes a game of semi-caring, and he shows up for the playoffs.

Theis is not close to good enough to start for a playoff team and the rest of the front court is mix-and-match role players.

Ainge should have also traded Tatum when his value was at its peak. Tatum is a good player that thinks he is one of the best in the NBA. He isn't.

Agree on Kanter he was a nice piece. Can't agree on Tatum although at times he tends to make horrid decisions down the stretch. But he and Brown are really really good.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Agree on Kanter he was a nice piece. Can't agree on Tatum although at times he tends to make horrid decisions down the stretch. But he and Brown are really really good.

Tatum would be perfect for UConn. Late in games he goes pure hero ball and starts turning the ball over. Great talent, but he needs some maturity. Easy to forget how young these guys are.

 

[Waquoit]

ainge had a crazy run (nets trade, isaiah thomas mvp-type years, horford and hayward signings, brown draft, kryie trade, trading down for tatum, the kemba sign-and-trade) where it seemed like he could do no wrong. now things are breaking the other way. i still have faith, but i think he should be on thin ice if they aren't able to retool this offseason.

He accumulated all these assets and never put together a team.

 

[Lefty2one]

The truth is the Celtics aren't fixable this season. We all love Kemba but he's been a major disappointment in Boston. They have the least amount of talent they've had in years. Their depth stinks. Ainge got too cute the last few seasons. When you lose Kyrie, Horford, Hayward, Rozier, Kanter and replace them with an injured and aging Kemba you're going to struggle. Ainge missed his chance to get a true superstar because he's cheap and the NBA equivalent of that one annoying fantasy football owner in everyone's league who overvalues the hell out of his own assets.

That being said, I'm surprised they're this bad.

 

[Waquoit]

Ainge missed his chance to get a true superstar because he's cheap and the NBA equivalent of that one annoying fantasy football owner in everyone's league who overvalues the hell out of his own assets.

I don't think it's cheapness, he's been afraid to pull the trigger in the big spot. He was getting off too much on being "Trader Danny" and afraid of "losing the trade", whatever that means. That's how he ended up with Kemba, he had no other options. He let talk radio get him off Jimmy Butler, a pro like Pat Riley didn't have a problem with the guy.

 

[nycscooby]

1. I don’t love Brad Stevens’ allotment of minutes and substitution patterns. He doesn’t tend to ride the hot hand and stays pretty consistent with the minutes. I don’t think he has Tatum, Brown and Kemba on the floor together enough.

2. Kemba shows flashes but he is a shadow of himself right now, shooting horribly and not 100%, not even close I fear. It is heartbreaking.

3. These recent games show how valuable Marcus Smart is.

4. The offense is really stagnant much of the time and the number of 3s that Grant Williams and Theis take especially early frustrating.

5. Robert Williams is frustrating but I think he needs to play more, super athletic and really our only post defender against true big men. i like Theis and he can be effective at times but not for a whole game and Grant Williams is an excellent defender but too small. I have been disappointed in Thompson’s D and defensive rebounding.

6. Teague is cuttable. I like Pritchard though.

Brad seems to be struggling with the substitution patterns and minute allocations with this team, too many similar players. But who knows how much better this group would be if Kemba were Kemba?

 

[elmcityboy]

He accumulated all these assets and never put together a team.

when was the last time you looked at the 2018-19 roster? it was kyrie, smart, tatum, morris, and horford with brown, hayward, rozier, baynes, and theis coming off the bench.

that wasn't a team?

 

[Waquoit]

when was the last time you looked at the 2018-19 roster? it was kyrie, smart, tatum, morris, and horford with brown, hayward, rozier, baynes, and theis coming off the bench.

that wasn't a team?

They didn't play team ball and didn't stay together very long. More a collection of players than a team with a plan, imo.

 

[elmcityboy]

They didn't play team ball and didn't stay together very long. More a collection of players than a team with a plan, imo.

fair enough!

i do think the c's have had an unlucky past couple of years, all things considered. hoping they make a move or two in the next six months, but i am not ready to write off ainge and stevens yet.

 

[Huskyforlife]

I'd at least ask the Pacers if they're still willing to trade Turner.

 

[Scoe]

Tatum would be perfect for UConn. Late in games he goes pure hero ball and starts turning the ball over. Great talent, but he needs some maturity. Easy to forget how young these guys are.

He could really use a coach like Calhoun.

 

[Scoe]

Guess who has a better record then the Celtics, the Knicks ? for now anyways.

 

[nomar]

Acquire Drummond, Lamb, Bazz and Rudy Gay and hire Jim Calhoun as head coach.

That team would definitely win . . . the NCAA Tournament.

 

[HooperScooper]

1 easy fix is to tell Kemba to stop shooting so much and be more of a facilitator PG instead of a scoring PG. He's been awful this season and is killing them.

Of course as soon as I say that Kemba goes 10-19 (4-10 from three) for 32 points and 6 assists in a win over the Pacers tonight.

 

[Gurleyman]

Of course as soon as I say that Kemba goes 10-19 (4-10 from three) for 32 points and 6 assists in a win over the Pacers tonight.

And one of the three-point misses was a heave at the halftime buzzer.

But your point holds. He’s not himself yet, obviously. Physically he’s actually looking pretty good, but so much of shooting is rhythm (intertwined with confidence) and he basically didn’t have an off-season or a training camp or a preseason and just plopped into game action after one practice. He finds it one day, loses it the next, but he‘ll need to start having days like this be more normal and his bad days need to be 6-15 or so and not 1-12 or 3-20.

The larger question with the Cs is I think they just need to get to the all star break. Get Marcus back, hit the reset button and treat it as a new season. If they continue to wallow post all-star break then maybe think about the desperation moves. But see what happens after the restart for a few weeks before you blow it up.

 

[the Q]

And one of the three-point misses was a heave at the halftime buzzer.

But your point holds. He’s not himself yet, obviously. Physically he’s actually looking pretty good, but so much of shooting is rhythm (intertwined with confidence) and he basically didn’t have an off-season or a training camp or a preseason and just plopped into game action after one practice. He finds it one day, loses it the next, but he‘ll need to start having days like this be more normal and his bad days need to be 6-15 or so and not 1-12 or 3-20.

The larger question with the Cs is I think they just need to get to the all star break. Get Marcus back, hit the reset button and treat it as a new season. If they continue to wallow post all-star break then maybe think about the desperation moves. But see what happens after the restart for a few weeks before you blow it up.

With the age of Tatum and Brown, they don’t need a desperation move.

The biggest thing either way is kemba rebuilding his value, both to the team and to the trade market.

 

[uconnbill]

Wut? Tatum isn’t even in his prime. He’s 22. He’s actually younger than Payton Pritchard.

You must have lofty expectations if you want to trade a 22 year old averaging 25 points 7 rebounds and 4.5 assists.

he is not a smart man

 

[UConn990411]

“Ainge should have traded Tatum”

LOL

 

[nelsonmuntz]

Tatum acts like he is Lebron/Giannis good, and he is not close. The Lakers won a championship with Lebron, AD and a team that would finish dead last without those two. The Bucks are still a title contender after epically screwing up their roster the last 2 years because Giannis is that good. Tatum is playing with a likely Hall of Famer in Kemba, a very good #2 scorer in Brown, and a decent enough collection of role players, and the Celtics are .500. If Tatum is an MVP-caliber player, he should get this Celtics team to the Conference Finals.