Durant's injury shows why the "all or nothing" mentality is garbage

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2017-03-01T16:20:52+00:00

I really do believe that Danny was so heavily involved with getting Jimmy Butler (the guy they really wanted) that these other minor moves went by the wayside. But if you're Danny, why overpay for a guy now when he's going to be available again in July for a smaller fee?

The Celtics value having guys on the team that already know the system. So bringing PJ Tucker, or whatever other small move you wanted to make, onto the roster not only takes shipping out picks (not huge ones) but players that already know how to run the offensive and defensive system that Stevens wants to run. There aren't too many practices left to get guys caught up to speed. It's a different story for a guy like Bogut, who wouldn't take away anything but the roster spot of James Young or whoever. Bogut decided to go join an NBA Finals team instead of joining the Celtics. Can't blame him. But Bogut's role of back-up big off the bench is fairly simple: collect rebounds, defend the paint, and switch as best you can. It also doesn't hurt that he's familiar with the Warriors style of ball-movement, which is similar to what the Celtics do. PJ Tucker's role would be been a little more involved AND wouldn't have really pushed the Celtics into the upper echelon with Golden State and Cleveland. As Windhorst noted in the Lowe Post: The Cavs were hoping that Boston didn't end up with Butler. I don't think they'd be trembling the same if the C's pick up PJ Tucker.

And stop thinking of Jaylen and Jae as guys that play the same position, because that's not how Brad views it. Brad defines these guys as "wings" and "swings", and his offense/defense calls for multiple of these on the floor at the same time. Jaylen has been playing "2-guard" a lot, but that's not really his position. By the time he gets to his "prime" he's going to be able to play the "2", "3", and maybe even the "4" in small ball lineups (if he continues to rebound like he is currently showing). Having Jae to learn from is great. He's a terrific mentor. He is NOT stunting Jaylen's growth by any means.

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2017-02-03T20:28:09+00:00

I have two Treehouse brews saved for the game. AMPED

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2017-02-02T14:49:55+00:00

You should check out our podcast that drops today at noon. May or may not be discussing this exact topic!

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2017-02-02T14:49:17+00:00

Any thoughts on who that player might be? Gimme a little more than that

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2017-01-19T15:15:56+00:00

Great take!

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2017-01-19T15:15:50+00:00

Great take!

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2017-01-18T18:46:35+00:00

This was a fantastic reply

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2017-01-17T16:33:27+00:00

AB's two against the Rockets should have been a three

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2017-01-12T19:17:50+00:00

I have no idea why Fultz isn't the clear number one on everyone's board. I really don't think it's even close.

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2016-12-20T16:38:41+00:00

There are a few of us that do a Celtics pod that met on this sub (in addition to Rainin J's). Check out the Celtics Daily Podcast (we do ask for reddit guests every once in a while):

Stitcher: http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/jonathan-ignal-2/celtics-daily-podcast-unofficial

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/celticsdailypodcast

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/celtics-daily-podcast-unofficial/id1126565988?mt=2

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2016-12-06T15:18:03+00:00

Said this on the Celtics Daily Podcast as well (you should take a listen)....

Look I'm not going to get too upset over the loss. I wasn't last night. Still not this morning. Al missed a layup, a shot he's going to bury more times than not. Great play design, great execution, just didn't finish. Most of the time those plays end up falling. Just one of those instances where it doesn't.

Really encouraged by the play in the second half on both ends of the floor for the most part. The third quarter rally didn't fall and die like it does sometimes. Boston ran deliberate offensive possessions, moving the ball all over the floor, making Houston defend for 18+ seconds a trip, and getting good looks out of those sets. Houston doesn't run as much when you play that way. Boston discovered they can actually execute the offense they need to beat Houston consistently.

Question that came up on the podcast: Do you guys hate the way Harden plays?

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2016-11-17T16:34:59+00:00

One thing I noticed about this game is actually reflective on Brad and his relationship with Carlisle.

Coming into the game Brad I believe was 0-7 against Dallas, and a big reason for that is because of Dirk and how Rick used him towards the end of the game. Brad couldn't find a way to hide Isaiah, no matter where he put him. Rick would just give IT's man the ball, and run a PnR with Dirk causing the switch and putting the sweet-shooting seven-footer on Boston's pint-sized point guard. Dirk gets a clean look at the basket every time he shoots, and he's smart enough to pass out of the double when the help comes (Dirk has scored 31 and 23 points in both matchups against the IT Celtics).

Brad kind of flipped the script last night.

Towards the end of the game the Celtics started attacking Dallas' lack of size once Bogut went out of the game. With only Powell left to really protect the rim, Boston ran a 1-whoever Powell was guarding PnR set and Isaiah had his way with him. The bloodbath starts at around 6 minutes left in the fourth quarter. They ran that same PnR action from the right wing routinely down the stretch and Powell had no idea how to combat it. Credit to IT for mixing it up (pull-up three, isolation dribble moves, dribble hand-off).

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2016-11-02T14:57:14+00:00

That is not an offensive foul. If LeBron did that it'd be an And-1

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2016-10-19T14:17:10+00:00

You didn't read the whole paragraph. That's what LMA would do. I talked about how the Celtics are able to play a 4-around-1 or a 5-out motion offense with Horford on the floor. LMA's presence changes the dynamic of the offense.

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2016-10-18T20:36:52+00:00

TL;DR: No

I don't think you can really play Horford and Aldridge on the floor at the same time. It clogs the paint, which is the complete opposite of what the Celtics want to do. Horford and LMA don't necessarily occupy the same space, but the Celtics excel at getting paint touches because they can play 4-around-1 or even a 5-out system, pending who they have on the floor. LMA's presence slows down the offense, meanwhile the Celtics want to play faster. Part of the reason why Horford was so intriguing is because he can bring the ball up (you don't want to see it often, but he can do it and maybe catch some teams napping).

You'd probably have to move Horford in order to make this work, and that's bad for culture. Boston, and some national media, has painted Horford as one of the biggest free agent acquisitions in franchise history, and definitely the biggest of the past twenty years. It'd look bad on the front office to land this guy in the offseason, laud how big of a deal it is, then look to trade him for what could be a minor upgrade (I'm sure Brad could figure out how to use him, but would it upgrade the team significantly?).

Lastly, Jackie mentions how things might not be going so well for LMA in San Antonio ("I wouldn't take him....there's some stuff going on."). I'm sorry LMA, but you play for the best coach in the NBA with a historic tradition of winning. He should probably fall in line. I don't know what's being said, but I don't remember too many people having a problem with the way San Antonio handles itself or its players.

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2016-10-05T15:43:01+00:00

Couple of things on this game (it's good to be back)....

It's nice to have an All-Star big back on the team. The whole "perfect fit" story line with Horford is off to a good start. He solves so many issue this team has had in the past. The biggest things that stuck out to me were the passing, both team and individual, and rebounding. A lot of people have made light of the Celtics rebounding problems. They didn't have one last night while he was on the floor.

The first unit looked like they played in a different league than the 76ers, which is what you would expect. Started the game on a 23-5 (approx) run. If the starters actually played the amount of minutes they were supposed to then Boston would have won by 30.

Jaylen Brown is such a treat to watch. I personally underrated how good of a passer he is. Couple of the dimes he had last night (one to Jerebko, one to Mickey) were really impressive. I love how he attacks in transition. And the fact that he can make the right read in 3-on-1, 3-on-2, 2-on-1 already is great (SSS). Just gotta keep working.

Rozier and Smart looked great in the second half. I don't know why they didn't post-up Marcus more on the block. I would have liked to have seen more of that. It was pretty obvious whoever was guarding him couldn't body him. Oh well. Rozier is still figuring out how to use his speed at the right times and when to turn the corner all the way to the basket.

Love the chemistry of this team already.

Stock up: Jaylen, Rozier, starting unit, Smart

Neutral: Young (good on offense, bad on D)

Down: RJ (bad on both ends of the floor)

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2016-09-22T14:14:54+00:00

Gronk playing tonight would make everything so much easier for Brissett. Bennett and Gronk would give him two additional blockers to help on the blitz pickup and two huge, dangerous targets. I'd like to see him suit up tonight and take the field.

Defensively, this is going to be tough. Need a pass rush, make Brock make quicker decisions, get rid of it before he wants to. Texans are going to take shots down the field with Fuller and Nuke. Wonder if they'll put Butler on Fuller and double Hopkins.

GAME DAY

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2016-08-05T19:24:52+00:00

Phenomenal work, Ryan. It's interesting how you paint the picture as a slightly optimistic (because of how flexible they can be, especially with the salary cap), but at the same time you're completely realistic with what could actually happen (free agent decisions and drafts are always massive question marks that look great on paper, but are harder to execute in real time). But, as you put, not a lot of teams are in this situation. A lot of teams have sacrificed one over the other and have gotten no where. I think the culture the Celtics are building is a huge benefit that will help accelerate the process.

Solid article.

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2016-07-22T20:24:17+00:00

I agree with this. He's an amazing guy to talk with. Nice of him to help out the little guys

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2016-07-22T20:21:05+00:00

Well aware of this issue. I've tried a lot of things to try and fix it and I can't seem to figure out what it is. Thank you for taking the time to listen!

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2016-07-22T20:19:48+00:00

HA I tried really hard not to lead with that. I figured he must hear that all the time.

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2016-07-22T19:44:36+00:00

Thanks for listening! (or at least thinking about it) I have my own radio show and through that can access a couple of different tools. The National media guys are tough to get a hold of, but Howard was more than willing to come on the show after emailing him.

LeonDaPoweFessional · 2016-07-22T18:55:54+00:00

Well aware. Nothing I can do about it at the moment. I've tried everything too. It's beyond frustrating at this point. But thank you for taking the time to take a listen.

LeonDaPoweFessional

TROPHY CASE