Offseason improvements for some current Celtics' players

[Maurice98]

I know the postseason is not finished yet but I would like to talk about offseason improvements for some C's in this summer.

Marcus Smart - My man Marcus!!!!! I would love him to improve his ball handling skills, his conditioning (without loosing much weight though), his jump shot and post up ability because his frame is way too big to not be use advantage of it. This would enable him to attack the rim more (even though yesterday he attacked the rim way more than the beginning of the season) so that he can get free throws line more where he can improve his percentage . He can watch clips of Dwyane Wade, Andre Miller, Chauncey Billups, Ron Artest, Dennis Johnson,Joe Dumars, Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook. Marcus you are my favorite player! I want you to be like the guy who is in this video below and I really think you can do it because your work ethic is incredible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nGKgQru5_A

Avery Bradley - He has improved constantly each and every year. He will just have to keep develop his mid range shot and his handle so that he can slash to the basket because he has the quickness, agility, athleticism and leaping ability to do it on a regular basis. He can watch clips of Rip  Hamilton, Dee Brown and Monta Ellis.

James Young - He has to improve in a lot of things to be a contributor. Firstly, he should learn fundamentals on D, his handles, footwork and has to go to the gym every day to bulk up (by adding 15-20 lbs) so he can play the 3 and 3 more effectively without getting manhandled. These kid has the right tools and talent to be a star but his work ethic will decide his future.  I have high expectations from you Jimmy Buckets but you'll have to work hard to be a great player. He should watch clips of Paul Pierce, Joe Johnson, Kobe Bryant and James Harden.

Evan Turner - He should improve his 3pt shot and keep his dribble low.

Kelly Olynyk - He should bulk up and I really think he will get bigger because last year he has improved his upper body. He should improve his lateral quickness. He should watch clips of Dirk, Vlade Divac and Mehmet Okur.

Jared Sullinger - If he wants to be more than a bench player so he can be a solid starter with an average of a double double, he will surely have to loose 40 pounds more so that he will improve his quickness, athleticism, leaping ability, rebounding (his butt his too big that he doesn't need weight to push out opponents) and defensive abilities. In addition, he should work on his shot and is mid range shot is very good at the moment but his 3pt shooting is mediocre at best. He should stay banging out under the basket and the post to get more offensive boards rather than stay more time on the perimeter. He should focus on clips of Kevin Love, David West, Wes Unseld, Moses Malone and Elton Brand.

Tyler Zeller - He should bulk up so that he can bang with bigger opponents and improve his post defense.

You guys might think that these the some players that I listed on the videos might be too good and too difficult to learn from but I think the C's dedication can really motivate them and help them understand more easily.

I hope Pierce will come back and mentor some of this kids and Wallace is useful too for this rule because they both have huge experience in the NBA.

This improvements can also be useful for Danny so that they can be trade assets for the team.

What do you guys want to add for the improvements that our players have to do this summer? What do you think of this post? Did I go too far?

[Ilikesports17]

I agree with most of these. I think Kelly and James young need to live in the weight room. Young has a ways to go as he also needs to really improve handle, defense etc. but if ko can spend te time hitting weights he could be really good next year

For smart he needs to tighten the handle and continue I work on shooting the ball. I am not worried about Marcus.

That leaves AB. I hope he improves the handle because as you mentioned he is really underrated pt quick/explosive. Also, continue to improve the shot.

I am excited as I think all these guys can certainly improve leaps and bounds this year. Hopefully sully loses weight too. As for Zeller and ET I don't expect much improvement but any is welcome.

[Maurice98]

I agree with most of these. I think Kelly and James young need to live in the weight room. Young has a ways to go as he also needs to really improve handle, defense etc. but if ko can spend te time hitting weights he could be really good next year

For smart he needs to tighten the handle and continue I work on shooting the ball. I am not worried about Marcus.

That leaves AB. I hope he improves the handle because as you mentioned he is really underrated pt quick/explosive. Also, continue to improve the shot.

I am excited as I think all these guys can certainly improve leaps and bounds this year. Hopefully sully loses weight too. As for Zeller and ET I don't expect much improvement but any is welcome.

I have to agree with you about Bradley because he has elite quickness that he can blow by people with ease and if he improve his handle, he can be difficult to guard as he also has the ability to pull up. He also has to bulk up so he can take more contact.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYJVTePSMYw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHkaL94IhQI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZP9D1PeYgw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN3iZha5b-Y

[GreenGoggles]

I love the player development talk. Nice post.

Unfortunately I don't see Avery Bradley improving much at all past where he is right now. I think he's maxed out his abilities.

I think Marcus needs to work on his ball handling, his free throws and finishing in the paint next year. The year after I'd like to see him develop his post up skills utilizing his size
and strength and his mid range game.

Everything else I agree on, except ET. I think we need to get him off this team ASAP.

Edited some spelling errors. Wrote this on my cell.

[Maurice98]

I love the player development talk. Nice post.

Unfortunately I don't see Avery Bradley improving much at all past where he is right now. I think he's maxed out his abilities.

I think Marcus needs to work on his ball handling, his free throws and finishing in the paint next year. The year after I'd like to see him develop his post up skills utilizing his size
and strength and his kid range game.

Everything else I agree on, except ET. I think we
need to get him off this team ASAP.

I think that the improvement of Bradley will not be by that much so I think he can up his average to 16-18 ppg which is more realistic. Maybe, he will have his breakout season so he can have a 20 points per game in a season even though it will be unlikely. I really like your development of your idea of developing Smart slowly.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Danny said they will work with AB this off season on getting to the basket more because he is quick enough to do it a lot more. They don't think AB is maxed out yet. Bass is 30 and he improved his game well after AB's age of 24. AB works as hard as anyone so that should be taken into consideration. He put on 15-20lbs of muscle last summer, I don't see what would stop him from adding more muscle if he wants to.

Sully will need to work on weight for sure but he shouldn't neglect getting better as a player either.

CBS already mentioned with KO adding muscle, he has probably made gains already bc he doesn't seem to be pushed around as often. He has to strengthen up but I think his biggest problem is in the head, he said he has trouble being aggressive because of being a point all his life. I think he needs to get a grip on reality b/c he could be so much more.

Big Z needs to add muscle too. He will need to stretch his shot back a little more also but he said he doesn't think he's going to try and add the 3 to his game. If Bass can try it at his age, Z should at least attempt to work on it, the NBA is changing, he better work on it while he is young.

I think with the right mindset, all of the guys can get better, with us or another team.

[clover]

I love the player development talk. Nice post.

Unfortunately I don't see Avery Bradley improving much at all past where he is right now. I think he's maxed out his abilities.

I think Marcus needs to work on his ball handling, his free throws and finishing in the paint next year. The year after I'd like to see him develop his post up skills utilizing his size
and strength and his kid range game.

Everything else I agree on, except ET. I think we
need to get him off this team ASAP.

I think that the improvement of Bradley will not be by that much so I think he can up his average to 16-18 ppg which is more realistic. Maybe, he will have his breakout season so he can have a 20 points per game in a season even though it will be unlikely. I really like your development of your idea of developing Smart slowly.

Outside of IT, most of the young guys could work on their FTs. I think the team could use some type of zen/zone mental coach.

[Celtics4ever]

AB has had a poor handle for years, and little inclination to change it.  Seemed like he has worked on his shot a great deal instead, I agree it will help him.

[PhoSita]

Avery - get back to cutting to the hoop on offense again, need that to balance to the jumpers; he'll probably never be a guy who gets to the line or handles the ball much except to create space for a jumper.

Smart - Keep working on the outside jumper, and also work on the in between game; hopefully that will open things up for him to get to the rim (and ideally the line) more frequently.

Olynyk - Work on defensive fundamentals, I guess.  The biggest thing for him on offense is to work on being consistently focused and aggressive; not sure how he can practice that in the off-season.

Sullinger - Get leaner and fitter, and work to get some more consistency with the outside shot.

Zeller - Keep refining some post moves to use against lesser defenders, and practicing ways to work the mid-range jumper into his game.  Otherwise he seems like a mostly finished product.

Young - Add muscle to his frame and practice staying in front of his man on defense and contesting shots. 

Crowder - Gotta improve the outside shot.  Getting his three point shooting above 35% is his best chance at becoming a contributor to a good team.

[GreenWarrior]

if AB doesn't improve his ball handling he's a complete waste of time and money imo.

he can't defend the elite players at his position and is only slightly above average against the next tier. that is of course if they aren't taller than him, if they are? then he's average.

while his shooting has improved, I would never consider him a "shooter" and i'm willing to say he likely never will be. mostly due in part to the fact that he takes bad shots.

that leaves us with his dribbling. which is the absolute weakest part of his game. the Cavs game was a perfect example, he could barely make one dribble early in the game before the Cavs turned up the pressure. when they did I cringed every time he touched the ball and for good reason. you can tell the guy has no confidence in this area.

so after looking at all this, why are we investing in a player that can put up(at best) decent numbers during the regular season? but against the playoff teams will completely disappear on both ends?     

[dwoumn]

I know the postseason is not finished yet but I would like to talk about offseason improvements for some C's in this summer.

Marcus Smart post up ability because his frame is way too big to not be use advantage of it.

Avery Bradley - He has improved constantly each and every year. He will just have to keep develop his mid range shot and his handle so that he can slash to the basket because he has the quickness, agility, athleticism and leaping ability to do it on a regular basis. He can watch clips of Rip  Hamilton, Dee Brown and Monta Ellis.

Kelly Olynyk - He should bulk up and I really think he will get bigger because last year he has improved his upper body. He should improve his lateral quickness. He should watch clips of Dirk, Vlade Divac and Mehmet Okur.

Agree that Smart needs to improve ball handling. I want to see him attack the rim more like he did in college. I love the idea of getting him in the post, had said that all season but that's not part of Steven's offense. I hope the coaching staff looks to add that into their offense.

Bradley's ball handling skills are awful. All of his offense involves catching and shooting or 1 dribble pullups. That does not get it done as a SG in the league. He has to work on being able to finish layups through contact. His offense is 1 dimensional and won't improve until he works on his handles.

Olynyk looked tough early in the game against Cavs. His play has to be more consistently like that. Like Smart, I would like to see Olynyk in the post some. He's a finesse player who can use his footwork to get to the rim or go to the fade away.

The defense is going to be what it is now until the C's get a rim protector. That will be the game changer because then AB and Smart can be more aggressive defensively.

Offensively they have to be more balance. We chucked up a lot of 3's and we were not very good at it. Either AB and Smart need to improve their ball handling to create some offense or we will have to add another ball handler in the draft or FA. Want to see more post ups too because if thats successful will open up space for shooters with good ball movement. 

[jambr380]

AB has had a poor handle for years, and little inclination to change it.  Seemed like he has worked on his shot a great deal instead, I agree it will help him.

This link was from a thread back in September:

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=73524.0

I tend to think he has made great strides to improve his ball-handling and looks fairly impressive in the video - maybe he just freaks out on the court.

[dwoumn]

AB has had a poor handle for years, and little inclination to change it.  Seemed like he has worked on his shot a great deal instead, I agree it will help him.

This link was from a thread back in September:

http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=73524.0

I tend to think he has made great strides to improve his ball-handling and looks fairly impressive in the video - maybe he just freaks out on the court.

Most of that ball handling was against air. He was exposed by Shump when he was in his chest a great portion of the game. Bradley only uses his handles for jumpshots, mostly 1 dribble pullups of screens.

[GC003332]

Well the Celtics were 13th in the league in 3 point attempts but only 27th in makes.So for the players that are going to be back next season work on your shot.
Kelly Olynik - strength / foot speed.
Sullinger - conditioning/attitude , if he is going to continue to shot the 3 , get that percentage up to at least 35.
Smart - handle, mid range game, floater, shooting across the board.
Bradley - as others have said , ball handling, using his off hand on drives, he is still only 24 so he still can grow as a player, he has to be to mix up his offensive game more than just pull ups and spot up shooting.
Zeller - continue being a knock down shooter, maybe expand his range a little bit more, I would love for him to develop a better passing game from the post , instead of just being a finisher on cuts and drop offs along with his mid range shooting, being able to run a bit more of the offence through him would help his development and get him more minutes. increased strength to fight for position down low instead of just quickness.
Young - strength , handle , don't just be a one demensional spot up shooter, foot speed, defensive intensity. In the summer league get him to guard the other teams best wing scorer and challenge him to step up.