Celtics (1-2) vs Cavaliers (1-2) Vegas SL Game #4 7/13/16

[Snakehead]

Olynyk will not start over Johnson. That one's not happening, folks.

Well who is playing back up C then?

I think Olynyk should.  Not sure what ends up happening.  Maybe Zeller comes back and gets some minutes but I'd be dissapointed with that.

[kozlodoev]

Olynyk will not start over Johnson. That one's not happening, folks.

Well who is playing back up C then?

I think Olynyk should.  Not sure what ends up happening.  Maybe Zeller comes back and gets some minutes but I'd be dissapointed with that.

Olynyk is playing backup C, just the way he did last year while Zeller was out of  the rotation. Johnson never played C anyhow -- Sullinger was the starting C.

[Snakehead]

Olynyk will not start over Johnson. That one's not happening, folks.

Well who is playing back up C then?

I think Olynyk should.  Not sure what ends up happening.  Maybe Zeller comes back and gets some minutes but I'd be dissapointed with that.

Olynyk is playing backup C, just the way he did last year while Zeller was out of  the rotation. Johnson never played C anyhow -- Sullinger was the starting C.

You're right mostly but Johnson will have to play some C this year unless the roster changes.  I think not pairing Olynyk with Horford would be a big mistake.  Horford can cover up for Olynyk's weaknesses and having both out there can completely spread the floor.  Also both can really pass the ball.   I will be dissapointed if we waste that pairing by not using them together.

[kozlodoev]

Olynyk will not start over Johnson. That one's not happening, folks.

Well who is playing back up C then?

I think Olynyk should.  Not sure what ends up happening.  Maybe Zeller comes back and gets some minutes but I'd be dissapointed with that.

Olynyk is playing backup C, just the way he did last year while Zeller was out of  the rotation. Johnson never played C anyhow -- Sullinger was the starting C.

Johnson will have to play some C this year unless the roster changes.

Everyone in the Horford/Johnson/Olynyk group will have to play some C (with Crowder, Jerebko and perhaps Brown liberally sprinkled at PF). But I don't think this means Olynyk will (or, indeed, should) be starting.

[BitterJim]

Olynyk will not start over Johnson. That one's not happening, folks.

Well who is playing back up C then?

I think Olynyk should.  Not sure what ends up happening.  Maybe Zeller comes back and gets some minutes but I'd be dissapointed with that.

Olynyk is playing backup C, just the way he did last year while Zeller was out of  the rotation. Johnson never played C anyhow -- Sullinger was the starting C.

You're right mostly but Johnson will have to play some C this year unless the roster changes.  I think not pairing Olynyk with Horford would be a big mistake.  Horford can cover up for Olynyk's weaknesses and having both out there can completely spread the floor.  I will be dissapointed if we waste that pairing by not using them together.

All of our bigs (with the exception of Zeller if he comes back) have some positional versatility, so I'd be shocked if we didn't see KO and Horford out there together sometimes.  I think how much it happens will depend on how many minutes Kelly earns

[kozlodoev]

All of our bigs (with the exception of Zeller if he comes back) have some positional versatility, so I'd be shocked if we didn't see KO and Horford out there together sometimes.  I think how much it happens will depend on how many minutes Kelly earns

Yep. Remember, our starting bigs in game 1 last season were David Lee and Tyler Zeller.

[footey]

Ainge during his interview last night at the SL game said there is basically no difference between the 4 and the 5 position in today's NBA. 

Stop obsessing over whether Ollie, AJ or AH is going to be playing the 4 or the 5. It really boils down to minutes and combinations.  Brad will experiment to see which combinations seem to work best and exploit that. Stay tuned.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

Since summer league is not really about the ending box score (big numbers, etc.), but more about stringing together a few plays that prove NBA-quality, I wanted to say what play was most impressive to me last night.

Obviously Brown had several impressive offensive plays, like the drive-spin-layups, or the late and-one, or the three pointer, or the fade away from the other night, or the cross court passes to open players for three.

But DefenseWinsChamps. Although I'll admit that he has largely been inconsistent defensively, he had two elite defensive plays last night. The first was his harassing of McRae that led to the TO/dunk.

But the most impressive play of the night to me was the time when McRae was leading the fast break and Brown was on him. The entire way down the court, McRae was searching for a gap to get to his right hand, but Brown stayed on his right hand. In fact, the play looked odd because Brown didn't even stay in front of him too much, but on his right side to prevent him from getting to that side. McRae eventually attempted a left hand layup, which Brown contested without fouling. It was missed and the Celtics got the rebound.

That showed high level defensive intelligence in uptempo game speed. Love that.

[kozlodoev]

Ainge during his interview last night at the SL game said there is basically no difference between the 4 and the 5 position in today's NBA.

There basically is difference, because the team routinely plugged Crowder and Jerebko at the 4, but not so much at the 5.

[Snakehead]

Ainge during his interview last night at the SL game said there is basically no difference between the 4 and the 5 position in today's NBA.

There basically is difference, because the team routinely plugged Crowder and Jerebko at the 4, but not so much at the 5.

Yeah I don't agree that there isn't a difference. 

This year we could see a lot of small ball too with Crowder, Jerebko, and even Brown potentially being small ball PFs.

The combinations are the most important though.  I think Horford-Olynyk will end up being a very good one so I hope we see it quite a bit.

[chilidawg]

There's the terrific ball handling skills of brown like he had at cal

Brown could win MVP this year and some people would still say we should have taken Dunn

We'd have people complaining even if we got the #1 pick and drafted Simmons.  Some people just complain no matter what.

If we drafted Durant some will still complain. If we drafted Lebron some will still complain. I think people want us to draft another Larry Bird.

Not athletic enough, another Morrison.  Surefire bust.

[kozlodoev]

Ainge during his interview last night at the SL game said there is basically no difference between the 4 and the 5 position in today's NBA.

There basically is difference, because the team routinely plugged Crowder and Jerebko at the 4, but not so much at the 5.

Yeah I don't agree that there isn't a difference. 

This year we could see a lot of small ball too with Crowder, Jerebko, and even Brown potentially being small ball PFs.

The combinations are the most important though.  I think Horford-Olynyk will end up being a very good one so I hope we see it quite a bit.

I like Olynyk. I think he's worked himself into a fundamentally solid (if not a tremendously bouncy) defender, and his ability to drill threes is an asset. I just don't think that overall he's good or consistent enough to start. But perhaps this is the year when he's going to make me look really silly with this one.

[Snakehead]

Ainge during his interview last night at the SL game said there is basically no difference between the 4 and the 5 position in today's NBA.

There basically is difference, because the team routinely plugged Crowder and Jerebko at the 4, but not so much at the 5.

Yeah I don't agree that there isn't a difference. 

This year we could see a lot of small ball too with Crowder, Jerebko, and even Brown potentially being small ball PFs.

The combinations are the most important though.  I think Horford-Olynyk will end up being a very good one so I hope we see it quite a bit.

I like Olynyk. I think he's worked himself into a fundamentally solid (if not a tremendously bouncy) defender, and his ability to drill threes is an asset. I just don't think that overall he's good or consistent enough to start. But perhaps this is the year when he's going to make me look really silly with this one.

I have been a big fan of his since day one, how he plays and how I see and have seen his game growing.  Last year he did make a big jump defensively.  I think he's one of those guys, as a big, that really helps the team overall even if he isn't directly involved in a play.  His spacing really helps out our guards.

For me it's all about combinations.  I see Horford as a great guy to pair with him because Horford can manage his weaknesses and in combination the two allow great passing, awesome pick and roll, and truly space the floor.  That's my main thing.  Both guys out there would really help IT to get going out of the gate.  I would love if our team came out swinging some on offense vs last year where we would often come out pretty flat and have to fight back into the game with our bench.

I really like Amir too.  I just particularly like the idea of Olynyk and Horford together.  We will see what Stevens goes with.  As I said in my post, wont' be surprised at different combinations or a lot of small ball.

[kozlodoev]

For me it's all about combinations.  I see Horford as a great guy to pair with him because Horford can manage his weaknesses and in combination the two allow great passing, awesome pick and roll, and truly space the floor.  That's my main thing.

Well, I see Horford as a more skilled version of Johnson. In any case, they strike me as having similar strengths and weaknesses.