Celtics (1-0) at Bulls (0-0) Game #2 10/27/16

[jpotter33]

I'll give Brown a break, Stevens obviously threw him into the fire which will only help him grow. With that said, that was a dumb mistake by Brown, I really thought he was gonna shoot it

with that said, rebounding and silly turnovers cost us the game, mostly rebounding especially on the offensive board. We need better interior defense. And that is a HUGE understatement.

Robin and Taj killing us inside with either the easy bunnies or offensive boards. Those killed us more than anything in my opinion

I hope to see a revenge next Wednesday cuz I'll be there

We'll blow them out in Boston. Off a three day rest and after this contentious game, I think we'll have something to prove. We'll have Smart back by then, too.

The crappy thing is we then play in Cleveland the next night.

wait isn't Smart out another week the least?

The initial projection was two weeks, which was a very conservative, cautious projection, and that would still put him in line to play next Wednesday.

From what I've heard, it seems like he could've probably forced it and played today, but they're being cautious with him with it being the beginning of the season. There's a chance for Charlotte, but I doubt he chances it and just waits until the Bulls in Boston.

[BlackCeltic]

There were many times tonight where I was thinking  IT should come off the bench behind Smart again.

[tarheelsxxiii]

There were many times tonight where I was thinking  IT should come off the bench behind Smart again.

There are a lot of great community resources for rampant drug/alcohol abuse. 

[alldaboston]

We simply HAVE to run more offense through Horford. It's worked virtually every time that we've ran the ball through him. Otherwise, it's just us relying on IT's penetration or settling for jumpers.

100% agree.

I don't know whose job it is to get Horford involved. Is it Brad? Does he have to run more plays for him? Or is it Isaiah? Does Isaiah have to look more for Horford and try to play more to Horford's strengths, rather than trying to fit Horford in with Isaiah's strengths.

Side note: I say this from a quick box score analysis. I missed the game; anyone got a quick recap? I know Rondo and Wade and Butler became Splash Brothers, but anything else I should know?

[alldaboston]

There were many times tonight where I was thinking  IT should come off the bench behind Smart again.

There are a lot of great community resources for rampant drug/alcohol abuse.

Cmon man that's just an unnecessary thing to say.

[tarheelsxxiii]

There were many times tonight where I was thinking  IT should come off the bench behind Smart again.

There are a lot of great community resources for rampant drug/alcohol abuse.

Cmon man that's just an unnecessary thing to say.

You're probably right.  No bad intentions, just a joke, but apologies if offense was taken BC/others.

Smart may steal Rozier's thunder with the 2nd unit this year.  Rozier's not a PG and Smart has shown flashes of play-making, especially as was mentioned re: passing.  When given ~10 in the half court, he also showed he could break down a decent defender from ~15 feet and finish at the rim. IT is still our guy, though.

[jpotter33]

We simply HAVE to run more offense through Horford. It's worked virtually every time that we've ran the ball through him. Otherwise, it's just us relying on IT's penetration or settling for jumpers.

100% agree.

I don't know whose job it is to get Horford involved. Is it Brad? Does he have to run more plays for him? Or is it Isaiah? Does Isaiah have to look more for Horford and try to play more to Horford's strengths, rather than trying to fit Horford in with Isaiah's strengths.

Side note: I say this from a quick box score analysis. I missed the game; anyone got a quick recap? I know Rondo and Wade and Butler became Splash Brothers, but anything else I should know?

Well, Horford certainly has to take more initiative. There are many times when he's too passive with it, especially with scoring himself. However, Brad needs to emphasize running the ball through him more as a priority rather than merely settling for jumpers off of perimeter passes. We need to work more inside-out overall.

I kind of want to see JJ in there with Horford rather than Amir. Horford has been excellent defensively at the 5 position near the rim, with quite a few deflections and blocks. JJ would also give us quite a bit more spacing than Amir, which also helps our offense all around.

[alldaboston]

We simply HAVE to run more offense through Horford. It's worked virtually every time that we've ran the ball through him. Otherwise, it's just us relying on IT's penetration or settling for jumpers.

100% agree.

I don't know whose job it is to get Horford involved. Is it Brad? Does he have to run more plays for him? Or is it Isaiah? Does Isaiah have to look more for Horford and try to play more to Horford's strengths, rather than trying to fit Horford in with Isaiah's strengths.

Side note: I say this from a quick box score analysis. I missed the game; anyone got a quick recap? I know Rondo and Wade and Butler became Splash Brothers, but anything else I should know?

Well, Horford certainly has to take more initiative. There are many times when he's too passive with it, especially with scoring himself. However, Brad needs to emphasize running the ball through him more as a priority rather than merely settling for jumpers off of perimeter passes. We need to work more inside-out overall.

I kind of want to see JJ in there with Horford rather than Amir. Horford has been excellent defensively at the 5 position near the rim, with quite a few deflections and blocks. JJ would also give us quite a bit more spacing than Amir, which also helps our offense all around.

I guess it's just taking a bit longer for him to get assimilated into the offense. Hopefully he's more involved vs Charlotte

[blink]

Move to consider: AB to the bench while Smart's out. We need his creation on the 2nd unit badly, and Terry can provide enough shooting for the starters.

oh boy I do not agree with that.  AB is close to our best player.  You don't make your best player your 6th man...Rozier isn't ready to be a starter.

I don't mind Rozier getting big minutes until Smart gets back, but for all that is holy Brad Stevens no more of the IT, AB and Rozier together lineups....please.

[BlackCeltic]

There were many times tonight where I was thinking  IT should come off the bench behind Smart again.

There are a lot of great community resources for rampant drug/alcohol abuse.

Cmon man that's just an unnecessary thing to say.

You're probably right.  No bad intentions, just a joke, but apologies if offense was taken BC/others.

Smart may steal Rozier's thunder with the 2nd unit this year.  Rozier's not a PG and Smart has shown flashes of play-making, especially as was mentioned re: passing.  When given ~10 in the half court, he also showed he could break down a decent defender from ~15 feet and finish at the rim. IT is still our guy, though.

Im just saying IT needs to be more consistent on both ends of the floor if we hope to advance deep in the playoffs. Im not seeing the same player from last season, yet.

[tarheelsxxiii]

There were many times tonight where I was thinking  IT should come off the bench behind Smart again.

There are a lot of great community resources for rampant drug/alcohol abuse.

Cmon man that's just an unnecessary thing to say.

You're probably right.  No bad intentions, just a joke, but apologies if offense was taken BC/others.

Smart may steal Rozier's thunder with the 2nd unit this year.  Rozier's not a PG and Smart has shown flashes of play-making, especially as was mentioned re: passing.  When given ~10 in the half court, he also showed he could break down a decent defender from ~15 feet and finish at the rim. IT is still our guy, though.

Im just saying IT needs to be more consistent on both ends of the floor if we hope to advance deep in the playoffs. Im not seeing the same player from last season, yet.

Yeah,  he does look disengaged or lackadaisical at times this year, but he'll be okay.  Al seems comfortable creating for others, but IT has to account for Turner's loss, too. There will be a heavy burden on his shoulders again. 

[alldaboston]

There were many times tonight where I was thinking  IT should come off the bench behind Smart again.

There are a lot of great community resources for rampant drug/alcohol abuse.

Cmon man that's just an unnecessary thing to say.

You're probably right.  No bad intentions, just a joke, but apologies if offense was taken BC/others.

Smart may steal Rozier's thunder with the 2nd unit this year.  Rozier's not a PG and Smart has shown flashes of play-making, especially as was mentioned re: passing.  When given ~10 in the half court, he also showed he could break down a decent defender from ~15 feet and finish at the rim. IT is still our guy, though.

Im just saying IT needs to be more consistent on both ends of the floor if we hope to advance deep in the playoffs. Im not seeing the same player from last season, yet.

And you're not alone in that. I haven't seen the same Isaiah yet. True, he's scored like 25 in both games so far, or whatever amount he's scored. But he's not playing the same yet. From what I saw in preseason and in the Nets game, he doesn't seem fully engaged. Something's not the same as last year. Maybe it's the role Brad is having him play in the offense. Maybe it's him looking for his teammates more. But he doesn't have that killer, speedy, scorer look and mentality yet. I hate to say it, because the numbers clearly say otherwise, but he looks lost and frankly a little passive. He doesn't seem to have adjusted yet to Horford, and it's affected the way both of them are playing, at least from the eye test.

I don't know what sort of adjustments Isaiah has to make, though. Should he keep looking for his own buckets? He's clearly our best scoring option. Or should he try to get Horford implemented in the way he wants Horford to play? Or should he try to mold his own game into a manner so that Horford can be more successful? I have to admit, the pairing hasn't looked as smooth as I expected it to be, thus far.

[tarheelsxxiii]

IT is also coming off an all-star selection, is the face of the franchise, and will again be the first option on the 2nd-3rd best team in the east.

[LarBrd33]

Just gonna point out that Jaylen Brown did not at all look NBA-ready in Summerleague and was the 2nd worst player on the team in preseason... this after most analysts said he was extremely raw and at least a couple years away from contributing.   Considering that, I think it's wildly impressive that his first 39 minutes of NBA basketball have resulted in 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal with 65% shooting.   

Awesome sign.  I'm excited to watch him develop. 

[LarBrd33]

Dwight Howard had 19 rebounds tonight.  Maybe we should have signed him along with Horford.