Who will surprise

[flybono]

Horford

[Greyman]

I really think Brown has the attitude and skills. First he will make himself a starter and then the talk will start about how good he can be - more than it has before.

[CFAN38]

Not really a surprise but I suspect Brown looks like a vet this season. Slows down his game on offense and places more in game emphasis on defense. I think this leads to some all defense talk from the media after a few good prime time defensive efforts.

I also think Brown will have a lot of favorable 2nd unit miss matches this season. With the makeup of this roster Brown will spend more time matched up on apposing guards. If BS trys to even out of offense by splitting up IT and Hayward we will likely see a decent amount of second units featuring Smart/Rozier, Brown and Hayward. This will likely place a weak or undersized defender on Brown.

   

[LatterDayCelticsfan]

Arron Baynes with a working 3pt shot

[Celtics17]

I am going with Jaylen Brown and to do a little more then surprise. You might say he will 'shock and awe' in his second season. This guy is a stud in the making and he will get more room to work this season. I have rarely seen as explosive a player and he was just a rookie last season. With another year of training he is now ready.

I also think Marcus Smart will show more then has been given credit for too.

[rollie mass]

there is a nice two part compilation of marcus smarts defensive and hustle highlites-
Listening to Tommy and Gorman in awe of his stripping the ball mirrored mine
His slimming down during off season will just make him quicker

[ThePaintedArea]

there is a nice two part compilation of marcus smarts defensive and hustle highlites-
Listening to Tommy and Gorman in awe of his stripping the ball mirrored mine
His slimming down during off season will just make him quicker

Wouldn't mind seeing a link.

Slimming down is a good choice for Marcus.  The minutes crunch at the wings that's about to hit means that he'll be guarding smaller quicker players.

[rollie mass]

you tube
TOMAZ KORDYLEWSKI
 marcus smart 2016/17 regular season hustle and defensive highlights(part 1 of 2)

[Surferdad]

Arron Baynes with a working 3pt shot

I it heard here first, LDCF.   

[ThePaintedArea]

Will it be marcus morris getting his shot or playing with second team

I'm betting he starts, at least at the beginning of the year. I just don't think that Horford/Baynes or Horford/Crowder is workable in the starting lineup, and Tatum won't be ready.

will it be the horford- hayward duo with its better passing than avery and haywards ball handling that combine to be even better than the parts

Good point, and in fact add Jaylen Brown to that. The ball is going to move.

Jaylen as a starter and add his defense

I agree that Jaylen will be a starter - he's the real replacement for Bradley, in fact; Brad had him guarding ballhandlers last season, as well as wings.

Rozier and a further year and summer season workouts

Of the 2015 draft class, it was only Rozier who stepped up into the rotation last season. And his 2017 playoff performance was a very pleasant surprise. Still, he's got more competition now that wings will have the ball more. Crowder and Bradley were outstanding spot-up shooters, but neither was getting the ball to create offense.

Could semi step ahead of yabusele because of defence

I'd like to be the one to say that Semi is the player "who will surprise", and I do think that he'll get some burn in February or so. Like you, I love his defense - great laterals and anticipation, keeps his arms up, quick shoulders, stays vertical, good strength to check bigger guys, good feet and fundamentals - but you'd have to slot him behind Morris and Tatum at least; so his competition with Yabusele and perhaps Theis is for the third swing, not the backup.

Could Nader nail his threes

Maybe, but he's on a team with a sudden glut of triple-threat wings. I'd predict that he'll get more DNP-CD's than made threes this year.

or will it be all around Tatum

Given what we saw last year with Jaylen, it's likely that Brad will give Tatum minutes early and often. Mostly, I'd predict, the results will be treated by fans and media as a confirmation rather than a surprise. Whatever his "ceiling", Jayson Tatum is the closest thing to a sure thing among recent Celtics' draft picks.

[billysan]

Danny said rozier will surprise people this season

Agree with this and I think Morris will become a force so I have 2 guys.

If we can keep him out of trouble he is motivated and has a good attitude.  I also think he is finally on a contender with a great coach,  good roster dynamic and he is going to be treated right with reasonable expectations.

[ThePaintedArea]

you tube
TOMAZ KORDYLEWSKI
 marcus smart 2016/17 regular season hustle and defensive highlights(part 1 of 2)

Thanks for that. I guess I could have found that myself.

I'm a fan, but the competition steps up for him this year.

[ThePaintedArea]

over or under 12 ppg from Jaylen Brown this year?

Over, but not by much. With opponents containing both Hayward and Thomas, Brown will get the ball by cutting and spotting up.  That's apart from any shots that he creates himself. 

He would average 12 if he scored at the rate he did in his rookie season, if his minutes were increased to standard starter's minutes (32).  Add to that that he already used a goodly amount of his possessions getting to the line, and is likely to get both more drives and more respect from the referees.

Betting also that he's the starter on opening day.

[erisred]

Arron Baynes with a working 3pt shot

That would be a most pleasant surprise!

[Ilikesports17]

there is a nice two part compilation of marcus smarts defensive and hustle highlites-
Listening to Tommy and Gorman in awe of his stripping the ball mirrored mine
His slimming down during off season will just make him quicker

Wouldn't mind seeing a link.

Slimming down is a good choice for Marcus.  The minutes crunch at the wings that's about to hit means that he'll be guarding smaller quicker players.

Id love to see a slimmer marcus. Can he stay with ballhandlers that blew by him last year? can he get to the rim a little more with some extra explosion?