How many minutes Semi Ojeleye gets.
In the NBA or the G-League?
In the NBA.
It sounds like you, like many people, are sleeping on him. It's not surprising, given his draft position and his low profile.
What about the G-League? Well, it's rare for a rookie to be as ready as Semi is to play NBA defense, and he has the strength and leverage (as Brad said recently) to guard bigger players; and the Celtics badly need players who can do that. So it wouldn't be too surprising if he never plays in Maine, despite the Celtics' depth and his rookie status. It would be less surprising if he cracks the rotation come January/February.
There was a recent thread on him here; the arguments against him were not about his game, but rather indirect ones of the nature of: Coach K must have seen something...; he had a lowly draft status, therefore...; his age, therefore low ceiling...; summer league is meaningless...; etc.
He was the best athlete in the Combine, has a repertoire around the basket, shoots with range, can make a play. Great NBA body. Character and work ethic are off the chart.
Hardly. I'm a big fan of the guy and wanted us to draft him for the reasons you stated, it's just that, well, coaches say stuff like that all the time and it never means anything. Kind of like how every GM says, "I can't believe so-and-so was still available," after the draft, and I seriously wonder if they actually believe the stuff that comes out of their own mouths, quite honestly, because fans shouldn't, and many do not.
Anyway, I realize that it's a case-by-case basis with players, but in addition to the typical coach BS, Semi has a rather tough road to even get on the court, imo. First, you've got the logjam at the forward positions between Hayward, Morris, Brown (if he plays there this year in certain lineups), Tatum, and Yabu, so there won't be a ton of minutes to go around at those positions, anyway, and second, Stevens has no intention of not giving Tatum every opportunity to succeed - at least, imo - so to even carve a role out for himself he's going to have to beat out the 3rd overall pick, not to mention Yabu, who paid his dues last year, so to speak, by staying overseas. I'm not a fan of the the latter, but you have to admit that the deck is pretty stacked against Semi, in that regard.
Plus, the last time that a player who wasn't taken in the lottery (of our own draft picks, so not a guy like Crowder, for example) became a fixture in the rotation was Avery Bradley, iirc, who didn't play at all during his rookie year because he was hurt and then only got on the court due to Ray going down and Doc not having anyone else to use, and his defense was NBA-ready from the start, while Terry Rozier still hasn't become a staple of Stevens' substitution patterns - if he even has any, lol - and he was taken at 16. Even Jimmy Butler didn't get any time during his rookie campaign and only got on the court, again, due to injuries. I guess what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't get get your hopes up
. Don't get me wrong, I'm right there with you in terms of wanting to see him out there, but I'm not counting on it, to say the least, but hey, that's what the preseason is for, hehe. On another front, man, that second round and the undrafted market were loaded this year, imo.
Topic: What Are You Looking Forward to Seeing this Season? (Read 10661 times)