Spurs (4-2) at Celtics (4-2) Game #7 10/30/17

[cman88]

hes a better defender than IT4. and not a liability at least where teams can just post him up because of his size. he will probably never be a great defender, but he is definitely trying more this year.

[tenn_smoothie]

This board has gotten meaner. God forbid I should express some criticism, which btw, was based on direct observation from different games.

Maybe you guys don't understand what is important in defensive basketball. The casual gavone thinks if a guy blocks a shot and gets a couple of steals that he is playing good defense. Blocks and steals are small parts of great team defense. Russell was great because he and his teammates knew how to rotate as a unit, he understood positioning and when he did block a shot, he kept the ball in play - much better than sticking it in the first row.

He's not as bad as you make it out to be. You also brought it out at the wrong place and the wrong time. There's about  3-4 "Kyrie Irving sucks" or "I wish we had IT" thread out there to post those kinds, not in the game thread when we had the win in the bag and he was already on the bench in a game he played well defensively.

Save your condescending remarks for someone else. I am sure I have been watching the Celts a lot longer than you have. Don't try to tell me what I can and can't comment on inside certain threads. Pompous jerk.

[ChillyWilly]

I know it's early but man is it nice to see a games where they don't cough up a big leads due to sloppy unmotivated play. Seems like the last couple years every game was this insane emotional roller coaster they would take us on.

[hpantazo]

Tatum had his worst game of the season, and the team still won by double digits. That's the biggest takeaway for me.

Worst scoring and shooting night but he was excellent on the boards and defensively.

Yeah. Tatum overall had a very good game. He was excellent on defense and on the boards. His length really disrupted the Spurs.

[ChillyWilly]

Tatum had his worst game of the season, and the team still won by double digits. That's the biggest takeaway for me.

Worst scoring and shooting night but he was excellent on the boards and defensively.

Yeah. Tatum overall had a very good game. He was excellent on defense and on the boards. His length really disrupted the Spurs.

Pretty dope that a rookie can have a good game and not put many points on the board. I'm really liking his all around game for being 7 games into his rookie year.

[tenn_smoothie]

Gotta say that Danny's drafting ability, or luck, or both, seems to have improved the last two years. He looks like a genius lately. We'll see how these young guys play out the long season

[Snakehead]

Wow tenn_smoothie so glad you showed up you're a swell guy.  You've watched so many games tell us all how it is please....

[nickagneta]

Gotta say that Danny's drafting ability, or luck, or both, seems to have improved the last two years. He looks like a genius lately. We'll see how these young guys play out the long season

Never thought Danny's drafting record was that bad. Some hits, some misses. About the same as most GMs. And of course its a lot easier to hit with high draft picks. In the 3 recent high draft picks he has had, I think he hit and got the best player available at that pick.

[tenn_smoothie]

Wow tenn_smoothie so glad you showed up you're a swell guy.  You've watched so many games tell us all how it is please....

no problem ............. first question please ?

(don't insult me into a corner next time)

[liam]

This board has gotten meaner. God forbid I should express some criticism, which btw, was based on direct observation from different games.

Maybe you guys don't understand what is important in defensive basketball. The casual gavone thinks if a guy blocks a shot and gets a couple of steals that he is playing good defense. Blocks and steals are small parts of great team defense. Russell was great because he and his teammates knew how to rotate as a unit, he understood positioning and when he did block a shot, he kept the ball in play - much better than sticking it in the first row.

I agree with you, Kyrie is no Bill Russell!

[Ilikesports17]

This board has gotten meaner. God forbid I should express some criticism, which btw, was based on direct observation from different games.

Maybe you guys don't understand what is important in defensive basketball. The casual gavone thinks if a guy blocks a shot and gets a couple of steals that he is playing good defense. Blocks and steals are small parts of great team defense. Russell was great because he and his teammates knew how to rotate as a unit, he understood positioning and when he did block a shot, he kept the ball in play - much better than sticking it in the first row.

thank God you arent a casual gavone!

[fairweatherfan]

Gotta say that Danny's drafting ability, or luck, or both, seems to have improved the last two years. He looks like a genius lately. We'll see how these young guys play out the long season

Never thought Danny's drafting record was that bad. Some hits, some misses. About the same as most GMs. And of course its a lot easier to hit with high draft picks. In the 3 recent high draft picks he has had, I think he hit and got the best player available at that pick.

Yeah it's easier to have your hit/miss ratio go up, and the hits be bigger, when you've got higher picks.

Really nice game tonight. Outplayed a quality team on both sides of the ball. Really heartening how the team's recovered from losing Hayward.

[DefenseWinsChamps]

This board has gotten meaner. God forbid I should express some criticism, which btw, was based on direct observation from different games.

Maybe you guys don't understand what is important in defensive basketball. The casual gavone thinks if a guy blocks a shot and gets a couple of steals that he is playing good defense. Blocks and steals are small parts of great team defense. Russell was great because he and his teammates knew how to rotate as a unit, he understood positioning and when he did block a shot, he kept the ball in play - much better than sticking it in the first row.

Disagreements are not "getting meaner." However, when you attack whether or not I 'understand what is important in defensive basketball," it becomes an ad hominem attack, which is an attack against the other person, not their view.

I asserted evidence to support the idea that Kyrie is not only a decent defender this season, but is a good one too. Defensive rating, defensive plus-minus, and steals all display different aspects of his defense, from his disruptiveness, to his timeliness, to his team defense.

I've seen the anecdotal evidence that he messes up on some plays, but anecdotal evidence is not a strong argument, because we are unable to reach a conclusion. You say, "I saw such and such a play that proves he is not a good defense," and then I say, "But I saw such and such a play that proves he is good at defense." Where does that leave us?

[saltlover]

This board has gotten meaner. God forbid I should express some criticism, which btw, was based on direct observation from different games.

Maybe you guys don't understand what is important in defensive basketball. The casual gavone thinks if a guy blocks a shot and gets a couple of steals that he is playing good defense. Blocks and steals are small parts of great team defense. Russell was great because he and his teammates knew how to rotate as a unit, he understood positioning and when he did block a shot, he kept the ball in play - much better than sticking it in the first row.

He's not as bad as you make it out to be. You also brought it out at the wrong place and the wrong time. There's about  3-4 "Kyrie Irving sucks" or "I wish we had IT" thread out there to post those kinds, not in the game thread when we had the win in the bag and he was already on the bench in a game he played well defensively.

Save your condescending remarks for someone else. I am sure I have been watching the Celts a lot longer than you have. Don't try to tell me what I can and can't comment on inside certain threads. Pompous jerk.

I’m sorry you feel the board has gotten meaner, but calling someone a “pompous jerk” is far from the best way to improve things.

The Celtics beat the Spurs for the first time in many years, and are tied for the best record in the NBA despite a seasons’ worth of adversity in the first week.  Let’s focus on that.

[saltlover]

I’m looking forward to seeing what Morris has to offer later this week, but one of the bright spots of his injury is that Semi has quickly proved himself to be useful.  22 minutes of solid play, his most this year.