Author Topic: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!  (Read 2719 times)

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Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« on: December 07, 2017, 12:52:23 AM »

Offline liam

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When Danny Ainge picked up Shane Larkin in the off season I remembered seeing him play with Brooklyn and thought he had some skills on the offensive side of the ball but everything Larkin took on offense he quickly gave back on defense. He did not play that side of the ball at all. This new Celtics Shane Larkin is at least hustling on defense. I guess Brad Stevens brings it out in players. He gets them to buy in and play hard on both ends. Larkin had a good night against Dallas last night and really helped spark the win and not just on the offensive side of the ball but he really got after it against The Mav's small guards. The next man up philosophy is in full effect for the surprising Boston Celtics!

Re: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« Reply #1 on: December 07, 2017, 01:31:19 AM »

Offline trickybilly

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Switching with Dirk wasn't awesome..
"Gimme the ball, gimme the ball". Freddy Quimby, 1994.

Re: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2017, 10:35:34 AM »

Offline liam

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Switching with Dirk wasn't awesome..

No but, the little dude has a lot of fight in him.

Re: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« Reply #3 on: December 07, 2017, 10:46:06 AM »

Offline hwangjini_1

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larkin is what, the 13th player on the team? already he has had a couple of good nights and last night his effort kept the celtics close enough to win the game.

this year's version of the celtics has a lot of talented role players, whom CBS is brilliant at deploying and getting the most out of.

i expect we will see "good shane" a few more times this season, and that is a good thing.
« Last Edit: December 07, 2017, 10:57:06 AM by hwangjini_1 »
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Re: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« Reply #4 on: December 07, 2017, 11:16:28 AM »

Offline jambr380

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Haven't been a huge fan of him this season, but he was certainly on from 3 and he had that great up and under. He came up big when we really needed him and I am glad to see his hard work paying off.

One thing that has been fairly consistent this season is his ability to stay with his man. It is probably his size, but he gets around picks without giving up the shot/penetration better than a lot of guards in this league. He is small, but he appears to be using his size to his advantage.

Another part of the game where I think he can excel is the PnR. Last night wasn't a great example of this as Dallas was daring him to shoot, but teams may start to respect his shot a bit more and he will get opportunities to hit a cutting big man rolling to the hoop.

Re: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« Reply #5 on: December 07, 2017, 11:53:37 AM »

Offline footey

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I was totally non-plussed by his signing.

Wow, has he pleasantly surprised me.  He is like a poor man's IT for us.  Great situational guy to have as a spark off the bench, especially against smaller guards. 

Well done, Ainge.

Re: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« Reply #6 on: December 07, 2017, 12:02:21 PM »

Offline Fafnir

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Eh Larkins been bad overall, glad he had one of his good games last night.

Even then his poor play defensively was one of the reasons Dallas went on one of their runs in the first half. There is a good reason he is a DNP if we're healthy lately.

Re: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« Reply #7 on: December 07, 2017, 12:35:33 PM »

Offline Surferdad

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When Danny Ainge picked up Shane Larkin in the off season I remembered seeing him play with Brooklyn and thought he had some skills on the offensive side of the ball but everything Larkin took on offense he quickly gave back on defense. He did not play that side of the ball at all. This new Celtics Shane Larkin is at least hustling on defense. I guess Brad Stevens brings it out in players. He gets them to buy in and play hard on both ends. Larkin had a good night against Dallas last night and really helped spark the win and not just on the offensive side of the ball but he really got after it against The Mav's small guards. The next man up philosophy is in full effect for the surprising Boston Celtics!
Yup, during the game I was thinking Larkin vs. Barea was like watching middle school kids playing, lol.

Re: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« Reply #8 on: December 07, 2017, 12:47:40 PM »

Offline vjcsmoke

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He adds a nice veteran presence to the second unit with some instant-offense as well.  DA's pickups have all paid off in some way or another.

My only worry is Yabusele.  Although he gave quite a few nice assists against the Mavs.  Hopefully he wraps his head around the NBA soon.  Because as many have noted his body and physical strength are already quite good.

Re: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« Reply #9 on: December 07, 2017, 03:15:58 PM »

Offline SHAQATTACK

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He is one of the better mighty mites Danny has signed over few years .   He can play at NBA speed and does not seem rattled under pressure .  Buys imto his role well.   

Re: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« Reply #10 on: December 07, 2017, 04:17:36 PM »

Offline Jiri Welsch

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He adds a nice veteran presence to the second unit with some instant-offense as well.  DA's pickups have all paid off in some way or another.

My only worry is Yabusele.  Although he gave quite a few nice assists against the Mavs.  Hopefully he wraps his head around the NBA soon.  Because as many have noted his body and physical strength are already quite good.

Give him (Yabu) some time... He also isn’t really “needed” to be great this year and seems to be a good personality for the team. The guys cheered for him quite a bit when he made that 3 against Dallas.

Larkin is a nice statement player for Stevens. I love that he plays Shane when the team just can’t get things going!

Re: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« Reply #11 on: December 14, 2017, 12:06:29 PM »

Offline liam

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He is one of the better mighty mites Danny has signed over few years .   He can play at NBA speed and does not seem rattled under pressure .  Buys imto his role well.

Putting Larkin into a game is like a changeup pitch in baseball. He comes in and plays at a different speed and temporally throws the other team off. He's a valuable weapon to have on the deep bench.

Re: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« Reply #12 on: December 14, 2017, 12:33:04 PM »

Offline More Banners

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Getting excited over 3rd string, barely NBA players is one of the things I love about Celticsblog.

Re: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« Reply #13 on: December 14, 2017, 12:41:32 PM »

Offline Redz

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I can think of 2 games earlier in the season that he definitely was the difference between a win and a loss.  Last night they might have been able to do it without his production, but be he sure as heck made it a lot easier (and enjoyable to watch!).

Yup

Re: Shane Larkin is sparkin'!
« Reply #14 on: December 14, 2017, 12:47:17 PM »

Offline Surferdad

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To celebrate this thread, I think I'll go for some 'sparkin' myself tonight.   ;)