Celtics 2023 - 2024 Discussion

[Keep Up With The Joneses]

This is great news. The Celtics have been smart with this injury.

I wonder if the Celtics already knew they were going to pursue Porzingis in the upcoming offseason, and signed Horford for insurance for moments just like this. If so, that was the true brilliance.

 

[borisman]

Seems like he's a go, barring any setbacks, on Thursday

 

[RobertWeathers]

This is great news. The Celtics have been smart with this injury.

They sure have. Also helps they haven't NEEDED him.

I think they might now. KP can draw out Gafford and Lively out of the paint, that'll give the Jays more spacing and room to operate and away from the glass.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Enjoyable thread

 

[borisman]

They sure have. Also helps they haven't NEEDED him.

I think they might now. KP can draw out Gafford and Lively out of the paint, that'll give the Jays more spacing and room to operate and away from the glass.

Both KP and Horford can shoot from 3 so that will be huge as both Gafford and Lively are solid rim protectors. Last series with Gobert a non threat they had someone there constantly.

 

[bresna]

Both KP and Horford can shoot from 3 so that will be huge as both Gafford and Lively are solid rim protectors. Last series with Gobert a non threat they had someone there constantly.

Weirdly enough, so can Luke Kornet, but Mazzulla hasn't called his number all year. Kornet has been reduced to a board defender/banger, no matter that in the past, he has shot the 3 almost as well as both KP & Horford.

 

[Keep Up With The Joneses]

Weirdly enough, so can Luke Kornet, but Mazzulla hasn't called his number all year. Kornet has been reduced to a board defender/banger, no matter that in the past, he has shot the 3 almost as well as both KP & Horford.

The entire season, Kornet shot (and made) one 3-pointer. I'm guessing he has not shot well in practice so they want to utilize him in other ways. Alternatively with KP out they would rather have him do the dirty work underneath to preserve Horford.

Just throwing stuff against the wall. We're all just guessing.

 

[borisman]

Kornet got injured game 2 vs. Indy and hasn’t played. He may get a few minutes, if healthy, until KP gets ramped up or if the big guys weirdly get into foul trouble

 

[Keep Up With The Joneses]

Kornet got injured game 2 vs. Indy and hasn’t played. He may get a few minutes, if healthy, until KP gets ramped up or if the big guys weirdly get into foul trouble

I remember. He was actually doing a decent job with the minutes they were giving him before that happened.

 

[Boston Boxer]

Seems like he's a go, barring any setbacks, on Thursday

he wont finish the series. I don't trust calf injuries on big men.

 

[denverpatsfan]

Not sure how the lowly Celtics can beat these guys??
Are Luka and Kyrie Really the Best Offensive Backcourt Ever?

 

[Kdo5]

he wont finish the series. I don't trust a calf injuries on big men.

I’m skeptical myself but we’ll see. I’m setting my expectations low that he’ll be anywhere close to 100%.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Not sure how the lowly Celtics can beat these guys??
Are Luka and Kyrie Really the Best Offensive Backcourt Ever?

I’d rather play a team with Kyrie-Luka than Curry-Thompson in their primes. Even only considering offense. And that’s going back only a few years. As usual the media idiots are looking only at raw scoring and ignoring the context that teams are scoring at an all time high.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Not sure how the lowly Celtics can beat these guys??
Are Luka and Kyrie Really the Best Offensive Backcourt Ever?

I regret clicking on this.

Even though almost duo on the list is from the last ten years, with increased offense, there’s barely a mention about the eras and no attempt to adjust relative to league average. And very little attempt to factor in efficiency.

Basically it’s “which guard duo has the most total points in the highest offensive era in league history.”

Should have expected that from The Ringer.

 

[Boston Boxer]

I wonder if the Celtics already knew they were going to pursue Porzingis in the upcoming offseason, and signed Horford for insurance for moments just like this. If so, that was the true brilliance.

what i do know is for times like this is why you sign Jrue Holliday. He needs to go lock down Kyrie

 

[jimnance]

what i do know is for times like this is why you sign Jrue Holliday. He needs to go lock down Kyrie

White will probably be the main guy on Kyrie.
Jrue will be on Luka. He's got the strength to not get overpowered by him.
But C' s will throw different guys at Luka.
Brown and Tatum will both guard him some. We're fortunate to have 4 outstanding defenders so switches aren't usually a problem for us.
Pritchard will occasionally guard Kyrie.
Payton is the quickest guard we have and can keep up with Kyries' moves better than anyone else.
Bring it on!
We break a tie with the Fakers for most titles in a couple weeks

 

[Kdo5]

White will probably be the main guy on Kyrie.
Jrue will be on Luka. He's got the strength to not get overpowered by him.
But C' s will throw different guys at Luka.
Brown and Tatum will both guard him some. We're fortunate to have 4 outstanding defenders so switches aren't usually a problem for us.
Pritchard will occasionally guard Kyrie.
Payton is the quickest guard we have and can keep up with Kyries' moves better than anyone else.
Bring it on!
We break a tie with the Fakers for most titles in a couple weeks

You’re right multiple guys will be guarding Luka. That said I think they’ll want to have Brown on Luka as his primary defender.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

You’re right multiple guys will be guarding Luka. That said I think they’ll want to have Brown on Luka as his primary defender.

Luka is kind of like Jokic in that no player is really able to guard him. He runs around as a huge threat on the perimeter and then will back down on the post at 230 lbs and can steamroll a guy like White.

I think we can expect the Celtics to start with common wisdom. The way to stop a team that likes to dribble around is to play zone. Zone can’t really be pure in the NBA, but I expect their defense to be at least primarily zone. Very few teams are capable of running this against Dallas but I think the Celtics can fare pretty well. Make Dallas use all their guys to pass it around a lot to find the gaps. Don’t allow Luka and Kyrie to create the gaps.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

what i do know is for times like this is why you sign Jrue Holliday. He needs to go lock down Kyrie

I think Holiday locks down Doncic. White on Kyrie.

 

[Kdo5]

I think Holiday locks down Doncic. White on Kyrie.

A lot of this series hinges on limiting what Kyrie can do. I don’t care if Luka hangs five triple doubles on us in this series, if our all-NBA defensive guards do what they do we should absolutely win.