How the Celtics are GENIUS…

How the Celtics are GENIUS…

Brad Stevens continues with his dark magic because the Boston Celtics I think are going to be just fine this year. Sure, they don’t have Jason Tatum who is an MVP caliber talent every single year. He’s up there in the MVP discussions, but what they’ve done going out and getting a ton of guys who they understand that this is a year that is pretty much lost. Maybe they can scrape and claw in the playoffs and, you know, get a late run if Tatum comes back. But going out and getting guys like Anthony Simons, Chris Buché, Josh Minard, just to name a few, having all these guys on one-year prove it deals so you can assess your roster after the season is genius. And the best part is of all these prove it deals, at least one, maybe two, hopefully three are going to hit and you’re going to have long-term pieces for the future. Like take for example Josh Minard who has been ultra impressive in the preeason. Um in this game against the Raptors at home he put up 16 points, six boards, a steal and an assist in just 23 minutes on five of nine shooting from the field. Shot two of five from beyond the ark. He’s been really good. He looks like a guy that could potentially be a rotation piece in the future. Getting the steel here and at 69 with that 7 foot wingspan. He’s still very young. um obviously coming out of Memphis. So, he could definitely be a guy you could help build around Tatum and Brown in the future with just a long ranging wing. I mean, look at this, right? Uh Shyman swings it over to him. Craig Porter Junior’s a little late on the closeout and then Mach’s just going to attack this and get right downhill. Double clutch midair and hang on the rim. That’s ridiculous. And then working out of the pick and roll here, he is the throw behind and knocks down the three ball. And then taking a look at this next game here, a self pass to himself. off. I mean, that one’s probably not going to work out more times than not, but he got it to go there. Um, he finished with 13 points, six rebounds, a steal, and a block in 23 minutes in Toronto. Shot six of 10 from the field, one of three from beyond the arc. His three-point shooting is definitely where he needs to improve, but that’s a strong drive to the left-hand side. And he gets it to go. Bush gives him one more to the corner here for the corner three. And you can see by Missoula’s reaction that that’s what he loves to see. In the G- League, he averaged 22, 6 and 1/2, and then three stocks per game. shot 51% from the field but only 30% from three. So that is definitely the improvement that you want to see there in eight games for the Timberwolves G-League squad last year. And why not, like I said, I’m excited to seeing a full year out of him in Boston. Definitely could be a guy they decide to keep longterm. And then Buché is another guy here they could decide to keep longterm. They signed him to a one-year $2.6 million prove it deal just like Minot, just like Luca Garza. I mean, just like all these guys, that it is a prove it year for him. Pretty much a one-year try out. And Buché looks to make the most of this. He finished with 19 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two stocks. Shot seven of 10 from the field, two of five from beyond the three-point line against his former team. And then, you know, going in flying in, crashing the glass, getting this tap back to go, that was a really impressive tap back there. Um, the three-point shooting at 69 with a 74 wingspan. Any three-point shooting is just a bonus. Uh, but that ridiculous plus seven wingspan there is going to be great defensively. And then offensively, you’re seeing the three-point abilities here and then getting downhill, finishing with that left hand. He is just so long pause. And then you have Anthony Simons, who is just 26 years old. You brought him over for Drew Holiday. He fits the timeline of guys like Jaylen Brown and Jason Tatum. And man, when you watch this guy play, you cannot help but see shades of Damen Lillard. I mean, he’s called Baby Dame for a reason. It’s all over his game. I mean, look at this. Just get into a spot, step back, bang, knocking it down. And if he continues to play like this and play like he did last year in Portland, he could be really good. Definitely a perimeter threat. This is exactly what Missoula wants to see. He made four threes in this game versus the Cavs the other night and what was a Celtics blowout. LA a last year averaged 19.3 points, 4.1 assists, 2.7 rebounds per game. Uh you see him right here getting right to the rim against Drummond in the drop coverage. He’s a lead out of the pick and roll as well working with Donovan Klingan right here. Now, he’s not going to have anybody as big as Klingan last year uh for the Celtics this year. But hey, Joe Mazulu wants to see that three-point shooting, and that’s what Simons does. They brought him in on a one-year, $27 million deal. I think he’s going to fit in perfectly here in Boston while they wait for Tatum to recover in what is essentially a prove ityear deal for him as well. Now, as for Jaylen Brown, first year playing really without Jason Tatum for an extended period of time. Of course, he signed that 5year $315 million contract a couple years ago that made him the highest paid player in the league. So, it’s time for him to back that up, right? Last year, he averaged 23 points a game, 5.6 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.2 steals in 34 minutes per game. However, when it came down to it in the playoffs, he didn’t play well. He was injured, so we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt, but he shot 32% from three last year, which is not good, especially on 6 and 1 half attempts per game, 46% from the field. That’s pretty solid. But, this is a big year for Brown as I mean, essentially everybody in Boston has a prove it year this year as they wait for Jason Tatum to come back. And without Tatum, throughout his career, he’s averaged 27 points, seven rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game over the course of 39 games played. So, we’ll see if he can continue that hot streak up where if he’s the number one option, he can prove that he can go out and be a guy that can be an All-NBA guy, right? Derrick White, 16.4 points per game for him last year. 4.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists in 34 minutes. shot 44% from the field and 38% from three on eight attempts a game and now he gets the opportunity to go from, you know, the number four option and essentially a really really good role player to now the number two option. And we’ll see what he makes out of it. I think he’s going to look really really good this year. And then another guy that’s been waiting for this opportunity pretty much for his whole career is Peyton Pritchard because he has never once been unleashed in Boston like he will be unleashed this year. Uh he put up 19 points, four rebounds, three assists, and a steal in just 25 minutes the other day against the Raptors in this preseason game that we’re looking at. Seven of 17 from the field, three of eight from beyond the arc. And he’s just going to have the green light, especially off that bench because I do think they will start Simons over Pritchard. Um but Pritchard’s going to be coming in with a very weak bench unit this year. Um very unlike years past with Boston where they’ve had deep benches. N it’s going to be the Peyton Pritchard show off the bench this year. Sam Hower is a guy here that I thought they’d trade in the offseason because they signed him to that four-year $45 million extension after they won the finals and then he greatly underperformed that contract this year. And then the playoffs averaged a whopping 3.5 points a game and 1.5 rebounds in eight games played. Um scoring a total of 28 points in the playoffs last year whereas he’s getting paid 45 million. Um, as for Baylor Shyman, I thought he was going to be the guy that replaces Sam Hower, but so far I’ve been wrong. I was really high on him when they drafted him. He’s just been really inefficient. Hit a couple threes here against Memphis. And other than his efficiency, he’s looked like he kind of belongs on an NBA court. And over his last 16 games last year, he averaged 6.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists with a steal per game. And the efficiency wasn’t bad where he shot 41% from the field and 38% from threeon-ree attempts. However, in the preseason, he has just not gotten anything to go. Hopefully, you know, this is a big year for him as well. Same thing with Hugo Gonzalez. Uh he’s going to get some opportunity here in the league to make an impact in his rookie season and we’ll see if he’s able to do it. Um knocking down this three ball here is a huge step in the right direction because that’s the big question mark for Gonzalez. He’s 67. He’s got a great frame and he’s got great athleticism. If he can knock down the three ball, that’s going to be the defining factor to his game. And you’ve seen over in Spain, he has proved he can do it a little bit. Nice runner here. um he’s got ball skills and he can play defense. He’s got great athleticism. Can he shoot the three ball and fit into that Celtics system. It’s going to be a big year for him. And then Neias Kada essentially he also has a one-year try out deal with the Celtics although he has been for a while a backup depth center on this team. So we’ll see how well he plays. I think he’s going to be pretty solid. Um more than serviceable in my opinion. And then you’ve got guys like Josh Min who we talked about and Luca Garza. Luca Garza who hasn’t played bad so far in the preseason. hasn’t really jumped off the screen, but he’s looking like a good backup center and, you know, has proved over time in the league to have carved out a role for himself. He did that last year with Minnesota from time to time when they needed him, when they needed depth, and I think he can do it this year with Boston. Of course, he’s on his one-year proof a deal as well. Now, as for Jason Tatum, originally we didn’t think he was going to play this year, but now he’s ahead of schedule, and if he can get back by March, maybe this Celtics team can build up some chemistry heading into the playoffs and can make another deep run. Uh, you know, the Eastern Conference Finals have essentially been part of the Celtics schedule for the last eight years until, of course, this year when Tatum gets hurt. They were already getting blown out by the Knicks. We’ll see if they can return to being the dominant team in the Eastern Conference. And I think they will without a doubt. With that being said, those going to be it for today’s video. Thanks so much for watching. Make sure the like button, leave me a comment down below, and hit that subscribe button if you didn’t enjoy any point. With that being said, thanks so much for watching today’s video.

This video looks at the Boston Celtics and how they are secretly genius by adding all of these “prove it” players around Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum
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