Kyrie stating that “if you guys will have [him] back” is the key phrase here. Yes the later part of his statements shows a commitment to the Celtics but I think most of us know that Kyrie is probably angling for a max deal. If he does walk next season he can just mention that Celtics management did not show the commitment to keep him by offering a max deal to him. Then he can walk to NY or whatever place w/ one of his friends and get a nice paycheck. I may be wrong, but all this does is stop some questions by the media. The 2019 offseason will be very interesting.
"You think Kobe would complain about somebody scoring on him at the end of a game? Jordan? Barkley? They would do something about it, probably along the lines of a flagrant 1. That’s what’s up — not a temper tantrum.” From @jessewashington Kyrie’s beef with Jamal Murray is part of a childish trend NBA players should stop whining about buckets when game is decided https://theundefeated.com/features/...-jamal-murray-nuggets-part-of-childish-trend/
I don't know how long they can wait. Looks like the Rozier and/or Jaylen Brown trades may have to happen sooner instead of later. Maybe they need to see more consistency from Hayward before they feel comfortable trading Brown away.
How's Al Horford doing? I admittedly haven't watched a lot of Celtics basketball this year but a lot of Horford's value comes from things you can't see on paper (e.g. defense). That being said, his numbers are slightly worse than years past. They just have too many mouths to feed.
That's a good way to put it. Last year they were a tighter, more cohesive unit. Now they have to re-integrate two major parts (one, a ball dominant guard; the other, shards of his former self). I thought their wealth of depth would be good for them but it's made them look like stumblebums on offense.
I think we all were on the same page thinking that their depth would be a strength but the TYPE of depth they're running just isn't productive, especially the two major parts you mentioned. Tack on the fact that Tatum looked ready to take the leap this year, Jaylen Brown should get more quality minutes to grow/develop even more so, same for Rozier, etc. My armchair GM suggestion is to trade Morris (25 mpg) and Smart (23 mpg) for future draft picks to alleviate that roster bottle neck. Yea it's better to deal Hayward for parts/picks but this would be the path of least resistance and you take those minutes and shift it to the rest of the roster.
I think Smart has still bought in (despite fewer mins) and they should keep him as the backup to Kyrie. Much to my surprise, same thing for Morris who is playing maybe the best basketball in his career. This is why he's still getting the same minutes. The efficiencies for both Jaylen Brown and Tatum have really dropped off. Maybe the competition for minutes is playing on their minds. Tatum started the year looking like a superstar but he's gone backwards since. Rozier 100% needs to go IMO. Haven't watched the Celts as much this year but it seems like Rozier is out of control more than ever.
This, Horford is the only player on that team you can bet is playing to win with no ****s given about his minutes, stats etc...Tatum, Brown and especially Rozier on the other hand...
Because they're healthy, they're deep, and the East isn't that tough(at least compared to the West). They shouldn't be struggling this badly.
