Recommended Content
Reading
· CelticsBlog film room: Aaron Nesmith’s proficiency off screens (Adam Spinella)
· Celtics' Jayson Tatum a big fan of Aaron Nesmith, Payton Pritchard (Cody Taylor)
· Aaron Nesmith credits Jerry Stackhouse's coaching learning Celtics' defense (Justin Quinn)
· Jaylen Brown Embraces Local Leadership Role: “I’m a Bostonian Now” (Taylor Snow)
· Celtics 'a match made in heaven' for Thompson (Chris Forsberg)
Audio and Video
· Celticslab: Taking stock of the new roster, and Boston's TPE options (Cameron Tabatabaie, Alex Goldberg and Justin Quinn)
· Celtics Media Days Interviews (Celticsblog)
· Celticspod: Nekias Duncan stops by (Celticspod - Celticsblog)
· From the Rafters: Fans at TD Garden and the Celtics Starting Lineup with Adam Kaufman (From The Rafters - Guy Boston Sports)
What’s on Tap
It’s wild to think that after such a short layover, we’re only a day away from seeing live Celtics basketball. Boston tips off the preseason against Philadelphia on Tuesday at 7:30PM EST, followed by the Nets on Friday at 8:00PM EST. Due to the league’s quick turnaround, this is the only warmup Boston is going to get before they kick off their season vs. the revamped Milwaukee Bucks.
With the departure of Gordon Hayward, Kemba Walker fresh off an injection of stem cells into his knee, and Romeo Langford recovering from wrist surgery, Boston will be down two wings and their starting point guard to start the season. In addition, Enes Kanter returned to Portland, Vincent Poirier was dumped off to the Thunder, and Brad Wanamaker signed a deal with Golden State. Both Walker and Langford are looking to be out until early 2021, which leaves the team in a bit of a bind. Boston will need to dip heavily into their rotations to make up lost ground between Hayward following the money to Charlotte and the absence of Kemba’s scoring presence.
The starting five has been a particular point of focus for speculation, and rightfully so. With gaps to fill in and the additions of veteran guard Jeff Teague and longtime Cavaliers big-man Tristan Thompson, the starting lineup becomes a little less clear. Daniel Theis is all cleared to go after a knee scope following the team’s postseason exit, and while Thompson has received a good deal of praise from Coach Brad Stevens, it’s been said that he may not be ready due to a recent hamstring strain and a long layover from NBA play. When speaking on the matter, Stevens said the following:
“He didn’t play in the bubble, so there will be a ramp up period for him whenever he is able to go live in practice,” Stevens said, “and I’m assuming it won’t be just one of those situations where you’re available one day and you get a good practice in and you can play. I think it’ll be a little more than that.”
With that in mind, we’re more likely to see Theis starting at the 5 to begin the season. It seems doubtful that Boston will run a two-big lineup, even when Thompson is available to play. It’s worth noting that per basketball-reference.com, Jayson Tatum spent 90% of his minutes at Power Forward and 10% as a small-ball center; in the playoffs, it was 88% and 12% among the same spread. If that’s where Boston feels Tatum plays the best, I’d expect him to remain there barring a matchup-based lineup.
Looking at Jaylen Brown’s minutes, Basketball Reference has him clocking in 50% of his time at Shooting Guard, 46% at Small Forward and a paltry 7% at the 4. However, his playoff minutes are skewed a bit more towards Small Forward, clocking 77% there (16% at Shooting Guard, 7% at Power Forward). Keep in mind that Gordon Hayward only managed to suit up for 3 games during the postseason run, so with his definitive absence, Jaylen Brown may slide over to the 3 in a more permanent fixture.
In terms of the guard spots, things begin to get a little trickier. Marcus Smart, Boston’s longest tenured player, served at the two guard spot alongside Walker during the playoffs, playing a whopping 87% of his minutes at shooting guard compared to 7% at point. During the regular season, he spent 23% of the time at the point, and that could very well be the case this time around with Kemba’s knee recovering.
The question is, where does Jeff Teague factor into this? With Brad Wanamaker gone, there is absolutely a spot in the rotation for a saavy, experienced veteran like Teague. In a quote from 2015 pulled by Jay King, Brad Stevens previously gushed about Teague’s speed with the ball:
“I think you have to look and redefine who the superstars are with our own eyes every day. And I don’t know what qualifies as a superstar but I know this: nobody in the league can keep Jeff Teague in front of them. Nobody.”
Teague and Stevens are familiar with each other, as Teague previously played high school in Indiana and was scouted by Stevens during his time at Butler University. It’s safe to assume that Coach Stevens has done his homework on Teague as a player, and now it’s a matter or carving out a role.
All things considered, Teague may be better served as the first point guard off the bench as opposed to a starting role with Walker out. Over this past season between his time in Minnesota and Atlanta, Teague played in 59 games and started 17 of them. By comparison, Marcus Smart played in 60 games last season and started 40 times; if you go a step further and look at the 2018-19 season, it was a total of 80 games with 60 starts.
It’s far more likely that Marcus Smart retains his start status that he’s earned, meaning that Jeff Teague will be relied upon to help stabilize and lead the bench unit as a lynchpin of the rotation. In that capacity, Teague could also be a mentor for Boston’s younger players like rookie guard Payton Prichard, Carsen Edwards, and Tremont Waters. As an 11-year player, Teague is already solidified as Boston’s most seasoned player with the potential to groom the new recruits.
In this situation, the only position that would be unclear is who to start alongside Smart. Pritchard, a seasoned four year college athlete for the Oregon Ducks, could eventually earn some minutes as a part of the rotation. He’s already earned praise from Marcus Smart, who stated:
“I kind of had a feeling that he would be a guy for me that would stand out. I was looking forward to seeing what he has, and he hasn’t disappointed yet.”
Brad Stevens gave his remarks on Pritchard as well, saying:
“He’s tough, he knows how to play, he’s physical, he shoots the ball. So I think that he certainly has had a good couple of days. What that means in the long run, big picture, there’s still a lot to sort out.”
In regards to sharpshooter Aaron Nesmith, Brad Stevens didn’t hesitate to give the young Vanderbilt product his credence.
In this excerpt of an article from NESN’s Abigail Adams, Stevens gave some insight:
“I really like what I’ve seen so far from his ability to learn from things day-to-day and apply them the next day,” Stevens told reporters Tuesday, per MassLive’s John Karalis.
With players like Kemba Walker and Tristan Thompson still working through injuries, Boston’s bench will have to step up in the interim. And considering Nesmith’s potential, he could be a solid candidate to come off the bench.
Stevens, however, isn’t rushing that notion just yet.
“We’re four practices in. I have no idea if he will be a part of the rotation or not,” he said. “… But that stuff will sort itself out.”
If Boston intends to start Smart and keep Teague on the bench, then it waters down to who you think fits better among the starters. If you’d rather slide Brown and Tatum back to the 2 and 3, Grant Williams could be a huge factor at the 4 for the team; again, as much as I love Grant, it would be my preference to continue playing Tatum at the 4. If the team goes that route, then the belief is you should slot a player in at the 2 who doesn’t need the ball in his hands to operate within the offense, and is capable of shooting off the catch and rotating on defense.
Though he needs seasoning, I believe Aaron Nesmith could potentially see time among the starters at the shooting guard spot alongside Smart. Nesmith has been touted as the best shooter of his draft class, and for a brief spurt in college this past season shot 52.2% from range on 4.3 makes per game. In a profile from Bleacher Report, it’s mentioned that Nesmith sported a 65.9eFG%, which would have ranked 5th in the nation if he reached the qualifiers.
The biggest issue among all of this is sample size, as a stress fracture in Nesmith’s foot cut his season short at only 14 games. It’s still worth mentioning the progress that Nesmith made from freshman to sophomore year at Vanderbilt. According to Sports Reference, his FG% went up 12 points, and his focus on taking more threes paid dividends. His attempts jumped from 5.5 attempts per game to 8.2 per game, and in addition, his 3P% soared from 33.7% to 52.2%.
Clearly, Aaron Nesmith has the ability to hone his game and grow, and by all indication, that same work ethic is being noticed by Boston’s coaching staff. Whether or not it will lead to a starting role is yet to be seen, but his chances are just as promising as the rest of the lot. The games on Tuesday and Friday this week may give us more of an idea of where the young shooter stands among his peers.
Personal Musings
Hiya folks!
I suppose this is my chance to introduce myself. My name is Tim Sheils, and I’ve taken over the Clover Disclosure for my good friend Adam Taylor. Adam and I have been working together for a few years now on various projects, going as far back as our first podcast together in 2018 and as recently as the CelticsBlog Podcast through this past September. I trust and respect Adam a great deal, and we talk on a regular basis about life and basketball. As such, I run a lot of my work by him for feedback, and he’ll be helping in the same capacity with this newsletter while he juggles multiple podcasts, CelticsBlog writing, and new media projects.
So, to tell you a bit about myself, I grew up in Stoneham, a small town about 20 minutes outside of Boston. Because of this, I used to take the Orange Line in a lot to catch games growing up as a kid and continued to do so even when I moved to Lowell for school. Now, I work and reside in Lowell with my girlfriend and our two cats, Luke and Leia (big Star Wars fans, as you might’ve guessed).
When not watching or talking basketball, I like to listen to music and records, paint, play video games, and act in stage theatre. I have a deep fear of the ocean (humans have only explored and charted 5% of our oceans and they cover 70% of the planet’s surface!!!). I think pineapple on pizza is delicious regardless of the hate it gets, and I also believe that Cowboy Bebop is a masterclass in stylized media and storytelling.
Ultimately, I am telling you all this not only for you to get an idea of who I am, but to hopefully establish a more deep-seated connection with you all as readers. I know that when you signed up for this newsletter, it was with the expectation that you’d be reading Adam’s work (and I encourage all of you to continue to do so).
If you choose to unsubscribe, I totally understand, no hard feelings! But, if you give me the opportunity, I’d love to provide Celtics content and information for your enjoyment. As a writer, I want to create a community and engage with you, and to get an idea of what you’d like to read about when it comes to the guys in green. I plan to do some polling as well as run a monthly mailbag to get all your questions and thoughts on all things Celtics, and I look forward to the opportunity to earn your trust and respect as a content provider. I want your feedback to not only produce content that you’d enjoy, but to grow as a writer and further my development along the way. I can be found on twitter at @timsheilsnba, where I mostly tweet about NBA news with some memes and shitposting sprinkled in. Cheers!