Category: Basketball

13 for 13, Part 3: Early thoughts on Simons and other Celtics role players originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Editor’s Note: In a three-part series, Chris Forsberg is sharing 13 thoughts on the 13 Celtics players who have played in the team’s first 13 games. Part 1 focused on the “core four.”Part 2 focused on key role players.Here is Part 3.

For all the consternation about Boston’s depth after its offseason overhaul, there is still no lack of competition for minutes on this new-look Celtics roster.

Joe Mazzulla has leaned heavily into players who can bring energy and grit. We’re eager to see if the competition among the bench players can push the entire batch to expand their games.

For Part 3 of our “13 thoughts on 13 players after 13 games” series, we’re keeping the spotlight on Boston’s bench players: 

Sam Hauser

One number: 96.7

That’s how many points per 100 shot attempts that Hauser is averaging this season. It ranks in the bottom 3rd percentile among all forwards, per Cleaning the Glass data.

More jarring: That number is 31.5 points per 100 shots lower than Hauser’s average over the past three seasons, where he’s lingered in the 88th percentile or higher while averaging 128.2 points per 100 shot attempts in that span.

One thought

Hauser got first crack as a starter with the fellow holdovers from Boston’s last title team, but the Celtics’ rebounding woes forced the team to seek alternatives. Hauser’s shot has disappeared in November, too, with six straight games with one 3-pointer or less.

A wrist sprain likely hasn’t helped matters, but even Hauser looks exasperated whenever shots finally fall. Like we’ve often said with Payton Pritchard and Derrick White, this team could look a lot different when players who typically make shots find their groove.

Anfernee Simons

One number: 47.3

That’s Simons’ 3-point percentage on catch-and-shoot 3s this season. He’s taking 4.2 per game in that playtype. On the flip side, he’s shooting 30.8 percent on 3.0 pull-up 3-point attempts per game.

While Simons’ ability to create for himself is vital for a new-look bench group, the Celtics need to maximize his catch-and-shoot abilities by having others create for him.

One thought

It’s insane how hot Simons can get shooting the ball in short stretches. He’s reached double figures in scoring in 10 of Boston’s 13 games. While we’d like to see the Celtics limit Simons’ ball-handling responsibilities, he has driven down his turnovers after a rough preseason, and his assist percentage is up over the last few games. Being a willing ball-mover can aid that second group.

Xavier Tillman

One number: 61

That’s the total number of minutes that Tillman has played this season, the fewest among Boston’s regulars. He’s reached double-figure minutes just three times and it hasn’t happened in November.

One thought

Tillman’s minutes continue to be based heavily on matchups, but it’s still jarring how little he’s played given Boston’s frontcourt overhaul. Tillman had a great season debut while jousting with Joel Embiid on opening night but has played sparingly since.

Rebounding has always been an issue with Tillman given his size and that might be conspiring against him now. His defensive versatility is a luxury but one that Mazzulla just hasn’t consistently called on. 

Chris Boucher

One number: 57.1

That is Boston’s defensive rebound percentage during Boucher’s 76 minutes of floor time this season. That’s the worst mark on the team by more than 3 percent. The Celtics’ total rebound rate plummets to 43.8 percent, or nearly 6 percent below the team’s season mark of 49.4 percent.

One thought

The Celtics leaned so heavily on Boucher in the preseason — including some double-big minutes as a starter — that it’s been a bit surprising he hasn’t played much in the regular season. Alas, Boucher has struggled to contribute offensively in his minutes (missing 10 of his 11 3-point attempts) and the team hasn’t rebounded the ball in his floor time.

We suspect the veteran will get more chances moving forward, but the Celtics have leaned into playing smaller to start the year.

Baylor Scheierman

One number: 53.8

That’s what Scheierman is shooting from beyond the arc this season, making seven of his first 13 3-point attempts. After misfiring on 15 of 19 triples in the preseason, it’s encouraging to see Scheierman find his stroke in limited regular-season minutes.

One thought

Scheierman has seen limited reps as the team tends to lean into the energy and grit of younger wings like Jordan Walsh and Hugo Gonzalez.

Scheierman needs to stay ready for his opportunities, but the Celtics have posted good numbers in his floor time, including a +10.8 net rating in his 81 minutes. He just needs to find more ways to impact winning beyond shotmaking when he’s on the court. 

The stressful trip grew even more trying for the Lakers when two more core players weren’t able to play in the last leg of a five-game journey that tested L.A. in many ways.

Steady defensive ace Marcus Smart (viral illness) and the solid Rui Hachimura (left calf soreness) missed the second night of back-to-back games Saturday against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Form, the two of them sidelined along with LeBron James (sciatica) and Gabe Vincent (left ankle sprain).

That left it up to Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton to lead the rest of the Lakers to the finish of the eight-day trip and overcome the dominance of Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Doncic, Reaves and Ayton combined for 86 points, and the Lakers opened a 31-point, first-half lead that went a long way in pulling off a 119-95 win over the Bucks.

Doncic led the way with 41 points, nine rebounds and six assists, making big shots and getting to the line to turn back the Bucks and help the Lakers finish their trip 3-2. Doncic was nine for 19 from the field, including five for 11 from three-point range. He made 18 of 20 free throws.

Reaves had 25 points, eight assists and six rebounds and also hit big shots to block the Bucks' comeback, while Ayton had 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Read more:With LeBron nearing a return, Austin Reaves and Luka Doncic lead Lakers past Pelicans

Antetokounmpo finished with 32 points, 10 rebounds and five assists, but his effort wasn’t enough to lift the Bucks, who also were playing a back-to-back.

The Lakers’ lead got sliced to 13 in the fourth quarter, but Doncic and Reaves wouldn’t let the Lakers lose their grip, both drilling threes and making free throws to ensure they pulled out the win.

The Lakers started the trip with a loss in Atlanta to a Hawks team missing several starters and key role players. Then the Lakers lost to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder by 29, leaving them staggering at 1-2 on the trip.

But the Lakers got their mojo back Friday in New Orleans against the Pelicans, then went out and smoked the Bucks despite being even more shorthanded.

Lakers coach JJ Redick’s only update on Hachimura’s injured calf was “it’s tight.”

Redick was asked if Hachimura was injured against the Pelicans.

“I think he’s been having some tightness all week,” Redick said. “With a back-to-back, probably just smart to hold him out tonight. But I don’t think it will be a lingering thing.”

Redick had said he expected rookie Adou Thiero to make his debut this weekend, and the 6-foot-8 forward did.

Asked what he wanted to see from Thiero, Redick said: "Very simple — just be a banshee."

Thiero, out to start the season while recovering from left knee surgery, had four points and an offensive rebound in five minutes, scoring his first NBA basket on a fast-break dunk off an assist from Bronny James.

The Lakers went hard in the second quarter, outscoring the Bucks 35-16 in building a 63-34 lead at the half. Ayton was a big force in the second quarter, scoring 14 points on six-for-nine shooting and grabbing four rebounds.

The Lakers shot 63.6% from the field in the second quarter, 50% from three-point range (two for four). Their defense was stellar, holding the Bucks to 15.8% shooting.

The Bucks battled back in the third quarter behind better three-point shooting, but the Lakers leaned on Doncic and Reaves to head home with a winning trip.

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Why Draymond Green disagrees with Charles Oakley's opinion of his playing style originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green sees and hears everything, even commentary from former NBA players.

19-year NBA veteran Charles Oakley recently said Green’s style of play wouldn’t have worked in the 90s, citing the Warriors’ forward’s penchant for trash talking as something that would’ve been different in his era. (h/t basketball network)

Green first and foremost expressed the respect he has for Oakley, before offering a detailed response as to why he disagrees with the longtime enforcer’s opinion of him during a recent episode of “The Draymond Green Show.“

“Uncle Oak is my guy, so there will be no slander here. I got the utmost respect, Uncle Oak did it at the highest level at what he was in this league, and I respect that” Green said. So what I will say is this. I respect everything Uncle Oak said and his opinion is his opinion. I disagree with some of it, as in like Draymond’s style wouldn’t fit in the NBA in the 90s. And I disagree with that because my style of who Draymond Green is, I created my style.”

Green averaged 16.2 points per game in his senior season at Michigan State, serving as a dynamic scorer on one of the nation’s best teams. Upon arriving in the NBA as a second-round draft pick, Green had to reinvent himself to sustain his professional career. The Warriors forward explained how that adaptability would translate to any era, not just modern basketball.

“I’m a basketball player, so I know how to adjust to different situations. When I came into this league, I was not who I am today. I created this guy, who I am today,” Green explained. “When I came in this league, I scored the basketball. That’s kind of who I was and how I got here. I also rebounded the basketball and passed the basketball, it’s kind of who I was and how I got here. Most importantly, I was a winner before I got here and after I got here.

“So, I became who I became while not quite being myself, which is why I love me and I’m so proud of me. Because I feel like if you task someone with becoming someone totally different than who they ever were, they may become serviceable NBA players but they usually don’t become potential Hall of Famers.”

Green also highlighted the difference in play between the 90s and today as being a key factor into why he disagrees with Oakley’s assessment.

“And so that’s why I’m so proud of me, because regardless of how I had to do it, I went and made it happen,” green said. “But by no means don’t make the mistake, I was never this player. I just happened to make this player great. So, I disagree with not being able to play in the 90s. The skill level wasn’t as high as it is today. They did not run up and down the court like we do today, the game was way slower.

“Yeah, guys were bigger, and you can say guys are soft today but I’m sorry to tell you, Nikola Jokić ain’t soft. I’m sorry to tell you, [Victor Wembenyama] is a little skinny, but he ain’t soft. The game ain’t bruising like it used to be, but quite honestly we’re not allowed to do that. We’re not allowed to play the game as physical as they played it. Also, nobody wanted to see that s–t. So, the game kind of changed to increase the ratings of more basketball that people want to see. I respect and love the OGs but it’s different, the game is played totally different today.”

Green is a four-time NBA champion and a Defensive Player of the Year Award winner, with a Hall-of-Fame caliber resume that makes it difficult to envision a scenario where he wouldn’t be able to play in another era and find similar success.

Looks like Green and Oakley will have to respectfully agree to disagree on this one.

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Draymond Green calls out ‘losers' critical of Jonathan Kuminga's Warriors role originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

Draymond Green is tired of the Jonathan Kuminga slander.

After Kuminga agreed to a two-year extension with Golden State that ended a summer-long contract standoff, it the young forward and the team were ready to move on and focus on basketball.

But people can’t get enough of the drama.

Kuminga started the first 12 game sfor the Warriors before coach Steve Kerr wanted to shake things up and had Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski come off the bench during Golden State’s first game of a back-to-back set against the Spurs in San Antonio.

In that game, Kuminga didn’t play the entire second half and some speculated he was upset for being pulled out of the starting lineup. However, it was later revealed that he is dealing with bilateral knee tendinitis.

“Obviously, I think JK has been playing really well. So to go out of the starting lineup, it kind of sucks,” Green shared on his “The Draymond Green Show.” “But I think also people make starting and coming off the bench sometimes more than what it really is.

I know everyone loves a good drama. Everybody’s saying, ‘Oh man, he’s being the scapegoat,’ and this, that and all that. There’s no scapegoat. We’re 13 games in. Ironically, all the people that start running around saying scapegoat are people that never won. So you think there’s a scapegoat needed. But in Game 12, when you know what it takes to win a championship, there’s no scapegoat. In Game 12, also when you’re not front-runners and you’re champions, there’s no scapegoat anyway.

“Decisions are just kind of made, and you move on and you make the best decision that you think is going to put you in position to win. And so I found it very funny hearing a lot of people that never won and some losers say, ‘Oh man, he’s being scapegoated,’ like, only bad teams and losers panic in Game 12 of an 82-game season with 70 games left.”

Green acknowledged that yes, something needed to change after the Warriors had come off an ugly road loss to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

That loss dropped the Warriors to 6-6 on the season at the time, which Green believes was a large enough sample size to evaluate what was working well for the team and adjust what wasn’t. So, as all championship caliber teams do, to Green’s point, Kerr made the change he felt was necessary.

One thing Green will do is take accountability for the basketball side of things, but he won’t stand for the false narratives being tossed around about his teammates.

“I know JK was questionable to see if he was going to play last night, and he ended up not playing because he wasn’t really feeling it,” Green shared. “But of course, people are going to create drama and say Kuminga didn’t come out after halftime because he was mad he didn’t play. Unfortunately, guys, I live this thing. So I know a few more things that y’all don’t know. And I know JK was questionable because his knees were sore before OKC. Voila! Oh my God! It’s not what y’all thought. It’s unbelievable. Look at that.

“How about this? JK has been one of the most bought-in guys on the team all year. How about that? Oh my God, he’s not the f–king a–hole and baby that y’all try to make him out to be, and think he’s always complaining. How about that? JK has made it very clear he wants to be an All-Star. He thinks he has All-Star potential, and he wants to fulfill that. He’s made that very clear, 1,000 percent we all know that. So when you feel like things aren’t quite going your way to allow it, that you’re going to be upset as a competitor, of course. Kid works his ass off.

“Of course, you want to feel some type of way. Who would want someone that doesn’t feel any type of way? Great. I’ll show you a loser right to your face. So I found that very interesting. You all just kind of try to take whatever you want and spin it, and I’m here to tell you that you never have to do that with my words.”

Well, there it is.

If there’s ever any confusion on Kuminga’s supposed unhappiness with the Warriors, just check in with “The Draymond Green Show” to get anything cleared up.

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