The big news yesterday was that the Celtics have released Colton Iverson. He was a second round draft pick in 2013 and has been playing in Turkey ever since. He played in two Celtics training camps and made an impression on the fans with his physical style of play and his energy, but obviously he didn't make as big an impression on the Celtics brass. I have to believe that Iverson might have been better than some of the centers that they have had in the past 3 years. Fab Melo, anyone?
There have been several articles about RJ Hunter working hard for that final roster spot. With 19 players under contract for camp, it looks like the final spot could come down to Hunter, Young, Bentil, or Holland. Hunter and Young have guaranteed contracts. Bentil's contract is partially guaranteed and Holland's is nonguaranteed. But that doesn't necessarily mean anything.
If Bentil or Holland out play Young and Hunter in camp, I'd have to think that the player who impresses the most would be the one they keep. But word is that Hunter is very motivated and working hard. He's had several workouts with Jae Crowder, Al Horford, Amir Johnson, and assistant coach Jae Larranaga. The Horford signing is paying off already in that RJ said that he's already learned a lot from Horford, who has been helping him quite a bit.
I was interested to see an article on Knicks Daily about Phil Jackson and what he considers to be his biggest mistake as the Knicks' GM. He had the opportunity to get Jae Crowder from the Mavs when he traded Tyson Chandler and instead settled for a second round pick. Now he is kicking himself for not asking for Jae in the trade. Here's their take on Jae:
Crowder is by no means a star, but he’s become the type of player that all 30 teams would love to have. He does a bit of everything on both ends of the floor and defends at a very high level.Jae is probably my favorite Celtic on the team right now. I love how hard he competes and I love the way he defends. He's definitely the type of player that every team would love to have. I can completely understand why Danny would not include him in trade offers. In 2015-16, he averaged 14.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.7 steals, and made 1.7 3-point field goals per game. He shot 44.3% from the field, 33.6% from beyond the arc, and 82% from the free throw line. And, I expect him to come back even better this season.
Now a member of the Boston Celtics, Crowder is earning a reputation as one of the better small forwards in the NBA.
Speaking of defense, there was another article with stars giving credit to players who defend them best. Damian Lillard had this to say about Avery Bradley's defense:
“A lot of guys just — people say they’re defenders. They look like defenders on some possessions, but that’s what he does. That’s what he wants to do. He’s there every possession. He doesn’t get screened. He’s tough. You’ve got to give credit where it’s due.”Also mentioned are Kawhi Leonard, Tony Allen, Michael Cooper and Joe Dumars. I'd also add Jae Crowder to that mix. He does a great job guarding the bigger wings like LeBron and Melo. He irritates them to the point where they simply want to take him out.
Finally, ESPN Insider ranks the top free agents for next year's offseason and Kelly Olynyk is rated at #21. Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Paul Millsap and Kyle Lowry lead off the pack. Former Celtic, Jared Sullinger is ranked 13th. Serge Ibaka, Greg Monroe and Pau Gasol are 3 bigs ranked after Olynyk in the top 30. Here is what they have to say about Kelly:
The second-most accurate 3-point shooting 7-footer (minimum 400 attempts) in NBA history behind a certain German who plays for the Dallas Mavericks, per Basketball-Reference.com, Olynyk shot 40.5 percent from beyond the arc last year. He has a chance to emerge as a starter next to Al Horford this season before hitting restricted free agency.I really hope that Kelly can stay healthy this season and that he will have a break out season and get a contract extension with the Celtics. If he leaves, it will break my grandson's heart. He loves Kelly and even named his goldfish after him. Every day is one day closer to the season.
[Discuss on CG Forums!]
Kind of funny about your grandson, a few years ago, my son named our dog after his then favorite player - Rondo. Even though Rondo is long gone form the team, our dog is still with us. I also like Kelly O, last year, I was at a game, and I got him to look over at me, and he gave me a thumbs up. Made my day. I would love to see him take his game to the next level.
ReplyDeleteAlso about Tommy Heinsohn. My son doesn't really like him too much, he thinks he's too much of a homer. I had to explain to him that Tommy is old-school. I told him that back in the 80's, announcers like Heinsohn were the norm. Back then it was OK to say that the other team were the bad guys who you hoped missed every shot, and that you expected your team to hit every shot. I told him about Johnny Most, and how he would put Heinsohn to shame in the "homer" department. Nowadays you aren't supposed to insult anybody. You are supposed to be nice to everybody. Heinsohn had either never got that memo, or he just ignored it. He's old school, and I for one absolutely love it (makes me miss the "good-old days" of announcing.
ReplyDeleteWhat most people don't understand about Heinsohn is that he's more knowledgeable about basketball than almost anybody else on the planet. He's observed pretty much every big name in basketball history. He's a hall-of-fame player, coach and announcer. Who else can say that. he's seen almost every change that basketball has gone through. He's seen pretty much every play that has ever been called. He knows so much about basketball that it's scary. Unfortunately fans from other teams just can't get past his good-old fashioned homerism.
Good observations all. I can however see how opposing fans would find Tommy's the-green-can-do-no-wrong attitude a bit grating. It is probably harder for them to relate to his on-point observations through their clenched jaws than for us through our wry smiles. I do enjoy Mike reining him in . . . delicately.
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