Time Lord has shined even in his limited opportunities, to the point it may be time to start asking when he gets more of them. He could easily move into A territory in a hurry, but needs to remain more consistent with his shooting and aggression — B-. While he can still turn it around, he’s mostly disappointed to date — D. Theis has been asked to sacrifice maybe more than anyone on the team, and while he struggled in a new role at the 4 early, he also embraced it and can play the position mostly comfortably — and sometimes very well. That said, there are many who are under the impression that Danny Ainge and co. will once again stick to their guns this trade season and ultimately forfeit their chances at any blockbuster transactions. A 3x NBA Champion, most recently with the Los Angeles Lakers, McGee would bring extensive postseason experience, hustle, and incredible defensive tenacity to this Cs team that is struggling to find their identity as a legitimate contender. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, is enjoying a stellar sophomore season, averaging 25 points on 62% shooting with 6.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Given the extra run, that amounts to a C+. Celtics-Nets and Warriors-Clippers are the first national TV games. With the fact that the roster already has a few big men in tow who provide similar attributes to what the athletic 7-footer provides, we get your reasoning. We expect him to warm up as the season moves on, but for now, he’s earned a B. We’re not sure what’s behind the veteran’s inconsistent play, but some nights he’s draining everything — and others he kicks the ball off his foot and doesn’t even try to recover it. One of the players most impacted by the arrival of Thompson, Williams has struggled as Theis has been playing more of the 4 this season. Despite their plus-.500 record, this shamrocks squad has looked nothing like the team that took the Miami Heat to six games in the 2020 Eastern Conference Finals and, as we’ve known for quite some time now, they’ll likely need to make some moves in order to have a shot at recapturing such success. Often throughout this season, we here at the Houdini have gone about discussing ordeals such as trades that could hypothetically take place to bring on that much-needed talent addition to help spark something new and positive within this Cs team. It seems like there is a good chance the Tristan Thompson era of the Boston Celtics could be coming to a close based on recent reporting from Yahoo Sports' Chris Haynes. The Boston Celtics has undoubtedly been a big … Home Atlantic Division 3 trade scenarios for Boston Celtics before the deadline ... Isaiah Thomas and Al Horford are all big name players that have been a part of the Celtics organization over the years and all have shared the same fate with Boston — no championship. Irving scores 40, Nets beat Celtics 121-109 — Kyrie Irving scored 40 points to lead the Brooklyn Nets to a 121-109 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. Jan 7, 2021; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers center Andre Drummond (3) and Cleveland Cavaliers center JaVale McGee (6) during the first half against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum. The NBA insider relates that the Celtics may "trade their starting center by the March 25 trade deadline, with the Toronto Raptors being a possible destination". The Boston Celtics are a team in relative disarray. A-. Though the magnitude of said moves ranges from big to small — depending on whom you ask –, ultimately a consensus belief is that changes must be made to this roster sometime in the near future. They also have one of the league’s more high … You'll now receive the top Celtics Wire stories each day directly in your inbox. Seventeen games into the 2020-21 NBA season, we see the Celtics are collectively a young team with the defensive, energy and focus issues you would expect a younger team to have. Despite their plus-.500 record, this shamrocks squad has looked nothing like the team that took the Miami Heat to six games in the 2020 … Should this become a reality, and the team’s front office stays quiet by the time the trade deadline rolls around — something they often tend to do in such dealings –, it would likely shift Boston’s attention more towards the buyout market. it's safe to say the team and the player have probably looked back at the split and had some second thoughts. In the season and a half since Al Horford's departure from the Boston Celtics. Please check your email for a confirmation. Today, we take a look at 3 centers — arguably the biggest position of need for Beantown — that could both realistically be bought out by their respective teams and who could be of serious service to the Celtics: We understand that in the past when we’ve discussed the idea of the Boston Celtics pursuing the likes of JaVale McGee, fans have not always been the most receptive to the concept. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports, Boston Celtics Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports. Hard-capped by the Tristan Thompson non-taxpayer mid-level contract. He has off nights frequently enough to get a bit of a ding, but even then merits a B+. Having had COVID-19, he gets a bit of a pass — but as great as Tatum can be, the aggressiveness and confidence of last season has been lacking, and the shot selection hasn’t been great for a player who needs to draw more fouls. In the Most Improved Player, All-Star and maybe even All-NBA conversation, Brown deserves nothing less than an A. Edwards has shown signs of growth at just the right moment to help him stick in the NBA, but if he doesn’t show them more consistently, it may not be enough. https://celticswire.usatoday.com/lists/nba-boston-celtics-1st-quarter-report-card/, WATCH: Celtic point guard Payton Pritchard's best plays on his birthday, San Antonio Spurs catch Boston Celtics napping on defense, win 110 - 106. After the veteran big man and his team, the San Antonio Spurs, came to an agreement it was time for both to move on, someone's agent or an opposing front office would try to use the Celtics' possession of a $28.5 million traded player exception (TPE) as potential leverage. The Kings also limited the Celtics to two buckets over the final 2:26 after Jayson Tatum’s tying 3-pointer. But he has also shown growth in an array of skills that hint at a stronger future in the league than his cohort member out of Purdue, so we’ll grant him a “C+”. As we noted with Nesmith, it’s a big ask to expect rookies to contribute much to a contender, yet Pritchard has been one of Boston’s best players off the bench when healthy. “Defensively, that has to be our hallmark,” Barnes said. His scoring — and almost everything else — is at career-high levels. That said, he’s had more rough stretches than good ones, so it’s hard to grade the LSU product above a C-. While it might be repetitive, it can’t be said enough there’s little room to grow this season for players such as Waters. The University of Florida product is earning $27.5 million this... Start every day with our most popular content waiting in your inbox. With a little more than a quarter of the season having been played, we have enough data to give early grades on the play of individual Boston Celtics players.. Seventeen games into the 2020-21 NBA season, we see the Celtics are collectively a young team with the defensive, energy and focus issues you would expect a younger team to have. And while the health aspect matters much, he’s been a bit up-and-down, and so far has earned a B+. It’s hard to blame Thompson for what has limited him — little time and bad luck making getting conditioning and learning the system a challenge. With a little more than a quarter of the season having been played, we have enough data to give early grades on the play of individual Boston Celtics players. The second half of the Celtics' 2020-21 season begins March 11, exactly one year after COVID-19 halted the 2019-20 regular season. Should Jaylen Brown get his first All-Star nod for 2021? Jackie MacMullan thinks there's slim to no chance the Celtics can acquire Hawks' big man John Collins ... 2020-06-21T15:00:09Z. And with the exit of former teammate Gordon Hayward to the Charlotte Hornets last offseason, a traded player exception (TPE) the size of Horford's contract just so happens to open the window to a reunion, should the Celtics think it wise to bring back the beloved big man at the trade deadline. And while most trade rumors ought to be taken with a grain of salt at this time of year, with Boston's frontcourt crunch having forced head coach Brad Stevens into a plan moving forward of juggling minutes to only... You knew the LaMarcus Aldridge — Boston Celtics trade whispers were going to come; it was only a matter of time. Sign up for the Celtics Wire newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. The Boston Celtics were among those 16 teams who were still playing when the regular season ended, and to celebrate that, new earned edition jerseys have been … Green has had a little more run than some of his other deep rotation teammates. However, to say there aren’t any rumored candidates for such an ouster that could be of some benefit to this Boston Celtics team would be an absolute farce. However, should the front office believe that these aforementioned players are not the answers down low — we all know they’re not –, they could feasibly look to trade some of them for other rotation players to better fill out the roster such as a wing which, in turn, would work in favor of the concept of bringing on the 33-year-old. NBA Rumors: Boston Celtics Can Create The Supernova Offense: The Big 4; This Would Be The Greatest 3-Point Contest In NBA History: Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving; NBA Rumors: 5 Best Targets For The Miami Heat Right Now; 10 NBA Superstars Who Forced A Trade: Anthony Davis To Lakers, Kawhi Leonard To Raptors But Nesmith is showing solid growth despite the lack of opportunity, rating him a straight C. For a few games in a row, it appeared the SMU product was going to be the answer for the reserve 4 for the team, but he’s since cooled off. On the season, the 13-year veteran is posting averages of 7.5 points, five rebounds, and 1.2 blocks per game on 49 percent shooting from the floor in just 15 minutes of action. Smart has matured a lot, and it’s paying off this season when he picks his shots with care, deferring to the trio of high-powered offensive threats that are Brown, Jayson Tatum and Kemba Walker. Quick: Over the cap. The NBA officially released the second half of the 2020-21 schedule on Wednesday. B+. Pels reportedly shopping Eric Bledsoe - potential Celtics TPE target? The 2020–21 Celtics' "City" uniform was patterned after the 17 championship banners that adorn the TD Garden rafters. If ever recognition was in order for making the postseason, it was in 2019-20 when the end of the season and playoffs had to be held in a bubble hosted by Disney in its Wide World of Sports complex outside of Orlando, Florida..