Author Archives: Ricardo Vieira

About Ricardo Vieira

Ricardo here. 18 years old from Boston MA. I love Boston Sports and I mostly likely hate your team. My opinions are my own, so slow down, mate. You can find on Twitter @KaardoNBA and have some fun with my hot takes and I´ll probably piss you off and end up blocked. GO CELTICS!

A Heartbreaking Opening Night for the Celtics and Hayward

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If you have not heard, C’s starting SF Gordon Hayward suffered what for now looks like a fractured ankle just six minutes into the new NBA season. Before the game’s end, Hayward was en route to Boston.  Celtics dropped the 1st game to the Cavs, with a final score of 102-99.

 

After the freak accident, the Celtics looked out of sync all over the floor for the obvious reason. The shooting was flat, either long or short, and the ball did not move well, leading to a 54-38 Cavs lead at halftime.  Marcus Smart started in place of Hayward in the second half.  The Celtics came out like they wanted to win this for Hayward, with a 28-11 tear in the third quarter to take a quick lead.

One player responsible for the comeback tonight, Jaylen Brown, had a career night. He was not going to be denied taking it to the hoop and his never-back-down attitude. He finished the night with 25 points and six rebounds.

Kyrie did his stuff in the fourth quarter but it was not enough, as LeBron put the Cavs behind his back and led them to the victory.  Jayson Tatum had a shaky start, but the rookie found his touch later on the game, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds.  Marcus added 12 points and nine rebounds but shot 0-4 beyond the arc.

YOUNG PLAYERS TO STEP UP

I don’t want to speculate on any timetable for G’s return, but he will probably sit out a big portion of the season. The young players will have to step in line. Next man up mentally. They showed it tonight and will have to continue going forward.

Celtics open at home tonight when they take on the Milwaukee Bucks.

Marcus Smart Keeps Getting Disrespected

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WHY IS HE INVISIBLE?

The NBA released the 2017 GM surveys, and Marcus Smart keeps getting overlooked by the league. The GMs voted for What bench player makes the biggest impact when he enters the game, and Marcus did not even receive a single vote. Take a look:

Yes, correct. Not even a single vote. Despite Marcus having his best season yet. Let’s take a look at his numbers last season:

10.6 Points, 4.6 Assists

3.9 Rebounds

1.6 Steals

2.0 TOs

When we talk about the most complete player of the bench, Marcus Smart tops the list. Smart did have another terrible shooting year, with splits of .359/.283/.812. But Marcus impacts winning like no other bench player. From diving for a ball, to deflections, to grabbing big time rebounds in crunch time or grabbing a loose ball, he does a bit of everything that don’t show up in the traditional stat sheet. And we don’t even need to mention his defense.

Marcus had more points, more assists and the same rebounding averages as Iggy. No disrespect to Iguodala, he’s an important piece for the Warriors. When I look at that list, I see scorers. Players that only play one side of the ball. Gordon is a tremendous scorer but nothing more. He’s not a key defensive player, nor a play maker. Same could be said for Jamal and Lou Williams.

Of all of those players, only Igoudala can impact a game on both ends of the floor.

So why no mention for Marcus?

MARCUS NO-BUCKETS

The only logical reason rests on Marcus’ offensive game. Marcus has a career shooting splits of .358/.291/.762 — not great. He’s not the instant bucket guy that you look for off the bench.  But what do we define as impactful?

BIG TIME BOARDS

When Marcus is not scoring, he’s doing this:

With five seconds left, Crowder takes a corner three and missed. And look who comes flying down to keep the ball alive for Al to score and to give the Celtics the lead. That’s impact.

 

Same situation here. A missed shot and another big time put-back by Smart over the defense.

At the end of the day, Celtics know the impact Marcus have for this team. The GM’s have yet to open their eyes and see Marcus impact, but with a even bigger role of the bench this season, we will see different opinions around the league.

You can find me on Twitter at @KaardoNBA

Kyire 1st TD Garden Game

Celtics Preseason Game Recap vs Hornets

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CELTICS PRESEAON GAME RECAP

Celtics Preseason Game Recap vs Hornets.

C´s won with a Final Score of 94 – 82. This was our first look with the new team, and what a fun night!

BALL MOVEMENT

The game started with some ugly missfires, as expected, but the ball movement was excellent. The C´s had eight buckets in seven dimes to start the game. Everyone was unselfish and the ball did not stick with just one player.

Check this out:

Have look at this pass by Al. That is your Center folks.

https://twitter.com/TheFuzzNBA/status/915004819735064576

And yes, that is Kyrie dunking. I have seen Kyrie dunk twice his entire career. It was surprising to see him dunk, but I bet my money we won´t see much of it comes the regular season. Kyrie finished the game (only played first half) with nine points and five rebounds. G-Hayward added five and five. Al was really impressive with seven points, six rebounds and four assists in just 16 minutes of action. He and Hayward also did not play in the second half.

BAYNES, MR ALL-AUSTRALIA

Aaron Baynes was the the man of the night, for multiple reasons as you will find out later. The big guy punched in 10 points and grabbed five rebounds. But the stats won´t tell the entire story. He was hustling, contesting shots, playing good defense and really looked good taking and making the mid-range jump shots.

Marcus Smart came off the bench, was on pace to take 16 threes and did what Marcus does, hustle and have winning plays. He hit three of seven from beyond the arc. Jayson Tatum looked a bit nervous, as result, some ugly shots and misses. This was expected, as a 19-year old rookie basically trying to do everything right in his first career NBA game. He did settle down later on, finishing with nine points.

The rookie from Germany, Daniel Theis, really put in an impressive performance. In just 14 minutes of action, he piled up 12 points, seven rebounds and three assists. From catching lobs, to setting picks and rolling to the hoop, to rebounding. He did it all. Celtics Nation should not overreact to this, because it was against players who will probably never see the floor with the Hornets.  Don’t forget — just preseason, but the results look encouraging. Theis has more experience and eventually will end up as a rotation player ahead of Yabu.

Abdel added 10 points. Larkin really kept the ball moving with the second unit. Nice showing in the limited minutes played. Yabu also seemed a little bit nervous, but he did hit the offensive glass hard multiple times.

Lots of positives in the first game, but remember, it´s just the preseason. Slow down on the hot-take cannons for now.

TOMMY SAID WHAT?

Regular season has yet to begin and Tommy is already at it:

Celtics next preseson game is Friday, when they take on the 76ers.

TR

Final Roster Spot

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Final Roster Spot

The Celtics have a final roster spot, but Andrew Bogut won’t be the player to fill that spot.

According to multiple reports, both the Celtics and the Cavs were in on Bogut, but the 32-year old vet decided to take his talents to LA. Now with just three days until training camp, Dany may still be looking to add some more talent to the team.

Boris Diaw is heading to France, Tyler Zeller to the Nets, Crawford to Minnesota. The options the Celtics now have are limited, but some impactful players remain in the market.

THOMAS ROBINSON

Between the Kyrie trade madness, the Celtics conducted a work out with the big man.

But no news since.

The 6-10, listed at 237 lbs was drafted fifth overall in the 2012 NBA draft by the Kings, and played for six teams in the spam. Not ideal. But he´s only 26. Last season with the Lakers, in 48 games, he averaged 5.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, at just 11 mins per game.

But what could possibly attract Dany, is Robinson’s ability to rebound, and that’s an issue that keeps haunting the Celtics. Robinson has a impressive 25.5% defensive rebound percentage for his career. To put that in prospective, Kelly Olynyk lead the Celtics last year at 20.7%.

The only downside to Robinson is that he has not been sucked into the modern day NBA style. I refer to is his inability to stretch the floor. In the last couple seasons, Brad has relied heavily on bigs that can space the floor.

With the Lakers last season, Robinson shot 61.3% from the restricted area.

Via NBAsavant.com

GERALD GREEN

When Green is number two in this list, you know the market isn’t very big out there. But Gerald is a great locker presence, very important for a new team. And he helped turn the Bulls series around.

UPDATE: Green to sign with the Bucks.

DAVID LEE

This will not be a popular option for the fans after the disappointing stint with the Celtics back in 2015. Celtics fan were excited to add the former dominant double-double PF.  Lee played only 30 games with the Celtics before he was waived and picked up by the Mavericks.

Lee isn’t the same old Lee but he’s coming off a quiet, productive season with the mighty Spurs. In 18 minutes of action, the posted 7.3 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists, and shot 59 percent from the field.  Lee turn down a $1.6 million option from the Spurs.

WHO ELSE?

Like mentioned before, the options are limited at this point of the off season. The chances are slim to find a player, whom will have any real impact on the team.

Notable free agent bigs still available: Lavoy Allen, Festus Ezeli and Jordan Hill.

 

New NBA STATEMENT Uniforms

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UNIFORMS, WE TALKIN´ UNIFORMS

On Friday, the NIKE announced The New NBA STATEMENT Uniforms.

NIKE also debuted the Connected Jersey, which features a NFC chip. Once you have downloaded the NIKE app, it´ll unlock exclusive content for that player.

Using new NikeConnect technology, each adult-sized Nike NBA Connected Jersey will have an embedded NFC (near field communication) chip that will launch real-time team and player content such as pregame arrival footage, highlight packages and top players’ favorite music playlists – all on the jersey owner’s mobile device. Throughout the season, a wealth of exclusive offers and experiences will bring fans closer to the game they love.

BLACK IS THE NEW GREEN

Now I know you are asking, I can’t see the Celtics! Where is it!?

Funny thing, It actually took me about a minute to find it. That’s because the Celtics were all the way in the back, and I was looking for maybe Kyrie´s face, GH, maybe rookie-sensation Jayson Tatum. Nope. Shane Larkin. Nothing wrong with Larkin, but I didn’t expect it to be him. But anyway, here is a more clear picture of the full unit.

 

I am a big fan. Really like the Black and Green combination. Just like the black trim the Celtics used tons last season.

 

But let’s be honest, that GE logo ruins it. It’s so big, so out of place and, overall, ads on NBA uniforms are not a pretty look. But overall the unit is clean, not much going around. Just the plain black and the green trims and sides. Beautifully done NIKE.

BYE BYE SLEEVES

With NIKE taking over the NBA uniforms, this hopefully means bye bye to those ugly sleeved uniforms pajamas. Remember the grey ones?

Yeah, not a fan.

Give us your thoughts on the new Celtics uniforms, Celtics Nation. Do you like it? Hate it?

 

 

Training Camp and Media Day

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BASKETBALL IS BACK

The entire Isaiah and Kyrie trade happened about a month ago.  And now we are just nine days away from media day on Sept. 25

Via Celtics Blog:

Even more exciting news, Celtics will start training camp just a day later, Sept. 26th.

MEDIA DAY AND PHOTO DAY

Media day will give us a chance to see the two newest Celtics, Kyrie and Hayward, with their new Celtics jersey. This also will give us the first look at the big three together. They’ll be joined by the rookies, highlighted by the number-three pick, Jayson Tatum. and new Celtics, Morris and Baynes.

In addition to player interviews, The day will be dedicated to players taking selfies with each other, players getting to know each other and discussing the upcoming season. Same will apply to Brad and his coaching staff and the front office executives.

TRAINING CAMP IN RHODE ISLAND?

According to Brian Robb, the following day the Celtics will head to Rhode Island to start training camp.  This will be the first time since Brad´s rookie season that the Celtics will hold traning camp in Rhode Island.

This will give the players and coaches some time to bond, and build some chemistry, as just four players from last season´s ECF team are back. The Celtics will be in RI for three days.

Season is on the horizon, Celtics Nation.

Marcus Smart Drops 20 Pounds Over the Summer

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Celtics G Marcus Smart, has been in the gym all off season trying to improve his game, and dropped 20 pounds in the process.  So this means Marcus was around 240 pounds last season. That’s a outrageous weight for a guard.

Via Boston Globe

“I’ve been in the gym nonstop, been eating right, making sure my body’s right,” Smart said on Wednesday during a visit to Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center.

“It’s a different me. I’m more explosive and I’m healthy,” Smart said. “That’s a big part for me. I had to get on my plan. I’m really focused and I locked in this summer.”

“I’ve really been working on my game and getting ready for a larger role,” Smart said. “The Celtics expect me to take that on and be ready, so I’m ready for whatever. I’ve talked numerous times to Danny and Brad, before anything happened, even just during the season . . . be ready to take on that role. And now it’s put into reality. We don’t have Avery, we don’t have Jae, a lot of responsibility is on my shoulders.”

Smart also said he hired a new personal chef.

Marcus comes off a 10.6 points, 4.6 assists, 1.6 steals and 3.9 rebounds campaign where he struggled to find his shooting stoke. He shot just .358% FG and .283% 3PT, but a successful season nonetheless.

Marcus is also now the longest-tenured Celtics player on the roster. And yes, he´s only 23.

Less can create more

With Avery departure, Smart looks to fill the gap that AB left in the defensive side of the floor. Marcus is just as good, or better defender than AB but a bit slower. A slimmer and quicker Marcus could cause some problems for opposing Guards.

This also helps him defend the quicker guards that AB handled in the last couple seasons.

But we probably wont see much of this:

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Or this:

 

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This can also help his offensive game a little bit. He lacked explosiveness last season and he never really created much separation off the bounce from defenders, struggling to finishing around the rim. A slimmer Marcus could also mean a quicker shot release.

Marcus will enter his final year of his rookie contract and due a qualifying offer of just over $6 million. This could be an important year for the 23-year-old.

No wonder Bill Belichick went to so many Celtics games. He’s was obviously intrigued by the linebacker in the house.

BREAKING DOWN THE CELTICS ROSTER.

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Just a couple weeks ago I was breaking down this Celtics roster that very much included Isaiah Thomas on it. Two weeks later and I’m here thinking, what’s next season starting lineup? That’s 4 starters gone, in 1 offseason. Avery traded to the Pistons for Morris, Amir (yes, I know, but he still was a starter for most of the regular season), Jae the Bae Crowder and the mighty one, IT.

Plus Olynyk, Jerebko, James Young, Jordan Mickey, Jackson. That’s a complete roster turnaround. Only Brown, Smart, Rozier and Al left from the ECF team. That’s madness! We are talking about the team that made the ECF last year too.

And what’s, even more, crazier, we might have gotten better. Let’s break down this team and how everyone will fit into Brad’s new system. I will break down the team in 3 categories.

BALL HANDLERS: Kyrie, Smart, Rozier, Larkin, Bird and Allen.

WINGS: Hayward, Brown, Tatum, Ojeleye, Nader.

BIGS: Horford, Baynes, Morris, Yabusele.

PROJECTED STARTING 5: 

PG: Irving

SG: Brown

SF: Hayward

PF: Morris

C: Al

Let´s get rid of the obvious first. Kyrie, Horford and Hayward are locks to start.

Celtics replaced Thomas with Kyrie, one of the most gifted offensive players in the league. Kyrie averaged 25.2 points, 5.8 assists and 3.2 rebounds while shooting just over 40% the 3PT last season. And that while sharing the stage with the man himself, LeBron James.

At SF, Hayward. The now All Star, who was under the head coaching of our very own Brad Stevens in Butler, has improved his scoring averaged in the last 6 seasons. He’s also a great playmaker.

 

Hayward is great with the up fake. Here he drives to the middle of the lane, as his path was blocked, he adjusted quickly and found an open Lyles who knocked down the open corner three. Kyrie and Hayward will compliment each other very well. Both can make plays for each other and the rest of the team.

Because of Al’s ability to stretch the floor, this lineup could have some serious offensive upside.

After that? It’s all based up on match ups.

Jaylen is coming off a successful rookie camping. He looked great in the second half of the season and shot the ball very well (37.9% from 3PT after All Star break).

Fans might argue Smart at the 2 and I can see why but he just fits that 6th man role so well and at this point, Rozier isn’t ready to lead the bench. Great rebounder but still lacks shooting (only .367% FG and .318% 3PT last season) and playmaking.

Now, this lineup could have some issues, actually lots of issue with rebounding. Morris isn’t a great rebounder, in fact, he is not a very good rebounder. He only averaged 4.6 rebounds last season and we all know Al is not a very good rebounder for his size. How can Brad maybe fix that? Insert the bigger Baynes at C, and move Morris to the bench.

Baynes would serve the same purpose Amir had. A tough, nasty dog who plays 15 mins a game and does the dirty work. But not finish games. We know Brad loves going small in close games in the 4th. We will see lots of Smart in those situations.

BENCH

Smart and Rozier will share ball handling duties off the bench.

Baynes and Theis can provide much-needed size to the front court off the bench.

Tatum’s role will unfold as the season goes on. He’s so gifted offensively. Can create his own shot while being effective. He’s got the size. He is a little bit more NBA ready entering the league than Brown was and that will earn him some minutes.

And he is already clutch.

Video Player

DEEP BENCH

Yabu

Ojeleye

Nader

Larkin

Allen

Bird.

Bird? Allen? Is this a throwback season or what? Jokes aside,  this completes the team for now. The player to watch here is the big dancing bear, Yabu, who was overseas last season. We did not see him this past summer league, which sucks, due to a foot injury. The rest will either spend time going back to Maine.

If Danny does not decide to randomly trade Kyrie for Curry, this is the team the Celtics will be rolling with to start the season.

What’re your predictions for the Celtics next year Celtics Nation? Let us know!