The Celtics are just over a month away from training camp but bigger questions are still floating around the construction of the roster. With September on the horizon, let’s get to the mailbag featuring questions on rookie Baylor Scheierman, Kristaps Porzingis’ health and new Sixer Guerschon Yabusele. If you have questions about the Celtics or NBA , email brobb@masslive.
com or tweet @briantrobb Hey B Robb, Let me know if you think this is overly pessimistic, but I feel like the odds are against Porzingis being healthy through a playoff run next year. Last year they limited him to under 30 min a game, avoided back to backs, threw in some extra rest days and he had 2 regular season non-contact injuries (calf strains). Then the ankle injury after being back for one game in the finals.
We remember the ankle injury as the thing that knocked him out, but nobody was even sure that his last calf strain was going to hold up through a series. Injury concern stacked on top of injury concern. So after 3 lower body injuries and another surgery wouldn’t the team be foolish to put their faith in in him being healthy for this year’s playoff run? Should Brad at least consider trading him at the deadline to bring in someone else? I know, sounds crazy given his fit on and off the court but feeling like it’s a 70% chance Celtics fans will watch the team lose the finals to OKC or Denver while Porzingis sits on the bench and 39 year old Al Horford is our only playable big.
— Steve Fair question by all means. It is kind of crazy how this team rolled through the playoffs without having Porzingis healthy for half of it but I guess that’s a case for running it back initially. Luke Kornet and Xavier Tillman were up to the task (in small doses) even in the playoffs and if they maintain their regular season production, Stevens will have nothing to worry about before Porzingis’ return.
I do think some of your points are legitimate though. The odds of Porzingis having setbacks given his age and coming off a major surgery have to be increased and the Celtics must account for that. If Boston had some more breathing room from a salary cap and luxury tax perspective, they may have addressed it already but their high payroll makes it incredibly tough to do that without impacting other parts of the team.
The Celtics have set themselves up well to bring in some help on that front if needed before the trade deadline. The salary matching would be tough in any trade (since it would involve saying goodbye to a useful bench player in all likelihood) but I like the strategy of waiting now to see what it looks like and making decisions as the season goes on. If the team shows it needs front court help (if Kornet/Tillman/Queta struggle) or that Porzingis isn’t going to be what he was after surgery, adjustments can be made.
No need to shake things up though before checking if the formula that worked last year is still present. Is the Olympic game so different than the NBA? Having a good performance in the Olympic is a good predictor to success for the NBA for Yabusele? -- Paul D There are definitely some quirky rule differences (goaltending is a key one) that change the game but overall the Olympic game has made adjustments over the years that bring it closer to the NBA style. From that standpoint.
Yabusele’s performance there is a good parameter for what he can bring to the table potentially back in an NBA setting. He didn’t just have a great game against Team USA but did so consistently for France against other pro players for different countries to serve as a spark plug. It was what the Celtics had envisioned for him when they drafted him almost a decade ago but clearly he wasn’t developing enough for them to stay patient with him while pursuing a title back in 2018 and 2019.
A few years later, Yabusele looks like he’s lost some weight, is shooting better and playing smarter basketball overall. It remains to be seen whether he’s an NBA rotation player but he’s definitely going to find out in Philadelphia where there is a big opening off the bench at the power forward spot. Daryl Morey clearly saw enough in the Olympics (and likely in his tape with Real Madrid) to give him a chance to see if it translates.
Baylor Scheierman over/under 700 regular season minutes? -- Josh B Give me the under there. Oshae Brissett played 630 minutes last year for Boston and it’s hard to envision Scheierman getting more chances than that without a slate of injuries or Scheierman impressing a lot more than he did during Summer League. He competed from a defensive standpoint in Las Vegas, but it’s evident that he has limitations there from an athletic standpoint that opponents are going to try to target, depending on what position he ends on covering on the court.
The basketball IQ was apparent in Vegas but the shot making wasn’t just yet and while it’s tough to put much stock into a four-game sample size, he is going to have to show a lot of that to push himself ahead of the likes of Jaden Springer and Jordan Walsh for spot minutes on nights when Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and others are out. I have little doubt Scheierman will get a chance but without making some strides, it’s tough to see him being a part of the rotation during this year without some big strides during training camp..
