Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here… highlighting the big story line. Because there’s nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.
For Day 13 of our Celtics Summer Forecast, we flipped the script and asked,what’s your biggest concern about the Celtics?
Maybe not surprisingly, more than half of the responses from our panel of local Celtics bloggers included the word “shooting.” The Celtics really struggled shooting the ball last season, especially beyond the 3-point arc, and our panel is worried they didn’t make obvious upgrades to that area this summer.
Chris Forsberg-Celtics Summer Forecast Day 13
ESPN Boston’s Chris Forsberg continues his Celtics Summer Forecast with the question “what are your concerns?”. Personally, I have to agree with most of the panel when they say shooting. Watching Boston go through some of their shooting droughts last season was absolutely excruciating. The C’s would be down by let’s say 10, and their opponent would go into an offensive funk-or the Celts’ defense would rack up a few stops/forced turnovers. Then we’d all watch in horror as Boston would come down the floor and miss chance after chance to get buckets and therefore get themselves back in the game.
Sure, there are going to be nights where Isaiah goes nuts and carries the team, and Jaylen Brown’s aggressiveness & ability to get to the line look promising, but I still cringe when folks bring up “SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS SHOTS” as our buddy “Lil” Jon Duke put it. Let’s see what some of our writers biggest worries are:
John Karalis, Red’s Army (Olynyk never takes a step forward): Olynyk seemed to find his groove before the All Star break last year but then a shoulder injury derailed him and he faded. It’s too much to ask the December/January Olynyk to show up and shoot 47 percent from 3, but if he can get out there and hit 40 percent while displaying some assertiveness on offense, then this could be a special season for Boston. My concern is that Olynyk only shows flashes moving forward and doesn’t get the level of consistency that takes him from “he could be dangerous” to “you can’t help off of him.”
Mike Dynon, Red’s Army (Expectations): Wow, the Celts snagged Horford, everyone has them ranked near the top of the East, and they’re on national TV almost every week! Now they just have to handle the pressure, because falling short of expectations is almost worse than having none at all.
Rich Jensen, Red’s Army (Shooting): Frankly, I’m starting to get worried about the Celtics’ consistently poor shooting. This is a team that had a top 10 offense, while being 24th in the league in effective field goal percentage last year. I can’t help but look at the wasted possessions and wonder how good this team would be if they had even average shooting.
Ben Mark, Red’s Army (Contract questions): When the media first descends upon Waltham at the start of camp and players hold court with the microphones in front of them, how will those like Thomas, Crowder and Bradley respond to questions about the money that inundated free agency this past summer? Tyler Zeller, the Celtics’ fourth or fifth big, is making more than all three of the aforementioned Celtics. Will that have any sort of impact? Odds are, it won’t, but one comment taken out of context can be blown up and might fester. A trademark of Stevens’ teams through three seasons has been the ability to come together from a chemistry standpoint. Hopefully that will continue.
Page 2: Larry Legend hung up his Converse 24 years ago today
August 18th, 1992 will always be remembered as a sad day for Celtics fans. After helping the original Dream Team secure gold in Barcelona, Larry Bird decided it was time to hang up his sneakers. Bird amassed career numbers of 21,791 points, 5,695 assists and 8,974 rebounds. “Legend” helped the Celts secure titles in 1981, ’84 and ’86 and was elected into the NBA Hall of Fame in 1998. Despite spending most of his post playing days with the Pacers organization, Bird will always be a Celtic through and through.
In honor of Bird, NBAtv will be airing some of his best games today as part of their “Throwback Thursday” series. Here’s the schedule:
- 6 a.m. ET – Sixers vs. Celtics, 1981 Eastern Conf. Finals, Game 7 —Second-year forward Larry Bird hits the game-winner to power Boston to victory.
- 8 a.m. ET – Celtics vs. Rockets, 1981 NBA Finals, Game 6 — Larry Bird tallies 26 points and 13 rebounds to power Boston to their 14th NBA championship.
- 10 a.m. ET – Knicks vs. Celtics, 1984 Eastern Conf. Semifinals, Game 7 — Larry Bird scores 39 points on 13-for-24 shooting to lead the Celtics past Bernard King and the Knicks in Game 7.
- Noon ET — Celtics vs. Lakers, 1984 NBA Finals, Game 4 — Larry Bird and the Celtics outlast Magic Johnson and the Lakers in this overtime thriller from the 1984 NBA Finals.
- 2 p.m. ET — Rockets vs. Celtics, 1986 NBA Finals, Game 6 — Larry Bird and Kevin McHale close out the Rockets in Game 6 to secure Boston’s 16th NBA championship.
- 4 p.m. ET — Pacers vs. Celtics, 1991 Eastern Conf. 1st Round, Game 5 — Larry Bird powers through a back injury to lead Boston past Reggie Miller and Indiana in the first round of the 1991 playoffs.
- 6 p.m. ET — Larry Bird’s 50 Greatest Moments
- 10 p.m. ET — Pistons vs. Celtics, 1987 Easter Conf. Finals, Game 5 —Larry Bird scores 36 points and forces a key turnover to power Boston to a 3-2 series lead over Detroit.
NBA.com: Team USA stuffs Argentina, advances to semis
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