The One Where We Need To Pump The Brakes on Celtics Trades

 

Hello everyone.

It has been quite a while since I posted on my Benchwarmers blog. However, I had to admit the past few weeks have riled me up with so many talk show hosts - and CALLERS - coming up with stupid premises and ridiculous ideas. I decided this is going to be my forum for expressing my own thoughts.

 

 So, I am going to start by addressing the current stream of ridiculousness that is permeating the airwaves - Celtics Trades. I have heard it all. The ridiculous posts online that suggest "Who says no to this trade?", to pundits on afternoon radio explaining that the Celtics might have to revisit the biggest need that Danny Ainge professed on the Toucher and Rich show, suggesting that point guard, and not a big-sized wing who can shoot - as the most pressing problem. There have even been those who have called for Kemba to be benched or traded. And then there is the nightly diatribe by local internet writers against Jeff Teague.

 

LET'S JUST STOP!!!

Sure, I get it, the Celtics have been subpar. They got off to a strong start and somewhere between the Covid outbreak and the return of Kemba Walker they have been derailed. But, before we pressed the PANIC button, let's pause a moment.

 

First, there are many reasons for this roller coaster stretch the Celtics have been on. The lack of a preseason is the most pressing one. This team has a lot of young players on it. The veterans added are new to this system. And one thing is clear - the Brad Stevens has more idiosyncracies then the Red Sox under Joe Morgan. It is a little wacky. You might start one game and get an DNP the next. It is the Chaim Blook version of playing basketball, using stats and analysis to help create better matchups. That's what explains some of his wacky lineups. However, a lack of playing together and having even a hint of a summer league has posed a problem to the players. Young players are still trying to catch up and figure out this system. And yes, you Peyton Pritchard fans like me have to realize that this means he will have off nights like last night. This lack of preparation has also posed a problem for Tristan Thompson and Jeff Teague from getting fully integrated into the team....though they have had inconsistent moments of truly helping the team. The fact that neither one of them played viable basketball for months, let alone joined a new team, has not helped either one get their basketball legs fully going this year...and Stevens weird lineups don't help. The lack of practice time doesn't help, either.

Second, this team has not really had its full complement of players playing together at one point in time. There were Covid problems.  Kemba trying to come back slowly and avoiding back to backs.  Marcus Smart and Peyton Pritchard injured. Jaylen Brown resting a knee. Waiting for Romeo Langford to come back. It is hard to have a consistent output from this team when players are always missing. You never know who to count on. In fact, it is hard to see where this team is and what it is capable of. There has not been a game yet where the Celtics have their full top ten roster ready to perform. And to me that is: Tatum, Brown, Walker, Theis, Smart, Langford, Pritchard, Thompson, Teague, and R. Williams.

Before everyone says exactly what the Celtics need - and suggest that the "NEED TO DO IT QUICKLY" - what is really needed is patience. Let's get everyone back together on the court and actually see what this team needs. With players wafting in and out like the smells of barbecue at a Pat's tailgate, there is no sense what this team needs. In fact, what it really needs is patience. Kemba Walker is going to figure it out. Marcus Smart is going to get back into the lineup when healthy. Teague and Thompson may not be great fits now, but they are going to figure out a role. We need to also see what Langford can do. He had impressive, almost Avery Bradley-esque flashes - down the stretch. We all know what Bradley turned into. Who knows what this team needs quite yet? In fact, Danny Ainge's guess is far better than ours because he sees what is going on behind the scenes.

So let's stop. Let's wait (I know it is hard). And let's see what this team is in early March. Then, we will better know how to use that TPE. Because that TPE should put us over the top for years to come.

 

 

 

In Bill We Still Trust?

Almost a week has passed, but the images are still clear....

A national anthem playing...
Patriots players with arms on each other's shoulders in solidarity....
Pink doing an absolutely great job singing....
The video of an overwhelmed Malcolm Butler.

Little did anyone know that this was the beginning of series of unfortunate events that led most of New England to no longer have a full, unyielding allegiance to Bill Belicheck. 

There have been knicks in the armor before. The failure to sign David Givens and Deion Brach. The head-scratching 4th and 2. The epic collapse in the 2008 Super Bowl. The whole implosion of the Adalius Thomas team. But Super Bowl 52 was different.

Exactly what happened, no one will ever know. Belicheck is not on to say why he does things and will also not throw a player under the bus verbally. But the puzzling disappearance of Malcolm Butler and the decision to sit him will gnaw on Pats fans for years.

Sure, it will blow over. And, truth be told, I am not even sure if Malcolm Butler would have made a difference. The secondary was being shredded without him and he has had an off year anyway. He could have been just as horrific as Eric Rowe or Jonathan Badamosi.

However, one thing is clear. "In Bill We Trust" was no longer the motto of Patriot Nation as of February 4, 2018.

Enough With the Conspiracy Theories about the Patriots

When it comes to Superbowls, the Patriots definitely come to mind.

But when it comes to the Patriots and Super bowls, well, that is when conspiracy theories come to mind. Clearly, the two weeks before Super bowl 52 are going to be synonymous with conspiracies. And we definitely already saw it.

First, there came the Dan Le Batard question as to whether or not that Brady might be taking something beyond his special health drinks and snacks created in tandem with TB-12.

Then, there was Jon Ritchie on Philadelphia radio, suggesting that the Patriots filmed their practices and benefited from a wrong call (later turned into a bad rule) with the Tuck game.

Added to that was radio host Colin Dunlap who pondered why TB isn't spoken of in the same company as "Bonds, McGwire, Rosie Ruiz (tossed in a Boston one there), Armstrong, and Johnson..."


And so it goes....people sharing their own thoughts is part of the American way and the first Amendment. But when people stretch what they say into ridiculous realms, it is time to say "Stop." And it is great to see people like Tom Curran and WEEI take a stand and start fighting back.

Its about time for people to stop this Patriots lunacy. Sure, I get it. It gets tiresome seeing the same team in championship games. No one wanted to see the Yankees in the World Series year after year in the late 90s. After awhile, people were rooting against the Jordon lead Bulls. So it is understandable.

To to continue the unyielding diatribe by making faulty comparisons, offering loose insinuations, and showing ignorance to facts is just plain ludicrous. It is time to stop and take the Patriots for what they are - a talented team that, in an era of unbridled parity - has found a way to develop, recycle, and replenish talent with a solid management group - to create a strong team capable of contending for the playoffs each year.

So, take your screwy logic, you complaints, your "oh they cheateds" and stuff it. Sure, the Patriots may have been caught "spygating" by doing something other teams had done in a way they were not suppose to do and potentially tampered with footballs (but with deflategate, there are too many reasons to believe it did not happen to suggest that it did) which other teams have been busted for doing as well. Quit crying sour grapes, admire what they have done, and challenge your local team to do the same.

And go Pats!

All Will Be Okay With Brady

The big news story of this past week is Tom Brady's thumb.

Will he be 100 percent or won't he? Will be pull a Michael Jackson and wear a funky glove? And what exactly happened anyway?


Well, it appears that Tom got a gash that was "gushing blood." The visual alone is awful. The fact that Rex Burkhead - who is still recovering from an injury, yet the team could use in the AFC title game - did it is a little ironic. He is making an effort to come back to help Brady, only to be the source of the injury.

That being said, no doubt the doctors, and Tom's own guru, will have him in tip top shape for tomorrow's game.

Here are my predictions for the 7th consecutive Patriot's trip to the AFC championship game

1. Tom plays and plays well.

2. He wears a glove of some sort and then comes out in second half taped

3. Tom throws for two TDs and orchestrates 3 rushing TDs.

4. Rex Burkhead will score one of those rushing TDs.

5. All will be well in New England.

The One With the Great Farrell Family Moment

Tonight provided one of those opportunities when sports means more than just wins and losses. Tonight was a moment to celebrate.

At about 6:40 or so PM, Luke Farrell took the field for the Cincinnati Reds, coming in relief in the 9th inning. As he did, his father stood on watching from the Red Sox dug out.

A transcendent moment between father and son. Opposite teams, but family ties. A moment where baseball was more than baseball.

It is these moments that bring greatness to a sport. Seeing a father and son on the field at the same time - a rarity in sports (the last time it happened was when Moises Alou took the field against his father, Felipe's, team).

Luke got out of the inning unscathed. He tipped his hat to his father. Baseball went on.

But it was a special moment to cherish.

A baseball moment.

Not a Time to Panic Celtics Fans

Sure, this Celtics team was nowhere close to the Cavs....but we all knew that. Of course, there is always the inevitable panic and overreaction that follows the type of loses the Celtics have endured, but that is to be expected. As we get further from the reality of these two losses, a few things will be clear.

Superteams like the Cavs have a shelf live in the NBA. Typically, it is no more than five years before they erode for a variety of reasons. It is designed that way. Lebron's first super team lasted about four. The Celtics were competetive from 2008-2012. The Lakers in the early 2000s failed in their super team attempt. The Celtics really don't have so long to wait.

Keeping the pick, trying to add a free agent, and trading some of their current players for a rebounding big (such as Terry Rozier, Avery Bradley, one of this stashed players, and a pick - not Brooklyn's next year), could easily bump them up to the next level, which is still one below the Cavs at this point.

Allowing the young players to evolve while maintaining the stable of Crowder, Thomas, Horford, Smart, Brown, and Olynyk (who can be resigned because such trades, will make a team that has solid young and older veterans that will be hard to beat.

The Celtics have created their own recipe for this rebuild. It is ahead of schedule...and will work fine. Probably not next year - though they will be even more competetive - but things should look very promising the year after that.

 

(originally posted as a response to John Tomase article in WEEI  May 20, 2017)

This Week With the Pats

It will be interesting to see what teams become involved in the Jimmy Garappolo trade talk and how actively the Patriots pursue it right away. It would also be great to see Alan Branch back on a similar contract. He plays a solid role on the defense.