That’s a big ask … Grant could always shoot - wasn’t really allowed to at TN - just like Anthony Gill at UVA.
He also manhandled Power 5 opponents in the paint at TN - Gardner hasn’t shown the size or athleticism to do so.
But yes - if Gardner can hit threes consistently - that would be a game changer for him against the bigger dudes in the ACC.
Love it @BDragon ! Gonna be a good one. But the Celtics have a secret analytical weapon….with @DavetheWave on the game-plan, Celts are going to be tough to beat! Let’s go!
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We need a thumbs down for Forum….
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Already had the conference call with Ime and staff … stay on the shooters and box out Bam and Dedmon
Bizarro CTE… been watching this English Championship playoff game tonight and one of the coaches lost his cool… got a yellow card. Perhaps he’s related to Juwan Howard?
Edit: This game between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United is insane… tied 3-3 in the 80th minute in the second leg.
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Grant Williams is the stretch dream comp based on height, weight and recruiting ranking (and even there Williams was already higher rated).
I mean, at the same age Gardner is now, Williams was coming off his NBA rookie season and was 2 time SEC player of the year and a consensus 1st team all American. I emphasize the word dream because there’s no realistic chance of Gardner’s 5th year matching any season of Williams career.
But why do you say that Williams could always shoot? His 29% 3 point shooting in 103 attempts at Tennessee? Or his 25% in 96 attempts as an NBA rookie? Shooting is a skill that some guys can develop in their mid-20s. Blake Griffin and Brook Lopez couldn’t always shoot.
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Blake and Brook couldn’t shoot? I officiated like 10 of Brook’s HS and AAU games. Saw him hit like 20 threes in a row in warmups as a 17 year old. And he was shooting them from college range.
And Grant shot 38% from 3 his freshman year and 33% his jr. year. And for his career he only attempted 103 threes in 104 games … he also stated in interviews that Barnes didn’t want him shooting out there because they needed him inside.
And yes there’s a big difference in college threes and NBA threes. That’s why PJ Tucker almost exclusively shoots college threes in the pros. … 22 feet in the corners in the NBA.
22-2 run to start the third… Did the Celtics forget about the second half? Also Jimmy Butler did his best Braxton Key impression with that block in the corner late. C’s don’t want none of that Dade county smoke.
lack of depth hurts them … 2 starters out matters. Unfortunate timing.
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For sure, good of Miami being able to take advantage of the Celtics being down 2 important players.
I do realize that you consider yourself a better talent evaluator and coach than anyone else in this board and most college coaches too, but you know as well as anyone else that warmups with no defenders and no pressure is not at all a useful data point for a player evaluation. Or maybe you’re right and all these people you’re a better coach than are wrong, who really knows?
Listen, you want to say Grant Williams and Brook Lopez could always shoot, that’s your prerogative. I say a guy can’t shoot until he proves in actual games that he can shoot 3s and Grant Williams didn’t show that ability until his 2nd NBA season, Lopez in his 9th season and Griffin in his 7th or 8th season.
Barnes might’ve told Williams to play inside, but if Williams could shoot like Sam Hauser, Barnes would found a way to get him more looks from deep to at the very least diversify the offense.
My contention is that shooting can be a learned skill for some guys. Just because Gardner hadn’t shot 3s in his career so far doesn’t mean he’ll never be able to. Unlikely, yes, but not impossible.
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My point on Grant … I’m a Celtics fan so I’ve seen a ton of film on him. And many interviews. He stated, as did Gill, that their college coach didn’t want them on the perimeter. It’s not because the skill wasn’t there for those two. It’s because they had an inside game skillset that nobody else on their teams had - not even close … so their inside skillset was much higher WAR than their outside skillset.
And for Williams - the transition from 20’9" in college to the pro 23’9" is real. Once he had a year to adjust he went right to 37.2% last year and 41% this year.
For Lopez - he was hitting threes with ease in high school while his brother played low post a lot more on their travel teams. He could always shoot - just wasn’t encouraged to so in college or pros - same reason - more valuable to his team inside vs the other options they had in there. Once allowed to shoot he went right to being a 34-36% shooter.
As to Gardner - there are some people who absolutely get better enough at it to incorporate it effectively into their game. Most of those guys do it on catch and shoot opportunities… I can see a Reece/Gardner pick and roll where Gardner pops and will get some wide open looks.
I’ve seen compare him to PJ Tucker as a pro comp.
But Tucker started shooting threes at more than 1 per game his 2nd full year and shot 39% from three that year.
As a shooter myself I look at form and balance and legs and finish, etc. … Gardner didn’t have those things as a three point shooter on the ones I saw … I’m hoping he can though. I’d be fine with Gardner being at 35% on 2 attempts per game.
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p.s. on Tucker - it also helps that all he does on offense is stand in the corner and wait for the ball - allows him to have energy and legs.
Been watching a lot of NBA Playoffs. Such a high skill level. It’s a shooters league and if you want to play in the NBA you have to be able to shoot the hell out of it. Just amazing how good these guys are now.
And then there is this…. This is the pregame before Dallas demolished the Suns in Game 7 on the road. My guess is that Luka wouldn’t stand for this shit before a game 7…. Can you imagine Larry or Michael or Magic doing this before a game 7? Or anyone else for that matter…. Get your body and your head right and be ready to play. This is Phoenix before the start of game 7. They lost 123-90 at home…
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That’s not a pre-game speech this is a pre game speech (25 sec mark)
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Nah luka was probably doing the same or having a pregame hookah session.
It’s their pregame handshakes. Every team does it. Lebron been doing it last 10 years. Just a different time
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@chavlicek15 you and I can always say we had the original long handshake. Used to go well over 30 seconds on ours with multi parts and change signals.
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Yes we did. It was a work of art. I just hate the lack of focus before a big game that the Suns had. They got smoked and weren’t ready to play. This could be an old man yelling at the clouds scenario so i accept that. but you can get beat on your home court like that - especially in a game 7.
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I think you’re on to something. I’m all for being loose before a game and having fun, but there’s time and a place for everything. Game 7 pre-game is one of those time it’s time to lock in and get everyone on the same page.
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They lost by 33 at home…in game 7. Willing to bet Dallas wasn’t doing this before the game.
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