Celtics At the All-Star Break

Author: Jack Gordon

Editor: Fran Attie

If you had talked to any Celtics fan two weeks ago, not only would you have thought that the team was the 15th seed in the Eastern Conference, but that Danny Ainge needed to be fired, as well as Brad Stevens, and that everyone on the roster, short of Tatum, Brown, and Lucky the Leprechaun, might need to be traded.

For a while, there was real concern.

Before their most recent four-game win-streak heading into the All-Star break, Boston was 15-17, which wasn’t even good enough for the eighth seed. It seemed like each game was a new low point in the season, with two particularly bad losses—with the Pelicans overcoming a massive lead and the Hawks blowing them out—making fans reach for the panic button and scream in frustration along with the alarm bells.

On the bright side, the Celtics have won four in a row and faced a lot of challenges early in the season with injuries (most notably to Marcus Smart) and COVID-related setbacks.

This, however, doesn’t give them a pass, because they haven’t been good.

The biggest problem is that the All-Star that they essentially swapped Kyrie Irving for, Kemba Walker, is playing nowhere near where the team needs him to be. Averaging 18.5 PPG and 4.6 APG on less than 40 percent from the field, Walker has been inconsistent, not explosive, and at times a non-factor in important games.

At this point in his career, we obviously shouldn’t expect Walker to be Kyrie, but… can he be better than, maybe, Terry Rozier? The man they literally swapped for Walker has been averaging over 20 PPG on nearly 50 percent from the field and providing real energy to a Charlotte team that had low expectations coming into the season. Walker’s play, as the season goes on, is the number one factor if the Celtics are to improve and make a more solid hold of the fourth seed.

Other problems include defense, coaching, and depth. The coaching and defense go hand-in-hand, and for a coach who is known for the defensive side of things, Brad Stevens has been leading a team that is disorganized and oftentimes unwilling to put in significant effort on that end.

Part of this is down to personnel, which has been limited. Yes, Marcus Smart has been injured, and yes, his defense and playmaking are sorely missed. But don’t forget, when Smart comes back, Celtic fans also get to watch their beloved defensive point guard assert himself on offense and take those patented 30-foot stepback bombs with 15 seconds left on the shot clock.

On the bench, there isn’t much to work with. Good teams in the NBA need someone to come off the bench and provide a jolt of energy, and Boston simply doesn’t have that. There are a few decent guys, but absolutely nobody that is inspiring the team when they check-in. It’s hard to imagine how dire this team would be if Payton Pritchard didn’t turn out to be a serviceable player right away. Celtics fans may like the Time Lord, and yet Brad Stevens only plays him 16 minutes a game (just a hunch, but it’s probably because of his defensive miscues, to put it gently), which means that Daniel Theis becomes really important for them. I’m not sure if anybody thought that Jeff Teague was the missing piece, and I’m not sure if Tristan Thompson has recovered after Zion barreled straight through him late in the Celtics’ loss, but they haven’t been up to par either.

The Celtics truly had an awful stretch, and the reason we are so hard on this team is because the East islike it is almost every year, really weak. Like, seriously. The fourth-seeded Celtics would currently be the ninth seed if they were in the West. If we’re being honest here, the fact that the Knicks, Hornets, Bulls, Hawks, and Wizards are all in play for a playoff spot is ridiculous (no need to make a qualification here, I’m sure enough people have reminded us that the Knicks are playing well).

In the NBA, teams have a window of opportunity to compete before it's gone. The Celtics had their best chance in the bubble, but couldn’t pull it off. The Nets and Sixers are good, and so are the Bucks, but the Celtics have to be right there because the rest of the conference is so unbelievably wide open.

The Celtics have some picks, some mediocre assets, and a trade exception, all of which they should use to make some moves before the deadline. The team needs to focus on building around Tatum and Brown and bring in players that can turn things around, even if that means giving up Semi Ojeleye, Robert Williams III, or some rookies.

At this point, they might even have to throw in the Leprechaun, too.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

Reaction to All-Star Sunday!

Author: Jack Gordon

Editor: Brian Symons

All-Star Weekend, or, should I say All-Star Day, wrapped up, and here are some rapid-fire reactions off the old dome.

● The time, energy, and money that the NBA put into highlighting HBCUs throughout the event were amazing. Time and time again, the NBA and commissioner Adam Silver place themselves in a great position to be leaders in the sports world. They continue to make an effort to make progressive choices and actually care about their players and communities, and it makes me really, really proud to be an NBA fan, as I’m sure it makes the players proud to play for the NBA.

● Once the events started, it was fun to watch and I understood why the NBA wanted to still have the all-star game. But the Simmons-Embiid covid stuff only hours before the game was scary and reminded me of why I thought they shouldn’t have had the game in the first place. What if one of them had contracted the virus, but the NBA wasn’t able to contact-trace them in time? Bam. Half the league’s all-stars out for two weeks. Not ideal, and a potentially close call.

● For some reason, the Skills Challenge continues to be the event where players compete to prove to everyone just how little they care about winning the Skills Challenge. Why this is the case, I will never understand - these are some of the most competitive people on the planet, supposedly. If I was competing, I feel like I would be sprinting as hard as I can from the start because losing sucks. Well, at least the relay format is miles better than the old format where players practically walked up and down the court (By the way, anybody that was picking Luca to win this contest, or the All-Star game MVP for that matter, clearly have not watched him in previous years. The guy is just not going to try in these competitions). The big men winning every year is a funny wrinkle, too.

● Disclaimer: If you do not like Steph Curry, skip to the next bullet. Alright, here we go. How could anybody not like Steph Curry? This is my own opinion and not directly related to the format of the all-star events, but watching Curry in the 3PT contest and in the All-Star Game was just the best. I knew I loved watching him, but I didn’t realize how much until the 3PT contest started and my stomach started churning; I really, really wanted Curry to win, and of course, he did. To anybody that doesn’t appreciate this happy, unselfish superstar dominate and launch shots from half-court like it's nothing, I feel bad for you.

● Everyone was happy that Mike Conley finally made his first all-star appearance, as was I. But

just a thought - he might’ve been better off without it happening. He was on pace to be known as the greatest player ever to not make an all-star team, which may almost be better than what he might now otherwise be remembered as. Aaron Gordon is the greatest

participant to never win the dunk contest, and that probably does more for his legacy than if he split the trophy with Derrick Jones, Jr. Either way, good for Conley.

● Why can’t we fix the dunk contest again? I get it, there are going to be years when the dunk contest sucks, and this was one of them. It doesn't help that they were pressed for time and only did one dunk in the final round, which was anticlimactic, to say the least when Anfernee Simons won with a dunk that he didn’t even execute correctly. First of all (and we say this every year), it would be nice to get some players that aren’t on two-way contracts and who have actually dunked in the NBA. Why is the maximum age for this contest like 21? It’s weird that certain things get established for certain things, and nobody wants to break the mold. For some reason All-Stars are willing to do the 3PT contest, but not the dunk contest (and we’ve already been over the established tradition of not trying in the Skills Challenge). Secondly, improving the scoring system is not rocket science. It will never be perfect, and at least they tried this year to change it up, but clearly having five judges give a score from six to ten can be a disaster. The bar is so low for a dunk to be a seven, eight, nine, or even ten, that I have no idea how I would rate the dunks if I were in the judge’s position. Just have the judges rate from a score of 1 to fifty to add nuance, and average the scores together. Or, at the very least, let the judges converse with each other. Please, no more eights when the dunker does their backup dunk that I’ve seen guys do at LA Fitness.

● I am a believer in the new all-star game format, and it’s truly just luck whether or not the two teams happen to be close heading into the fourth quarter. Last year it was, and the format made it super competitive and awesome. This year it wasn’t. But I think that when teams are close after three quarters, some iconic final moments will be made with the scoring target rather than timed play.

● Finally, the broadcast was a bit brutal this year. Normally, I absolutely love when TNT broadcasts games because the Inside the NBA guys are better than everyone else. But without Charles for six hours, it just wasn’t good. Never again do I wanna hear Kenny, Shaq, and Wade do the dunk contest where Kenny is talking too much and Shaq won’t stop adding his only input that the guy has to make it on the first attempt. Marv Albert in this game was noticeably just off the beat a little at this point, and Reggie Miller and Chris Webber were firing their clichés from all angles. To them, I say, “WE ARE NOT WITNESSING BROADCASTING GREATNESS,” and “ANYTHING YOU CAN DO, I CAN DO BETTER!”

A bit of a dull all-star experience, and it just wasn’t the same without fans. Hopefully, the next one will be greater than ever! Where is it, again? Cleveland? Oh… well, we’ll see.

SPORTS ARE OUR UNIVERSE

A Busy Winter in Queens

Author: Steven Chase

Editor: Aaron Mesco

With the new ownership group led by financial mogul, Steve Cohen, the Mets received a great deal of buzz around them this winter. The Mets were formerly owned by Fred Wilpon, along with his brother-in-law Saul Katz. These two created a reputation of not spending money in the biggest market in sports, which made the Mets the laughing stock of baseball. Cohen, with a net worth of 14.2 billion USD according to Forbes, came into Queens motivated to change this narrative. Cohen and Mets President Sandy Alderson were very successful in doing this via various acquisitions this offseason, making the Mets a threat heading into 2021.

The major move that received the most attention from the New York media was the trade that brought Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco to the Mets. In doing this, the Mets gave up Andres Giminez, Amed Rosario, and prospects Isiah Greene and Josh Wolf. This was a huge move by the Mets, sending a message to the rest of the league that they are going to be one of the best franchises for years to come. The major reason why this was talked about so much is for one reason: Francisco Lindor. Lindor is an all around superstar, with a slashline of .277/.343/.502 along with a .354 wOBA and 13.7 fWAR (stats from 2018-2020). While the offensive numbers are great, Lindor is known for his defensive metrics, being a 26 DRS and 26.3 UZR. Obviously, Lindor is an elite player, and with his positive attitude he is a guy you need in your clubhouse. Not only did they get Lindor in this trade, but they acquired Carlos Carrsco, a top 20 starting pitcher in Major League Baseball. Over the last three seasons, Carrasco has a 3.19 xFIP, 3.32 SIERA and a 7.6 fWAR, along with a 2.91 ERA in 2020. Carrasco will give the Mets a phenomenal one-two-three punch at the top of their rotation, with himself deGrom, and Syndergaard.

Furthermore, in addition to Carrasco, the Mets also acquired various other depth starting pitchers, such as Taijuan Walker, Joey Luchessi, and Jordan Yammamoto. All three of these players have major league experience, and will be great back end starters, and will be essential if the Mets make a postseason run. Moreover, another key addition the Mets made this offseason was Trevor May. May has been one of the better relievers the past few seasons, posting a 3.19 ERA, 3.48 xFIP, and a 3.01 SIERA over the span of 2018-2020. His stats are very similar to Seth Lugo, and these two will be tasked with the job of pitching in the 7th or 8th inning with the goal of getting the ball to closer Edwin Diaz for the save. All in all, with all of these acquisitions in addition to Noah Sydergaard and Marcus Stroman coming back from injury, the Mets have one of the best pitching rotations in all of baseball.

On top of perennial superstar Francisco Lindor, the Mets made other solid acquisitions. The two that are of most importance are Kevin Pillar and Johnathan Villar. With the lack of the universal Designated Hitter, the Mets are forced to sacrifice defense to get all of their bats in the lineup. Both Pete Alonso and Dom Smith need to be in the Met lineup on a daily basis, but the problem is they both play the same position. This forces the Mets to hide Dom Smith in left field, and move Bradon Nimmo to center field. This puts both of these players in an out of position role, making the Mets vulnerable to poor defensive play. Kevin Pillar, who has a 56 DRS and 33.6 UZR over his seven-year career, was a much needed addition to bolster the Mets outfield. Jonathan Villar was also a huge addition. Villar is a threat in many different ways: he has had over 40 stolen bases in multiple seasons, he can seemingly play every position defensively, and he brings a decent bat offensively. Villar has a 95 career OPS+ and .727 OPS, which are average, but his value on the bases and eligibility at various positions make him a key member of the Mets bench. In addition to the veteran acquisitions, the Mets also brought in prospect Khalil Lee. This move showed that the Mets plan to not only win now, but win in the future.

The various acquisitions the Mets made, along with the change in culture in the front office, make the Mets appear to be one of the premier teams headed into 2021. The only negative about the Mets offseason is that they have not yet re-signed Francisco Lindor or Michael Conforto. Despite all of this, it does not matter how good the roster is paper- it matters how the Mets perform. 2021 will be a major year for the Mets to see what they can do for now and the future.

METS ARE OUR UNIVERSE