Do The C's Really Need a Trade? (And Other Observations)
There's a rumor that the Celtics are interested in Isaiah Stewart. Respectfully, I hope that doesn't come to pass. Stewart shoots well, and plays with fire – he could be a good Al Horford replacement – but the best thing about this current Celtics team is that nobody does stupid things. Everyone that is playing significant minutes on this team has been through the fires enough to know what not to do, and all the bench guys know their role. If all the Pistons wanted was some combination of bench guys who won't play in the playoffs, it wouldn't be the worst thing, but I think there is considerable downside risk (and I think the cost will be higher). If you asked most people about Stewart, the first thing that would come to mind is that he tried to fight LeBron. Maybe you think the C's need that kind of outward show of fight. I disagree.
This team fits really well together, and barring major injury I don't think the C's need any roster modifications. I think the most important thing is to continue to build a rhythm with this roster and cement everyone's roles. On the Lowe Post podcast on Monday, Zach Lowe and Tim Bontemps talked about John Konchar and Cedi Osman. Neither of them hits demonstrably more three's than Oshae Brissett, and I don't think either is appreciably better than him on defense. I think Lamar Stevens is definitively better on defense than both of those guys, and I don't think Stewart, Konchar, or Osman has the overall ceiling of Dalano Banton in his best-case scenario. I think of Banton as a Gerald Henderson, Brian Shaw, Lonnie Walker IV type who can win you that random playoff game when nobody else is playing well. The continuity and rhythm gains from standing pat will far outweigh any potential gains of a marginal upgrade like these. For evidence, look no further than Mike Muscala, who seemed like a great fit last year and then very quickly found himself outside of the rotation.
Some other observations around the league:
- On Monday night, Luka Doncic racked up just the 27th instance in NBA history (in this case, "history" is 1996-1997 to the present) of a player scoring 30+ points, grabbing 5+ rebounds, getting 5+ assists, and being at least a -20 in a single game. Doncic specifically put up a 38-11-8, and was a -29 for the night. That's hard to do! In the 27 instances, his -29 was fourth-worst, behind LaMelo Ball (also earlier this season), Michael Carter-Williams, and LeBron James. It was the fourth time Doncic found himself on this list. Ultimately though, it's not the burn I want it to be, because LeBron is also on here four times, and Stephen Curry, Allen Iverson, James Harden, and Kobe Bryant also populate this list. But it's still not great. One interesting thing about this list – this happened 12 times from 1998 through 2019, and now 15 times since 2021.
- The other night against the Pacers, Giannis Antetokounmpo took 32 free throws. It was the sixth-most in a single game in NBA history. Most of the other players on this list are "Hack A" guys – Wilt Chamberlain, Andre Drummond, DeAndre Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal. I watched a lot of this game. That's not what the Pacers were doing. The refs were just out of control. Eighty free throws were attempted in this game – 48 for Milwaukee (second-highest total for the season), 32 for Indiana. The refs were very fortunate that Giannis ran around like a crazy person after the game looking for the game ball, because it obscured what a terrible job they did.
- RIP to Eric Montross. The 1994 NBA Draft was not exactly a banner draft, especially outside of the top three, but I remember teenage me being reasonably excited about the C's getting Montross. In hindsight, Eddie Jones or Jalen Rose would have been much better picks, but Montross did become a relatively important player in C's history in terms of what he brought in trade. Before the 1996 draft, the C's traded Montross and their No. 9 pick in the draft for the No. 6 pick in the draft plus a first rounder the following year. That No. 6 pick became Antoine Walker, and the 1997 pick gave Celtics fans hope for a full year that Tim Duncan would be ours. It ended up being Ron Mercer, but still, that's a heck of a trade. The No. 9 pick in the 1996 Draft was Samaki Walker, and Walker went on to have a better career than anyone taken in the eighth to 12 range. Back to Montross – he didn't end up having the best pro career, but he was amazing in college, and put up a 23-5, and 16-5 in the 1993 Final Four. The latter, the championship game against "Fab Five" Michigan, is possibly the greatest Final Four championship game ever played – certainly in the running, and the most memorable of my childhood. It was also a game, that on paper, they were underdogs in. Later in life, he became one of UNC's radio broadcasters and fundraisers. Seems like an enormous loss for that community. May his memory be eternal.
- My early MVP ranks:
- 1. Joel Embiid - He showed last night that he's still pulling Houdini's when the games get real, but his numbers are undeniable at this point.
- 2. Anthony Edwards - He's coming for Stephen Curry's "you have to cut his head off" crown. He won't get talked about very much because Minnesota hasn't been good for a long time, and even when they were good they weren't that good, but he belongs in the conversation. He truly elevates them on both sides of the court.
- 3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - So clutch. And he's just incredible important to the Thunder.
- 4. Jayson Tatum - He's following his usual pattern of coming out on fire before settling into a little bit of a December shooting slump. He would have been higher three weeks ago.
- 5. Nikola Jokic - They more or less have no chance without him, but he's shooting far worse than he has in the past three seasons, and the Nuggets have fallen back to the pack as a result.
- 6. Giannis Antetokounmpo - He's both the best and worst thing about his team, and I still think his failure to share the ball will doom the Bucks, but like always, he's helping them rack up the regular-season wins.
- 7. Luka Doncic - Ditto.
- 8. Stephen Curry - He deserves better. He's unlikely to receive it.
- 9. LeBron James - How is he still so good?
- 10. De'Aaron Fox - They're a much different team with him in the lineup.