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Mike Petraglia made his debut on The Banners Broadcast this week with a flurry of news surrounding the Celtics going into Tuesday’s opener.
There’s so much to unwrap from Lee Jenkin’s fantastic Sports Illustrated feature on Isaiah Thomas, with the central theme being his trade to the Cavaliers as the next step in his long line of revenge against the Kings, Suns and now Celtics (but not Boston) for letting him go. Thomas’ message is clear: the C’s made a mistake.
What was the biggest takeaway between the medical information, regret and his comments about Danny Ainge?
Thomas also mentioned Boston losing their “heart and soul.” Chemistry and cohesion questions have been widely expressed as the C’s only return four players, but Marcus Smart has a chance to fill that hole, according to Trags.
If that’s the case, what are the chances Celts extend Smart by the deadline in order to assure themselves some stability at the top of the team without contract questions?
With preseason over, we’re also starting to get a feel for what Jaylen Brown asked, just what are these Celts?
“It’s going to be more business-like with Kyrie,” Trags said. “I think there’s less drama. Kyrie comes off to me as someone who’s going to go out of his way to be mellow…Isaiah Thomas, he would literally put his heart on his sleeve. After every single game…he would tell you how he felt if the team felt like crap…Kyrie Irving…he’s going to be much more corporate…he’s going to try to take the drama out of things.”
Beyond contract talks, the preseason provided assurance for how effective Terry Rozier and Smart can be in bench roles. Both shot well from outside, and in Rozier’s case there was more control and poise in his ball-handling.
“What they say about Terry Rozier is the court becomes very narrow to him when he starts getting closer and closer…he needs to, when he drives, be able to kick out…the more he becomes comfortable…the even more dangerous he’s going to be,” Trags said.
Trags and I also discussed the continuously mysterious 15th roster spot, the dangers of restricted free agency as well as the opening night lineup. Then wrapped with Brad Stevens’ comments about Jayson Tatum’s defensive potential.
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