FanPost

Road Signs To Look for on Wednesday



I am optimistic about the Celtics this year; however I want to be a realist as well. Here are some signposts that I'll be watching for.

Ball movement: Everyone agrees that the ball and the players have to move more - go side-to-side or inside out. If you see ISO habits and a lot over-dribbling, that's a problem. Can Tatum and Brown resist the urge to do it all themselves?

Perimeter Close-Outs: Last year there was a lot of blow-bys on the closeouts or a failure to contest threes. To me, the team looked slow. Will they defend the perimeter and prevent penetration?

Transition: Last year this team would often slow the ball down instead of pushing it up the floor. Will they get out and run this year? They were also slow to get back on defense. Can reduce the number of transition buckets given up?

Turnovers: There was a lot of sloppy, careless play last year and it continued into the preseason. Can they fix this issue?

Bench Shooting: Last year's bench did not provide reliable scoring. Can the bench spread the floor and knock down shots?

Timelord: Last year he was great - when he was healthy. In the preseason this year he did not show the energy and "roll-to-the-rim" threat he had going last year. What kind of year are we going to get from him?

Effort and execution: This is all about the eye-test, but my eyes told me that some games that neither the effort or execution was there. I think Brad Stevens saw this too and knew it was time for him to change. Can Ime Udoka bring back a high level of effort and execution that we had come to expect from this team?

What will you be looking for?

FanPosts are fan-created content and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of CelticsBlog. Be respectful and keep it clean. Thanks.