Is Mitchell Robinson Washed? (and Other Mailbag Answers)

Ok, for full disclosure, the question in the title wasn’t actually asked. But that is the kind of vibe this mailbag has, so I felt it was representative of the overall feel. And as a reminder, I did ask people to provide their hot takes and questions. So don’t be mad that people delivered. Don’t hate the playa, hate the game. Which, would honestly be fair in this case.

Red_Auerbach_Junior

Hot take 1: Big Country looks out of shape. Over the first few games he’s playing well below how he has performed in prior seasons. I will be interested to see if this continues or if this is a product of the team getting used to Big Mitch and him getting used to the team.

The boring/optimistic answer is to preach patience and give him time to acclimate to his new surroundings and role. The concern is that these things don’t always work out as we would hope. He had a specific role in New York and thrived in that system. What if he doesn’t work within the Celtics structure? We haven’t even hit the first time missed due to injury that we all expected.

At the moment I’m not overly worried (once again, small sample size) but it is something to keep an eye on.

Hot take 2: Derrick White should be traded. There are many trade approaches that could be taken, his contract could be used to grab either another center or forward in an effort to lean into Peyton, Baylor, Hugo, and Ron stepping up to fill his role/shift the ball handler role more onto JT and PG13, the other would be to find a way to make a trade exception, have the aforementioned bench players absorb some of those minutes and also create minutes for Chris Cenac. Ultimately Derrick White is close to his athletic downturn. His playstyle, though not nearly as reliant on his athletic ability, does operate on the right side of a thin margin that contributes of his ability to stay in front, react defensively, and generally use what athletic ability he does have to keep up with the more athletic players he usually is tasked with guarding. Losing a half step, which I believe he is in the process of doing, will put him on the WRONG side of that margin and we need to deal him before he is on the wrong side of that margin.

I love, love, love Derrick White. I do not want to trade Derrick White. I will fight for Derrick White.

With all that said, it is hard to argue that he might be a logical option to move. Not necessarily this year, but perhaps by this coming offseason. Smart GM’s tend to move on from players before they lose a step and White’s shooting woes last year indicate that he might be close to that downturn you are talking about.

He has a large (but not max) contract that could be paired with picks or players to bring back another star or an impact long-term piece.

With all that said, I’d be very reluctant to move White until one or two of the younger players has firmly established themselves as consistent performers. Not just “shows us something occasionally” but contributing on both ends on a nightly basis. You need consistent, effective adults on the floor to win games.

Hot take 3: we should flip Garza and give his minutes to Chris Cenac. Right now Garza is the much better player by a decent margin. I agree that the current minute allocation where Garza is the third big in the rotation will lead to the most wins throughout the season. However, Chris and Luka fill very similar niches when they are on the floor. Giving Chris those minutes now will lead to more winning further down the line. The one drawback is that Cenac starts to click early which will increase his value when his rookie contract ends which may cause an unnecessary increase in his first contract negotiations.

I legitimately don’t think either of those last two things will happen, but for the first one I am optimistic that we will see an improvement of Mitch’s fit within the next few games…

I support the idea of finding minutes for Cenac, but I don’t think we necessarily need to bench Garza to get them. First of all, I think he could use the reps in Maine. Secondly, I think there will be plenty of scheduled (or sometimes unscheduled) games off for Mitchell or Queta and there will be opportunities for Cenac to play on the 2nd night of a back-t0-back or in garbage time.

Micah Wilson

I should probably be writing in all caps, cus that’s how people seem to talk on ESPN, but I’ll restrain myself.

Hot take 1: Luka Garza is the Celtics best offensive rebounder.

No disagreement here. At least for now.

Hot take 2: Mitchell Robinson retires mid-season and joins Monster Jam, a place where his truck actually fits in the parking garage.

I wonder if Joe has had any thoughts about “borrowing” the truck to use as a getaway vehicle for his next theoretical ballpark heist.

hurdler17

Queta earned the starting spot last year, and Mitch is did not come in prepared to take over the starting spot. Queta should play the start and ends of the quarters, staggering his rest to be able to play 24-30 mpg. Mitch should play shorter stints in the middle of quarters to about 18-24 mpg; and Luka plays as needed. Refs are morons and they have a quicker whistle for backups. Let Queta’s experience and reputation grow as a starter.

Mitch’s minutes are about the same, points steady, rebounds way down, fouls up, blocks down. He’s a career backup that should be beating up on other backups. Nobody is doing hack-a-mitch at the beginning of quarters. He’s not playing like a starter, and Queta is thrown into a completely different environment from where he was a steady performer last year.

I will admit, I haven’t had a strong take on which big should start. I can see the argument for both of them. Both of them are what I would consider starting quality bigs (based on performance in previous seasons). Both could and should thrive in a bench role. Both should get about the same number of minutes.

The rest is just about fit and chemistry with the units that they play with. I tend to think that the worries about hack-a-Mitch are a bit over-stated. It seems more important to me that he knows where to be on the court and how his teammates are going to be delivering the ball (or how their shots come off the rim). That will take time to develop and the coaching staff is going to need to see what downstream impacts occur in various lineup combinations.

Hmm, that answer seems pretty boring. Is this where I should suggest that he’s washed and the team should trade him as soon as possible (December 15th I believe)? Asking for a friend.

tunaboats

The Celtics will continue to win exactly 3 out of every 4 games and finish the season with 61.5 wins, including the first tie in NBA history.

Now I’m trying to think of the scenario that would result in a tie. Maybe both teams would have to foul out all their players with the score tied. In theory that could happen if the team’s got into a benches clearing brawl right off the tipoff (not that I’m rooting for that).

Oh, what if Tatum and Brown decide to play a full game of 1 on 1, telling all their teammates to clear out (you know, like they typically did in clutch time for years). Each one pounds the ball for 20 seconds, takes a side-step 3 pointer that clangs off the rim, the other one rebounds, and repeats the process. Game ends in a 26-26 tie (on 20% shooting efficiency) and everyone agrees that the game should not continue into overtime for the sake of all our sanities.

Both hug and dap up after the game and go out for a dinner of lamb chops and gravy.

zzanbo1

i would like to see mike conley get some floor time. looked good the only time he played.

Speaking as someone who is, …umm, matured past optimal playing conditions, there are going to be days when he looks as good as his best days in the league (or at least close). But there are also going to be days when he feels like he just got run over by Mitchell Robinson’s truck.

I really love the way that Joe Mazzulla is giving him a chance to play the role of player-coach. Between that and giving his assistant coaches opportunities to shine in preseason and elsewhere, Joe is developing a positive reputation. One that could lead to future players in the waning years signing on to get that kind of coaching internship experience. And when the current assistant coaches move on to greener head coaching pastures, more will be excited about joining the program.

thruthelookingglass

Two ideas: (1) All due respect to Red_Auerbach_Junior, will Luka Garza take us to the promised land on sheer effort? and (2) will this be the year the Maine Celtics take the G League championship?

You laugh about Garza and his piston pumping arms when he runs, but every single banner in the rafters included contributions from unsung, try-hards that gave it their all. Sometimes it just takes that one 50-50 ball going to the Celtics because someone just flat-out wanted it more. Give him a Tommy Point!

The Maine Red Claw Celtics are going to have a stacked roster, no doubt. The one thing that could hurt them is the Celtics load-managing the parent team and calling up the best players. But it should be fun most nights.

EZwind

Here’s one more:

Will some fans stop claiming that the new owners are cheap after they just donated $200 million to Boston Children’s Hospital?

I support the tax write off.

Seriously though, I get the frustration. Celtics fans have had to watch their title winning team get dismantled piece by piece. Most understand the difference between being “cheap” and working within the strict confines of the aprons, but it is still a tough pill to swallow.

At some point, Brad Stevens is going to bring them a deal that cashes in on the “optionality” and asks them to pay well into the tax. He knows that it will have to be the right deal and he can only play that card a few times. So far, he’s proven he’s a lot smarter than most GMs at this. Will the ownership group agree? We’ll see, but I’m hopeful.

Veknironth

The Celtics will defeat the Grizzlies to win the NBA cup with Boston sitting it’s top 9 players to save the from injury. They will not hang the banner.

The Celtics “stay ready” group would absolutely give it their all and make for an entertaining Cup game. Still not sure if I’m ready to be a “cup respecter” or whatever the kids are calling it, but hey, it is something to talk about. So why not try to win it?

Veknironth

Here’s a non-Celtics one. In order to increase the teams’ giddiness, the Timberwolves will trade for Josh Giddey

I see what you did there and I approve.

Morpheus6610

Is Paul George the partner and mentor that Tatum has always needed?

Tatum has had plenty of positive mentors over the years (Al Horford, Marcus Smart, Jrue Holiday, etc.). And having Jaylen Brown on his team had a lot of very real positives (like a ring, for example). But it is no secret that Tatum idolized George growing up and patterns a lot of his game off the vet.

Makes you wonder what might have happened if Tatum was paired with him earlier in his career (preferably during a healthy stretch). but I guess we’ll never know.

I will also point out that replacing Brown would not be an easy gig for most players on the downswing of their careers. Thus far, George has handled himself exceptionally well and deserves the respect he’s getting.

Sportzballer

Is Walsh only Boston’s 4th or 5th best prospect?

First of all, it is worth noting that Walsh at 22 is a year younger than rookie Dillon Mitchell. Which should put some perspective on his development.

Finn McGrath

Is Jayson Tatum going to be able to come off the bench to allow Amari Williams to develop as a starter?

I’m starting to think that Amari is the center version of JD Davison. Too good for G-League, not quite good enough for a regular role in the NBA. But I’ve been wrong before.

Mitchs Dad

What are the chances that PP makes the All Star team?

He needs to be a little more consistent night-in-night-out against the league’s best defenses, but he has that kind of potential. Might also take a few stat-padding games early in the season to boost his numbers and chances.

Move the Ball

Do you think RH, Jr. will see the light of day this year? And something I’ve always wondered about: Why are some carrots oranger than an orange?

Hey man, there will be load management games where the stay ready guys will have to stay readier than ready.

I also think there could be another 2 week stretch where Harper is the soup du jour on Joe’s menu.

Not sure about carrots, but have you ever seen Eminem explain how it is possible to rhyme the word “orange?” Amazing stuff.

Clish

Sorry, Jeff. But I wouldn’t pretend to be Perkins if you paid me!

Fair enough! Thanks for the hot takes and questions everybody!