Keep It Simple Boston

Simplest minds of the week

Grandpa

Snowblow

flips

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This or That

Have really loud neighbors or really nosy neighbors? 

Go missing and become a Netflix documentary or get killed handicap person indiscriminately? 

Pulp or no pulp in orange juice ? 

Watch the hot dog eating contest or the home run derby ? 

Background noise while sleeping or complete silence ? 

Break a Guinness world record or break something really expensive for fun 

Never eat cheese again or never eat anything fried again ? 

Be 2 feet tall or 9 feet tall ? 

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10 Questions

1. Why hasn’t StefanDiggs been signed yet ? 

2. What gets more views the MLB all star game or a re-run if Cops ? 

3. Why do the French always get dicked down by the Spanish ? 

4.  ESPN has Drake Maye ranked #8 with Herbert and Dak immediately ahead of him.  Thoughts ? 

5. Who knows more about soccer me or Langevin ? 

6. What is Chris’s Simms problem with Tom Brady? Ranking him 9th all time behind the likes of Lamar and Marino

7. Question about result of England Argentina game 

8. Does Roman Anthony’s pinky still hurt ? 

9. How corrupt is fifa ? 

10. Who ya got in the World Cup final ? 

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Red Sox All-Star Break

Winners of 9 straight. 14 out of 16.  .5 game out of the wildcard. Still under .500 46-48.

Wilson Contreras. Arguably the best right handed bat in the majors says we refuses to leave Boston he loves it here.

What changed?

A couple winey snots are out of the club house. Mayer injured again, Roman Anthony has just been sent away.

Contributions from Anthony Seigler, Romy Gonzalez, Monasterio.  Triple A guys playing hard and smart contributing to the wins.

Pitching has been good most of the year.  4th in the MLB in ERA

Gray, Suarez, Tolle, Early. – dealing with some injuries, but good.

Chapman still good, mental freak Bryan Bello positioned in the bullpen

This was not their plan. Credit to the players. It’s not sustainable. Punching above their weight.

Breslow does not get this credit.  They talked those young kids up so much. And it failed. The long term contract to kids who have not earned back fired in Anthony and Campell. Enabling Mayer failed.

Breslow built a good pitching staff.

Can he win a deadline? Aug 3rd

Rode the fence the last 3 seasons.

Put Mayer and Anthony, one of the outfield log jams and young pitching on the block and bring in a impact bat for now and long term.

Can Crochet come back?

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Celtics off season

There was an inevitable split with Brown

Writing on the wall

Jaylen Brown liked the Bomani Jones post that Tatum should have stood up for Brown more.

Brown posted stats at all-star break

Jaylen Brown posted a side-by-side comparison of his team's stats and record. He captioned his post on X (formerly Twitter), "I'm proud of this group and staff/ office looking forward to 2nd half go Cs".

Tatum trainer tweeted Celtics are hard to beat when Tatum’s usage was 33% or better

-          Drew Hanlen posted the Celtics winning % when Tatum gets a 33% usage rate.  This was after a win vs Charolette in which Brown sat out.  The next game, Tatum sat out, Brown had a over 33% usage rate and the Celtics lost and he sucked.

Brown analytically bad.  He talked about it all season.

Poor chemistry with Tatum, Brown, Mazzula.  Only one ball.

-          With Jrue Holiday and Horford it worked.

-          After blowing 3-1 series lead and game 7 at Boston; Brown talks about how great the season was

-          Browns reaction – Didn’t get the respect he wanted from Brad in trade conversations.  “There is something more there.”

-          Brown got in the drivers seat and was not giving it up.  He tactically forced his way out

Why the timing of the trade? Why the poor return?

The return

The return ask was originally VJ Edgecomb, Paul George, 5 first round picks.

The Analytical Case Against Jaylen Brown

1. Volume scorer, not an efficient one
He's putting up 28.7 PPG this year, but his True Shooting is sitting around the 49th percentile leaguewide — dead average for volume scorers, and low for someone who just made his 5th All-Star team. Peers who score at his volume (Devin Booker, Jalen Brunson, Tatum) generally post TS marks well above 55-56%.

2. Shot profile doesn't match a "modern wing"
His three-point rate ranks around the 20th percentile among his peer group — he's not generating efficient looks from three at the volume you'd expect from a max-level wing. That pushes him into more contested pull-ups and mid-range shots, which shows up in the dip: his FG% fell to 47.7% and his 3P% dropped to 34.7% this season.

3. Turnover-prone relative to usage
His turnover metrics grade out around the 42nd percentile. For a guy who's now the clear first option without Tatum, ball security under high usage is a real swing factor analytics tracks closely.

4. Defense doesn't match the reputation
This is the biggest gap between narrative and numbers. Despite being viewed as a plus wing defender, his defensive plus-minus grades (CraftedDPM, DARKO's defensive component) put him in the bottom third of his position group — around the 16th percentile on some models. Rim protection and steal/deflection rates are also below what you'd expect from an "elite two-way" tag.

5. Impact metrics have never loved him — even in his best years
This isn't new. Back during his 2023 All-NBA-caliber peak, Basketball-Reference's BPM had him outside the top 60 players in the league, well behind his box-score reputation. RAPTOR and EPM have shown similar skepticism for years. The models that combine box score data with on/off court impact consistently rate him lower than the raw counting stats suggest.

Here's the peer comparison, pulled straight from CraftedNBA's percentile model (leaguewide, min. 48 min played):

Category

Jaylen Brown

Devin Booker

Donovan Mitchell

Scoring

82-83rd

84th

91st

Efficiency (TS%-based)

48-52nd

56th

77th

Playmaking

64-66th

76th

75th

Defense

14-16th

26th

52nd

Overall impact

87-88th

92nd

98th

The only explanation is the Jaylen Brown market sucked. The Celtics think Paul George is better than we do and have a plan to dump his salary next season.

Why now?

Celtics would not commit to 5 years of Brown at max money

Celtics would not commit to 3 years of Giannis at 35% of cap. They wanted 2 years at 30% of cap

Nick Cattles: Celtics open to making trades but want to surround Tatum with the depth and role players opposed to another start to split shots with.  Interested in Herb Jones and Keldon Johnson.

-          Ownership has a financial mandate.

Moving forward

The new roster

Celtics have 2nd best odds to come out of the east

76ers 3rd. Knicks 1st.

Derrick White                    Payton Pritchard               Mike Conley      

Baylor Scheierman           Hugo Gonzalez                  Ron Harper jr

Paul George                        Sam Hauser                       

Jayson Tatum                     Jordan Walsh                     Chris Cenac Jr

Mitchell Robinson            Neemias Queta                 Luka Garza

Do you buy into Paul George a better fit?

Putting the ball in Tatum’s hands?

Brown had 36% usage rate last year. 28.7 pts, 6.9 rbs, 5.1 asst.  

-          Does Tatum beat that? Is the team better?

-          When Jayson Tatum posts a usage rate of 33% or higher, the Boston Celtics have an overwhelming 89% win rate.

Is the ultimate problem solved? Mazzula ball.

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robert vine2:17 PM (7 hours ago)to ray, me1. Where is LeBron going ? 2. Thoughts on kelce swift wedding at MSG 3.  Are the Red Sox still bad? 4.  Who ya got in the World Cup at this point ? 5.  ESPN ranked the pats roster as #7 in the league agree or disagree? 6. Should jokic sign the extension now or wait ? 7. How great are the Mexican fans for shooting fireworks at the English hotel? 8. Is the Gabe Jacks pick already a bust ? 9. Should the Celtics just trade Tatum for harden and be the 76ers of years ago for funsies ? 10.  How much paperwork do you think they had to fill out to make the shitty brown trade ? 

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Quick Hits Red Sox & Patriots 

-Red Sox are quietly playing “good” baseball 8-2 in their last 10. 

-4 games back from final wildcard spot. If this continues do you become buyers at the deadline? 

-jokes on you vine they won’t do anything 

-All Star break next week Chapman and Suarez named all stars. Do any Sox players deserve an all star nod? 

-Patriots News, little wedding took place over the holiday weekend. Vrabel and wife Jen attend. What did he do

Or give her for slaying roussini?

-camp opens on the 23rd, Will Gonzalez have an extension by then?

-Patriots have the 7th best roster, do you agree?( 1. Los Angeles Rams · 2. Philadelphia Eagles · 3. Seattle Seahawks · 4. Buffalo Bills · 5. Baltimore Ravens · 6. Detroit Lions).

-biggest camp battle you find most intriguing? (Offensive line)

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NBA Offseason

-The Toronto Raptors officially acquired Kawhi Leonard from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Brandon Ingram, Gradey Dick, two unprotected first-round picks (2031, 2033), a 2027 first-round pick swap and two second-round picks (2030, 2033).

-where will LeBron end up? Philly, golden state, Miami, Cleveland…Boston 

Would you want him, would he want to come here?

-what’s the next domino to fall, will

There be another big move?

-with the CBA do teams need to draft better and have that number 1, can teams learn from the Knicks? No more super teams 

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USA-Belgium World Cup News

-USA eliminated from the World Cup by Belgium 4-1

First half

-Belgium scores in the 9th minute. USA looked like the moment was too big at the start. Sloppy and miscues on defense. 

-Belgium owned USA up to hydration break. Just look completely lost out there. Simple plays lead to scoring chances for Belgium. 

-31 minute mark, free kick Tillman puts it in the back of the net off redirect. 1-1

-30 seconds later Belgium takes it wide crosses in the middle head ball back of the net. 

Second half

-same story sloppy play by the Americans 

-dumb play by the us keeper, Matt Freese, comes out to play a ball hesitated and stolen.  goal 3-1

-more turn overs from the Us, the chances they had they couldn’t capitalize on. 

-90th minute Belgium steals the ball from the us puts it bottom right corner 4-1 

-the United States is not close to being up to par with the rest of the power houses of the world. It should Monday night. 

-looking forward can the us take this world up and do something they couldn’t do in 94 and make this sport popular in the United States 

-names to follow now that the us is gone 

-Mbappe for France

-Messi for Argentina

-Harry Kane for England

-Errling Haaland for Norway

These are the best four players left in the tournament 

-best part of World Cup, the scuffles in the later rounds. Paraguay France almost end with fists. Norway Brazil same thing

-end of an era for superstars. Brazil’s Neymar retires from international play, is Ronaldo next? Both Brazil and Portugal eliminated over the weekend. 

-Mexicos unbeaten streak at Azteca stadium comes to an end losing to England and that’s not the biggest news from that game. 

-(play clip) England player trips over fence , fractured wrist. 

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Jaylen Brown Traded to Philly 

Jaylen Brown to Philly

Paul George

(2) 1st Round Picks 2028,2031

(2) 2nd Round Picks 

Bobby Reaction

-Why did they make this trade? Money, Jaylen Brown wanted to be the 1, he was an insufferable Douche bag. 

-(Play clip) Brad Stevens didn’t talk to Tatum …. Bullshit 

-according to ownership this has nothing to do with money (show image)

-Little bright spot. Jaylen missed 9

Games last year. Celtics went 7-2. Oh and this Jayson Tatum has averaged 26.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.0 assists in 102 career games without Jaylen Brown. During those contests, his increased usage rate is highlighted by a scoring bump. [1]

-what’s next? Is there a next. Still have tpe, have a ton of picks. Trey Murphy keeps getting mentioned still. 

-other moves. Celtics have picked up Mike Conley, 38 year old point guard, last played for the t wolves 4.5PTS 1.7 REB 2.9AST 33.5 FG% Rich doesn’t think he will make the team. 

Other signing Mitchel Robinson, just came off an nba championship with the Knicks this guy is a rim protector. Can’t shoot a 3 if his life depended on it. 

-extensions to Ron Harper Jr and Neemis Quetta 

-on paper gets your starting 5

White

Pritchard 

George

Tatum

Robinson

-Celtics still have 2nd best odds to win the east, does Vegas and the nba hate Jaylen brown?

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