In the latest basketball newsletter from the New York Times' NBA writer Marc Stein, a number of advance scouts give their takes on whether they're buying or selling on some of the league's most noteworthy teams at the halfway point of this season.
On the Warriors, one Eastern Conference scout says don't panic at their so-so start. On the Western Conference-leading Nuggets, another says they are legit, and wonders why they don't get more attention.
But when it comes to the Celtics, one Western Conference scout isn't sold:
"I’m off the Celtics. It’s almost like they have too much talent. Something has gone awry there. It’s too much my-turn basketball whenever I see them. The ball doesn’t move the same way it used to. And I just don’t know if Kyrie Irving is the kind of guy who can get everybody on the same page."
It's unclear when this conversation took place, but the timing is interesting. The Celtics have been averaging 35.3 assists so far this month, including season highs in each of the last two games. They notched 37 in Monday's win over the Nets coming on the heels of a 35-assist outpour in Friday's rout of the Mavericks.
The same scout was far more impressed with the 76ers, however:
"Philadelphia is my team in the East. I know people say they don’t have enough shooting and they don’t have enough depth, but they have more tools than you think. Jimmy Butler has made them better. Joel Embiid is a monster. Ben Simmons: Talk about his shot all you want, but he’s a monster. J.J. Redick’s shooting might be the glue to the whole thing. And even T.J. McConnell — people say he can’t score and he’s short and he’s slow. But he makes every pull-up jumper. He gets into the paint. He steals inbounds passes. He takes charges.
"The Sixers are physical. They will give you a problem physically. I’m telling you: Anybody who gets Philly in the first round of the playoffs is going to be unhappy about it."
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