Barmore deserves the pay day

The Patriots Extension Being Overlooked By Some

All the talk about extending young Patriots players has been devoted to Mike Onwenu and Kyle Dugger. That’s certainly understandable given there’s a countdown towards the free agency of both and the franchise tag decision is less than a week away for NFL teams. 

However, the justifiable attention paid to Onwenu and Dugger should not totally distract us from another big-time young talent who deserves to be extended this offseason: Christian Barmore. 

Barmore took a leap this past season. He finished as a top-10 IDL according to Pro Football Focus’ 2023 grading system, while earning the seventh-highest pass-rushing grade. Barmore also finished with 49 pressures and eight sacks. 

But Barmore is no longer just a pass-rushing interior defensive lineman who can’t be counted on against the run. He took a big developmental step on early downs for the defensive staff in 2023. The big man’s no longer a “potential” impact player, he is an impact player. 

It’s not hard to believe that the Patriot and soon-to-be 25-year-old is on the precipice of becoming a household name outside of New England. If he wasn’t held back by an injury-riddled sophomore season, we might have already gotten to that point. 

Meanwhile, Eliot Wolf talked about the changing of the culture from the Belichick days at the combine earlier this week. When Wolf was asked about the “Packer Way,” here’s what he had to say: “Draft and develop. Extend your core performers from within. It’s about honesty, respect and treating people the right way.”

Thinking of that comment from Wolf, it’s worthwhile to remember: A) The Pats moved up to pick Barmore in the second round of the 2021 draft. B) DeMarcus Covington and others helped develop him and now he is, C) considered one of the team’s “core performers from within.” 

With the Alabama standout checking all the boxes as a Patriot and with the oodles of cap space the team has at their disposal, it’s the perfect time to respect and treat Barmore the right way by getting a deal done this summer. Hopefully, that’s precisely what happens once free agency and the draft is in the rearview mirror. 

The Celtics Three-Point Conversation

It’s been well documented and said by the man himself, Joe Mazzulla doesn’t mind his team jacking up forty threes in a game. He doesn’t mind sacrificing others types of offense in the name of the three ball. But, there’s a lot of context that gets lost within the “three-ball or bust” conversations that dominate Celtics talk. We’re going to attempt to clear some of it up in this space. 

The amount of threes isn’t what should be paid the most attention to. The VALUE of the looks from 3 is what matters. Are you taking too many contested threes? Are you dependent on too many pull-up threes? Are you touching the paint first, before finding the shooter? How many passes led to the 3PA? Was the rim-read correct? All of those questions should be asked and answered, before judging the results each and every night.

Another aspect of this conversation is when the threes are taken. Are guys settling for threes early in the shot clock and/or are they shooting threes “be damned?” What we mean by that is, if the team starts out 0-for-10 from three, do they just keep pounding their heads against the wall?  Or, do they attempt to diversify the offensive portfolio and then go back to the three after seeing the ball go in the hoop a few times? All of this matters.  

There’s another problem with these “three-ball or bust” conversations: The Celtics are absolutely not a one-trick offensive pony. They not only have a post up offense, it’s a damn good one. Heading into Thursday night’s schedule, the C’s are second in the NBA in post-up frequency (7.4%). They’re first in post points per game (9.6) and post up points per possession (1.17). They’re fourth in effective FG% when posting (58.4). 

Want me to pile on? Sure! Heading into Thursday night’s games, the Celtics are top-10 in both transition points and assist-to-turnover ratio. They’re top-3 in 2-point FG percentage. They have the second-best shooting efficiency number in the entire league. Oh, and they happen to be top-10 from the midrange as well, which could pay big dividends come playoff time.

All of this should be remembered, whenever we hear certain narratives shaped by people that haven’t bothered to watch, or don’t want to look up the numbers behind the success. We should also use this as context, whenever the “they can’t win unless they’re good to great from three” conversation rears its ugly head. As shown on Tuesday night against the 76ers, this team can win without being electric from the triple. The C’s won running away against Philly, even though they made only five of their twenty-two 3PAs. 

If you think that’s an anomaly, did you know the C’s are above .500 this season when they’ve finished shooting under 35% from three? It’s true! Thanks, Dan Greenberg.

Now, does this mean they won’t rely on shots beyond the arc in the postseason? Of course not. It’s a vital part of their offense, but it’s not the ONLY part of their offense. After the additions of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, this team has shown much more offensive versatility than ever before and have been efficient while doing so. And, while that’s not a guarantee of a banner being hung, it certainly makes the path towards doing so much more believable and not as reliant on the three as you might think. 

Time to Trade Ullmark?

There’s been a lot of back and forth about the Bruins' upcoming trade deadline decision-making. What should they do? What can they do? What should they give up, if there’s an opportunity to improve the team’s defense or top-6? 

One of the biggest questions has been: Should the B’s trade Linus Ullmark? 

Our answer is yes…IF it makes sense. 

If you can bring in someone that has term on their contract and you think that player can make a significant difference to this team’s math, then you do it. If you can get a deal that helps replenish some of the draft capital you’ve traded over the last few years, along with some depth to your depleted ‘D’ corps, then you should absolutely entertain it. 

The Bruins have too many issues to address to retain the luxury of two top goaltenders. Derek Forbort and Hampus Lindholm, when healthy, haven’t been the same. The special teams have been falling off a cliff. They are too reliant on the same 4-5 guys to consistently win, which is one of the reasons why they keep fading late. 

The team also can’t keep shipping draft picks off for short-term fixes, because that will inevitably lead towards a road to nowhere. Ullmark is one of the prized chips they have at their fingertips, while also having an All-Star goaltender ready to take over as the full-time guy. 

So, even though we’d have to sacrifice the 2023 Vezina Trophy winner and the beloved Ullmark-Swayman post-win traditional hug, we should all understand that some sacrifices are necessary. That would be the case here given the circumstances.