I can see why some writers use this mailbag format as a space filling crutch.  Half the writing is done for you and the topics are quick and preformatted.  So without further ado, my very own mailbag!

Hi! If Walker is bought out, do you think Ainge would be looking to add him? There's no doubt that Pierce would like him back, but is it the right move? Would it mean that Scal and maybe even Powe are on their way out to make room for another Center? Thanks in advance! – P2

Here’s the thing, I’m far from being a partial voice here.  I’d love it because I’m a fan of his.  We’ve got a roster spot and short of PJ Brown, I don’t think there’s anyone more talented that we could get for the veterans minimum.  I’m sure we could convince Brandon Wallace to give up the number 8 for him.

He’s had a few years of being a borderline 5th fiddle on the Heat so I think his ego has effectively been put in check.  If he can come off the bench and limit his three point attempts, I think he’d fit in fine.

Maybe his conditioning didn’t sit well with Riles, but he’s a good locker room guy, a skilled scorer under the basket, and he can rebound and pass.  No, he can’t do any of those things like he used to, but if he’s coming off the bench then you ride him when he’s hot and sit him when he’s not.

One thing I will say though, on defense he’d be a liability.  So Doc would have to be smart about who he matches him up against.  I’d rather have Scalabrine on the floor if we need to make a stop and I’d rather have Powe on the floor if we really need a rebound.

Bottom line, it is just poetic.  Walker should retire a Celtic.  Third time’s a charm, right?

Read the rest after the break.

Since Perk and Pollard are primarily DEFENSIVE centers, barring Walker's availability, should Danny be looking for an OFFENSIVE center? -- moskqq

Not to sound glib or anything, but isn’t everyone looking for a scoring center?  I think that is why they are some of the most overpaid players in the league. 

Honestly though, with all the firepower on this team, I don’t know if we need another scorer.  We will need someone to take the defensive pressure off of KG in the paint.  If Perk is in foul trouble and Pollard has a permanent limp, then we’ll need another warm body that won’t let up.  Then again if you really need a cheap, scoring center, you can always hope the TWolves will cut Doleac.

Jeff, any insight into why the C's have not signed Early Boykins and PJ Brown to one year vet deals??? Are they watching any players from other teams that may be getting cut? They can cut Wallace and Manuel to make room for them. They fill the needs of this team perfectly and allow the team to throw Pruitt down to D-league to work on his point skills. -- John

I’m sure they’d love to have PJ Brown, but it seems as if he’s retired for now and not really interested in playing.  That said, I think he’ll play this year but will wait till after camp ends and maybe a few weeks/months into the season before signing with a contender.  The benefits of that plan are that he gets more rest (important at his career stage) and more of a chance to see how teams are doing and what shot they have at a title.  I think it is very smart on his part.

As for Boykins, I don’t know why they haven’t contacted him.  Maybe they really are happy with the guard rotation or maybe they see a big man as a bigger need.  It sure sounds like Doc is lobbying for another big.

Who was the dentist who fixed Eric Williams teeth?   If any of the Celtic players develop jock rash do they have a doctor on board who will willingly treat that?  Does three of a kind beat two "pears"? – Mitch

That reminds me, I need to renew my benefits plan.  Can’t help you on the first two.  All I know is that I’m ready to experience Rondoism, God is a Celtics fan, and nothing beats a royal flush.

Hey Jeff....not sure if you know anything about [NBA 2K8], but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.

The game is awesome and I love it, but all of sudden the intentional fouls just don't seem to work.  Like they do...but nothing happens.  You just tackle the player, the ball goes loose and it just ends up as a turnover and nothing is called.  It only started doing this not too long ago.  Now it does it for regular quick games and me and my friends association season.

I've looked at other forums and people are having the same problem but no one seems to know how to fix it.  I'm afraid that it's a bug, but I hope not.  Any ideas on what to do??? -- Mike

Umm, did you try to reboot?  Ctrl – Alt – Delete?  Maybe it is server problems.  Whatever it is, I’m sure Bob will take care of it soon.

I got a question if you want to answer. Since I'm not able to watch any Celtic's game. Can you tell me about Doc and his substitution pattern? And whether he's doing a good job as a coach or is he on the hot seat?  -- Kelvin

You really can’t tell anything about substitution patterns in preseason.  One minute they are playing a "normal" rotation, and the next it is 5 in, 5 out.  When the season starts, there won’t be a lot of games where two of the big three isn’t on the floor at all times (except during blowouts).
The consensus seems to be that Doc has a season to prove he’s the answer here.  It would take a big hiccup losing streak for him to get canned.  This is a vet team now and he’s only got to steer the ship on a steady path.

Ian Thomsen of SI is picking Doc to be the Coach of the Year, saying "He will deserve credit for melding his three stars with young role players."  My how a year changes things.

Personally, I won’t say I have a ton of confidence in Doc, but I will say that I’m not that worried that he’ll be the difference between winning a title and not winning one.  Of course, that’s not to say he won’t be blamed if the team falls short.  He’s the perfect scapegoat to point fingers at if things don’t go as planned.

This has probably been talked about a good amount before, but I'm new to the blog so I gotta ask...have there been any rumblings about providing all the Celtics games in HD anytime soon?  Waiting for the ESPN games is all well and good, but non-HD sports is getting painful, especially over a long season. Thanks for the info! – Steve D.

I’m still waiting for the price of HD sets to come down, so I’m not going to be much help.  In fact, I’ve never been an early adopter.  I don’t have an iPhone and I just got an iPod Nano last year (my first i-product).  I really want a hybrid car, but I can’t bring myself to spend that much more up front on the hope that I’ll make it back on the gas savings down the line.  If I like a new technology enough, I’ll get it when the price comes down and the bugs are worked out.

Why are we light on the Center position - Big Baby has solid potential to back up Perkins and Powe can back up Garnett and Pollard can back up both the PF and the C position. Sure we could use another end of the bench bigman to help out whenever Duncan, Shaq or Yao are in town, but shouldn't the bulk of the back-up minutes goto Big Baby and not some washout like PJ Brown - I mean did you see Big Baby's stats at LSU?! – Vik

The key here is that KG really doesn’t want to play center.  He never has.  And I don’t blame him; he’s thin as a rail and he’s such a hard worker that he won’t back down from the bruisers.  Then he’ll feel it the next day when he wakes up.  We need to have someone to bang with the bangers and Powe and Davis just aren’t going to grow anymore (at least not vertically).

How about one of your insightful looks into the Celtics' future payroll constraints and opportunities.  I'm too impatient or dense to ever sort those things out, so I love it when you do the leg work for me. -- Scott

Here’s the short version: We’re capped out.

Here’s the medium version:  Danny did a smart thing in signing Pollard and House to one year deals and inking Posey to just a 2 year deal.  If these moves don’t work out, someone else will want to sign here for the veterans minimum next year.  And we’ll have the mid level to use next year too.  Also, two years from now, when most contracts are going up, KG’s deal drops by $8M, which helps.

At some point (maybe closer to the trade deadline) I’ll try to give you a more in depth look.

Jeff, are cornrows the black man's answer to the mullet? I know nobody likes to talk about any issue that touches on race, even in the most innocuous way, but I have to get people's opinions on this. Every time I see Allen Iverson or Richard Jefferson or Carmelo Anthony with those stringy cornrow strands hanging down their necks, I can't help but feeling like I need to save these men from their horrific hairdos. Someone needs to release this question into the wild for public debate. – Cousin It

I thought Richard Jefferson was bald.  I kind of like the cornrows, honestly.  I think they look good on some folks.  With that said, I never liked Spreewell’s mudflaps and I think Ty Lue looks a little too feminine to pull that look off.

I have a question/comment on our beloved coach Mr. Glen Rivers. I have always been up in the air on Doc.  I like him somedays and other days I miss ML Carr (ok not that extreme).  I watched the Knicks game the other night and I just seemed to see a lot of the things I saw last year.  No movement, lack of offensive rebounds, etc.  I guess my question is Why does Doc seem to run the same play EVERYTIME we set a play at half court.  Its just put 4 guys on the left side, isolate one guy on the right and then watch him go one on one.  It is obvious that this is not going to work.  Any input on Doc's play calling or am I just freaking out for no reason.  Thanks  -- Rob W.

Doc does like to isolate and run pick and rolls, but so does half the league.  You’ll notice that when the ball is thrown into the post, players will run off the post player’s hip looking to shed his man and get an easy pass.  If that doesn’t work, then the player has a one-on-one situation, which is great for players like Al Jefferson or Kevin Garnett or even Paul Pierce, and not so great for guys like Perkins.

I think the main idea is to set up in a few different sets and run several different variations based on what the defense gives you.  The theory is that with a veteran team, they’ll make more good decisions on the fly than a younger team could.

I'd be interested, either via blog post or on the radio/internet show, to really get a blow by blow on all the various trades since Ainge took over, to see exactly who and what turned into Garnett and Allen.  I know it's pretty complex as far as what pieces of what deal turned into what players now, but I'd be curious to see exactly which deals Ainge "won", and which ones he "lost" turned into victories by being part of what became KG. -- Matthew

Here’s a list of all the moves Ainge has made in his tenure.

I’ve done the grade each move analysis before.  Some deals were home runs, some were stinkers, some were just a means to an end.  I think I graded him out at a solid B at the time.  I’d probably have to bump that grade up after this offseason.  Still, all that matters is the end result.  The bottom line is that Ainge traded short term wins for a long term shot at the title.  We’ll see if it works out.  If not, then his tenure was a failure.

So I've noticed that KG seems to sweat a LOT more than everybody else.   His jersey is damp much earlier in the game than the other guys' (this is particularly more noticeable in the road unis, obviously).    I guess I never noticed how much the dude sweats.   I rarely pay attention to that kind of thing, unless it's REALLY obvious, like when the Knicks needed to hire a 4-man swabbing crew, whose sole function was to clean up after every Patrick Ewing free throw.

Who are the biggest sweaters (current or former players) in the league?  Ewing takes top honors, but who's next?   Who can HONESTLY say that they leave it all on the floor? -- Schintzius

I think this is the part where Simmons says "yep, these are my readers."

This was fun.  I think I’ll mail it in again sometime.  Thanks to everyone that wrote in.