Instant Bench

if we couldn’t get durant or oden, i wanted brewer. well we now have a superior brewer in posey. it’s up to doc to make the pieces fit.

How good is KG???? a 32 yr old shooting guard with 2 ankle surgeries looks good..House,Pollard&Posey look good..and Danny is not near done,he’s got till the rosters are due next april…and in the next 2 summers he’ll have the full MLE&Ray’s ending deal…we’re players for years to come

Danny has made the C’s relevant again in just one short off season. We can win the whole thing. Ainge has been rock solid in his handling of the C’s.

Go Celtics

Posey really does answer many of our needs. Lock down wing defender, who can handle a number of positions and also put a few points on the board. And as much as love Rondo, it would still be nice to pick up a veteran backup point. As Motown said, this is just the beginning of the Celtics being back in the game. More fun to come.

I love this signing. I’m not sure If Posey is actaully a great option at SG, but both Ray and Pierce can play the off-guard next to him, House can take a few minutes there, and after the break, TA will be the designated SG defender (unless he’s traded for an extra big, or the vet PG we could still use).

But the versatility Posey does bring is the ability to play small, with Posey, Pierce, Ray, and a PG spreading the floor for KG at center. I really like that lineup as an occasional change of pace.

Posey’s size at SF also make sit easier to play KG and Scalabrini at the 4/5, especially if Pierce is at SG to help with the rebounding. I like Scals as a 5th-option role player. He’s a good defender at PF and a 40% 3-point shooter. Surround Pierce and KG with House, Posey and Scals when Ray is on the bench, and the role players will DESTROY teams from outside if they try to double the All-stars. All three should shoot 40% from 3 this year…

Everything is beautiful!

And in terms of the versatility Jeff mentioned, Posey could probably guard some point guards and some big men too. He did a phenomenal job guarding Dirk Nowitzki the year the Heat won the title. He could also do a great job against the likes of Shawn Marion. I wouldn’t be shocked at all to see Doc trot out a lineup of Rondo, Allen, Pierce, Posey, and Garnett at times next year.

Is it Randy Brown? Does he count?

By adding JPosey, I think we can now be considered a legit title contender

Randy Brown had 3 rings from the bulls 96-98 when he played for the celts from 2000-2002.

I would say that things are shaping up quite nicely for the Celts. Being a die-hard fan for 20 years, it is nice to finally see these guys relevant again. Posey is a nice addition to the fold (has some moxie) and with just one more minor veteran addition (PG) they should be on their way to Eastern Conference supremacy (or at the very least a ride to the conference finals).

I agree about the Chief…. I think the Randy Brown era has been intentiontally erased from the memories of celts fans

There was one more player with a ring after the Chief left Boston. That was the unfogettable (LOL) Zan Tabak. Zan played on the 1994-95 Houston Rockets champinship team and he also played for the Celtics during the 1997-98 season. Zan did not help us very much, the Celtics were 36-46 and did not make the play-offs.

Michael Vick has found Jesus! What a surprise! Who would have guessed that an athlete in trouble would decide to hand his life over to god?

All is forgiven, Michael …

What about the fact that if we wanna run small ball with an uptempo squad? Posey makes that possible with a lineup of Rondo/R.Allen/Pierce/Posey/Garnett? The Suns will have something to think about….

Jeff, agree with all your comments EXCEPT one. Gabe Pruit is not now nor perhaps ever will be “a nice 3rd PG guard option”! Ray Allen, although a pure SG, would be vastly superior to Pruit as a 3rd PG option IMHO.

I wonder if we’re all watching the SAME SL action? It’s obvious that some of us must have blinders on with our player assessments. While I admit that I do concentrate more on the PG position (having once played that position) I may be more critical and demanding in my expectations. However, until I see Pruit perform like a PG, I’m going to maintain my opinion that…he will be a BUST as an NBA PG… “Over and out”!

What’s wrong with Pruit? I saw his summer league play: he played within his game yet played with confidence. He brought the ball up, shot the 3 when he was open, and played smart ball. That’s all you really want from a back-up PG. He won’t need to breakdown the D this year. He (or Rondo or House) just need to get the ball to KG in the High Post Offense.

While I really, really like the signing, I really, really don’t see how this is instant bench. James Posey all by himself isn’t instant bench. All this talk about lock-down defense seems really exaggerated too. Whenever you hear talk about lock-down defense you hear Bruce Bowen, Ruben Patterson etc. I don’t remember the last time James Posey was mentioned as a lock-down defender until the second we got him. He’s a good defender yes, but the top tier? No way. Heck, I bet Tony Allen in his prime was better than him. The last time he made any defensive honors was back in college as the Atlantic Top 10 Defensive Player of the Year. Since then, as far as I know he hasn’t even been considered for All-NBA Defensive Teams. I think we’re going a little hard on the Kool-Aid.

You have to address your needs, namely PG and C. Our bench is still probably the weakest point in this team, though we have addressed our defense.

But I guess everything is unproven till the season starts.

I need to fast-forward to November.

The two major challenges for this team.

1. Doc Rivers-let’s face it, he’s a nice guy but mediocre coach.
2. Team leadership. This is PP’s team by dint of seniority with the club but PP has never shown great leadership skills. He played second fiddle to the Walker wiggle and I think was more comfortable in that role. Garnett is a born team leader. So, the struggle might be for PP to step aside and let Garnett lead the team. Could be interesting.

Re Green Bear; What’s wrong with Gabe Pruit? He has excellent size and athleticism which may have been enough in college. He lacks “court presence” (doesn’t do well anticipating player movement or passing lanes in a timely manner).

 He lacks great handles and doesn’t protect the ball well. As a result he needs to play off his defender which negates his use of “body shielding” to get the extra step for penetration. He needs picks to get open for his shots too.

Because he lacks great handles and doesn’t protect the ball well when the defender plays him close he turns his back to the Basket (hardly suitable for a PG to direct the action with his back to the basket).

Pruit seemed tentative about team spacing on the court and lacks the creativity to penetrate to disrupt interior defenses. While he possesses a smooth stroke with range, I failed to see him maneuver to free his shooting hand (couldn’t create his own shot).

I realize that SL performance can be deceiving on many levels but there are certain fundamental tasks that a prospective NBA PG should be able to perform against SL competition….something I failed to see Gabe do.

The Great Master PO said:
Get Gary Payton for minimum if he does not retire!!!!
———————————

Oh Great One, I’d rather sign you to the minimum if you’d be kind enough to take a pay cut. You can shoot, and you might bother to play defense more than one possession per game. Payton still thinks he’s a great player and there’s no way he takes a subordinate role to a one year man without being a disruption.

Gary Payton is well past his prime and his usefullness as a PG has passed. He may have a future as a coach but his playing days are now but distant and fond memories. I’d rather have Ray Allen as a back-up PG because he still has the legs, handles, passing ability and shooting range to make a difference.

We’re only in trouble at the PG position if Rondo fails to perform, gets in serious foul trouble or sustains a serious injury. The resulting magnitude of his absence will dictate an appropriate response by Ainge.

I think Pierce has shown some immediate willingness to defer to KG, and KG is the type of guy who can’t help but take over. A good fit.

We still need a veteran PG, and a servicable body at the 5. There is no way we go without adding one of those positions. That means the Manuel kid is gone. Quite honestly, I think we need both spots insured, so Wallace to be gone too. The C’s can’t worry about some 14th or 15th spot for some rookie that wasn’t drafted. They are in serious win-now mode and need the insurance incase someone goes down. If Perk gets hurt, or is foul prone, who plays 30 minutes at the 5? Pollard? HAHAHA! No way. What if Rondo has second year issues, who plays the point for 30 mins? House? Ain’t happening. I like Posey a lot, but still need two players.

Po. Have you been missing the POsey pun?

I personally am fine with a PG rotation of Rondo, House, and Ray Ray. I think Rondo is going to have a big year and think that when he’s out of the game the team has enough good ball handlers to lessen the load on Eddie and Ray when they are running the show. I can totally envision the C’s running the offense through KG when Rondo is out (and in for that matter) and using House, Allen, and Pierce to spread the floor.

I agree however that it would provide some comfort to have a vet PG here just for insurance purposes in case of injury.

Getting back to Randy Brown…is he available?

Pollard is this year’s Wally or the Raef of 3 games. Anything we get out of Pollard is gravy.

I know it’d be a significant pay cut for you, Oh Great One, but it’s your civic duty to sign for the veteran’s minimum and be our backup PG. You’ll need to get rid of that shoot-first mentality, though.

Alberto Gonzales is available. Problem, of course, would be his inability to defend anything.

moskqq, good breakdown of Pruit. Nice analysis. Everything you said is dead-on, but don’t forget Pruit is a rookie, and not a top 5 rookie, either. If Pruit was our starting point, I’d agree with you. But all Pruit has to do is bring the ball up and give it to one of The 3. You or I could probably handle that duty. Then Pruit could hang around 3-point land and take open shots, providing his man double-teams one of The 3. I like the way he played in SL, but like you said, it’s SL.

Your friend Bill Klichnev is available, too, James. If Wyc wants to pay for security for the cheerleaders.

Another player post-Robert Parrish who had a ring when acquired by the Celtics was Stacey King.

A more interesting trivia question is how many players have the Celtics traded away (or just dumped) over the last 10 years who went on to win rings with other teams?

The answer is fourteen: Antoine Walker, Rick Fox, Chauncey Billups, Bruce Bowen, Gary Payton, Eric Williams, Lindsey Hunter, Tony Massenburg, Ben Wallace, Mike James, Brian Shaw, Travis Knight, Joe Kleine, and of course— Robert Parrish himself, who won another ring with the Bulls in 1997.

Was that one of Rush’s talking points today, Iowa? I didn’t notice. Thanks for the update. Po, what about POllard? You’re on a roll.

Brick, Brian Shaw was further back than 10 years.

Brian Shaw played on Phil Jackson’s first championship team in 1999-2000.

worked out great in every way. team is gonna be special for the next 4 or 5 years. powerhouse. perfect.

motown try mentioning that that 32 year old shooting guard had a minor surgery and happens to be a top 5 sg in the entire nba that has been top 10 for mvp, 2nd team all-nba and taken teams to 50 wins division titles and conference finals. pretty sure he looked good already.

oh yeah, plus coming off his best year.

celts are gonna win it all. and gonna be a great/SPECIAL team for the next 4 or 5 years.

REAL LARGE JAMES. RAY PAUL AND KG ARE ALL LEADERS. ALL IN DIFFERENT WAYS AND MATCH PERFECTLY.

  What made Dennis Johnson a decent point guard was being able to heave it to half court to Larry Bird. A great passing big man solves a lot of point guard problems.