Chris Broussard: C's Should Win East

the link to the article does no good without a username and password.

such a tease :(

Rajon aint that puny, and Kendrick was injured and in pain most of the year. Rajon isnt an all star yet, and Perk may never be, but if you discount what those two will contribute playing next to Pierce, Allen, and KG you are in for a serious surprise.

I love the respect he gives us, that’s what every sports writer should be saying. However, Pierce and Allen’s careers won’t be changed much by winning? That’s absurd. KG is our best player now, but that doesn’t mean he’s the only one to gain from this team’s success. If Pierce and Allen are considered great players now, a title will make them both locks for the hall. And why don’t we see how it all plays out before we pick who is going to be remembered as “the guy” on this team. Something tells me it is going to be Pierce making the big plays down the stretch to solidify green 17. I have thought for the past 5 years Pierce has remained one of the leagues most underrated players. There is no taking away what KG brings to the table, but Pierce’s offensive package is in my opinion comparable to just about anyone’s in the league. This is just as much his time to shine as it is KG’s. After a title is won, and an MVP is named, then we can start to talk about whose legacy will be affected most. Until then, stop sleeping on Paul!

i appreciate all the fan enthusiasm this trade has evoked,deservedly so.people have been turned off by the current nba version of basketball. it is my belief that nba basketball started declining with the bad boy pistons who clutched and grabbed and were allowed to get away with their rough defensive play and the disgusting antics of dennis rodman. as great a player that jordan was, the nba went to 1 on 1 isolations, the big dunks and the espn highlight reel and away from fundamental team play. win, lose, or draw, tho i prefer winning, let’s play the game the red way,cohesively.

it gets annoying when a team’s success(or failure) is dropped solely on one player. If the Celtics don’t win the East it’s because they don’t have a good enough team, not because KG is all of a sudden never should’ve been called ‘great’. (unless he performs worse that his career norms of course, but I doubt that)

um…take out that ‘is’ after KG :P

From the article: The Boston Celtics of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen should reach the NBA Finals. Period. No excuses.

Tell that to Doc, although I’m sure he’ll have some excuses lined up for next season regardless.

Am I guaranteeing the Celtics will win the East?

No. I’m just saying they should.

They should? Why? You don’t win anything with three players, or five. You need a team and right now the Celtics are a little shy in that category.

And Pierce is probably over-rated if anything. I can think of ten SG/SF’s that I’d prefer over him and, no, Ray Allen is not one of them.

PP is a very good player as is Allen, and so the Celtics should be in the playoff hunt this year. But reaching the finals is another matter. The Bulls, Pistons, Heat and Cavaliers, for starters, will have plenty to say about that.

who are your ten? just wondering where pierce ranks on your list of 2’s and 3’s in the NBA

Hey lemon, start naming your 10…common we are anxiously waiting for your 10 more preferred players at SG/SF spot better than even Ray Allen…..

i agree with nazzbo. jordan’s playing style, no matter how exciting contributed to the decline of teamplay in american basketball.i’m glad the spurs came.

I think Broussard is on target. P, G, and A aren’t just 3 good or very good basketball players… they are 3 HOF’rs, still in their prime (albeit probably the trailing edge). I don’t believe Rondo is just some skinny skrub either, I think he’s an eventual all-star-type that should be, at worst, pretty darn solid by playoff time.

I think we’ve got an outside shot at a “85-86” C’s team, but will likely be closer to the “86-87” and “87-88” versions. Not NBA final locks, but top contenders.
 

Hey phaze,

I’m as excited as anyone about this team’s chances; but please don’t compare them to any Cs team from the 80s. That’s not going to happen. No contemporary NBA team is going to be as deep as those 80s Celtics and Lakers teams. (Although, the Spurs come close with all their veteran minimum guys.)

As for who is underrated, I still think it’s Allen that’s getting overlooked. People keep calling him a spot up shooter. Steve Kerr was a spot up shooter. Dell Curry was a spot-up shooter. Dale Ellis was a spot-up shooter. Ray Allen is a prolific scorer. He happens to have one of the most beautiful jump shots in the NBA, so obviously the rest of his game looks weak in comparison. But, he’s much better going to the basket than Reggie Miller was. And, he’s a better ball-handler than Pierce. Pierce is actually at his best when using fewer dribbles. Allen has much more guard-type ball protection dribbling skills. I think this team may ask him to be primarily a sniper. But, I think he’ll get to show his expanded game when PP is on the bench for stretches.

I disagree with Broussard that the Celtics should win the East this year. I give them one more year to fill in some roster spots.

However, I agree that they can win it. In fact, the only team I’m afraid of is Detroit. The only thing that stopped them from going to the Finals was the uncharacetristic melt-down of Billups, and the all too characteristic melt-down of Rasheed. The Cavs had absolutely no one to stop Billups – he stopped himself. And Rasheed is every bit the player Garnett is for those rare stretches where his pot is on high without boiling over. That’s the team to beat in my opinion.

I also agree with Broussard that the Celtics’ defense has improved dramatically with the addition of Garnett and Allen. NBA team defense is not just about skill; it’s about know-how and experience. Pierce and Allen may not be able to lock down any one player; but, there are very few defenders in the NBA that can slow down the best of scorers. Even with Bruce Bowen, the Spurs often shaded their entire team toward him! That takes knowledge of the game to do properly. I think the Celtics can do that now.

As for the ten SG/SF I feel are better than Pierce:

1-Kobe Bryant
2-Dwyane Wade
3-LeBron James
4-Carmelo Anthony
5-Manu Ginobili
6-Tracy McGrady
7-Kevin Durant
8-Josh Howard
9-Michael Redd
10-Vince Carter

Ok, the last three are a stretch as to being better but I believe they are as good as Pierce, particularly Howard who does a lot of things well that a younger Pierce used to do. Durant is, of course, unproven, but based on what I’ve seen I’d have a very hard time choosing between him and Greg Oden if offered both players. I think he’ll be a force in the league in the very near future.

Remember, this is my opinion and who am I? Just someone with an opinion who watches a ton of NBA basketball and has two favorite teams – The C’s and the Spurs. Perhaps I’ve watched a little too much of Paul Pierce, which is why I may undervalue his talents. There’s been too many turnovers (both forced and unforced) where he makes the same dumb move over and over again. Too many missed shots and free shows in the 4th quarter. Too much me-first attitude (ask George Karl). Too much not getting back on defense. The last, for me, is especially hard to take because I like defense more than offense. This is part of the reason players like Ginobili and Howard are placed higher than Pierce in my estimation.

Anyway, the Celtics seem to like Pierce so I guess I shouldn’t quibble that they signed him to a huge extension when no other team was threatening to outbid them. I would have dealt Pierce a couple years ago for Chris Paul (as would Ainge) or Deron Williams. I would have explored other options for moving him.

In conclusion, I sincerely hope that Pierce meshes with the new star additions to the roster and leads the Celtics to the Finals against the Spurs. Now, that will be a tough one choosing who to root for. I sincerely hope he fine-tunes his talents to where he is considered for HOF inclusion. We’ll have to wait and see.

Why would Manu want to sniff it? We’ll leave that unpleasant task to the rookies – Big Baby or Pruitt. You’re calling BS (Brian Scalabrine) on that one? Good luck. You complain that Wade couldn’t carry a team on his own. Which player could do that? Certainly not Pierce. At least carry the team anywhere near contention.

Seriously, people pay way too much attention to points-per-game in comparing players. It is just one of many statistics that could be used. But if stats were all its about, Tim Duncan would never make an all-star team. That says all you need to know about the value of stats.