Familiar Faces
by Jeff Clark on Jul 22, 2008 5:05 AM EDT
in Boston Celtics Articles
Email
Print
Hey, the gang's (almost) all back! The good news is that nine players from the playoff roster are back to defend the team's title. The bad news is that our 6th man and our top reserve center are not.
I suppose you could stop reading now because that pretty much sums it up. But what fun would that be? I need to purge my words and you need something to read about the Celtics to either validate your feelings or give you something to disagree with. It is a wonderful symbiotic relationship and I feel blessed to be part of it. But enough with the intro. On to the formulaic article!
Good News
We had a pretty good thing going last year. Logic says that the guys that were good enough to win it all last year might just be good enough to repeat. So it helps to try to get as many of those guys back on the team as you can. They are familiar to each other and there is a very real sense of consistency from year to year. The bonds they developed last year can flow into next year and strengthen and grow. It doesn't hurt that most of the team will know most of the plays from day one. So you can work on adding new wrinkles and perfecting the subtle nuances of both the offensive and defensive schemes.
Also, when you take a look at the free agent pool, you have to weigh the available talent with the cost associated with bringing them on. For the price, I like Eddie House more than most of the point guard options available. For the price, I like Tony Allen better than the other defensive wings on the market. Both have flaws, but they are familiar flaws that we know we can win with.
Finally, it isn't just the price, of course, but the length of the deals signed. Ainge achieved his goal of future flexibility by signing both Allen and House to two year deals. We now have Ray Allen, Brian Scalabrine, Patrick O'Bryant, Eddie House, and Tony Allen all lined up to have their contracts expire in 2010. I think that window of opportunity for this team has officially been defined. If they can win together now, great. If not, they'll still be well positioned to retool or rebuild, depending on what the future brings. Many a Championship team sold its future down the drain for a chance to repeat that wasn't worth the cost they paid.
Bad News
Of course there is the downside. We still don't have James Posey and now that we've used up a portion of the MLE, we are not likely going to sign anyone of his caliber this offseason. Or said another way, we lost our best bench player and have not added anyone that could come close to filling that hole.
Expanding the scope a bit, we lost Sam Cassell, James Posey, and PJ Brown. Unless more moves are made, we're looking at filling their shoes with Gabe Pruitt, Brian Scalabrine, and newcomer Patrick O'Bryant. Of course, we will make more moves, if only to sign our 2 stateside rookies. But they'll have to prove they can win playing time on this roster.
More bad news, we can go ahead and cross Ryan Gomes and Delonte West off our wish list (unless some odd sign and trade happens). Then again, depending on your point of view, crossing Stephon Marbury and Shaun Livingston off the list might be a good thing.
Of course the silver lining is that the summer is far from over and there are still roster spots available. You have to wonder who might guard LeBron James in the playoffs. Devean George is a possibility.
Updated Depth Chart
Now the roster starts to take shape, so it is time to look at the depth chart.
- PG: Rondo | House | Pruitt
- SG: Ray | Tony | (Giddens)
- SF: Pierce | Scalabrine | (Walker)
- PF: Garnett | Powe/Baby
- C: Perkins | O'Bryant
From one perspective, I like the fact that there could be competition at every backup spot. House vs. Pruitt, Tony vs. Giddens, Scal vs. Walker, Powe vs. Baby, and O'Bryant vs. smallball (Powe/Baby at the 5).
On the other hand, I'd prefer a more solid rotation and I'd prefer to have Scalabrine removed from the discussion. I just can't count on that right now, which is why I'm not opposed to the George idea.
Anyway, we are still in July and you can bet that more will happen to this roster before they open camp next Fall. But it is nice knowing that a lot of the gang will be back.
25 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I like the fact that of the current 14 players, nine are 26 or younger. Yet many have considerable playoff experience due to our 26 games this past season.
The bad is that the glue, the stars are all older. If DA has hit it lucky again, with Walker, Giddens, and OBryant, we’ll have a nice nucleus for the future, to go along with Rondo, Perk,Powe,BBD, and perhaps TA(if he regains the form he was showing prior to his injury!).
Still have an incling that a BBD, Scal, and one of Walker,Giddens, or a 2nd rounder could be dealt for another piece to our current roster(?bigger forward to guard 3/4’s!).
keeping eddie= a good move. i was surprised they kept tony- not because he’s no good, but i thought maybe they wanted a fresh face. danny knows tony bought into the ubuntu thing and was emotionally a part of the championship. it’s talent and luck. what would we be saying if kg’s oblique had gone out in the playoffs? next year’s team will be in the fray and let’s hope for some more non-injury luck.
I understand we will not have Posey, but I don’t understand all the naysaying. Last year a bunch of people started wringing their hands about our lack of bench—even before the joy of the Allen and KG trades could be thoroughly enjoyed.
Even after Pollard, House and Posey signed on, we heard the constant drumbeat that our team didn’t have sufficient bench strength. Ainge waited and eventually loaded up. I was overjoyed to get PJ Brown’s services.
So now, two points: (1) Posey leaving does not equal the sky falling. We have 3 HoF caliber players, some break out young guys, and Danny has earned at least the benefit of the doubt. (2) We have a mostly intact squad that now has a long season’s opportunity to get to know each other and IMHO that REALLY matters. At this point last year we had no idea how Danny and Doc were going to get it done, but they did. Danny’s moves, by luck or by cunning worked out. Doc’s duck boat trip, the trip to Italy, and the focus on Ubuntu also seem to have worked. Do people really think they will stop there?
Like everyone else I can’t wait for the next banner (or two), but I’m a bit tired of the Chicken Little routine—especially with a squad like our Celtics.
by Thruthelookingglass on Jul 22, 2008 7:11 AM EDT reply actions
I just don’t believe that Danny would stab McHale in back by making a run on Gomes. If Minny loses Gomes it won’t be to the Celts.
The real fun this time of year is the “maybes” and “perhaps”. Maybe Leon and Big Baby and Scal can make a very strong back up for KG, maybe OBryant will surprise us all, perhaps Giddens and/or Walker will force Doc to play them, perhaps T Allen will become the new James Posey. There are more odds of that than the odds for Rondo or Perk getting worse.
Posey hurts but, overall, the transition into next year given the lack of wiggle room money-wise is pretty exciting.
I can live with o"Blount as a 3rd-string end-of-bench project big, but if he’s Perk’s primary back-up, we’re cooked. We also better hope one on the rookies steps up real quick at the wing: Scals isn’t a SF, and TA is a bonehead.
Better use the rest of the MLE, and the LLE, on a decent big and a vet wing defender, and leave a roster spot open for some PG that gets cut loose.
If this is the end of personnel moves, I doubt we repeat. But there’s gotta be more to come …
Having young guys with potential such as Powe, Big Baby, O’Bryant, Pruitt, Gliddens, and Bill Walker behind starters is a great set up. Red did that with KC and Sam behind rapid Robert and battling Bill, as well as Satch behind Big T. Of course, the sixth man part breaks down the comparison as we had Ramsey for many years as opposed to just one for Posey.
by Lou Tsioropoulos on Jul 22, 2008 8:04 AM EDT reply actions
Poor Scal, not too many people like or appreciate what he brings to the table.
I think he’s a solid bench player who knows what he’s doing on the court.
He can, to some degree, be at the very least ‘somewhat effective’ in helping to hold a lead while the person he backs up is resting.
How much longer do I need to be this positive about him???
As long as Ray, KG and Paul are in the fold, our bench is going to be composed of botton-of-the barrel FA’s and late-first-round/2nd round draft picks. Sometimes it will work, like this past year, and sometimes it won’t. Hopefully one or two of Pruitt, Walker, Giddens or O’Bryant will emerge, the way Powe, BBD and Rondo did last year.
That is a roster capable of repeating if the five starters and the key reserves (Powe, BBD, House, Allen) stay relatively healthy.
But they do need another scorer off the bench. preferably a 6-7 or better player. With Nachbar and Ricky Davis gone to Europe, best option seems to be Darius Miles. But my crystal ball tells me that the roster spot will be filled by either Devean George or Michael Finley. IMHO those would be bad choices (their games have seriously declined) but that is what I think Ainge will do unless he can pull off a trade.
(Bonzi Wells is another guy, but he’s too much like TA and Giddens).
A trade in whcih Scalabrine and either Powe or Davis were moved for a scorer would be ideal, although I don’t see anyone out there who might be realistically attainable for that package.
Reggie Miller anyone?
Go back… Go back in time to this date last year….
What was our concern back then, THE BENCH
So what happen, our bench became our strength. Did we think this time last year that Posey, House and company were going to be this good. All I remember and reading was the crying about what are we going to do….. we have no bench…..
Well now that Posey is gone we are still crying that we have no bench….. But remember that Rondo is a year older and wiser, same with Perkins, and now that the Big 3 sort to speak have accomplished their goal, there mind set will be better going into this year
Remember that we won the championship this past year and that we accomplished it as a team, not one person, but as a team. Losing Posey hurts, but it’s not the end of the line here.
Valuable lessons were learned this past year and I expect Big Baby, Powe, and to a lessor degree Pruitt to step it up more and contribute. You have to believe in the people around you and give them a chance to prove themselves.
Our core guys are here and that is the important factor as Jeff stated above. Let’s not make a big deal losing Posey, for one I wish him well and glad he received his big pay day. But for me the guys that will drive this team are Garnett, Pierce, Allen and now Perkins and Rondo going forward.
I’ll take my chances with this group !!!
Scalabrine as backup SF is unacceptable, apologies to mcpu40. O’Bryant as primary backup as center is dicey as well. Still some holes to fill.
by halfman/halfoyster on Jul 22, 2008 9:24 AM EDT reply actions
NO apologies necessary .5 man|oyster
Scal has been effective during his career…but he’s the dead weight now.
I understand this.
All teams have dead weight.
He’s got the potential to be less dead than some other team’s dead weight.
Unless they trade him, I try and be positive about those on their roster.
Thruthelookingglass said:
I understand we will not have Posey, but I don’t understand all the naysaying. Last year a bunch of people started wringing their hands about our lack of bench—even before the joy of the Allen and KG trades could be thoroughly enjoyed.
Even after Pollard, House and Posey signed on, we heard the constant drumbeat that our team didn’t have sufficient bench strength. Ainge waited and eventually loaded up. I was overjoyed to get PJ Brown’s services.
So now, two points: (1) Posey leaving does not equal the sky falling. We have 3 HoF caliber players, some break out young guys, and Danny has earned at least the benefit of the doubt. (2) We have a mostly intact squad that now has a long season’s opportunity to get to know each other and IMHO that REALLY matters. At this point last year we had no idea how Danny and Doc were going to get it done, but they did. Danny’s moves, by luck or by cunning worked out. Doc’s duck boat trip, the trip to Italy, and the focus on Ubuntu also seem to have worked. Do people really think they will stop there?
___________________________________________________________
Well put. But seeing the depth chart makes me REALLY nervous about that 3 spot. The Pierce/Scalabrini drop is quite precipitous. Abyss-like really. I guess the moral here, though, is INDANNYWETRUST. We just have to assume that something pans out before the trade deadline…
I think we’ve had an excellent offseason given the current market. Passing on Posey was by far the correct decision. I guess he’s worth the MLE, just because everyone is worth the MLE (it’s really screwing up the market, imo), but definitely not 4 years.
O’Bryant has promise and fits our style a lot more than Nellie’s. Wouldn’t be at all shocked if he’s better than PJ by end of season, given how overrated PJ is around here.
Both the TA and House deals are steals.
As for who guards LeBron, that’d be Pierce. Posey couldn’t stay in front of him, really. His defense is very good but overrated by most.
We look good going into the season and will be the Eastern favorites. Staying healthy will be the main concern. Hopefully LeBron doesn’t get much more help because that team is severely underrated. He’s closer to a ring in Cleveland than most think.
by cmoney on Jul 22, 2008 12:06 PM EDT reply actions
Two problems with the analysis (though not the analyst.)
One its a bit simple to say x replaces y. The reality is that Powe, Tony Allen, BBD, and House will play bigger roles to replace Posey (and the playoff minutes of Brown and Cassell.)
Secondly the usage of players is not strictly by depth chart. House will play some at both guard spots. BBD will play center as will either Powe or KG. Tony Allen will play both wing positions.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
NBA Playoffs Content Module
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- The 10-man rotation, starring the Flaming Lips singin’ about the Oklahoma City Thunder
- The Philadelphia 76ers? Gone till November
- ‘Deep Thoughts’ and Cheap Thoughts: Miami Heat vs. Boston Celtics
- Metta World Peace wishes everyone a happy Labor Day on Memorial Day
- Chris Bosh addresses his postgame crying, and being labeled ‘soft’
