Rubik's Cube
by Jeff Clark on Dec 10, 2009 6:00 AM EST
in Boston Celtics Articles
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PrintIn many situations, if a non-star player goes down with an injury, you simply plug someone else into the lineup and make do. This isn't one of those situations. You don't replace Marquis with one player because this year's edition of the Celtics is build a lot like a Rubik's Cube. To move one piece, you have to move two others with it. Then you might have to move several more pieces around before you finally get the desired result (and you are still far from being done).
Headed into the offseason, the Celtics had 3 priorities. Get help in the frontcourt, get a backup wing, and bring in someone to help with bringing the ball up court. Sheed took care of the first priority and Daniels was supposed to take care of the next two. Now we've got some pieces to shift around.
Daniels brought the ball up with the 2nd unit and allowed House to play off the ball on offense and guard 1's on defense. Now House has to bring the ball up more (making him less effective) and Doc has to find ways to have either Ray or Paul on the court for most of the game. That will be a challenge when he's also trying to keep their minutes down to keep them fresh for the long run. Of course you could also just run Rondo for 40 minutes a night and pray he doesn't twist an ankle.
In addition, there's a hole at backup wing. The C's have no shortage of guys that can fill in here. First there's Tony Allen, who for all his faults can still provide defensive pressure on 2's (when healthy). Then there's Scalabrine who is better suited for the 4 but can fill in at the 3. Then there's J.R. Giddens who might be able to help us a bit in the rebounding department. Or you could call up Bill Walker from Maine, but he may have fallen behind J.R. on the depth chart (if only because of his preseason injury). You can also experiment with using Hudson at both the guard positions but I'm not sure the team is comfortable with an expanded role for him yet. None of these guys is an ideal solution, but that's why they are backups to begin with.
So what about the option of going out to pick up a player? The team has the assets to make a small to medium sized move with expiring contracts (Tony, Scal, Giddens) but that option has been on the table since the Summer. You have to think that if Ainge were to be forced into making a deal, he wouldn't be in the best bargaining position. He's better off (from a value standpoint) waiting till the trade deadline (by which time Daniels might be back anyway). Of course, if the right deal came along that made sense for both the short and long term, you pull the trigger, but that would be the case even if Daniels was fully healthy.
Lastly, there's the "break glass if needed" option of suiting up Ty Lue to take over the backup ball handling duties. However, to do so you'll have to cut Lester Hudson or someone else off the roster. I get the feeling that the team would like to hold off on this option unless all other potential solutions come up dry.
Further complicating matters (in perhaps a good way) is the impending return of Big Baby. He doesn't directly solve any of the problems created by Daniels' injury but he adds depth to the frontcourt which in theory could have a good trickle down effect on the rest of the team.
Once again, I don't envy Doc or Danny trying to make all these puzzle pieces line up and match when the pieces keep changing on the fly. The good news, however, is that the setbacks this team has faced thus far can be overcome. The short term might prove rocky, but the long term still looks promising (which is a lot easier to say after an 8 game winning streak). Lets see how the rotations look in February, which might again be different than how they look in May and June. Here's hoping the pieces all slide into place just in time.
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Great write-up Jeff!
I really would like to see a move made to bring someone in on the wing as much as I hate to think that Scal might no longer be a celt. Let’s hope Danny can work something out…
Great piece indeed.
And I would like to use this opportunity to inform the readers about my ability to solve a Rubik’s cube in under two minutes.
Thank you.
- Dirk van Boxtel, the wandering Celtic fan.
Twitter: @4Hoopz
Do you make house calls?
My Rubik’s cube has been sitting there unsolved for 20 years.
"People don't understand, if you can't live the rest of your life off one year in the NBA, you can't live off 21." -- Keon Clark
Have you solved the Rubik's 360 yet?
I bought it about a month ago and have only been able to get one ball in its correct color so far. Interestingly enough, it was the green ball. I’ve set it aside for now because it was driving me crazy!
a rubik’s cube has 43,252,003,274,489,856,000 possible combinations but only one solution.
hopefully the celtics have a few more.
by bMunch on Dec 10, 2009 7:39 AM EST via mobile reply actions
excellent analogy.
Its tough to get me to do anything this early, but this piece made me raise my eyebrows and nod.
writing that was actually kind of frustrating
every “solution” I looked at made me more and more confused about how everything should fit together – which is about the same feeling I got trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V
The analogy that comes to mind
when thinking of how our assortment of players can fill in the gap left by Daniels’s injury is “putting a square peg in a round hole.” I’m pessimistic on this one. Not that it will prevent us from winning the Atlantic Division by about 35 games.
"People don't understand, if you can't live the rest of your life off one year in the NBA, you can't live off 21." -- Keon Clark
Put "Big Baby Davis" in place of Marquis
So many people here have this fallacy that Davis can play SF, so why not stretch it to SG/SF? He can shoot the ball can’t he?
Ok, on a serious note, I think the Celtics will be fine provided Marquis comes back in 6 to 8 weeks. Tony Allen and other should be able to fill in enough to cover somewhat adequately. In the grand scheme of things, the drop from Marquis to a replacement will cost the Celtics 1 to 2 games at most over 6 weeks.
My only concern is if Doc tries to cover Marquis’ loss by playing Pierce / R-Allen more. That could affect the Celtics come playoff time, and the playoffs are the ultimate goal for this team.
Danny should be making calls...
…but no moves unless they prove necesary!
by Michael Anthony on Dec 10, 2009 9:06 AM EST reply actions
Daniels
It’s amazing that a player who fills up the stat sheet so little is so important to the Team.
There’s no player on the team who can replace him so Doc needs to get out the chemistry set again. I’m sure they’ll get thru it. The main problem seems to be to keep House productive (shooting 3’s). I don’t think the Celtics run alot of plays now and play mostly random offense. They may just need to put in stuff to get House free and Pierce or Ray will need to play more minutes as well might Rondo.
"I don't come to play, I come to WIN"--Larry Bird
"Criminally Negligent Officiating"--Tommy Heinsohn
Doc could
Take Rondo out earlier in the 1st quarter and re-insert him at the beginning of the second with the bench guys…Sort of like he did against New York. Not sure if that’s ideal, but it’s certainly an option. I DO NOT want Eddie House bringing the ball up.
Agreed on House
I cannot rationally explain why having House spend the first 10 seconds of the shot clock bringing the ball up makes him incapable of doing anything worthwhile in the remaining 14 seconds, but that’s what seems to happen.
"People don't understand, if you can't live the rest of your life off one year in the NBA, you can't live off 21." -- Keon Clark
Suspect Danny will take 2 or 3 weeks to see how this goes before deciding what to do.
While they aren’t good solutions, I think we can perhaps make do with Tony, Scal, JR, Billy trying to provide a few minutes backing up PP and Ray. Maybe. TA is so prone to injury, I won’t count on him being healthy til Daniels returns. JR and Billy seem flat out unready to contribute though. Scal can masquerade as a 3 against certain of the bigger 3s. If they can’t make do with these options, and we are consistently losing leads and/or falling behind because of these guys’ play, Danny will probably have to make a move, because we can’t just run PP and Ray into the ground. PP in particular was cooked by the playoffs last year. Just done. That can’t happen this year.
If they have any intention of going the Lue route, I think the sooner they do so, the better. The guy is gonna have no legs for a while. It’ll take him literally months to get his legs under him and become accustomed to the Celtics plays and comfortable with his teammates. In the long term, he may be a good option with the playoffs in mind. In the short term, I suspect he’d be terrible, but if he’s in the plans, do it as soon as possible to make him ready for the playoffs.
I’m guessing Danny will take the next two to maybe 3 weeks to see if he thinks we can get by with House and Hudson trying to play point (and I don’t think Hudson is a real point any more than House is). Also, a good opportunity to see if JR and Walker have any shot at all to contribute this year. If not, I have no problem at all dealing either or both of them for someone who can.
Interesting couple of weeks for Danny, Doc, and the team.
TA's the answer
I know there’s very little love for TA but he’s the answer. He got it done at the beginning of last year and in fact was the best bench player we had until he torn his ankle up at the begining of Dec. Iike one poster said, bring Eddie in early in the 1st and 3rd so Rondo can work more with the second unit and Paul & Ray can help Eddie with the ball handling duties with the first unit. TA made some smart plays during his short stint last game. He found the open guy and didn’t over dribble or press too much. It will take some time to get him in the flow and build chemistry with the second unit but the team will benefit from it when Danials comes back in Feb. Plus, his defense against the tougher 2’s in the league will be a nice change from watching Eddie get worked up and down trying to defend the 2’s when Doc decides to run him out there with Rondo. This is TA’s chance to show is worth…
I agree, and good post
Tony didn’t wow us last game, but for a guy coming back after such a long layoff he provided a much better glimpse than the box score showed. He penetrated real well, drew in the D, and passed to 3 wide open 3-pointers. Unfortunately only Ray hit his open 3. He also had that nice finish on the fast break, were it not for the offensive foul that really was a blocking foul. Good to see he played aggressive but looked for other players’ shots.
by TomHamilton30 on Dec 10, 2009 11:46 AM EST up reply actions
No, a Decent Backup PG is the Answer
And not Tyron Lue, for God’s sake.
Why not Lue?
He’s only 32 and I know he’s staying in shape and can probably still play pretty effectively
Because Lue Just Isn't Very Good
That’s why he went into coaching at age 32.
Hudson
Let me add that IMHO Lester Hudson is a better option than Lue.
Puh Leeze
Marquis sucked as a point guard as does house,Pierce and ray allen. The real loss with him is at the 3 spot defensively. I’m not a tony allen fan but I guess he’s the obviuous choice to replace marquis if he’s healthy. Giddens or walker are the other options. I would be ecstatic if Danny made a move and traded TA, scal and giddens or walker and landed a player who could actually help. Right now we stink at rebounding ( hello leon) and our back up PG is a disaster. We could also use some scoring off the bench. It’s time for danny to go to work
Marbury
Marbury might have been rough with us last year but we could have used him this season.
ANYONE THAT SAYS HUDSON CAN'T PLAY PG IS CRAZY
The reason you don’t know is Doc wont play him enough for him or you to know. No one learns how to play on the bench. What ever you are going to say pro or con is guess work at best. This is how young stars are made.
Giddens. Give him quisy's minutes
Seeing as how with a full healthy team he only get minutes in garbage time, I think now, still early in the season, is the perfect opportunity to see what this guy can do when he’s in there with better players.
I know i’ll be as squeamish as anyone to see him out there, especially after that inevitable first turnover or bad pass, but give him some minutes and let him get comfortable. What’s the worst that happens, if he sucks send him to the Dleague and bring up Walker who everyone seems to sweat and see what HE can do…
Otherwise why are we carrying him on the roster??? for those of you arguing about how valuable roster spots are, let’s make use of this precious commodity!
Let's Hope...
1- Tony Allen plays well above expectations and other teams start to inquire about him and his expiring contract.
2- Ditto JR Giddens, Scal and Glen Davis. (I would love to see another BIG who can rebound and block shots!
3- Lester Hudson gets an opportunity to play with the starters at the eight minute mark of the 1st qtr and demonstrates he is a capable nba bench player.
4- Marquis Daniels comes back from surgery (thumbs heal better if you don’t play basketball) and doesn’t get injured again until August.
Let us not delude ourselves into believing that Tony Allen is going to be anything other than what he has been for the last two plus years. He is NOT the answer to this puzzle. Whether it be Giddens or Walker, one of them is going to have to take on a bigger role. I do not know how Walker is rehabbing up in Maine, I know he is scoring a bit, but whether he is ready to come back down here is a real question. Allen just isn’t the player we all want him to be. I believe he just doesn’t have the basketball smarts to accept the role that Doc and Danny want him to and just play good defense. The other night he made another one of his stupid moves to the basket with two men just waiting for him. He was determined he was going to shoot that ball, and instead committed an offensive foul. This is typical Tony Allen. He believes he is a true offensive specialist. It must be frustrating coaching a player like this. His days with the Celtics should be over, whether they are lucky enough to trade him before the trade deadline or not is another story. No one wants him.
Are you watching the same game?
if you are you must be seeing doubles. Tony made a strong move to the hoop on a fast break against ONE defender of which was moving and in the restricted circle when he picked up his dribble to liftoff for the rim. The ref made a bad call, it happens and shouldn’t be used against Tony. His other plays in the game were solid. he got Eddie 2 WIDE OPEN shots of which he proceeded to brick big time. He also found Ray for a wide open 3. He made good basketball plays and made an small impact in even smaller minutes. He needs consistant minutes so Paul & Ray are in trouble.
I have to admit you are correct
in that TA wasn’t all that bad, especially considering the layoff time. Still early to tell which Tony is going to be there for us.
But man – what was up with his free-throw form? He looked bizarre at the line.
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