Building A Better Bench
by Jeff Clark on Jul 19, 2009 5:43 PM EDT
in Boston Celtics Articles
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PrintThe Celtics lost a shot at the championship last year because Kevin Garnett got hurt, plain and simple. If the big three are healthy this year, we've got a real great shot at it again. However, that is a big, big if these days. As a result, the depth on this squad is increasingly critical. So far, Danny has done a lot to upgrade the bench and it appears that he's not close to being done.
The biggest piece is obviously Rasheed Wallace. Together with Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, we might have the best defensive frontcourt in the game. He also fits like a glove into Doc's offensive schemes. Consider this: how many times have we seen the center (Perkins, Baby, etc.) at the top of the 3 point arc either setting a pick or looking to pass the ball to initiate one of our offensive sets? The defense knows that they can sag off him and double down on other players. Now insert Sheed into that scenario. The defense no longer has the option to sag off. They have to respect his range. Even if they close in on him, he's still got the height to shoot over the majority of players in the league. Especially in a pick and roll where he might end up being picked up on a switch. Maybe he would be more effective posting up, but he is what he is and it would appear that the Celtics offense will utilize his talents to their advantage.
Next up is Marquis Daniels. I'm still becoming familiar with his game, but from all accounts he appears to be somewhat of a mix between Brian Scalabrine (does lots of little things well, not the greatest athlete) and Tony Allen (slasher, defensive pest, no outside shot, maybe a space cadet at times). Clearly he's got some flaws, but if he didn't then we wouldn't be able to afford him. What matters, once again, is if he can fit into our system. Last offseason Ainge talked about using Tony Allen to get to the rim more. That never materialized but maybe Daniels can fill that role. Regardless, it appears that we have an upgrade to our small forward backup spot. Which is very good news for Paul Pierce and his weary legs.
So two pieces appear to be in place but there are still questions to address. For one thing, it appears that Ainge is working on a sign and trade with the Pacers to bring Daniels in. The attraction there is to hold onto the bi-annual exception to use on someone else. Such a deal could cost us as many as 3 bench players but the thinking must be that there are still free agents out there that would be upgrades to those players. Incidentally, more roster spots also increases the likelyhood that Leon Powe could make a return.
Of course there is also the ongoing Big Baby watch. The more time passes, the more likely it is that he winds up back in Boston at a reasonable price. That works great for me since he showed a lot of value last year and I don't see any other options that would fill that 4th big role better than him.
Which brings me back to the injury issue. The key to this depth is being able to adapt to whatever fate throws at us. Right now, we've got solid replacements for four of the starting 5 should they miss any significant time. House at the 2, Daniels at the 3, and Sheed at either the 4 or 5.
It will also be important to fill out the end of the bench with guys that at least have the potential to contribute if pressed into work. Last year we got solid fill-in work from Davis but there wasn't much left on the bench to back him up. Assuming Davis resigns, we'll have a rotation of 4 bigs that can help us win basketball games.
Once again, the longer we wait, the more guys we'll see willing to accept the veterans minimum to sign with a legit title contender. There are still some quality names out there looking for a home. Danny also seems to be busy talking to teams about potential trades and sign and trades.
So far so good. Danny has already upgraded the bench and it appears that he's working on building it up more. I expect some things to shake out this week as the Daniels deal gets worked out. We've got August 1st approaching where we have to make a decision on Pruitt (assuming he's still with the team). I wouldn't be too surprised to see Davis sign either an offer sheet or a reasonable contract with the Celtics.
Even though the rest of the title contenders made moves to bolster their clubs, I'm liking what Danny has done thus far to upgrade ours. Can't wait to see what he does next.
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I am loving the bench
And I hope I’m forced to see them play a lot! (the celtics have a huge lead).
I’d still like to see a servicable backup PG, but I don’t want to trade anyone on this team except for Tony Allen, Pruitt, Walker, and potentially a sign and trade involving BBD. I really suggest they keep Scal if possible.
For those who don't think our bench is very good...
Pretend you are a fan of another elite team in this league and see if you’d get excited about their bench!
BBD
To quote the great Paris Hilton, BBD would be “huuuuuuuuuge”.
Standing up for the little People
PS: I am actually from Boston.
Actually I heard he lost some weight, he is the size of Jessica Simpson now
Standing up for the little People
PS: I am actually from Boston.
imagine this second five
signed PG (carter, marbury…may still be hope)
eddie
Daniels
Baby
Sheed
that second 5 could beat a bunch of teams on their own..
mix in scal, giddens, another big TBA and boston has a strong 1-12
by celticinorlando on Jul 19, 2009 5:13 PM EDT reply actions
Fully Agree
PG right now is our only weak spot, which can be solved easily. But I am so excited about our backup front court, since we had none when KG and Powe went down.
Standing up for the little People
PS: I am actually from Boston.
Guys, it looks almost like a scripted story: I predict that Lue and Swift, for obvious reasons, will be the next signings, and I also hope it’s Big Baby. That’s it, end of story. Maybe another vet min big or wing.
6. Sheed
7. Daniels
8. House
9. BBD
10. Lue
11. Scal
12. ??? (Bowen, Big Ben, Joe Smith, etc. etc.)
13. Swift
14. Giddens
15. Hudson
Bowen
Bowen might not be bad, I like that idea, only if we get BBD back.
Standing up for the little People
PS: I am actually from Boston.
Why not Bowen?
I think that is a great idea. He wouldn’t really need to play that much, but what an asset to have for the playoffs.
only if
Daniels signs the bi-annual
if it is a sign and trade, boom – Ainge has a lot of spots to fill
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V
If we do sign and trade
Do we have the money to fill those spots with vets?
Standing up for the little People
PS: I am actually from Boston.
If sign&trade
Then Celtics still have the Biannual Exception and they (always) have as many veterans minimum exceptions as they want.
Pistons still in the Baby hunt?
Marc Spears reporting that Pistons are still interested in Baby (via sign and trade)
http://twitter.com/SpearsNBAYahoo/status/2725489318
"We few, we happy few, we band of brothers" Henry V
Nice find
Who could we target on the Pistons?
Standing up for the little People
PS: I am actually from Boston.
There is no one on the pistons I would want for BBD.
Standing up for the little People
PS: I am actually from Boston.
Looking at their roster...
I have no idea who they could trade us. Kwame Brown? I seriously doubt we’d be interested in him, even if it did mean getting rid of Tony Allen in the process. Maybe Allen and Giddens for Kwame and one of their 2nd rounders(Summers or Jonas Jerebko)? Personally I don’t see the appeal any possible options.
At Vegas Summer League ...
Tom Thibodeaux was the guest one quarter, and he mentioned Summers as a player he really liked.
"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
let's make it happen!
Seems like Detroit might be willing to over-pay
by TomHamilton30 on Jul 19, 2009 5:57 PM EDT up reply actions
I'll take Tayshawn or Rip and call it even
What do you say, Joey?
ben wallace
Is he with the suns or is he currently “retired”. Would he be a good fit?
by jfarias on Jul 19, 2009 6:14 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
ben wallace
Is he with the suns or is he currently “retired”. Would he be a good fit? Sheed and him played together when they were a championship caliber team
by jfarias on Jul 19, 2009 6:15 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
PG help
By just browsing of the list of FA available Travis Diener seems like a good fit for the C’s. He is a solid PG who doesnt turn the ball over and can hit the open shot.
Thats not a very good list...
Diener is already signed for next year
Season please?
Ready to let Danny handle the remaining bench slots. Personally I’m ready to find out just how dominating the 2009-2010 Celtics are going to be. Someone please press fast forward!
by Thruthelookingglass on Jul 19, 2009 7:25 PM EDT reply actions
I'm Loving the Bench
What a bench. What love! I don’t love the bench. No sir! I am loving the bench! What does that mean? I am not me. I am someone else? I can speak English as if I cannot speak English? I love more if I am loving than if I love? What have we become? Don’t ask me!
If we somehow bring back BBD...
… which I think is too good to be true, then we’re set. Wallace and BBD can more than fill in for Garnett/Perkins. And House and Daniels can spot Rondo if need be. But sheesh, we get back BBD AND find an even half-decent point guard, we’re looking really, really good.
work a trade
Sign BBD, work a trade for Daniels using tony, walker and pruitt. We still have the option of using the lle for a point guard, or we can save it and use it to fill a hole later this season
travis diener??? what is it with the travis diener fan club? He won’t win a championship for you. C’mon already, enough of that BS
Don't need Big Ben
He can defend the post, but that’s it. Also he is no longer the otherworldly rebounder and defender needed to justify his total lack of offensive power.
But the offseason is solid. Daniels can play some point too, if they need it. Remember, the backup PG on this team only has to play about 10 minutes a night. However, another PG is not a bad idea for the veterans minimum.
Lue is ok. If Marbury wanted to take the veterans minimum, I think he’d be a good guy to bring back. But he wants more money, and so goodbye, despite the fact I think with a full camp he could be a good bench player. Damon Jones is another solid option. We know he can sink the three and he is a decent defender.
I admire the Patriots, but I LOVE the Sox.
I like it so far, but could it be too deep by the end?
I like the moves Danny has made so far this off-season. Almost making up for last summer’s inactivity…
Let’s resign BBD and sign a legit backup point guard. But if we sign another veteran with the who expects to play are there gonna be enough minutes to go around? That’d be 11 eleven deep, not including Scal. Rather see too much bench than too little, but let’s not overwhelm Doc.
Our Depth Chart
If we get Big Baby back it would be amazing. Perk, KG, Sheed and Baby would be the best front court in all of basketball. All of these guys possess good scoring and defensive abilities, and it’s also a good balance of veterans and younger players. When the Daniels deal gets finalized we’ll fill in the backup 3 spot and still have the LLE to go pick up a backup PG. I’m not sure who is still out there but if we can get another mid level backup who can fill in solid minutes, I would think that we would have the best bench in the league for sure. It would certainly be better than the 07/08 bench that everyone raved about.
Go to camp with this group
Hold onto Scal. See who plays up…maybe Hudson, maybe Giddens, maybe Walker, maybe Pruitt, maybe Tony. Lot of “maybes”. Only need one or two to pan out and then fill in against who didn’t at mid-season. We’ve got enough to be in first place at the halfway mark. Assuming Baby back, we don’t need any more bigs – KG, Perk, Rasheed, BBD, Scal. Good to go.
Need a backup PG if Daniels can’t play it. DO NOT commit to a 3rd stringer like Lue. Wait on Hudson, one more look at Pruitt.
Let's go crazy
and sign Ai for the BAE after executing a S+T for Daniels. Iverson, realizing that he needs to reestablish some value int he league by putting in a solid year with a contender in a supporting role, decides to swallow his pride and play good soldier as the first little off the bench in Boston.
He proceeds to silence his critics by thriving in his new role, and after winning a title with Boston, opts out of the second year of his deal to sign a two year, $7m contract to finish out his career in Boston, a la Dennis Johnson. He totally remakes his image as Microwave 2.0, and helps the team to a threepeat before retiring.
DISCLOSURE – I’ve never been an Iverson fan, but after watching him many times in person, I admire his abilities and heart. It’s unfortunate that one of the greatest little men in NBA history has to go out like this. I remember when the Cs acquired Tiny Archibald. Many thought he could never conform to a team concept, but Red knew better. great players in a team setting surrounded by other great players always conform to their new roles.
sorry amigo
i never want to see Iverson in green…. despite his present or former athletic abilities – I would rather pay Leon Powe to sit and be injured than to pay this whining crybaby thug anything. Sorry, can’t agree with you here.
Is it Soup Yet?
I agree with Po
I really wanna believe AI could change. I really do. I really wanna say it was the Pistons and you know their front office is eternally drunk. I really do. But…I can’t. I’d rather take Marbury, man, IF he’s truly willing to comeback AND for the right price.
Also, wondahbap pretty much summed it up. Iverson won’t take the BAE. If he really would be able to, MAYBE…MAYBE that’s a sign he truly means well. But that’s fantasy at best and ludicrous at worst.
Im excited
We just need to bring back Baby and sign Lue, Jones, Carter or some other back up pg. I do NOT like Diener. I would rather use Hudson or Pruitt as pg. I’m excited though! Let’s get a pg and kick some ass!
by jfarias on Jul 20, 2009 11:18 AM EDT via mobile reply actions
big ben wants to go back to detroit
and he’s useless if he can’t jump. we don’t NEED him. we need a PG. i love eddie as a spot-up shooter. i hate him as a ball handler.
Still not convinced we're making the Finals with this team especially if we lose Baby.
So much depends on making sure the Big Three don’t run out of gas and right now, (I’m not including Daniels because that is not a done deal), I don’t see a lot of breaks for Pierce especially.
by The Real Large James 2 on Jul 20, 2009 1:12 PM EDT reply actions
Not worried about Pierce
I think the team is pretty committed to getting him a back-up. If it’s not Daniels, it will be somebody.
But the real issue is that Pierce and Allen looked as tired as they did because they had to compensate for the lack of KG down the stretch. That took a lot out of them. So, the bigger key is keeping Garnett’s knees fresh, which is precisely why the Rasheed signing was such a priority. And if we find a way to keep BBD or sign some other reliable vet bigman (Juwan Howard is still out there), then we’ll have a healthy Garnett making the game much easier for Pierce.
ummmm
KG was out for the entire end of the season and the playoffs. The Celtics would have been contenders last year if he hadn’t been injured.
Take James out of Cleveland or Kobe out of LA, what would happen? They wouldn’t have gotten very far in the playoffs. Not as far as the Celtics had.
They are a contender getting better.
So what?
LeBron is young and very durable. Kobe has been remarkably durable in his career so far, too. KG is older and is coming off a season in which a weird knee injury kept him out for a third of the season. Although Pierce has been durable, he ran out of gas and supposedly had bone spurs in his knees. Ray has had serious ankle surgery on both ankles and supposedly developed ankle problems in the playoffs that limited his effectiveness in the Orlando series. Rasheed will be 35 this season.
While it’s true that any contender will struggle if they suffer serious injuries, the Celtics, by virtue of their age and injury history, are at greater risk than other contenders (except for the Spurs). This is a real source of concern. What to do about it? Well, have a good bench so the starters don’t have to over-exert themselves early in the season.
I want Flip Murray
Not much of a drive-and-dish guy. More of a me-first scorer. But, that might not be so bad on a second team that seemed to lack offensive leadership last year. he’s a solid veteran who can protect the ball. More importantly, Flip is big enough and tough enough to guard most 2-guards, leaving Eddie to guard the opposing PG. Plus, he’s likely to accept bi-annual exception dollars.
how about Earl Watson?
He can start for a lot of teams. OK is just going young right now with Westbrook.
He's pretty small, isn't he?
I know Doc is not averse to playing small-ball. But he and Eddie would be a terrible tandem defensively.
Plus, would he come for short money?
Ugh..
I dunno how I messed that post up, but it’s on his player profile on ESPN.
Which is why Travis Diener,
who somewhat unexpectedly exercised a player option for this coming year, is very available.
"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
What About
If we were able to get Chris Duhon?
by jfarias on Jul 20, 2009 1:36 PM EDT via mobile reply actions
bench versatility
With each of our starting 5 taylor-fit into their positions, Danny was smart to build the bench with guys who can play multiple positions.
We now have an extremely talented and well balanced group of 8 core players.
9-12 just become much less of a priority in my mind. Even backup pg isn’t a concern on account of House and Daniel’s versatility to play that position.
I’m hoping this S&T goes down so we can justify a spot for Leon, but beyond that any combo of Baby or Scal along with the rooks will be fine. Our core 8 is what we’ll go to war with, and we’re now ready with this current group.
All in all, very solid off season. Well Done, Danny.
Foul trouble
Rondo’s prone to take himself out of more than a few games due to foul trouble. I don’t think Eddie embarasses himself when he’s had to fill in. But, we just get so much more out of him when he plays off the ball.
Barely
Eddie’s terrible at point guard—a fact proven the last 2 years running. Daniels, however, allows him to play off-the-ball on offense…
That said, backup point guard is at the bottom of the list when it comes to filling the remaining needs on this team—we need Big men first, maybe another wing, and then a point guard. With Daniels in the fold, House as a fallback option, and Pruitt/Hudson possibly on the team, I think we could win another championship with those guys filling in behind Rondo.
by SalmonAndMashedPotatoes on Jul 20, 2009 3:11 PM EDT up reply actions
But if we re-sign Baby ...
doesn’t PG ascend the list? Last year, stagnancy was a big second-unit issue. Daniels is a major distributor at point-forward, and Sheed is an excellent control tower, but I still think we need a playmaker. Eddie isn’t one. Pruitt/Hudson phooey!!!
"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
Terrible?
Eddie has some PG trouble with a few really young fast point guards. He is so far from terrible at point guard. Playing it limits his shots, so it does mess up his offense. I think he is a mediocre PG with off the charts shooting ability.
The Celtics will probably keep him at shooting guard to maximize his strengths, but I don’t see his as a liability at point by any means.
well...
Sometimes he was a liability. He just isn’t terrible.
Agree completely
I, for one, don’t think Eddie is a terrible option at backup. I agree with you in saying that it’s just not where he’s best. And if we can get a PG who can guard the 2 spot, like Sam did two years ago, then we’ll be fine.
Coincidence?
Are you telling me it was purely a coincidence that when Eddie moved off-the-ball in January (after TA got injured) that the ENTIRE 2nd unit started to play better?
Fact is, Eddie at point not only hurts Eddie’s ability to make buckets, it hurts EVERYONE’S offensive efficiency. The ball sticks, the offense initiates later in the shot clock, we settled for deep-in-the-shot-clock jumpers by necessity and not by design. House is a bad point guard any which way you slice it…
Pruitt isn’t much of a point guard either—but his ability to handle the ball and bring it up the court was sufficient to unleash everyone else’s offensive potential. Daniels is much better than Pruitt and that leads me to believe we don’t need to upgrade the point guard position in lieu of more pressing concerns at 4/5 and 3/4.
Would I love a legitimate backup point guard? Hell yes—they make every one else better. But I’d rather have Baby and possibly another wing first (depending on what happens with the Daniels deal and how many wings we give up to get him or if Scal’s involved).
by SalmonAndMashedPotatoes on Jul 20, 2009 5:29 PM EDT up reply actions
Point Guard
I think Eddie did a decent job at point. He improved his ball handling between years 1 and 2. He’s not the greatest defender, but he defends hard and with energy and stays in his man’s face. On this team the most negative factors of his playing point is that he’s not the best playmaker, but more, it takes him away from doing what his does best. I think it would be great for us to have a decent backup point and I would be happy with Tyronn Lue. But, we need a playmaker on the second unit and it doesn’t need to be a guard. Remember the point forward concept? A guy named Larry? Rasheed Wallace might very well be that guy. And we don’t need to have strict first and second units. We can mix and match and Rondo can often play point with the second unit if need be. It would be great if we could do a sign and trade with Daniels and free up some roster space to get a decent pg and a Big who could play Center. I’d rather Wallace play as power forward where the wear and tear won’t be as great.
"I don't come to play, I come to WIN"--Larry Bird
"Criminally Negligent Officiating"--Tommy Heinsohn
He doesn't defend hard...
Eddie hustles, but rarely does it productively. In fact, Doc had to basically beg him to play ANY defense during the Chicago series—and, low and behold, it worked because House played the best defense of his Celtic career in Game 7. But where’s that effort during the regular season?
I agree with your other ideas though—either using a point forward on the 2nd unit—that’s where Daniels comes in, or Wallace as you suggest—or use Rondo as the bridge between the 1st and 2nd units (which should have been happening last season). Problem with using Rondo on the 2nd unit is House though—we have a very short backcourt and House’s man will probably have a pretty easy time of it when it comes to scoring.
The reason we ‘got away with’ playing House at point in 07-08 is because we had a veteran group coming off the bench—guys like Posey and PJ could keep the offense moving when House struggled…Posey was an excellent release valve, often hitting killer threes as the shot clock wound down. Bad offensive possession which were saved by heady veterans. Last season, we didn’t have that luxury. This season will be different. Thus, though I hate Eddie at point and have been advocating a real backup point guard for YEARS, I think we can get away with it again.
But in general I view Eddie as a luxury and a bit of a liability—his inability to play his position makes us have to substitute around his deficiencies. Wouldn’t it be easier to find a real point guard on the 2nd unit, one who can hit the three? Then we can stop bending over backwards to accomadate House’s deficiencies…
by SalmonAndMashedPotatoes on Jul 20, 2009 5:36 PM EDT up reply actions
That's whats great about potentially adding Marquis
You can have rotations where MD plays one, with House at 2 alongside Pierce - and you can have lineups where MD plays three alongside House and Rondo.
That way, you maximize Ray and Paul’s rest as well as play Eddie at the preferred 2 spot. MD gives us great flexibility in that he can guard every back court position.
I think our best lineup though, and one we’ll see late in games, will feature Eddie at the one with Sheed at the 5 along with the big three. Nobody will be able to help against all those shooters.
Stop it
Any lineup without Rondo is not our ‘best’ Not even close. Gimme a break.
by SalmonAndMashedPotatoes on Jul 20, 2009 5:51 PM EDT up reply actions
Without Rondo
I love Rondo, but have to disagree a bit. Rondo is a liability when he gambles defensively and when defenders drop off him to help out because they don’t respect his outside shot. This really hurts when the team is not at full strength. With the team we have now these liabilities become a “positive”. Rondo can gamble because we have more guys who can cover his back. In the Orlando playoffs only Perk had his back and he either had to let Rondo’s guy go or leave Howard. That was a liability. It no longer exists. Also, if his outside shot isn’t going his defender still needs to stay with him to pressure the pass. There are too many options to go to. We no longer need to take Rondo out so we can spread the floor with shooters. (House for Rondo) which often needed to be done in the past. So “any linup without Rondo is not our best” now, but there were times in the past when he did need to come out.
"I don't come to play, I come to WIN"--Larry Bird
"Criminally Negligent Officiating"--Tommy Heinsohn
Let's be honest
Eddie did not run point down the stretch run of the banner year – Cassell did. It’s not a knock on Eddie. I like his game, and he helped us win that championship. But he is what he is – a short 2 guard.
And Eddie was PG when the Celts
blew the game open in Game 6 … against strong on the ball defense, he needs a strong ballhandling 2 (like Ray) … but otherwise he is just fine … Sam was awful in the playoffs, remember?
I admire the Patriots, but I LOVE the Sox.
Folks are too worried about the point guard spot.
Doc will seldom play very many minutes without one of the starters out on the floor. But when he does, he can put out there Wallace, Davis, Daniels, House and Pruitt. Do you want to complain that Pruitt’s not enough of a creater as a point guard? Fine. Wallace, Daniels, and House can all help him out some in that capacity. Meanwhile, he’s tall enough to play defense on the opposition two guard, leaving House to guard the shorter point guard.
It’ll all work out well, just so long as Ainge resigns Davis. That’s the priority.
Eddie is not an acceptable backup PG
for three reasons. One, he can’t run an offense. Two, he’s not good defensively. And three, it takes one of the Cs best offensive weapons off the bench and hinders it by using a shooter in a playmaker role.
For two years now, the first unit would sprint out to a first quarter lead, only to have the second quarter swoon with House at PG. It wasn’t all House’s fault, since there were not a lot of guys on the second unit who could create at the offensive end. But House’s lack of true PG ability didn’t help.
There are enough vet PGs floating around without teams right now. Just sign Anthony Carter to the vetmin and be done with it.
Right… House isn’t an acceptable backup point guard. But he is a fairly good back-up shooting guard, as long as he doesn’t have to guard tall and quick shooting guards. Either pair him up with someone he can swap players with on defense, like Gabe Pruitt, or lose out on what he can provide this team.
Sure, there are several veteran guards out there that might run an offense better than Pruitt. But like Anthony Carter, they’re all short, or have shown they lack defense or an outside shot. Look at Marbury, his defense was mediocre and he shot poorly. Worse, when he was out there with House, House was being abused by shooting guards. There were times in the playoffs when Doc couldn’t get House off the floor fast enough.
The Celtics should go into the season with Pruitt and see if he and House can make it work. With Wallace, Daniels and Davis out there with them, I don’t see why they can’t. But if they don’t work out, then Ainge can always go out and bring in one of the shorter veterans. Last year, the Celtics pulled the plug on the Pruitt/House backcourt too soon. And that was all because of the sudden availability of Marbury, who proved to be fool’s gold. Ainge and Doc need to go back to that other experiment.
The 2nd unit struggled because of lack of scorers not Eddie
remember the second unit seemed fine when they blew away the Lakers in two of the six finals game (small sample size, I know) … but Cassell and Marbury were awful in their times here (Cassell less so obviously) … Eddie needs a ballhandling SG to help him out against pressure, but he defends hard … not gifted, but good effort, and well get out of the way if he catches fire.
In the playoffs his problem has been teams keying on him, but it was nice to have him around in the finals when the Lakers were sagging off of Rondo so hard – until Rondo learns how to deal with that (and shoot midrange jumpers), we will need a guy like Eddie for stretches.
Also the PG problem is overblown … in this 9 man rotation, the backup PG will only be a factor for 10 minutes a night … the 2nd unit lost leads sometimes, and gave energy others … NBA games are LONG …
I admire the Patriots, but I LOVE the Sox.
arms race with the NBA powerhouses
i am thrilled with the addition of sheed, something i wished as early as last year coz i knew the pistons are in revamp mode…
having a stable frontcourt (considered re-signing BBD) and wingmen (considered MD), it is imperative to focus on a true PG backup, to maximize rondo on critical endgames… how about earl watson or royal ivey or juan dixon??
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