Aldridge Offseason Rankings (Celtics 3rd)
by Jeff Clark on Aug 9, 2009 4:40 PM EDT
in Boston Celtics News & Links
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PrintDavid Aldridge ranks the offseasons and puts the Celtics 3rd (behind San Antoino and LA). Here's what he had to say about the Celts (h/t Red's Army)
BOSTON
DA's Offseason Rank: No. 3
Last season: 62-20, first place, Atlantic; Lost in second round of playoffs.
Added: F/C Rasheed Wallace (free agent, Detroit; two years, $11.6 million), Marquis Daniels (free agent, Indiana)
Lost: F Leon Powe
Retained: None
The key man: C Kendrick Perkins. He's the glue to Boston's halfcourt defense, and showed he could handle a little more of the offensive load after Garnett went down. But chronic shoulder problems are a concern.
The skinny: The 6-foot-10 Wallace makes the Celtics the Lakers East -- potentially huge in the frontcourt alongside the 6-foot-11 Garnett and Perkins (6-foot-10). They can send defenders from all angles, and their length will make passing out of the double team difficult. Daniels will be a solid backup for Rajon Rondo. Garnett has been a maniac this summer, recovering from the knee injury that kept him out of the playoffs. When he's back, Boston's back.
I'm not sure I consider Daniels the backup for Rondo except in a pinch, but we'll see how the rest of the summer goes. Nice to hear that Garnett has "been a maniac this summer," but honestly, has he ever been anything but a maniac? Just hope he's healthy, that's all I can ask because Aldridge is right: If KG is back, Boston is back, bench or no bench.
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The Future ain't what it used to be
Yogi Berra
- #6, #1 or number #27……the future will get here soon enough ….we’ll see
Is it Soup Yet?
rankings
The important thing to remember is that House and Daniels will be a set so House can guard the one and Daniels the two. Daniels can be a backup 1 if if he doesn’t have to guard the one and House can be a backup 2 as long as he doesn’t have to guard a 2.
Bad analysis by Albridge, specially since it has missing information. Where’s the Landlord? Where’s any mention of Baby?
His take on Ariza and Artest is a bad one, particularly when you consider that Ariza is a much efficient player, and his play above the rim will be missed. For someone like Pierce, for example, Artest is much easier to guard.
Above the rim?
I’d appreciate the argument of Artest not being has good a shooter of Ariza, but I’m sure Artest can play above the rim too.
by Tai on Aug 9, 2009 6:16 PM EDT up reply actions
hi
a few facts:
ariza shot 31 percent from three over the course of 82 games
artest shot just under 38 percent and average almost 18 points a game, so i am not where artest is less efficient. also, on defense, STATISTICALLY which goes hand in hand with words like efficient, no one defended lebron better than artest which, for the lakers, is also a very possible finals scenario. there is a reason 95 percent of the world felt it was a good trade. it was. and i love ariza too, but artest, if his head stays together (which is an “If” i will cede) he is a perfect compliment. as aldredige says, it is more about Bynum and his health. If he stays healthy, with the gasol, odom, bynum FC rotation, they are nearly unbeatable.
by lakersbluedevil on Aug 9, 2009 8:21 PM EDT up reply actions
40 FG% vs. 46 FG%. Do I need to go further?
As for LeBron, a quick glance over the last 2 seasons shows me that he scored 27 points per game on 46% shooting when he played against Artest, so I don’t think we need to go overboard about how good he defends LeBron. As a comparison, LeBron on his last 3 meetings against the Lakers shot 35% from the floor and scored 24 points per game.
And your Odom-Gason-Bynum rotation falls quite short of the KG-Perk-Sheed rotation. But you can day dream.
by BudweiserCeltic on Aug 9, 2009 8:44 PM EDT up reply actions
Despite his "alleged" greatness...
Lakers become Artest`s 5th team since 2002.
He quickly wears out his welcome.
Once a team has him…they soon want to get rid of him!
Unbeatable??! Gasol, Odom, Bynum vs. Perkins, Garnett, R.Wallace
C’mon, I know which FC rotation I would rather have. It’s not even close.
Just because someone can dunk doesn’t mean he plays above the rim. Ariza is a great leaper and athlete.
by BudweiserCeltic on Aug 9, 2009 8:45 PM EDT up reply actions
Yes. Under retained it should read: Glen Davis.
But whatever, 3rd in the off-season is fine, it’s the real season and the playoffs that count
That's what I said in an IRC chatroom
Vegas odds had the Celtics in 4th, with the Lakers, Cavs, and Magic over them. I said the C’s are definitely better than the Magic if nothing else, and that the Magic are free to prove me wrong, and that’s how it is.
In the end, who do people remember, the team holding the cup at the end of the season or speculation about who’s the best before a single regular season’s game played? It’s that simple.
by Tai on Aug 9, 2009 7:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Leon
Has he signed with another team. The article says he’s “lost”.
"I don't come to play, I come to WIN"--Larry Bird
"Criminally Negligent Officiating"--Tommy Heinsohn
Rankings don't mean anything
Once the games begin, then the rest of the league will hear the Wrath of Arnold’s Revenue… High above court, Johnny Most is burning his pants, ashes falling, face red, getting ready for the play by play…. and Red take’s his seat, perching back, cigar in hand, with that grin on his face…….
Dynasty….. right here…. this is the dynasty…. your Boston Celtics !!!
Say I say no more
Spurs Key
Anyone else notice Spurs Key to the season? Ian Mahinmi? Who?
And isn’t Artest quite a bit older than Ariza? How can the Lakers have gotten younger then?
Anyway, it’ll sure be sweet when #18 finds it way up to the ceiling with the Lakers walking away dejected… again.
Lakers ahead of us !?
I think the Lakers was ranked ahead of us mostly because they managed to keep Odom, not the signing of Artest. I care less how we are placed in these pre-season reankings as long as we come out on top in the Finals.
What is this guy talking about
What are wrong with these so called experts? “The defending champions lost nothing and gained Ron Artest, getting younger, deeper and more talented” What? Excuse Me? Where do these people come up with these comments. They lost Trevor Ariza. How did they lose nothing? Are they younger? No. Artest is older. Are they deeper? No. They added 1 player and lost 1 player. Then they write us as losing Powe. Sorry Aldridge we are the team that has lost nothing. Get it right next time, but we know you won’t. Because every article that is written about the NBA no matter where you look has exaggerations and lies for the Lakers and against the Celtics. These writers are an embarassment.
not only that
The Lakers lost Ariza who is their only really good young player besides Bynum. The rest of their stars are all veterans they only have one budding star now. We have at least two:Rondo & BBD, & even Perkins is younger that any main player on Lakers. Yet, according to Aldridge, the Lakers got younger. With one impact player under 29? Rondo is 23, BBD is 23, Perkins is 25.
At least it's better than Hollinger...
- in the East will work for now.
I’m a Laker fan who thinks the Artest gamble was a mistake, but we will see. His shooting may improve with more open looks from the triangle, but if he forces shots like he did in Houston it will be trouble for the Lakers
by nba is the worst on Aug 10, 2009 9:44 AM EDT reply actions
yeah
but the Lakers didn’t lose nothing. To even write that in a column Aldridge should go find another job, becuase journalism isn’t it. Do you think if the Celtics lost Trevor Ariza and signed Ron Artest there would be an article claiming they got Artest and lost nothing? It would never happen in a billion years. Here is what Aldridge’s headline would be. “Celtics lose Trevor Ariza” #1 loss in the offseason for the NBA.
Retained: BBD
Boston now has the best off-season.
"Do you know that nonbelievers create the most positive energy?" Davis said
I think star18 is going a bit overboard, again : p
But, I do agree with him that the Lakers losing Ariza counts.
Still, Artest I think will work offensively has long has he plays within the offense and doesn’t go Antoine Walker on the Lakers, but he’s also the kind of defender we wanted against all the great SFs in the NBA. Kobe must be sleeping well knowing he doesn’t have to face Artest this season; if no one else, the Lakers have Kobe’s blessing on Artest in gold. Everyone that keeps ignoring that is just out of touch.
The Lakers are still top of the West. The question is are they top of the NBA.
Ariza
I don’t think I am going overboard one bit. How can you publish an article and say the Lakers lost nothing. They lost their best young star, besides Bynum. Ariza was a starter he made huge steals in the playoffs late in the game that won them games. How can you type in an article they lost nothing? There is no excuse for that. You would never see something like that about the Cetlics, where they are overrated. It has never happened. I have never seen an article anywhere or any sports analyst ever credit the Celtics with more than they have done. 95% of the time they are being descredited and their accompishments are being ignored. Maybe 5% of the time these people get it right. Certainly they never ever give the Celtics more than they deserve. The Lakers get more than they deserve I would say 80-90% of the time by these people.
celtics where they rank ?
i think they are the #2 seed behind the cavs but if they can get a true backup for rondo and a nice 7 footer to give perk a breather they can steal the top spot from the cavs. and dont rule out powe coming back in march injurys happen around that time and they can use a extra banger in there bench thats if leon is healthy ?…
By the end of the off-season I expect us to be...
2 behind the Spurs, with Toronto 3rd (good moves but not a contender yet), the Cavs 4th, and the Lakers 5th.
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