Celtics Would Be Better Off If...

Celtics would be better off if...

Rasheed played the way he should...

It's safe to say in 2008 every Celtics fan hated Rasheed when we played Detroit in the Eastern Conference Finals.  He was a threat on the boards, beyond the arc, and a guy who would get physical and get in your face.  He was a tough guy who would make clutch plays for Detroit when they needed it, whether it was an offense rebound, or a shot from beyond the arc.

When the Celtics signed Rasheed Wallace two thoughts came to my mind...well, now we'll have the leading player in the NBA with technical fouls on our team, and another guy who shoots threes.  

I didn't expect him to shot as many threes as he has, and I definitely didn't expect him to miss as many threes as he has.  If you remember in the beginning of the season, the Celtics were three-happy.  Shooting way too many three pointers then they needed too.  Some losses in the beginning of the season were a direct result of too many shots from beyond the arc.  Which is why they've blown so many double digit, or 4th quarter leads.  You shoot threes when you have a comfortable lead and you want to kill a team, not when you're behind late in the game when every possession is critical.   

Rasheed is shooting 28% from beyond the arc.  I haven't followed Rasheed his whole career, but I've got to guess this is one of, if not the worst year for his three point field goal average.  Shooting 248 threes, and making only 71 of them (that's only 50 three pointers behind Ray Allen, who's made 105 and plays a lot more minutes).  That's a lot of three point attempts for someone who averages only 23 minutes a game.  He's also only had 87 free throw attempts all year.  That shows you how often he's going to the hoop.

Rasheed has been a little bit of a bust for the C's up to this point.  But, he could change that, if he starts playing like the big man that he is.  He averages 4 rebounds a game, for a guy who is 6-11, that's bad.  Even Rondo has more rebounds that Rasheed does.  Rasheed needs to get under the hoop, and post up, on both ends of the court.  Offense rebounds are just as important as defense rebounds.  One reason he doesn't have many rebounds, is because he's always behind the arc waiting for a three.  When Perk, KG, and Rasheed are on the court at the same time (which I know isn't often), there's no reason we shouldn't be grabbing every rebound, as three 6'11 guys are on the boards, and that's something Doc needs to push.

But don't worry Rasheed, you can still redeem yourself.  You can be a huge guy to have coming off the bench for the rest of the season and playoff time especially, as long as you're not hanging out behind the arc all game and that's it.  We want to see you under the hoop, grabbing rebounds, hitting easy high percentage shots, drawing fouls and getting to the line.  Someone needs to get it through your head (whether it's Doc, or his team mates) that we have enough guys who can hit threes.