In honor of With Malice's Unsung Hero Day I decided to change up the format in my analysis of Eddie House. So instead of headings and bullet points you get an incoherent rant. Sweet!

Previous Profiles
Ray Allen
Tony Allen
P.J. Brown
Sam Cassell
Glen Davis
Kevin Garnett

This is Eddie House's 8th season in the NBA. The Boston Celtics are his 8th NBA team. Previously he has been a Heat, Clipper, Bobcat, Buck, King, Sun and Net. In fact House called Charlotte, Milwaukee and Sacramento home at different points during the 2005 season. By all accounts he puts the journey in journeyman. And yet I'm not entirely sure why. Yes I've heard the criticism. House is a point guard trapped in a shooting guard's body. At 6'1 (allegedly) he can't defend the League's 2s and he is better off looking for his own shot on offense, instead of getting his teammates theirs. In Jack McCallum's superb :07 Seconds or Less House did things that hurt his cause as a bench player. For example he was late from time to time or he drove on the second bus to road games when it was clear to pretty much everyone else that he belonged on the first. And yet I'd argue that House is an excellent role player for a number of reasons. First and foremost he is a fantastic shooter, particularly from the line. When he is in a rhythm House is dangerous all over the court, in transition and coming off screens. Of course he has zero conscience, which is a deterrent when he is off, but by and large an admirable trait. Last night was a prime example. He went 1-12 from the field and one of his misses would have won it at the end of regulation. Yet he still wanted the ball in overtime and ended up knocking down a big three. Put it this way: NBA players that lack confidence have a hard time remaining NBA players. Meanwhile, House is better on the other end of the court than people give him credit. Granted he is not a lock down defender by any stretch of the imagination. And yes I am ignoring the fact that Ramon Sessions blew by him a few times last night. Yet House does defend well within Boston's system. In fact he has helped change my perception of defense in the NBA. If a team has a good scheme, excellent coaching, some defensive studs (Kevin Garnett) and a bunch of guys that are willing to buy in, everyone on that team will look better. And realistically there are plenty of players that simply can't be stopped one-on-one in the league. It takes a team. But back to House. I get the sense that he is the type of guy that is good to have around. Granted that perception comes mainly from watching him with the Celtics this season and reading McCallum's look at the Suns. Still  there is always room for a guy that can shoot, keeps things loose, embraces all sorts of handshakes and continually look to push the boundaries of the word "f%&#". KG needs some competition with that last one.