Tales from CelticsBlog Slack: rounding out our fantasy draft with three bench players

Bill Sy: To me, picking the three players in the second unit might be the more rewarding exercise of this draft. I know we all love the stars, but it’s those backbone bench guys that can really make a team. I’m taking Marcus Smart as my sixth man. The idea of having him and KG on my team makes me giddy (insert Tommy Heinsohn soliloquy).

Adam Taylor: For my sixth man, I select Frank Ramsey, an oldie but a goodie and one of the original sixth men

Adam Spinella: Team Spinella will select Tony Allen. Perhaps the most underrated aspect of the Celtics elite run in the late 2000s was the role T.A. playeda as a “Kobe-stopper”. His toughness and winning pedigree fit well with our team.

Greg Brueck-Cassoli: Shucks, I was hoping people would forget about TA.

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Jack Noonan: For my sixth round pick, I am going way back for this one and selecting Bailey Howell. His numbers pop off the page in his four seasons in the late ‘60s as a Celtic. Of course it was a different era, but he averaged 18 points and 8 rebounds a game in Boston. He was also known for consistently attacking the basket understanding efficient basketball in an age where that was uncommon. Howell will be a great off-the-bench scorer as a sixth man for this team.

Greg Brueck-Cassoli: Alright with my first bench selection, I’m going with a mainstay from some of the more forgettable years in Celtics history, Dana Barros. He could really shoot and score, and my team could use a little bit of that off the bench. We’ll have him launching from deep far more frequently than when he was in Boston. Fire away young (but now I suppose old) man.

Bill Sy: Ugh. You were supposed to have forgotten about Barros, Greg. Don’t make me pick Ricky Davis for instant offense now.

Greg Brueck-Cassoli: We could work out a trade potentially.

Adam Spinella: I wanted Barros, too.

Bill Sy: Step off, Adam.

Greg Brueck-Cassoli: Bidding war? Garnett for Barros straight up and I’ll pull the trigger right now, Bill.

We seem to have a taste for similar plates, Adam. I’ve wanted a bunch of the guys you got too.

Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Steve Hooper: OK, so I’m thinking Eddie House for some instant offence. Eddie is a brilliant catch and shoot guy and someone who can get up in the opponents faces and let you know what time it is.

And for some toughness, I am rolling with the X-Man - Xavier McDaniel. In the twilight of his career Xavier was still productive and hustled all over the court.

Greg Brueck-Cassoli: Can I get a ruling on Aron Baynes starter v. bench? Or was he just two years? Satch Sanders was a starter, right?

Bill Sy: I think Baynesy qualifies as a starter, but I have a comp for you: Joe Kleine.

Greg Brueck-Cassoli: I’ll grab my guy Eric Williams. Give me one more big aggressive wing player to do the dirty so I can celebrate the diversity and skill of the rest of my guys. Adding some toughness and strength should help us out nicely.

Jack Noonan: For my seventh round pick, I will select ML Carr. Carr was a great two way player in the late 70s and early 80s who lead the Celtics bench unit in much of their success throughout this era. He won two championships with Boston being crucial to the lockdown defense at the wing. He was on an All-Defense team with Detroit a few years before coming to Boston. Defense wins championships and Carr brings even more defense to this squad.

Adam Spinella: Team Spinella will draft Kelly Olynyk. We need another big body and shooting, and Olynyk surely filled both roles with the Celtics. An undervalued member of the teams that built our current area of success, he’s a strong bench scorer and a good pickup for our squad.

Steve Hooper: Sunshine from Kamloops. Good pickup.

Bill Sy: Crap. He was on my list.

Adam Taylor: With my next pick, I select Jim Paxson. Reliable off the bench, old school dribble drive threat.

Bill Sy: I LOVE WALTAH! I gotta go with the Mr. Role Player, Walter McCarty. The numbers hardly jump off the page, but McCarty was one of those tool kit players that understood his limitations but always somehow gave more than 100%.

With my last pick, I wrestled with drafting two of Boston’s last human cigars, Brian Scalabrine and Tacko Fall. Gino Time means that the Celtics had a big home win, but you need quality production off your bench to get you there. For my last pick, I went with one of my favorite players growing up, Easy Ed Pinckney. He never matched his “David vs. Goliath” slaying of Patrick Ewing in college, but he was a solid contributor off the bench.

Adam Spinella: Very good picks.

Adam Taylor: Theis has two years as bench, 1 as starter. Is he qualifying for bench?

Bill Sy: I think it’s fair to call him a bench player (who has stepped up big time this season).

Adam Taylor: In that case, with my final pick. I select Daniel Theis, the ever reliable big who has elevated the Celtics fortunes this year with smart play on both ends of the floor.

Photo by Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images

Adam Spinella: Toughness and physicality can add to our frontcourt here, so I’m gonna go with one of my favorite bench players in C’s history, Leon Powe.

Steve Hooper: Damn I wanted Leon.

Jack Noonan: With my last pick we will select Glen “Big Baby” Davis. This may be persuaded by my overhype of him as a player, but Big Baby was such a fun player to watch battle down low. He was undersized his whole career still putting up impressive numbers throughout his Celtics career. Once he moved to Orlando, he got the stage to show off his game in a better role. With the Celtics, Davis played a bench role that will give this team heart and grit vital to all lineups.

Greg Brueck-Cassoli: It’s really getting to be a bit of slim pickings around here. I need a big and was hoping to get any of Power, Olynyk, Pinckney, or big baby and they’ve all somehow been selected this round. I need a big regardless so I’m taking the Timelord. His size and athleticism translate to any context, and he’s a much better option than the likes of Tyler Zeller.

Steve Hooper: I’m taking Jim “Loscy” Loscutoff to be my bench hard man and the guy to do the dirty work. Defend multiple positions and play with Celtics pride.

So, our first CelticsBlog fantasy draft is complete. Who’s got the best three-man bench?