The Celtics Have More Work To Do

There are days I wake up freakin’ excited about the upcoming season. Big reason: the historic C’s. What a dream the Celtics roster has become; but it ain’t championship caliber yet. Depending on who you talk to, the point guard or the center spot is the most important position on the floor (hmm, I see some foreshadowing here). A quick look at Boston’s horses:

PG: Rajon Rondo, Gabe Pruitt (R)
SG: Ray Allen, Tony Allen, Eddie House, Jackie Manuel (R)
SF: Paul Pierce, James Posey, Brandon Wallace (R)
PF: Kevin Garnett, Leon Powe, Ginger Balls, Glen Davis (R)
C: Kendrick Perkins, Scot Pollard

For me, the center position is covered. Perkins is now a young vet and he can be successful rebounding, setting screens and defending along side star players. If need be, Pollard or other parts of the bench can fill in. I could also see some small ball with KG at center, and Powe or Brian Scalabrine at power forward. The 2, 3 and 4 positions are obviously set, especially with that Posey signing. Man, the guy is a winner (’06 champ-een) and he does the exact things this team needs: shut down D, hit the open shot, and scrap for everything.

It’s the PG spot that is still a worry. It’s time to make this thing right. What begun as a horrific offseason for the Celtics on draft day with the Ray Allen trade has really materialized in to something special. Now, it’s time for Danny Ainge to finish what he started. Not to take anything away from Rondo, but there needs to be a vet in that backcourt.

There is just no way a team can go in to the playoffs with 1 year of experience at PG and expect to be successful. Absolutely, no way. Coaches need to rely on people who aren’t going to make mistakes, and every young guy boo-boos. Check the back-up PGs from last year’s Conference finalists: CLE (Eric Snow), DET (Lindsey Hunter/Flip Murray), SA (Jacque Vaughn), UTA (Dee Brown sat because Sloan didn’t trust him). Skeets has made the same point on this site before. Winning franchises hire guys who they know will make smart decisions and take care of the basketball.

This weakness is taken to a whole other level because Rondo is so green himself. Yes, Boston might be a team where the PG won’t have to do all that much, but the fact is, he’ll have the leather in his hands a good deal. I can see Ray-Ray being forced to handle the rock like he did in Seattle - the team will be so much better if they can avoid this. There will be times when Rondo struggles this year, and looking at that roster, there’s no one there to sub for him. Ainge has been a part of championship teams - he knows what it takes. Looking at the remaining free agents point guards, there isn’t anything too appetizing: Earl Boykins, Troy Hudson, Jeff McInnis, Keith McLeod, etc.

Danny, it’s time to swing a deal for a guy you can rely on. He doesn’t have to be an All-Star, but he has to have the smarts. A Sam Cassell, an Antonio Daniels, a Rafer Alston, someone who is good enough to fill the role. This has been an amazing couple months for the C’s but it will be all for not without that missing piece. You started to go for it, now finish the job.

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By Tas Melas at 1:30 pm on 08.27.2007 — Tags: Celtics

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12 Responses to “The Celtics Have More Work To Do”

  1. Alan at 3:33 pm on 08.27.2007

    Damon Stoudamire would be a good fit. He has said that he wants to go to a non-rebuilding team. He would sign for cheap too if he could play with Ray, KG, and PP.

  2. stopmikelupica at 4:14 pm on 08.27.2007

    I’m very impressed with the Posey signing. I’ve been down on the Celtics’ buzz, feeling they were overrated because of the Allen and Garnett trades; the Posey signing has made me rethink my initial judgment.

    Posey is the perfect backup to Allen. He’ll jump into the starting lineup if either Allen or Pierce are injured; in addition, he’ll play big minutes in the playoffs for Allen, particularly in the 4th quarter to provide tough defense.

    Right now the Celtics are one big man (Mutumbo, PJ Brown) away from being a legit threat. A point upgrade would also be really useful. Why didn’t they sign Brevin Knight? Maybe because Damon Stoudemire or someone is on the way?

  3. boyer at 4:40 pm on 08.27.2007

    you would think damon would be on his way out of memphis. and i have felt that ever since the KG trade, that damon would be a perfect fit for boston…but is memphis going to buy damon out? or do think they will atleast try and get some draft picks out of boston? i just don’t see how its going to work getting damon to boston…w/out a buy out. cause the celts got shit to trade with - i mean shit! unless they want to give up ginger balls..their salaries are pretty close…(damon 4 mill) (ginger balls 3mill).
    shit fuck.
    as a memphis fan i would like to see the grizzlies get something for damon..but shit. can chris wallace convice boston to give up a few 2nd round picks?? And ginger balls? fucking hope so.
    I remember when boston played Memphis last season ginger balls was dropping 3’s on Memphis – but now I ask you who wasn’t dropping 3’s on Memphis. Hell, I saw Zach Randolph drop a 3 on Memphis last season…
    I just hope Memphis doesn’t buy out damon so he can play for boston..but I don’t know how else it will work.

  4. Josh at 9:59 am on 08.28.2007

    Who is Ginger Balls? Brian Scalabrine? If so, I love it.

  5. Randy Chard at 11:41 am on 08.28.2007

    What would the Celtics we willing to give up for Calderon out of Toronto? I think the Raptor’s need some inside rebounding and the only one I can see on the C’s roster would be Perkins. That might be a bit steep but with some fillers it could work!

  6. No Blood No Foul at 11:42 am on 08.28.2007

    Portland and Houston both have a glut of PGs…either of those teams would probably trade for draft picks. Rafer Alston sounds intriguing…

  7. MattO at 12:03 pm on 08.28.2007

    I think the Celtics would be better off with Ray, not Gabe, Pruitt as back-up PG.

  8. KJ33 at 12:07 pm on 08.28.2007

    There is just no way a team can go in to the playoffs with 1 year of experience at PG and expect to be successful. Absolutely, no way.

    Would you consider Utah’s run to the WCF last year successful? Most would, and their PG was a 2nd year pro. Say whatever you want about Deron Williams being an exception to the rule, but you said absolutely no way. I would agree it is not preferred, but I do not think it is as critical as many are making it out to be. A quality backup PG in the NBA is like Eric Gagne in the Red Sox pen, great to have for depth, but realistically not many teams have the luxury to have someone that good in such a narrowly defined role. Do you know how many teams feel they are a backup PG away from a title? It is a rare commodity in the NBA, and not so easily attained. Finding the right guy who will be OK playing only 10-15 minutes, but not because his skills have deteriorated so much to only warrant that many minutes, is a tricky proposition. If Rondo even makes 3/4 of D. Williams’ jump from yr 1 to 2, and House, Pruitt, and even Ray-Ray occasionally, pick up the remaining 10-15 minutes, we will be fine at the point.

  9. Slim at 12:19 pm on 08.28.2007

    The Rockets are looking to get rid of Rafer for a bag of chips. I’m not kidding either. A couple of 2nd round picks will be enough I think, though that won’t work under the cap.

  10. Derek at 12:32 pm on 08.28.2007

    I think your depth chart is a little off. Here’s how I figure it:

    PG - Rondo, House
    SG - Allen, Allen
    SF - Pierce, Posey
    PF - Garnett, Scal, Powe
    C - Perkins, Pollard

    That’s an 11 man rotation right there. Probably a little deeper than I would like. I would say Scal/Powe will see their fair share of DNP-CD’s.

    It leaves Davis, Pruitt, and Wallace as projects who will see very little PT without earning every sliver.

    House will obviously see time at the PG and SG slots. When he’s running the point, his job will be to get the ball over the timeline and get it to Pierce or R. Allen. Oh, and hit any open 3’s. I think he can handle that just fine. He’s gotta be better than Point Forward Antoine Walker…

    House can function as your backup point because he

  11. Red at 1:51 pm on 08.28.2007

    How many true point guards did the 84 Celtics have?

    and don’t try to tell me that Ainge or DJ were point guards.

  12. michael at 11:26 pm on 08.28.2007

    rafer got arrested for stabbing someone today.

    probably not the guy youre looking for

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