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Post by The Eye of the Q is upon you! on Dec 31, 2005 13:05:54 GMT -5
The summer fans and the sunshine leprecahns will disappear from the messageboards or come back under their cowardly trolling knicknames. The true fans who stick it out will be rewarded handsomely in 3 to 4 years time.
OK - I am disappointed with the progress the Celtics are making and notably the coaching staff who evidently did not do their homework over the summer and early fall. I am disappointed in the veterans for their inconsistent effort on the defensive and rebounding fronts. They know better than this.
The young players have no confidence and I believe that the coaching staff and the veterans are instilling little confidence in them.
Hey, we could have marched on like good soldiers with Battie, E-Will, Walker, Pierce, Battie, Delk, and Blount and we might be 16 and 11 right now, but would not be guarenteed a playoff berth by any stretch of the imagination. Of those above names that have left the Celtics - no one is making any solid contribution. Walker is adjusting to his reduced role in Miami and we hear nothing of Delk, E-Will, or Battie.
We are paying the price for the very poor draft of 2001 (We had to ace it for Walker and Pierce's future.
We will not fully benefit from the last three drafts until Raef LaFrentz contract is up provided we don't make quick fix trades.
My solution is to trade the vets - must hang onto Paul Pierce, if you can for more young talent, draft picks. Think about replacing the coach in about 1 and 1/2 years. Meanwhile for you league passers, find another team to root for - Clippers, Grizzlies, Trailblazers or even Minnesota to discover hope.
With this message - Welcome to 2006, fellow greeniacs.
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Post by mev17 on Dec 31, 2005 15:34:01 GMT -5
I agree with much of what you say (except the rooting ofr another team part; it's OK to show an interest in another team, such as the Spurs or Pistons for the sake of watching the Lakers lose, but the Celtics must always be #1 -- which I'm sure is what you meant).
I think some of our problems could be solved over the next few months by phasing in Perkins and Jefferson more and phasing out Raef and Blount (and hopefully trading one or both of them -- probably Blount as his contract is more moveable)
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cfoo
Welcome To Celtics Green!
Posts: 1
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Post by cfoo on Dec 31, 2005 15:44:04 GMT -5
Im still hanging in. I still like our nucleus. I never liked Blount and still don't. Doc is the only guy I'm waivering on because he hasnt proven that even when the nucleus is ready, that we are going to be able to play defense. Our defense right now is attrocious regardless of the personnel.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Dec 31, 2005 17:38:40 GMT -5
I love the Celtics - win or lose - good times or bad. I never cheer for another team unless it has some benefit to my beloved Celtics. Like if NJ has to lose for the Celts to over take them and then I would cheer for the other team. I also subconsciously cheer for any team playing the Lakers as that hatred is ingrained in me from the 80s. I do like this team. I think we have a lot more potential than our record or recent play indicates.
I hope that Danny is having Doc play Raef and Blount more to showcase them for a trade. Maybe that is why Blount seems to be trying again... that 15% trade kicker would up his contract again and he is like a greyhound with a rabbit in front of his nose when it comes to playing for a contract. I am ever the optimist and every game expect us to win and have it finally come together for us. We show how good we can be in flashes and then self destruct or Doc does it for us in one way or another. But I do think this team can be good with just a minor trade or two and some minor tweaking. Al and Perk getting more and regular minutes would go a long way toward making us better. But if they aren't because Blount and Raef are on their way out the door, I can live with that for a little while longer.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Dec 31, 2005 20:47:04 GMT -5
I'm disappointed with this team, and think a new direction is the best way to go. But I'm not going to stop being a Celtics fan. I will still keep up with the Celtics, I will still post messages here. I am a Celtics fan, win or lose.
But I think its best for this team to rebuild. And this means trading Pierce for a good return, if at all possible. If not, I wouldn't trade him. Its not like I'm saying trade him for Jamal Crawford. But I'd suggest to Ainge that its better if we get a good return for Pierce and rebuild this team around the young talent we have.
Can we get the same return for Blount, Raef, and Ricky, that we'd get from trading Pierce? Not a chance. We'd only get a marginal return. Its best for this team to get back the highest return possible so that we can rebuild this team with better pieces. That's why if we are looking to trade veterans, trading Pierce is the best solution.
Think about this: at what position do we have the most depth? Answer: at the wings. Gerald Green, Tony Allen, and Ryan Gomes are all waiting for the opportunity to get more playing time. But it won't happen with Pierce and Ricky on the team because they will continue to get big minutes. The kids won't get the developmental time they need to get better, which in essence, handicaps our future in which we are heavily relying on them to eventually produce for us.
Look at Delonte, as an example. Look at how much he's improved over the course of a year. And what's the biggest attribute to his leap in development? Playing time--lots and lots of playing time. Doc has no choice but to play him. And because of all the playing time that he's received this year, just look at the amount of progress in his game. And I'm sure none of you think that he's already reached his limit. We all want him to get more playing time so that he can continue to get better and better. Well, don't we want the same for Gerald Green, who arguably, has the most star potential on the team?
With Pierce and Ricky on the team, will Green, Allen, or Gomes ever get enough playing time to develop? Nope.
Playing a young person 15 minutes a game is not going to lead them anywhere. You can give a kid 15 minutes every game, and at the end of 3 years, they will not have even begun to scratch their potential. If Delonte was only playing 15 minutes a game, he would not be the player he is turning out to be.
Giving Jefferson 15 minutes a game doesn't allow him to get a consistent rhythm to get comfortable. What's worse is that he's not even being given the opportunity to harness his greatest potential--his scoring in the post. And what is the reasoning for this? Because Blount is on the team taking away his touches in the paint. Because Pierce and Ricky are on the team and we go to them for our offense majority of the time. Giving Jefferson 3 - 4 touches a game in his 15 minutes will not equate to development. Not anywhere near the amount of development we need from him in order to be contenders down the line.
Many fans don't want to give up Pierce, and its true, we will be a bad team without Pierce. We'll defintely take a big step backwards. But in the long run, its the move that will pay bigger dividends. What will happen is we'll be forced to make the young players play team basketball a lot more and they are going to be forced to learn how to incorporate everyone on offense--which means a greater emphasis on players moving hard without the ball, players setting hard picks for one another, players making wise decisions, etc. It also means using Jefferson a lot more in the post because he's a guy who can get us points.
Its like exposing a cut for the first time after ripping off the bandage. It'll hurt in the beginning, but the healing process will take place, and we'll be better off in the long run.
With this team constructed the way it is, we are a soft defensive team. The players on the team who give the most playing time to aren't good defensive players. They aren't the impactful defensive players we need to really be a strong defensive unit. And the defensive players we do have are the young ones sitting for a big portion of the game. And as I tried explaning earlier in the post, they are not going to get better playing only 15 minutes a game, and in 3 years, they won't be an experienced veteran contributor. Delonte may be, and that's because he's getting a lot of playing time. But for everyone else, they won't be ready to produce in 3 years.
There's no way Amare Stoudemire would be this good if Phoenix only played him 15 minutes a game his first 2 years. Chris Bosh wouldn't be showing 20 and 10 ability with only 15 minutes of playing time. The only way young players will develop and grow into their potential is when they get a lot of playing time.
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