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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jan 14, 2006 6:08:12 GMT -5
As hard as it is to swallow loss after loss, I enjoy watching the game, even if its nothing more than to watch Delonte impress me over and over again.
If there was ever a player who consistently overachieved, Delonte would be that guy. Not very athletic, but he gets the job done--and what's encouraging is that there's still some room to grow in his game. His scoring average will bump up more, and I'm sure his assists will too.
But his defense has been the most encouraging. The job he does against the best PG's in the league is very impressive. He made it difficult for Iverson to get his customary shots.
He's everything we wished all our players could be--plays with heart every single second he's out on the court, he hardly turns the ball over, he's the epitome of a "team player", smart decision maker, doesn't force things, listens to the coach, etc.
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cfoo
Welcome To Celtics Green!
Posts: 1
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Post by cfoo on Jan 14, 2006 8:21:35 GMT -5
I agree Delonte has been playing really well. I'm not sure he is the lone bright spot though. Our backcourt in general has been pretty good this year and should be even better with the return of Allen. Greene played well last night too and lead the C's on the nice run in the 1st half. Pierce and Davis have been carrying us. Perk had a nice game again against the sixers.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jan 14, 2006 18:42:23 GMT -5
I wrote this after feeling the disappointment of last night's loss, so it showed in this post. I'm generally encouraged by the play of Ricky Davis, too, but late in the game, I thought the guys loss their composure and ditched the team game--and Ricky was partly to blame. But not only him, Pierce and Blount were right there too.
Its amazing how noticeable it is when we start to play badly--usually Delonte will be left out. That's how to gauge how well we are playing. When Delonte is involved and playing well, the guys are generally sharing the ball. When he's not touching the ball, or being involved in plays, we are usually going one on one too much.
Pierce and Davis have been carrying us.
CF, its a double edged sword when Pierce and Davis are carrying us. When they are carrying us, this means that we have abandoned playing team ball, and thus they are putting up a lot of points individually. It doesn't necessarily mean they are doing this out of selfish ambition, because most times, its because our team isn't scoring that leads them to try and take over.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Jan 14, 2006 19:00:13 GMT -5
Last night, down the stretch, Doc had Ricky bringing the ball up and not Delonte. That makes Ricky have to create something and takes Delonte out of the play for most part. And since Delonte has been our best shooter recently, that is a big negative.
In spite of all of the close losses lately, I am very encouraged by several things. Perk has really shown us good things when he is in. Problem is Doc doesn't play him enough. West has been playing excellent ball. Greene has been looking good (in spite of a few rookie mistakes), Ricky and Pierce have both been playing great. For some reason, Doc has been yanking Al very quickly and so we haven't gotten to see if he is getting better or not. I would love to see Gomes play. I say put Raef on the IL since he hasn't been playing well at all lately, and bring Gomes in. He showed us some good things when he was playing and deserves the chance. Tony has been playing well in spite of some rust. Even Veal has been showing that maybe signing him wasn't a total waste... Just so Doc doesn't play him to the exclusion of Al and Perk. There are so many things that are looking up but the talent hasn't been well managed for whatever reason. Doc keeps saying he plays the vets in crunch time (and into the ground in Ricky's case) because they are the ones who know how to win. I wonder how long it is going to take for him to realize that they aren't winning and maybe to try the kids.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jan 14, 2006 19:16:06 GMT -5
Raef cannot be put on the IL because that option no longer exists. This year, teams can only suit up 12 of the 15 players and the other 3 go on the inactive roster.
I don't know about you all, but I wouldn't mind finishing the season 25 - 57 as long as Jefferson, Perkins, Tony Allen, Ryan Gomes, and Orien Greene get a lot of time to develop. This way, we get a lottery pick, and the young guys will be much more improved next season to be more able to be consistent and valued contributors.
This means no more yanking Jefferson out of the game or denying Perkins his due playing time. This means sitting Ricky and Pierce more in order to get Tony Allen and Ryan Gomes time to become comfortable with the speed of the NBA. This means getting Orien Greene in the heat of the battle, even if he makes rookie mistakes.
I rather be 14 - 22 while playing these young players a lot of minutes, instead being 14 - 22 while playing Ricky 42 mpg and Pierce 39 mpg.
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Post by FLCeltsFan on Jan 14, 2006 19:43:01 GMT -5
By IL I meant Inactive List, not Injured list. I agree with you 100%. I wouldn't mind our record at all if the kids were getting the playing time they need to develop. That is what is frustrating. We are losing for nothing... Wearing out our vets and giving the kids 10 minutes a game is just digging us into a deeper hole. I bet most fans wouldn't mind being 14 and 22 right now if we got to see Perk and Al 30+ minutes a night and Gomes, Greene, Reed and Allen at least 20 minutes a night.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jan 14, 2006 20:09:36 GMT -5
Exactly. Doc is trying to win games by wearing out our best players and sacrificing the development of the young players, who we sorely need to be big time contributors in the future if we want to go anywhere.
But at the very least, at least Delonte is getting a lot of playing time, and we can all see how beneficial it is for him, and for the team.
Delonte needs to work on being a bigger scorer. I question if he'll ever be a playmaker, so being able to score more will help offset that.
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Post by Roadrunner on Jan 14, 2006 22:28:33 GMT -5
The issue w/ this team is that P2 and RD are exhausted at the end of games, and can't finish. 40 minutes a night? Play the rooks, unfortunately this will be lean year in the draft.
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Post by esco33 on Jan 14, 2006 22:32:13 GMT -5
I agree that Delonte is not the "only" brightspot but one of only a few. I too in the heat of the moment tend to get very negative when we lose, but I still truly do not see much hope for this season other than the young guys getting PT. They need the experience. I just do not want this to be a wasted season for the young guys where they play 15 mins/game, we play the vets, and still get our butts whipped and not make the playoffs anyway.
If Perk and Big Al were getting the minutes D West was getting I think we would see a similar improvement in their game.
btw, I think D West has the potential to average a decent amount of assists Derren. He doesn't have the flash of a Nash (rhymes) but he gets the job done. He knows where to put the ball and who to give it to. I thnik he can average 6 asst/gm eventually if given the same minutes he is getting now - in time.
But the reason Perk and Al are not getting the PT they deserve is because Danny is definitely showcasing Blunt and Raef. That is the only way that he can get rid of their contracts. I do expect Blunt to get traded but not Raef, which is fine. It'll still open up a lot more PT.
Hopefully though, it is sooner rather than later.
I have always said I would rather lose with the youngens than with the vets. I wouldn't like to lose at all, but if we are gonna lose, let's let the youth get the experience so that they can be better for next year.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Jan 14, 2006 23:47:37 GMT -5
Delonte can get a solid amounts of assist, but mostly through making the right passes that are there to make. Marcus and Orien can penetrate into the lane, pull a couple of defenders, and dish off passes that lead to easy scores. So far, Delonte hasn't shown much of this ability. I'm sure he can do it to some degree, but not to the extent that Orien and Marcus can.
During clutch parts of the game, I want the ball in the hands of our PG--not in Ricky's or Pierce's hands as they are trying to create for themselves or for others (good example is the triple OT loss to the 76'ers, when Ricky did most of the ball handling and initiation of the offense). We need the ball in the hands of our best ball handler and playmaker and ask him to create shots for Pierce, Ricky, Jefferson, or whomever the best scoring option is. As solid as Delonte is turning out to be, as of right now, it doesn't appear that he has this in his game.
Ideally, I want him to be the backcourt partner of a true floor general, like the way he was at St. Joe's, and the way Ainge played alongside of DJ. Having two PG's who can set up plays for the other scorers on the floor is what I hope for.
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