Post by DERRENMATTS on Sept 14, 2006 21:25:29 GMT -5
Been watching a lot of Celtics' games lately (trying to get my Celtics fix as I desperately wait for the season to start). There are a couple of things about our players I want to comment on.
First of all, Delonte needs to re-adjust his game. He spent all of last summer and all of last season trying to adjust his game to be our PG, and he did the best he could. But with real PG's in place, now Delonte has to re-adjust his game so that he's looking a whole lot more offensive minded. He's can't be out on the court standing around and passing up the ball all the time. His value is going to come as an outside scorer. He's got to have an itchy trigger and look to come off screens for quick stop and pops. In a sense, he has to be more like Ricky Davis--always looking to score.
Secondly, Tony Allen has to handle the ball more. A lot of times last season, when he and Delonte were on the court together, the offense had more life when Tony handled the ball, especially when he pushed the ball up court off a miss. He's a lot more aggresive than Delonte, and he causes defenses to react to him (as evident by the amount of times he gets to the free throw line). I don't mean Tony Allen should be our PG, but when he's playing in the backcourt with Sebastian, Rajon, or Delonte (all the guys with weird names), he doesn't have to relinquish the ball handling duties to them all the time. If he grabs a long defensive rebound, I would want him to initiate the fastbreaks and push the ball upcourt.
Thirdly, Perkins has got the body and the mindset to be a bully in the paint. When he was playing his best last season, he was sealing his man on his back and he was securing the inside for himself. When the ball was in the air, he bullied his way to get inside positioning and pushed his man back a step or two to create space inside. He needs to do this all the time and not stop. If he does this, 10 rpg will be no problem for him.
Fourthly, Jefferson is going to be a scoring threat, there's no question about this. He's got quick moves in the paint, whether he's beating his man off the dribble, pump faking, up and under moves, drop steps, and even spin moves towards the baseline. So far in his career, he's been his roadblock. He's so quick with his moves that he's often open, but he rushes his shot and ends up missing easy bunnies. He's got to develop better timing and understanding the art of being able to feel where his man is. This only comes with playing time and experience.
Fifthly (is that the word I'm looking for?), its going to come down to Wally being traded away at some point this season or next season. Ainge and Rivers love Delonte's IQ and hustle, and they love Tony's all around game and athleticism. And Gerald Green is going to be a big scoring threat as well as being one of the main cogs of our future team. And we know Pierce is not going anywhere for the next 4 years. These 4 guys will be more than enough to man our wing positions and play at a very high level, and this isn't even including Ryan Gomes into the mix at SF. Rivers is going to need to give ample playing time to Delonte, Allen and Green so that they develop their games at a faster clip, but it won't happen if Wally is here.
Don't get me wrong, for the here and now, I think Wally is a terrific guy fpr the team. He's got a good attitude, he hustles, he can shoot, he can score in different ways, and he runs the floor well. BUt with he and Pierce playing a lot of minutes, we aren't as quick and athletic as we could be, and this may hinder a bit of Telfair's and Rondo's effectiveness in the open court. So Ainge may end up moving Wally just to make room for Delonte, Allen and Green.
First of all, Delonte needs to re-adjust his game. He spent all of last summer and all of last season trying to adjust his game to be our PG, and he did the best he could. But with real PG's in place, now Delonte has to re-adjust his game so that he's looking a whole lot more offensive minded. He's can't be out on the court standing around and passing up the ball all the time. His value is going to come as an outside scorer. He's got to have an itchy trigger and look to come off screens for quick stop and pops. In a sense, he has to be more like Ricky Davis--always looking to score.
Secondly, Tony Allen has to handle the ball more. A lot of times last season, when he and Delonte were on the court together, the offense had more life when Tony handled the ball, especially when he pushed the ball up court off a miss. He's a lot more aggresive than Delonte, and he causes defenses to react to him (as evident by the amount of times he gets to the free throw line). I don't mean Tony Allen should be our PG, but when he's playing in the backcourt with Sebastian, Rajon, or Delonte (all the guys with weird names), he doesn't have to relinquish the ball handling duties to them all the time. If he grabs a long defensive rebound, I would want him to initiate the fastbreaks and push the ball upcourt.
Thirdly, Perkins has got the body and the mindset to be a bully in the paint. When he was playing his best last season, he was sealing his man on his back and he was securing the inside for himself. When the ball was in the air, he bullied his way to get inside positioning and pushed his man back a step or two to create space inside. He needs to do this all the time and not stop. If he does this, 10 rpg will be no problem for him.
Fourthly, Jefferson is going to be a scoring threat, there's no question about this. He's got quick moves in the paint, whether he's beating his man off the dribble, pump faking, up and under moves, drop steps, and even spin moves towards the baseline. So far in his career, he's been his roadblock. He's so quick with his moves that he's often open, but he rushes his shot and ends up missing easy bunnies. He's got to develop better timing and understanding the art of being able to feel where his man is. This only comes with playing time and experience.
Fifthly (is that the word I'm looking for?), its going to come down to Wally being traded away at some point this season or next season. Ainge and Rivers love Delonte's IQ and hustle, and they love Tony's all around game and athleticism. And Gerald Green is going to be a big scoring threat as well as being one of the main cogs of our future team. And we know Pierce is not going anywhere for the next 4 years. These 4 guys will be more than enough to man our wing positions and play at a very high level, and this isn't even including Ryan Gomes into the mix at SF. Rivers is going to need to give ample playing time to Delonte, Allen and Green so that they develop their games at a faster clip, but it won't happen if Wally is here.
Don't get me wrong, for the here and now, I think Wally is a terrific guy fpr the team. He's got a good attitude, he hustles, he can shoot, he can score in different ways, and he runs the floor well. BUt with he and Pierce playing a lot of minutes, we aren't as quick and athletic as we could be, and this may hinder a bit of Telfair's and Rondo's effectiveness in the open court. So Ainge may end up moving Wally just to make room for Delonte, Allen and Green.