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Post by DERRENMATTS on Sept 20, 2006 2:11:39 GMT -5
-Allan Ray will make the team. He's got a sweet outside jumper that could rival Delonte's (I think Delonte is a better set shooter, while Ray is a better shooter on the move). Once Ray makes it out of the D-League, his catch and shoot ability will fit in well with our run and gun team.
-Leon Powe will also make the team. He's got nice post moves, but will need to figure out how to execute his moves against quicker and bigger PF's in the NBA. He'll also spend time in the D-League, but once he reaches the parent team, he and Ryan Gomes will give Doc options to use off the bench.
-K-Pitts will not make the cut. Slow and one dimensional; while our needs remain rebounding and defense, he offers none of that.
-Jefferson losing 30 pounds and becoming even quicker gives him an even bigger advantage over his defender. Big Al was already quicker than most of the guys he was going up against. Now, he'll get to the basket even quicker. Plus, since he's getting off the ground quicker, and higher, he should be able to finish more plays.
-Pierce may finally shoot over 50% from the field. If he adjusts to playing alonside pass first PG's who look to set him and his teammates up for better looks at the basket, Pierce will surpass his career best 47% by shooting better than 50%. Plus, he won't get beaten up in the paint anymore, trying to create his own offense. A less banged up Pierce is a deadlier Pierce.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Sept 20, 2006 2:22:41 GMT -5
-Sebastian Telfair needs to cut down on heavy weights and focus on leaner muscles that allow him to be less stiff. He's not Incredible Hulk or anything, but his arms have become meatier since coming into the league. And its made him a bit stiff and his dribbling has become a bit jerky. Seems Brian Doo and Walter Norton focus on gettting players stronger while not bulking them up, and I expect them to get Telfair's body a bit more slender.
-Gerald Green could only do 1 pull up and 11 push ups last year. That is truly incredible. Amazing how he looked so promising last season, despite being so physically weak. He's packed on something like 20 pounds of muscle over the summer, and he says he now can now do over 100 push ups. This is more like it, though still a ways off from where we need him to be. A stronger Gerald Green will help him absorb contact and still get off a good shot.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Sept 20, 2006 2:30:31 GMT -5
-A big defensive 3 will be an incredible asset. A quick 6'9" ~ 10" SF guy who can defend perimeter players as well as make it tough for PF's in the post to score would give us tremendous versatility. Charlie Villanueva comes to mind, as well as Andrei Kirilenko--guys in their mold.
-Doc mentioned that our defense will press and funnel plays inside toward our Bigs. That's why Theo and Perk (and hopefully Dwayne Jones) will be valuable. They don't have to give us any offense, as long as they can block and alter shots in the paint. This will be a key part of our defense. And with strong perimeter defense from Tony Allen and Rajon Rondo, we may have hope that our defense will be improved this season.
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Post by ferbo on Sept 23, 2006 16:46:46 GMT -5
personally I think this forum is a little overly optimistic about the season, and mainly about how many kids will pan out. The sheer numbers would point toward some of them not panning out very well, in part because of limited PT.
Guys I see falling by the wayside quickly are Pitts and Ray. I look at them as guys who might be back in summer league and pre-season camp---next year---fater playing somewhere this year. Like Klack did for awhile.
I think Allen is likely to also wayside. Legal problemjs continue, and they have to be weighing heavily on him by now. Asking himself: "What the f... was I thinking?" And if he already has a focus problem, trying to prepare for a season which he might miss will make it worse. If in fact West plays a good bit at the 2, Allen will probably lose most of that time.
Odds are that one of the 3 PGs won't work out.
Odds may be pretty good that eith4er Ratliff or AJ will ahve ankle problems again.
Having said that, this roster is a whole lot diffferent from the one ML Carr assembled.
I expect to see signs of a mroe demanding attitude from DA and Doc.
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Post by Roadrunner on Sept 23, 2006 21:29:47 GMT -5
I think as fans, its better to be optimestic than pessimestic .
Ray, Pitts, nice to haves. Can't expect much from non-drafted players.
AJ, time to produce.
Powe, I think this guy will be better than expected.
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Post by DERRENMATTS on Sept 23, 2006 21:46:26 GMT -5
Yes, I do admit that I am a Celtics optimist. But to my defense, I am not a blind optimist. I do not jump aboard the bandwagon of every player who wears a Celtics uni (never been a McCarty fan, a Blount fan, a Banks fan, etc.). I'm only optimistic about the ones I've seen and feel have the game and skills to be successful in the NBA.
But you are right about Tony Allen. He's a darkhorse player; a guy who may shine, but has just as much ability to sink because of his legal issues and problems with his focus on the court. I like his game a lot and see a lot of tremendous things coming from him. But he'll need to get the legal issue in back of him and he'll need to improve his focus.
As for Allan Ray, its not as if I'm touting him to be a future Ray Allen. Rather, I'm optimistic that he can be a solid role player off the bench for us because of his ability to be a catch and shoot guy. He is a really good shooter, and like I said, maybe even one of the best shooters we have on the team right now. We can certainly use players with his strengths in a running offense like ours.
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