How's this idea for 6th Man

[DERRENMATTS]

Yeah, this is the time of year when fans start to think of wild ideas of how to make this season incredibly successful.

What about scooting Ray Allen to the 6th man slot, and have James Posey in the starting lineup?

Why? Here's my reasoning:

--instant offense off the bench, which could land Ray Allen atop the poll for the 6th Man Award. RAllen against an opponent's subs should be a big advantage for us. Think of how successful Dallas has been having a scorer of Jerry Stackhouse's caliber come off the bench. We can have that too.

--better defense in the starting lineup (Perk, KG, Posey, and Rajon). With Pierce and KG starting the game, the offense should be in good hands (and Posey is an effective offensive player too). We load up on the defense to begin the game, keep our opponents from scoring, and bring in Ray Allen to spear the offense into overdrive.

--we keep RAllen from picking up quick fouls, as he will probably be guarding an opposing team's better wing player (to keep Pierce from picking up fouls, and to keep Pierce from exerting a lot of energy on defense)

--we minimize RAllen's potential to injure his ankles, which in effect, keeps him fresher for the post season.

We can bring back the 6th Man Award to the city of Boston, as well as banner #17. Posey should be able to hold his own in the starting lineup, so that's not a concern. And Ray Allen will be the best 6th man in the league, giving us a high powered offensive player off the bench.

[birdie]

I really don't think that Doc will think like you, anyway I'm OK with that

[eja117]

I would maybe do it for certain games to keep his minutes down and extend his career but I don't think I'd settle on it

[cfoo]

It's a good idea. It could prolong his career. But I think i like the idea of having Allen, Pierce and Garnett in the starting lineup too much. Allen is a starter and he should start. He just needs to concentrate more on his defense, which he can play.

[rockinrondo]

I think that it could be an option, a few years from now, but I am a firm believer in putting your best five players on the floor, to start the game. I think we will need Ray's 3pt. shooting, to spread the floor and open up driving lanes for Pierce and Rondo and keep the defense from sagging in on KG in the post, at the start of the game.

I see your point, but I think we need more Defense, off the bench, than Offense. I mean, we don't need a guy to average 25 pts. a game off the bench on this team, but we do need a couple guys (Posey & T. Allen) to come in and shut down (or, slow down) A, V. Carter, R. Jefferson, L. James, R. Lewis and the like. The East has a lot of really good Offensive wing's, and that is why Danny signing Posey, was such a great move.

I think House, T. Allen, Posey and even Scal's and G. Davis, (and hopefully, Pruitt) will provide plenty of offensive fire power off the bench. Ray Allen has always been a starter, and like I said, you want to put the best five players on your team, in the starting lineup, and let that other team feel the full power of that first punch. Jump on them early, put your foot on their throat, then bring in the stoppers, when your opponent is playing catch up. That is very frustrating for your opponent. Posey has a nice offensive game, to go along with his defensive talents, and I expect him to be in the running ,for the sixth man of the year award, this year.

[DERRENMATTS]

The Big Three will still play a lot of minutes together, and in the 4th quarter, all 3 will be on the court. For most of the game, our best players will be on the court.

But to start the game, I think its more appetizing to load up more on defense, and have a big time offensive weapon waiting to be unleashed at the first substitution.

[FLCeltsFan]

Red was always a firm believer in keeping out one of the best players as the 6th man. He felt that gave the team a boost to have one of your best players coming in against the subs of the other team. I think it could work. But I think Doc will start him and use Posey as the 6th man.

[DERRENMATTS]

That's why Red was such a pioneer. He's got the right idea about splitting up a powerful hand. Having the Big 3 at the start of the game is awesome, but that means our bench has some pressure to produce points (with Pollard, Scal, Posey, and House, this could be an adventure some nights). And when its time for Posey to come in and play defense, he'll be playing against the opposing team's backups, rather than the star player.

I think Doc will be open to this idea. He had Ricky Davis coming off the bench, and that proved to be good for both Ricky and the team.

[freshnthehouse]

Allen is too good to keep on the bench. It's never wise to keep a player that good off of the court.

If you want a good player off of the bench, it would be better to play Pierce as the sixth man. defensively, a combo of Posey/Allen would be better than a matcup of Posey/Pierce. With posey and pierce, one is going to be forced to guard a player quicker than them.

But no matter what, our best bet is to go with a Perk, KG, PP, RA, RR starting 5.

[DERRENMATTS]

Allen is too good to keep on the bench. It's never wise to keep a player that good off of the court.

Just because RAllen comes off the bench, doesn't mean he's only going to play 20 mpg. He can be a 6th man who plays 30+ mpg. The Big 3 will play the bulk of the game together.

[freshnthehouse]

derrenmatts said:

Allen is too good to keep on the bench. It's never wise to keep a player that good off of the court.

Just because RAllen comes off the bench, doesn't mean he's only going to play 20 mpg. He can be a 6th man who plays 30+ mpg. The Big 3 will play the bulk of the game together.

I know that Allen can still play a lot of minutes off of the bench. I just dont see the point in it. Like I said before, if we want to go that route, it would be smarter to have Pierce come of the bench.

You start your best, most experience players. Allen is definately that.

[Deleted]

Not a bad idea but I doubt Rivers has the stigma or the respect to keep a multi-Allstar player on the bench. Start him or not he'll get atleast 35+ minutes per game sorta be in the same role as Ginobli does for SA.

[rockinrondo]

derrenmatts said:

That's why Red was such a pioneer. He's got the right idea about splitting up a powerful hand. Having the Big 3 at the start of the game is awesome, but that means our bench has some pressure to produce points (with Pollard, Scal, Posey, and House, this could be an adventure some nights). And when its time for Posey to come in and play defense, he'll be playing against the opposing team's backups, rather than the star player.

I think Doc will be open to this idea. He had Ricky Davis coming off the bench, and that proved to be good for both Ricky and the team.

I don't think red was talking about just offense, your best player isn't always the highest scorer (Bill Russell). In the NBA it's just as important to stop the other team from scoring, as it is to score yourself, and you can get a huge boost from one or two defensive stoppers off your bench.
Posey will come in at diffrent times of the game, and will get PT with the starters minus Pierce, R. Allen or Perk. The C's will not sub five men at a time, Posey could come in with 10 min. left in the first quarter, and play against the other teams top wing, or PF, in some cases.

[mev17]

My concern would be that Allen has always started -- he is not used to the sixth man role and it could throw him off his game. Rhythm is very important to a shooter, and I would not want to tamper with R. Allen's game. I remember Bob McAdoo saying back in the 80s that it was a hard adjustment for him to go from starter to a reserve because he found it difficult at first to get into the flow of the game. Allen is used to starting, Posey is used to being 6th man, do I would keep it that way.

The reason R. Davis worked well off the bench is that his game and Pierce's game were duplicative -- they scored in much the same way, and when they started together it was hard for both of them to get into a groove. Allen and Pierce don't have that problem, as their games are more complimentary to each other.

[The Eye of the Q is upon you!]

Posey is our 6th man, to come in and lock down on the other teams hot wing of the day. That was an outstanding midlevel pickup by Danny Ainge. So I like the how we lineup going into the '08 season. I look forward to a trip to Texas in June, 2008.