Why we need to get big man help NOW

[DERRENMATTS]

All over Celtic nation, fans are torn over the debate whether to get froncourt help or not.

I'm firmly set on the opinion that we need to get frontcourt help, and do it now. Let me explain.

We traded away a bulk of our future to bring championships back home to Boston (where they belong). With Garnett and Ray Allen starting to show a bit of their age (nagging injuries), our window of opportunity to win is right now, and it closes some every year. Once injuries hit, they hit more frequently when players reach their 30's.

We need to make sure we do all that we can to give us the most ammo to win it this year. By chance, if we lose in the Finals (and it'll be worse if we don't make the Finals) and its because we lacked depth in the frontcourt, it will be totally disappointing. Why take any chances of being short handed in the playoffs? Why not cover all bases and be over prepared (if that's what you want to call it)?

Secondly, in the playoffs, veteran players are valuable. In the playoffs, you are playing the league's best in a best-of-7 format. Its one thing to play a team like Detroit or Dallas in a single game and feel good about our chances using guys like Baby, Powe, and Pollard in the froncourt. But trying to win 4 out of 7 against these strong teams, under the intense pressure of the playoffs, using Baby, Powe, and Pollard is downright scary (suicidal). Big Baby is just a ROOKIE. Powe is only in his second year and up until recently, hasn't tasted the court much. Not to mention these two guys are playing Center while being only 6'8". Pollard--well the guy doesn't even see the floor right now. This is what we are going to rely on in the heat of the playoffs?

Detroit exposes team's weaknesses in the playoffs. They are scary good in the playoffs. There's no way I want to face them in a 7 game series with a short frontcourt, with a young inexperienced frontcourt.

[cfoo]

And Detroit has better depth at pg and in the frontcourt then us how? Jason Maxiell IS their depth in the frontcourt. Lindsay Hunter and Stuckey is their depth at pg. We have much better depth then they do. Pollard is going to play a role come playoff time. We just don't need him right now. Powe, Davis, Pollard, Scal, House, Posey, TA, Pruitt is much > depth than what Detroit has.

"Detroit is scary good in the playoffs" you say and they play with a "short" 2nd year big man as their lone depth in the front court and without a true backup pg in Lindsay Hunter. So you just kind of proved yourself wrong derren. Sorry to say.. We are trying to matchup with Detroit. If we are going to be matchup up against maxiell and lindsay hunter what do we really need to matchup? Are we going to put a slow footed big man on maxiell or are we going to put Powe or davis on him?

Anyways I'm not opposed to adding a player that can help us. You are thinking I'm saying otherwise. IT's the whole we need a pg and big man now which I think is not correct. It's not a need. We definately don't need it now. I honestly beleive people are completely missing what the celtics are doing in the here and now and are too wrapped up in what we need. We can live int he future and the past, but it's no fun that way. You guys do know that a trait of addiction is when you fail to see what is happening in the here and now right? I'm starting to worry about you guys. Enjoy the season please..... Findawgg with his its not a kneejerk response and you derren saying we need this now sounds like someone looking for a fix. We are 38-9 and and don't need a whole lot and anyone who thinks otherwise is stretching it. Especially saying we need this NOW. We don't need any of this. I honestly believe people are completely missing what the celtics are actually doing. It just seems this is all we talk about instead of what we are actually doing. there really has to be something better to talk about. Our frontcourt depth has stepped up nicely. Pollard, Garnett and Perk have all missed time and our depth in the frontcourt has been really stepping up. These other things are very minor in the bigger picture and it amazes me how much time we spend talking about what we are going to do, vs what we are doing.

I talk with c17 on the phone and he finally came around to what i was actually saying. HE wanted to trade TA for a 2nd round pick for no reason whatsoever and i just kept saying why? HE's playing well and can help us and he is finally starting to come aroudn to TA. I honestly believe people can't see what they are actually doing.

[birdie]

at this moment with this roster, we can't win more that 1 game in playoff series against Detroit

[cfoo]

Our team as it is now

Starters

PG-Rondo
SG-Allen
SF-Pierce
PF-Garnett
C-Perk

Bench

House
TA
Posey
BAby
Powe

That's a 10 man rotation. We have 3 players in Pollard, Scal, Pruitt who hardly play and fit the mold of what everyone is clammoring about that we need. Those 3 players are basically what we can upgrade if need be. But we don't even know that yet. I think if any of those 3 players isn't cutting it, we will see Ainge make a move to replace one of those guys in the 12 man active roster. But there is no reason to do that right now unless someone comes along that can really help us. Those guys hardly play as it is. We get a big man that just means BAby or Powe is going to move down in the rotation and wont play much. We get a pg that just means TA or house will be moved out of the regular rotation and wont play as much. We are playing without GArnett right now, which has equalled increased pt as it is. Our bench right now is deeper then every other playoff team for the most part. Look at detroits bench. Our's is much better. I personally like how Scal, Pollard and Pruitt fit because they aren't good enough where they have to play every game, and they don't hurt you when they are on the floor and can serve a purpose for matchups. People forget Pollard's rebounding numbers per minute are very good and he is also a pretty tough minded defender. Have you ever heard the term why fix what isn't broken? Because that is exactly what you are doing. 99% of the time when you make a move based on need you screw yourself in the longterm, which is the complete opposite of what you are preaching Derren. For all we know we already have these things on our roster. How about being patient with what we have? Pollard and Pruitt haven't even had a chance to play yet.

[DERRENMATTS]

Lindsey Hunter, though not a sexy backup, is a steady veteran player, and he has proven to be effective in the playoffs. He calmly hits big three's and does exactly what the Pistons need from him. The key part is that he's consistent. Eddie House is a decent backup PG, and really, he's not killing us out there. But when each and every possession is crucially important late in the game come playoff time, I want the ball in the hands of a veteran PG who has felt the pressure of the playoffs and lived to tell the story. Pruitt won't see playing time in the playoffs if he's not seeing time in the regular season. Tony Allen--though I like the guy--scares me when he's dribbling the ball excessively. I trust Ray, and if it comes to it, I'd want him to be the one relieving Rondo of the PG duties.

Maxiel is a young PF, and he's very much like Baby--plays with power and quickness, and plays undersized. If you match them up side to side, there isn't much of a difference between the two. But we can't compare with Detroit's group of big men. They may not have a deep frontcourt, but they have a proven veteran collection, and again this is what counts in the playoffs. Rasheed is a nightmare of a matchup when he's on. And McDyess is as versatile as they come, at 6'9".

If you take their best 4 and compare it with our best 4, I think its pretty obvious that they have the upper hand because of their veteran play.

Rasheed, McDyess, Maxiel, Mohammed

vs.

Garnett, Perkins, Baby, Powe

The only veteran big man we have is Garnett. Pollard doesn't play so I can't count on him.

CF, you are saying that we don't need help right now, and I agree with you. But the playoffs is a totally different beast, and that is what I'm stressing, and not sure if you are understanding what I'm trying to say. Good teams step it up in the playoffs--they bring out their A game in the playoffs. We do not want to be showing our youth in the playoffs, but that's what inevitably happens with young guys.

[moreese]

Derrenmatts I'm assuming you have not been watching the Celtics play while Garneet has been out. I'm assuming you didn't see Big Baby pushing Tim Duncan off the block, and Powe going for about 20 and 10 every night. Heading into the all star break this team sits at 41-9, and that is while seeing Garnett, Allen and Perk miss games due to injury. The rotation is set, and unless we find a diamond in the rough, nothing is changing. I'm just trying to figure out who in the world you want to get.

We have two proven starters in Perk and KG, 2 Great back up PF's who have proven they are strong enough to play center, and a perfect reserve Center for the playoffs in Pollard. What else would you be looking for? If we played Detroit in a 7 game series right now (with a healthy KG) it would be an amazing series, and if we add another reserve big that won't change anything. Both teams are great, and it's going to come down to the players we have now to make the difference anyway. Change is sexy, but in this case it's not the right move. Just as people are starting to realize that we don't need a pg finally, you will begin to realize we do not need a big.

[The Eye of the Q is upon you!]

Baby hurt his knee last night. Now I am worried. Is PJ Brown still available and interested in playing?

[DERRENMATTS]

You assume wrong, Moreese. And I tell you right now that the regular season is not the same as the playoffs. We can look good with young players now (1st and 2nd year players who have only begun to get playing time), but you do not want to take that route in the playoffs.

Am I the only one who sees this?

[runrondo]

I see it to some extent...But with Pollard pretty much being saved for 2nd half of season/playoffs i don't think it'll be a major problem considering there is no way we can get anyone better than Pollard or that we have already..P.J. Brown is pretty much retired and last time out he looked a little stiffy and slow...Detroit lost to Cleveland in a 7 game series so i don't think they're that much of an exposer of weaknesses since they got Flip Saunders...Lebron plowed through Detroit without much help and Detroit was pretty poor defensively on stopping him...Without Pollard i think we need some help at the Center but Pollard really fills in the need..But hey, we got 2 roster spots open, why not try to fill them? Though like CF usually says, if the move doesn't help us then why do it...And right now i see no big man that is screaming to us...If there were some that were better than Pollard i'm sure we would've been all over it...Same with point guard..There was no one out there that's really much better than what we have and we got nobody..I do agree with you that playoffs is completely different than the season as teams give it there all but i think we've seen that this team will try their hardest even if there heart is sometimes bigger than their skill...That's the greatest part of our team..

[cfoo]

Detroit doesn't have Mohammed Derren. They have Maxiell and nothing else on their bench as far as big men. Lindsay is good. I like Hunter. He's a veteran player and he's not a true pg. So is House. They are actually very similar and House is better I think. Detroit and Boston are the two best teams in the league and we have the upper hand over them. The west is making things more interesting with Phoenix and Dallas getting shaq and kidd. There is mroe of a chance of an upset out west with the lakers, New Orleans and SA. We dont have to deal with that though. Detroit and whoever we play in the finals are our toughest competetion to win a title. It's not going to be easy. The talent level of the top teams this year is very high, but we still have the upper hand imo. You can only add so much and be able to play so much before its overkill. I really like our depth right now and think we are as deep if nto moreso than any team in our way.

[eja117]

I think it would be a really bad idea to take time away from two young guys like Powe and Baby and give it to Pollard unless Pollard beats them out. Powe in particular is playing better ball than Pollard ever played. To give time to Pollard just because he is a vet when he hasn't played in a year is a mistake. We should stop thinking of Powe as some sort of 2nd round guy when he clearly is way over the knee problems that dropped him.

Also who would we add to the team? And at what cost? Cause we have nothing to give up except Scala (nobody would want him) and maybe next year's first rounder, which again nobody would want. Why would anybody want the last big and guaranteed draft pick contract for a player that someone in the 2nd round will be better than and that won't contribute for years. Those picks are almost always Euros that get stashed

We have nothing we can get that can help and nothing to give. We have to improve internally unless you want to pray for a miracle to get PJ or KVH or some undiscovered gem in the NBDL that doesn't exist.

[runrondo]

Well we're not saying Pollard should be playing ahead of Powe but come playoff time when him or baby get in foul trouble we won't have so much trouble with height as we do now..When one of them gets in foul trouble we have to adjust and play posey/scal/etc. more but if Pollard is available that will just solidify our rotations and be there to give us height when Powe and Baby can't offset their lack of height or get into unforeseen troubles in the playoffs but Powe is as solid as they come..Baby is the one that is a tad inconsistent but if we have Pollard backing them up with have six strong fouls to give lol then that takes away the "thin big men theory"...And there's NO ONE out there that we can get as a big man...Pollard is not THAT bad but your right, i liked Powe more than him but that doesn't mean he shouldn't see the court or also become useful..As we've seen with this team it seems like everyone is very useful and produces when it matters...

[runrondo]

I know these stats are probably not the most accurate thing but if you got to www.hoopsstats.com/basketball/fantasy/nba/teamstats/08/3/diffeff/1-1

You can see the Units as a whole, Front Court and Back court, Celtics rank number 1 for front courts and number 4 for Back courts.

No one above the Celtics in Back Court ranking is in the top for for the Front Court.

Just a little info, though i'm not sure how accurate those stats are it just shows how big our team has been stepping up in the front court(PF/C)

[cfoo]

Exactly runrondo. People fail to see that we have all these players and they can all be useful in their own way. this isn't a powe vs pollard debate. They play on the same team and all serve a purpose and have a role. I don't understand the way people think and their logic sometimes at all. At least Runrondo you are understnading i'm saying. I can sleep well now.

[mev17]

I wouldn't mind adding to our front court depth, but even if we don't make a move, so long as we are healthy we can win beat Detroit as we are. Won't be easy, but Detroit has failed to make the Finals for the last two years in a row, so they are not unbeatable.