Now What - Bright Future For The Celts

Now that the Celtics were forced to pull the trigger and use their MLE to sign Terry, the prospects for adding Lee or any other player who would command a salary in excess of the Bi-Annual exception or the Veteran minimum is null and void.

I doubt that DA will engage in any sign and trade options at this point.

In my opinion this is a good thing because I am pretty confident that our Shooting guard depth will be fine because Moore is definitely ready to become a rotation player for us. No he is not a point guard but he can flat out shoot the basketball and given his potential salary for the 12-13 season, it makes good financial sense to give him the opportunity that he has been working for. I just finished watching the Chicago game where Moore dropped 25 points with 7 rebounds. Throughout the 7 games played he has displayed the ability to shoot the three, post up, hit floaters and mid range jumpers and create his own shot.

I’ve mentioned this before but I would not have a problem starting Moore with Rondo until Avery returns. Moore would excel given the fact that he would be surrounded by veterans that can only enhance his game.

Jason Terry could also start but I think his value as a combo guard is more important coming off the bench. We still have the option to bring Dooling back but I am really leaning toward keeping the kid, Christmas. Once Avery is recovered from his surgeries and is ready to resume his position we will have a nice 3-4 guard rotation. Overall I think the backcourt will be rock solid and will dominate the East.

It was nice to see Juan Johnson hit the boards against chi-town. He has turned himself into a bubble player. Truth be told he really does not have a position on this team. He seems too weak to post up and most of the time he feels most comfortable facing the hoop and shooting mid range jumpers. Bass has the starting PF slot locked down and Sullinger has already made a case for being the backup. Where does JJJ fit in to this rotation? I would still like see him get some minutes and give him an opportunity to improve. If he does not improve then it will be time to move him. There has been talk about him playing some three but with Green returning I do not see where he can find minutes there.

The more I watch Fab Melo the more I like him. I keep thinking about Kendrick Perkins and where he was when we drafted him and how he was able to become a starting center. Melo is substantially better and will have the benefit of learning from KG right from the start. I think he could get some playing time this year provided he shows up in practice. In a few years I think he will be a solid starting center for the Celtics and will solidify that position for years to come. He could be a tremendous weak side defender blocking and altering shots. And playing with Rondo will open up a lot of scoring opportunities.

Too bad Joseph hurt his knee and I hope it does not diminish his chance to make the team. He seems to be an all around player that defends, rebounds, shoots pretty well from the perimeter and runs the floor. And as a second rounder he will not break the bank.

Overall I think this may be the best summer team roster for the Celtics that I can recall.

DA has some tough decisions to make once training camp begins because a lot of players have earned another look.

The Celtics have done a masterful job retaining key free agents, adding Terry and drafting a quality 3, 4 and 5 to bring young legs to the equation.

I cannot wait for the season to start.

The Celtics have definitely put together a team that will compete for a championship.

dboss

Hi Dboss,
I guess we think the same thing. I just posted this on another thread before reading yours.

I have watched each game we have played via DVR. Got the chance to see a lot of plays over and over. I can see Melo helping us this year. As someone said yesterday he will play defense, rebound, and his offense will get "spoonfed" from a great pt guard. I think he was referring to Melo and Sully. Sully hasn't really shot that well yet but he has played all right defense. He is definitely a rebounder. I think Moore has earned his spot on the team. He can score in bunchs, shoots the three well, and the part I like most is he has that floater that he shoots well. I hope we can keep Christmas. He is a flat out scorer and he will do it with the big boys as well. His shot is effortless. He is making a lot of contested 3's that he probably wont be shooting when the real games start, but just being able to hit them are a plus. Overall I think we have got some good young talent. I hope Doc gives them some run and let them get the feel for the game. They will make mistakes but will learn from them and should be able to be productive, especially as the season goes on.

Just my take.

Tardust

Our observations are stunningly similar.

Even down to the DVR....

Dboss

I like Chritmas a lot and hope we keep um but putting this into prespective these are SUMMER League games against basically a couple good players and others trying to make an impression just to get a further look.

I just am not sure Moore is ready for a real meaningful roll yet. Sully yes he'll get minutes. Melo might just out of need. The rest ????

Christmas is a bit more acvanced due to time in Europe. I do think he can find a roll too.

Right now with no further major moves it looks like KG, PP, BB, RR and I'd start Terry with that bunch for now. ( If Bradley is out)
Green, Wilcox, Moore off the bench first depending on matchups minutes and fouls ect, Then Sully, Melo ??Christmas perhaps??

Once training Camp roles around we'll knwo a heck of a lot more.

beat

Has anyone noticed what the Lakers have done? For what they have and the new pieces they have added, Nash and Jamison, they look really stacked. They can obviously still pound you inside and with Nash will be getting so many easy looks, could be scary.

Cow Lakers are not going away. If they get Howard they will be one of if not the best in the West.

Dboss

cowens/oldschool wrote:Has anyone noticed what the Lakers have done? For what they have and the new pieces they have added, Nash and Jamison, they look really stacked. They can obviously still pound you inside and with Nash will be getting so many easy looks, could be scary.

cowens,

Yeah, They've done a good job with no 1st round pick and over the cap.

Nash will be 39 years old in February. 3 year contract.
Kobe will be 34 next month and has clearly worn down a bit, although still a great player.
Gasol is 32.
TAFKARA will be 33 in November.
Bynum will be 25 this season. If they trade for Howard he'll be 27.
Jamison is 36.
Steve Blake will be 33 in February.

Put simply, they may be facing the same problems we have faced over the past few seasons, Father Time. They have one player, in their first 7 (I don't know who else will be on their bench) that is under 32. They didn't look very athletic in the playoffs last year and now they're older. They are now almost completely a halfcourt team.

I think Howard is overrated, personally. Now that Bynum seems to be over his annual knee/leg issues I'm liking him better than Howard. Unfortunately, they are peers in the knucklehead department, but Howard's numbers, /36mpg, aren't much better than Bynum's (certainly much worse at the free throw line) but when you consider that Bynum has to share frontcourt rebounds and points with Gasol while Howard gets almost all of those for Orlando, Bynum might even be more effective. Bynum has a jumpshot, of sorts, Howard has none.

Regardless, let's focus on us and let the rest of the league do whatever it going to do.

bob

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btw, I agree with dboss's original post.

bob

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5 - KG, Wilcox, Melo
4 - Bass, Sully, JJJ
3 - Pierce, Green, Joseph
2 - Bradley, Moore, Xmas (can also play 1)
1 - Rondo, Terry

That's 14. Did I miss anybody?

bob

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Bob

Almost got me again on TAFKARA again!

Took me less than a minute this time....... I'm getting with the program.

beat

bobheckler wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:Has anyone noticed what the Lakers have done? For what they have and the new pieces they have added, Nash and Jamison, they look really stacked. They can obviously still pound you inside and with Nash will be getting so many easy looks, could be scary.

cowens,

Yeah, They've done a good job with no 1st round pick and over the cap.

Nash will be 39 years old in February. 3 year contract.
Kobe will be 34 next month and has clearly worn down a bit, although still a great player.
Gasol is 32.
TAFKARA will be 33 in November.
Bynum will be 25 this season. If they trade for Howard he'll be 27.
Jamison is 36.
Steve Blake will be 33 in February.

Put simply, they may be facing the same problems we have faced over the past few seasons, Father Time. They have one player, in their first 7 (I don't know who else will be on their bench) that is under 32. They didn't look very athletic in the playoffs last year and now they're older. They are now almost completely a halfcourt team.

I think Howard is overrated, personally. Now that Bynum seems to be over his annual knee/leg issues I'm liking him better than Howard. Unfortunately, they are peers in the knucklehead department, but Howard's numbers, /36mpg, aren't much better than Bynum's (certainly much worse at the free throw line) but when you consider that Bynum has to share frontcourt rebounds and points with Gasol while Howard gets almost all of those for Orlando, Bynum might even be more effective. Bynum has a jumpshot, of sorts, Howard has none.

Regardless, let's focus on us and let the rest of the league do whatever it going to do.

bob

.

Cow and Bob

There is still that one problem all teams can have............. there is only 1 ball!

beat

Beat


Agree that summer games are a glimpse of how a player may perform.

Xmas is not a kid. He has played in Europe and I think his game reflects a level of maturity. Does not mean he'll make the team but it does appear to me that he got game.

No doubts at all about Moore. He is a versatile scorer and in many ways he can do the same things as Paul Pierce. Of all the players on the team I am most excited about how Moore is playing.

I like Sully too but he is going to really struggle as a post scorer..

Dboss

beat wrote:

bobheckler wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:Has anyone noticed what the Lakers have done? For what they have and the new pieces they have added, Nash and Jamison, they look really stacked. They can obviously still pound you inside and with Nash will be getting so many easy looks, could be scary.

cowens,

Yeah, They've done a good job with no 1st round pick and over the cap.

Nash will be 39 years old in February. 3 year contract.
Kobe will be 34 next month and has clearly worn down a bit, although still a great player.
Gasol is 32.
TAFKARA will be 33 in November.
Bynum will be 25 this season. If they trade for Howard he'll be 27.
Jamison is 36.
Steve Blake will be 33 in February.

Put simply, they may be facing the same problems we have faced over the past few seasons, Father Time. They have one player, in their first 7 (I don't know who else will be on their bench) that is under 32. They didn't look very athletic in the playoffs last year and now they're older. They are now almost completely a halfcourt team.

I think Howard is overrated, personally. Now that Bynum seems to be over his annual knee/leg issues I'm liking him better than Howard. Unfortunately, they are peers in the knucklehead department, but Howard's numbers, /36mpg, aren't much better than Bynum's (certainly much worse at the free throw line) but when you consider that Bynum has to share frontcourt rebounds and points with Gasol while Howard gets almost all of those for Orlando, Bynum might even be more effective. Bynum has a jumpshot, of sorts, Howard has none.

Regardless, let's focus on us and let the rest of the league do whatever it going to do.

bob

.

Cow and Bob

There is still that one problem all teams can have............. there is only 1 ball!

beat

It's a good thing Nash and Gasol would rather pass than shoot.

We're getting younger, Lakers are getting older...but they have a STRONG chance at #17 with or without Howard, providing Kobe doesn't hurt or wear himself out in his Olympics foray - while our chance at #18 depends greatly on KG's continued health. If AB and Jeff Green had played in the ECF I say we would have beaten the Heat. That's how good a team we were.

Other than perhaps Pietrus and Steemer, the only loss we had from the 2011-12 team was Ray. A big loss, to be sure, but offset significantly if not totally by the acquisition of Terry. Add AB, JG, Sully, Melo, a more seasoned Moore, possibly XMAS, and Joseph to the mix, and it's safe to say the 2012-13 team is MUCH better at least on paper than the previous edition. Let the games begin.

worcester wrote:We're getting younger, Lakers are getting older...but they have a STRONG chance at #17 with or without Howard, providing Kobe doesn't hurt or wear himself out in his Olympics foray - while our chance at #18 depends greatly on KG's continued health. If AB and Jeff Green had played in the ECF I say we would have beaten the Heat. That's how good a team we were.

Other than perhaps Pietrus and Steemer, the only loss we had from the 2011-12 team was Ray. A big loss, to be sure, but offset significantly if not totally by the acquisition of Terry. Add AB, JG, Sully, Melo, a more seasoned Moore, possibly XMAS, and Joseph to the mix, and it's safe to say the 2012-13 team is MUCH better at least on paper than the previous edition. Let the games begin.

Including Kobe the olympics can affect many teams as look at all the NBA teams with foreign players on the rosters. Already the Clippers have to deal with another injury to Griffin and even if thes players don't get hurt.... for the older ones like Kobe its just a little more wear and tear.

We don't have any Olympians on our roster, wonder if there is a website that shows leaguewise who is on an olympic team for their respective country???

beat

In other notes, the Celtics have until Sunday to pick up E'Tuan Moore's contract.

With Courtney Lee being too expensive, Mayo gone (and I'm just fine with that) the number of players that fit that bill that we can afford is getting short.

His 25 points explosion Tuesday sure as hell didn't hurt neither.

It seems to me he's the type of player that would be in demand around the league for the right price. 6'4" SG that is fearless with his shot, can create his own shot and has range out to 3. Danny should pick up his option if for no other reason than he's a valuable asset for ????

Another player that is now allegedly on Danny's radar is Carlos Delfino. If we sign Delfino then Joseph goes to Maine.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/d/delfica01.html

Danny wants to fill out the roster with vets, since we have Sully, Melo, JJJ, Bradley and possibly Moore all on board with 0-3 years of experience (JJJ and Moore's experience is probably <1 year due to the lack of training camp and practices and Bradley played more in Maine his first year than in Boston and really only started to get significant minutes after the all-star game this year), but I'm liking what I saw in Joseph. Delfino is stronger than Joseph, and he's Argentinean so he's almost guaranteed to be a tough, physical hombre (as opposed to all the milquetoast Euro players), but I don't see him being as versatile as Joseph. Would I trust Delfino to come off a pindown and hit the jumper? Not as much as I'd trust Joseph and Delfino has had years to show me that and Joseph has had less than 2 weeks.

Delfino will be 30 in August, so he's in his prime.

My vote would be for Joseph. In fact, I think I'd prefer Pietrus over Delfino. Or Sasha. Or Daniels. The one thing I can think of that Delfino has over any of those guys is that he's 6'6" 230#. That's a lot of Argentinean beef on the hoof at the SF spot. Assuming, of course, that he applies it. I am not remembering any game where he used his size/strength against his opponent. He is not a post-up player by any means.

bob

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cowens/oldschool wrote:Has anyone noticed what the Lakers have done? For what they have and the new pieces they have added, Nash and Jamison, they look really stacked. They can obviously still pound you inside and with Nash will be getting so many easy looks, could be scary.

Cow,

The Lakers still can't guard the perimeter and actually are going to be even worse this year than last year with Nash replacing Sessions. Plus Jamison doesn't play any defense. There's no chance they get by OKC in a playoff series even if they get Howard in a trade for Bynum which everyone now expects.

fellas

I just think Nash adds so much to that team, him playing/creating with all this talent is gonna be amazing to watch, I might just turn into a closet Laker fan!! I even like Jordan Hill, a young under the radar dirty work player I was hoping could end up here, now Jamison.....if they get Howard hope David Stern can block that one for the benefit of the league.

Going forward we have the makings of a great young nucleus, LA obviously doesn't have that, but have to respect their strategy of cashing in all their chips to win in the now. I hated the Perk trade, but am shocked how much I am liking this team at least on paper, Danny managed to rebuild and stay in championship hunt.....imagine if we had a healthy J Green, Wilcox and Avery Bradley last year, we coulda even beat the refs.

Cow, I agree about how exciting the Lakers will be with Nash...and how good Danny has been at adding talented youth to our team...

worcester wrote:Cow, I agree about how exciting the Lakers will be with Nash...and how good Danny has been at adding talented youth to our team...

glad I don't have his job, but hes really done a great job, when we first drafted Sully, I hated the pick, but seeing him play a little in SL I'm really excited, this kid can do alot of good things, even if all he does is rebound will he huge, if we could have just been healthy.....in Danny we trust.

cowens/oldschool wrote:

worcester wrote:Cow, I agree about how exciting the Lakers will be with Nash...and how good Danny has been at adding talented youth to our team...

glad I don't have his job, but hes really done a great job, when we first drafted Sully, I hated the pick, but seeing him play a little in SL I'm really excited, this kid can do alot of good things, even if all he does is rebound will he huge, if we could have just been healthy.....in Danny we trust.

cowens,

As a big fan of Perk and his physical style of play you would have loved seeing Sully on the boards on Tuesday against the Bulls.

He's a baby bull. He struggles against height but man oh man if he's not caught underneath the basket and can put a move on them he just pounds them into jam. He is relentless, absolutely relentless.

bob

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bob

I did notice hes has a great base and great fundamentals, hes not just a low post scorer, hes a legit 6'9" with long arms not a 6'7" guy trying to be 6'8". I have already wondered how much/longer are we gonna need Bass? Love the way he was backing and moving Drummond out of the way in the game I saw, even though he missed a few, the moves were still very good, shot just didn't fall.

cow

BobH,

I noticed the Delfino scuttlebutt. I looked up his salary, which I believe was $3.5 million last season.

I believe we've seen all there is to see in the Summer League. It strikes me that Sully too frequently took it upon himself to be the "go to" guy, with the result that he forced some things down low in particular. I don't see that happening with the Celtics—at least not at this point in his career. I also believe Xmas could be better in a stable professional setting than in Summer League. Very possibly the same with Joseph, whose instincts I believe are major league right now.

The jury's out on Moore and Melo as far as i'm concerned. I'd like to think that Moore could make his talents fit a role with this team, but I'm not certain he has a sufficiently complete package of skills—particular an ability to create his own shot and definitely (if they keep him at the point) ballhandling and ability to run a team. (Even at this early juncture, I'd much rather entrust a floor general role to Xmas than Moore.) I'd like to see Melo at C with KG at PF against a team with Howard on it. A sort of "twin tower" look would be a new one with these Celtics, and I think KG could do a great job of nurturing Melo's strengths and compensating for Melo's weaknesses. I'll have to be convinced that Johnson could fill an impact role with this team.

Sam

Sam, Remember the old American Airlines ad? "You expect more from American, and you get it." I think the obverse is true with Melo. Expect little from him for 2-3 years, then watch him blossom into a real asset. He reminds me of Rick Fox's situation when Red drafted him. Only 3-4 years of experience playing basketball, but he turned into a dependable pro - and what a wife! (Vanessa Williams)

Guess I am not sure why so many are down on Moore here. He was the most consistent player on the summer league team - and did nothing but get his own shot, since very few have any clue how to set proper picks. In the end, it is a matter of position and if he can handle the 1 I suppose....but think he is by far the most polished offensive player I have seen on the Celtics summer team.

Sully is going to be good. Maybe not great, but in the long run at least as good as Bass and Baby....probably better.

Melo, well if there were a way to send him to Portland for a year and keep his rights - they should do it....if not, I think you make him your 12th man, as you just cannot underestimate size and athleticism.

I think you will see Christmas, Moore, Sully and JJJ or Melo on the opening day roster....but DA has said he also liked Smith as well as Joseph. Guess training camp will tell more.