Are The C's Point Guard Play Holding The Team Back?

read a article called "The Fate of The Green Trio" and some great points are made about how any point guard backing up Rondo is not going to look like they're not doing enough because Rondo is just so good at running the point.

Here's a link:

http://voices.yahoo.com/the-fate-green-trio-11889074.html

Point guard is THE cerebral position on the team. JET and Blur are both new. Their veteran experience and smarts will help to flatten the learning curve out some, but they still need minutes to turn the new system from something they have to think about into something instinctive.

It's not even December yet. If there's a problem by the all-star break, then maybe it's something.

Doc will figure it out. They are new to him too.

bob


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I dont see how offense is at all an issue with this team, so back up PG is way down the list of issues.

UCSports,

Welcome to the board!

Thanks for posting a new topic and an interesting question.

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Regards

Hi, UCSports. I see this is your first post here. Welcome!

The Celtics obviously have some issues at the start of this season. With a bunch of new complementary players, including backup point guards, it will take a while for them to "get" the system and become comfortable in their roles. Things will change again when Avery Bradley gets back, hopefully in December.

So far this season, the top four guys in terms of minutes played are veterans with the team (Rondo, Pierce, Garnett, and Bass), but everyone else with significant minutes is new (Terry, Lee, Sullinger, Barbosa) or "nearly new" (Green, who didn't play at all last season, and Wilcox, who played only 28 games). As BobH mentioned, it may take until the all-star break or even later to see what they've actually got. Patience was a virtue for a Celtic follower last season, and it will be again this year. There are likely to be bumps in the road.

Welcome to the board, UCSports. It's always nice to have a knowledgeable basketball person join us. One feature in which we pride ourselves is maintaining a convivial atmosphere. We have debates—sometimes hot ones—but we're all pretty good at refraining from the kinds of gratuitous personal attacks we've noted elsewhere.

If there has been one surprise about Barbosa to date, it's his defense. We knew he was streaky and could produce instant offense, but we had heard he was nothing special defensively. He does a great job of pressuring the ball, and sometime I'd love to see him on the court with Bradley.

Just for the heck of it, I just used Basketball Reference to look up the lifetime assists-per-36-minutes for Rondo, Barbosa and Terry. The 9.0 figure listed for Rondo is obviously outdated by the incredible playmaking season he's having. But I was more interested in comparing Terry (5.0) with Barbosa (3.5). Notwithstanding those two figures, I believe Barbosa is the better backup for Rondo.

The reason is that I believe the other facets of Barbosa's game are more conducive to opening up scoring opportunities for teammates, in both transition and the halfcourt, than the remainder of Terry's game. In the halfcourt, Barbosa's penetration can attract doubles and open up inside-out passing possibilities. In the open court, Barbosa's speed and ability to draw doubles should open up scoring possibilities for wing men.

I'm not claiming Leandro has yet embraced either opportunity to any extent. But I'm hoping that, with the coaches' help, he will gradually work them into his game. The fact that he does most things at warp speed should add, much like Rondo, to Barbosa's effectiveness as at least a pseudo floor general.

Terry, on the other hand, thrives in a slower pace, and his natural instinct is to shoot the ball rather than to pass it. One reason I'd prefer Terry not be the backup PG is because he's so good at spacing the floor—a major need on both units.

Anyway, welcome again, and we hope to hear from you early and often.

Best regards,

Sam