Doc, on filling the roster

Excerpts from an WEEI interview:


On the timing of the All-Star break:
We can go both ways with the break. We’re playing well now. But with the body count we have, I couldn’t have found a better time.
You just kinda coach em… and they kinda play.
You have to coach the guys that are playing. You have to get the guys that you expect to win still. There will be changes in the way we play. We can’t replace Rondo, Sully and Barbosa… even the way he plays. You have to find another way.

What is the priority? Guards or big?
I’m golfing over the break. Danny is doing all the work, which is terrific as far as I’m concerned.
With the Barbosa injury, we can’t look at one position anymore. Now we are looking at players. We need players as soon as we can get them. But we don’t want to do anything so quick. Because if something else develops, we’re at the cap without room.
(We need) a ball handling guard. No longer just a point guard. A perfect guard for this group is a guard that can play multiple positions, can shoot and play with toughness. (We need) a 4 that can stretch the floor, can shoot or a 4 that can rebound.

Where/how do you fulfill these needs:
The China leagues end in a week. Some Americans that play over there will be coming back. The D-League, and then through a trade, but we don’t have a lot of assets.

On Fab Melo:
I don’t think he’s ready yet. He’s really working on it, but he’s not ready yet.

On Delonte West:
That’s something we’re looking at. I don’t know where we are going to go. We have to be careful. I love his toughness, but he does get injured a lot, besides the other stuff.

On KG’s comment about this being last All-Star game:
We don’t know what he knows. With Kevin… every year he’ll be year-to-year. He’s playing too well to walk away. But like a lot of coaches, at times, he’s thinking about it, because it’s such a grind. I wouldn’t put too much into that.



bob
MY NOTE: Players playing in the China League which might be available include: Gilbert Arenas (Shanghai. He might not want to leave. Shanghai is a great city), Eddy Curry (Zhejiang. I've been to Zhejiang Province, he would play in Hell if he could to get out of there. An industrial province), Ike Diogu (Guangdong), T-Mac, Starbury, Von Wafer.

Here's the complete list of players in China: http://www.usbasket.com/Americans-Overseas.asp?Country=CHN
You can change the country, to see who is playing in other countries, but I don't know when their seasons end and/or if they have buyouts. For example, Dionte Christmas is in Russia. I don't know most of the players (to be fair, I don't follow college sports, so I probably wouldn't), but every once in a while, you see Cherokee Parks (born 1972) playing in France. These are just the Americans playing overseas. It does not include non-Americans, like Nenad Krstic, who could or have played in the NBA and are now overseas.



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Interesting info. Thanks, Bob.

One throwaway line struck me as odd -- Cherokee Parks is still playing?? He's 40 years old. I know of him because he went to the same high school my son went to. But he graduated from that high school a looooong time ago (1991). I did a double-take when I saw he was still playing.

Outside wrote:Interesting info. Thanks, Bob.

One throwaway line struck me as odd -- Cherokee Parks is still playing?? He's 40 years old. I know of him because he went to the same high school my son went to. But he graduated from that high school a looooong time ago (1991). I did a double-take when I saw he was still playing.

I'll never forget listening to Dick Vitale talking about Cherokee Parks and J.R. Reid like they will be the next superstars in the NBA.
That is about the only thing I remember about Cherokee Parks.
Dick was a little off in his hyping of Parks and Reid...

http://www.csnne.com/basketball-boston-celtics/celtics-talk/Celtics-showing-interest-in-Maines-D-Lea?blockID=831381&feedID=10424


Celtics showing interest in Maine's D-League All-Star Downs

February 15, 2013, 12:50 pm


HOUSTON — The European jaunt taken by the Boston Celtics to Turkey and Italy during the preseason seems so long ago right now.

For Micah Downs who was in the Celtics' training camp at that time, the memories are still relatively fresh.

Being around Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo was an experience that to this day, the 6-foot-8 forward cherishes.

And it was the many lessons learned being around them that have helped him elevate his game to being one of the top players in the D-League this season, evident by him being named a D-League All-Star this season.

But Downs is no different than every other D-League player.

He wants a shot at playing in the NBA, something that might come about very soon.

Downs is among the players the Celtics have had discussions about bringing aboard to fill one of the team's vacant roster spots.

"Yeah, I've been talking with Danny and with Austin here and there," Downs told CSNNE.com. "And my agent has been talking with them. There's some interest. They just keep telling me to keep playing hard and play the way I'm playing and good things will happen. I don't know if it will be soon, but I hope so."

Although the Celtics have a clear need for another point guard and a big man, head coach Doc Rivers said the team may look to add a player at a different position.

"Right now with all the injuries," Rivers said, "whoever is out there who we think is the best player, no matter what position, we'll just get them and figure out how to use them. I would rather have the best player, then a positional player."

One of the reasons Downs is starting to catch the eye of NBA teams, is his versatility.

In addition to 17.6 points per game, Downs is also averaging 6.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

"Micah is very versatile," said Red Claws coach Mike Taylor. "He's extremely athletic. He can shoot, he can post up, he can run the floor, can defend multiple positions. He is a guy I believe who can find his way, to help a team in whatever way they need him to be a contributor."

But that can only come about if given an opportunity which Downs appears to be on the cusp of receiving whether it's the Celtics or another NBA team.

Still, Downs is far from satisfied with his progress to this point.

He sees plenty of room in his game to get better, which is one of the many lessons he remembers all too well from his time with the Celtics during the preseason.

"You have to put your time in," he said. "You come to the gym and you see Paul (Pierce), you see (Rajon) Rondo, KG and these guys that have been in the league for so many years, still working at getting better, it shows you if you want to be at that level you have to put your time in."



bob


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