Doc Rivers says Marquis Daniels & Nate Robinson are out of the rotation

My assessment so far (based on limited observation) is that Daniels and Nate have never established role identity with the Celtics but Finley and Tony have done so.

When Daniels is on the floor, he does some nice things in spurts, but I don't see him being counted upon consistently for anything. Basically, it's the same with Nate. On some occasions, he'll hit a nice three or even a series of threes, but he'll be invisible in the next game. He has tried hard to become a playmaker, but there's all too much running around, pounding the ball, and winding up in shot clock trouble.

I actually think Finley spaces the floor better than Nate because everyone knows he's a consistently legitimate threat, with ice in his veins, whenever he's open. Tony's defense may be a little frantic, but it pays off in disruption, steals and breakaways. He's a little unpredictable, but the Celtics are too predictable lately. And I believe his ballhandling has improved. He's certainly no PG, but I like the fact that his height at that position, coupled with his quickness, may help hold down some of the penetrations that has been a thorn in the Celtics' side—to say nothing of helping on the offensive boards. Tony is also a more active penetrator than Marquis, and he has begun to show a knack for freeing himself underneath.

It's beginning to look as though the bench unit will consist of Sheed, Tony, Finley, Glen (possibly Williams), and a starter. There are three candidates from whom to select the starter: Paul, Ray and Rondo. I expect Doc will select based on circumstances. My own choice, generally speaking, would be (1) Rondo, (2) Ray, and no #3. Rondo can handle the minutes and can run the team better than Tony.

Sam

If that doesnt light a fire under them both, I dont know what will.

Robinson and Daniels could be big contributors for the team...but if they are not practicing well and not playing well in games...they don't deserve minutes. Sorry boys.

Too bad about Daniels, they were counting on him so much in the beginning of the season, and that first run of what, 18-22 games, he played terrific. Then the thumb injury took him out of the lineup and he has never established himself back.

This is so interesting, how the heck many players will be gone at the end of the season?? I know the other night I thought possibly Ray would be gone, but, better heads have prevailed and I still think he will sign here. So, we are talking about TA, Scal, Robinson, Daniels, Ray, and what did Williams sign for? On top of that, Paul Pierce can opt out. This is a scary time for Celtic fans. Garnett will finish his career here, as will Paul, I don't doubt that.
So that leaves Rondo, Perk, Rasheed (unless they trade him), Still a team close to the luxury tax if not in it.

The Celtics would be better off trading Pierce than Allen. They would get more for him and I don't like Pierce's game offensively. he slows the Celtic attack to a standstill. If he is not playing great defense, he hurts the Celtics in so many ways. Trade Pierce, Davis, and Wallace for Bosh.

Trade #1 and Williams for Tyrus Thomas and Kansas guard from the Bulls.

We would have great, young frontline and very good #2 guard backing up Allen .

Dreaming, I know!!

Then trade 1st

SD, Tyrus Thomas isn't with the Bulls anymore. They traded him to Charlotte for Acie Law, Flip Murray and future 1st round draft pick.

I think the longer, quicker Daniels might have done a better job of defending Gallinari last night.

Kelly, I missed that one. I got in on the end of an ESPN report recently that indicated Thomas had gotten in hot water (don't know why). Assumed it was still the Bulls.

I feel if Thomas goes to the right team (one with great role models and leaders), he can not only be a great player, but a matchup nightmare.

Thank you for pointing out my error. Course the Kansas guard I was referring to was Heinrich, who I would love to see become a Celtic.

Go Celtics!!

Kelly-Is it me or is there something wrong with Paul Pierce's game? I have watched him closely for the last couple of weeks, and his decision making is
terrible. Last night's turnover was an obvious blunder on his part. Later, when listening to Doc, he said the play was for a 3 for Ray Allen. What's up with him?
Can any of you figure it out??????

Some weeks back there was a link to an article about Rondo in which he was quoted as saying in effect that he and Doc were experimenting with his minutes and they found that when he plays more than 40 or 41 minutes, he starts to lose his legs late in the game. Since Paul is so erratic these days, Rondo will be needed more than ever. Doc better watch those minutes carefully.

They're going to need either Nate or Marquis and hopefully both sooner or later, anyway, which Doc said in an interview on local talk radio. (There actually were, incredibly enuff, a few minutes this week devoted to the Celtics in the midst of Red Sux fervor.)

Still, it's great that Tony's getting this chance after all he's been through, He got under LJames' skin in a meaningless regular season game, which ended well for one game anyway. For better or worse, it's kind of a Celtic tradition to piss off the other team's superstar. They did it to Wilt, Kareem and Magic, to name the most obvious (although that last one, calling him 'Tragic', backfired the following year). The fact that Tony's playing for his immediate future, as is Quis, is kind of a nice feeling. By contrast, LJames makes chump change for playing basketball. He's not playing for his life.

About Paul - he may be hurt again and trying to play through it. He said recently that a physical injury strongly affects the mental part of his game. And half of it, as a certain Yankee said, is ninety percent mental.

Pierce has lost a step and it has impacted his confidence. He is short-arming shots and hesitating on decision-making. Pierce has always been streaky in my opinion, and he has had the talent to work his way out of this. But he has to realize he can't isolate successfully like he used to. He is not getting the calls from refs, either. They realize he isn't getting the angles to the basket like he used to.

The Celtics defense is not nearly as good as '08 mainly because Pierce and Garnett not covering the floor as they did, and Wallace isn't in the same time zone when compared to Posey.


Go Celtics!!

Rosalie, I have mixed feelings regarding Pierce. Early in the season I thought he was playing with an agenda (getting into the 3 pt. contest) and I think that hurt the team. I felt he was abandoning taking it to the basket and drawing fouls in favor of building up his 3 pt. percentage, and that's really not what our offense calls for. Then he got hit with the injury bug and we all saw how that affected his game, and as a result, the team. I'd like to think he would have sat out and healed properly had Marquis not been injured, but that might just be wishful thinking. Then when he finally rested and got healthy he came back and had stretch of vintage Pierce play...and now I have no idea what's going on.

It seems to me that if Pierce is on, Ray is not getting shots and vice-versa. They didn't have any problems playing together the past two years, so I'm not sure what the issue is now. Is it Rondo not distributing the ball evenly? Does it have anything to do with the two of them trying to make up for the step that KG has lost? We've had the same starting five the whole time. I don't know how , but they need to work things out and learn to play together again. We need solid nights from everyone if we want to go anywhere this season.

I can say that I really really really hate Paul Pierce ISO at the end of close games. I don't think he's hit a game winner all year. His decision making has been poor in those instances as well. He passes when he should shoot and he shoots when he should pass. Why can't we run one of those awesome inbounds plays that we use through out the game? I know Doc has better plays than get the ball to Pierce and stand around watching. OK, rant over...I feel a little better.

The good news is that I don't think any of these problems are irreversible. I don't think our team is too old. I think guys need to know their roll and execute. We get into trouble when guys try to do too much, and I think Pierce is the main culprit there, especially in the 4th quarter when the game is on the line.

SD, yeah I've read that Thomas has some behavior issues. I can't recall the details, but I think I read that was part of the reason the Bulls traded him.

I'm undecided on whether I'd want him on the team I root for. I mean, Glen Davis has done some pretty bone-headed things in his career, and the media loves to hate on him, but he's still a valuable part of our team and I'm glad we have him and I think he's worth the drama that seems to surround him. I just don't know enough about Thomas to know if he would be worth it.

If Heinrich didn't have that awful contract, I wouldn't mind seeing him in green. But alas, he does have that contract and I don't think he's worth it.

It seems to me that giving up the ball is a real problem for Pierce, however,
Doc may be the culprit here. All we keep hearing about is getting Pierce back to the point where he can take over the end of games. Well....it hasn't happened all year. He either waits too long, dribbles off his foot or leg, or loses the ball to the opposing team. I don't want to be ragging on Paul, I have loved his game for years, but, he isn't the only answer any more. Shooting three's when he should be driving, or just holding on to the ball too long, it is so frustrating. This is something that he should be able to see just by watching film. I am, by no means, saying that Ray should be the go to guy, but, look at last night, could Michael Finley become an important cog in the wheel in the playoffs?

Now I read today that Perk has alot to say about the veteran's. Granted, there have been some problems, however, for the last three months Perk himself has been having his share of problems. I have never seen a big guy get called so many times for travelling! He just can't catch and shoot! Where does he think he would be without these three guys????????
Does he think he would have had a ring already???? I don't know, he could be ticking off alot of people with his talking.

I think if Doc insists on having a set "go-to guy", I would prefer Ray over Pierce. And I don't mean Ray dribbling around the court to find his own shot like Pierce does, because he's not a great ball handler either. They need to call a play and run it.

I really liked the lineup at the end of the Toronto game, with Sheed and Finley in for Pierce and Perk. I was really surprised to see it because Doc's strong suit isn't situational basketball, IMO. I don't know what inspired him to stick with that lineup, but I hope we see more of it. This team has become so predictable. I'm just a fan so when I can tell what play they are going to run down the stretch, I'm sure these professional players and coaches are picking up on it too.

I didn't see Perks recent comments so I can't really give an opinion on that, do you have a link? I am definitely disappointed in his play of late. He started off the season so good. His hands seemed much improved and we even saw him go right up with the ball instead of messing around under the rim. I know he's been dealing with some tendinitis in his knee, so maybe that's been his problem of late, but who knows?

Kelly, Brandon Banks posted the Perk link in another thread. I'm pasting it here:

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2010/04/08/perkins_believes_its_in_their_heads/

Wasn't it just plain fun to watch that five in action? I actually found myself relaxing because they collectively seemed to have such an assured presence about them. Not one time did I cringe at something they tried. Doc said, after the game, that it was impossible to make Finley take a bad shot, and I sort of had that feeling of reassurance about all five of them.

It also gave me a somewhat different insight about Sheed. I do believe that he tends to be a bit of a frontrunner who may even have some disdain for the contributions of some of the guys he plays with most frequently. As part of that five, he seemed to fit like a glove—no sign of exasperation, just an earnest desire to complement them to the best of his abilities. In short, what I believe we were seeing out there was a product of mutual respect.

I was as surprised as you to see that five remain in the game until it was put away. Their success will give us something to watch for in the remaining four games. When the chips are down, will Doc knuckle under to the same old same old philosophy based on the stature of players, or will he give this very innovative grouping a legitimate shot? And, if given the opportunity, will that quintet continue to succeed?

Sam

I actually just read that thread and realized what Rosalie was talking about. Thanks Sam.

That 4th quarter was the best I can remember seeing out of the C's in a very long time. I bet there were twice the number of passes made during that stretch than what we normally see. I really, really like Finley. I think he's been a perfect fit for the C's. I read an article in the Herald today that had Doc comparing Finley to PJ Brown. They obviously play different positions, but their style of leadership is similiar. What a great pickup by Danny.

Sheed perplexes me. There have been a few times this season where I'm just starting to write him off as a horrible addition to the team, and then he turns around and has a great game. His lack of consistency is maddening, but if he helps us win even one significant playoff game, I guess it makes it worth it.

I tend to doubt Doc will consistantly sit Paul out in the 4th quarter, but we'll see. Watching Ray drive and kick to Finley, who then rolls and passes back out to a wide open Ray for three was beautiful to watch. Neither was being selfish...they both realized that they were hot and were feeding off each other to perfection. Had they played together before that game? They must have, but I can't recall...

WHAT BEAUTIFUL BASKETBALL!!!! Not that I am prejudiced or not!!!
It would be a shame to see Ray leave this team next year. I can't imagine Danny letting him go, but I know money talks.

As far as Paul is concerned, I just wish someone would sit him down, talk to him and make him realize that he is not the only player on this team who can win a ball game. I love Pierce, want him to retire here and stay involved with the Celtics. He is a true Celtic. As far as I am concerned, I want them all to retire in green.