Delonte to sign with the Celtics

Hi,
First, AFAIK from the Cavs fans DW's medical condition is much better during the season.
Second, I don't think he had many options after being released by Minni, so he'll follow the "party line".
Third, the structure of the current team is quite different from the team he was traded from. and he knows his place.
But the bottom line is he follows the conductor and concertmaster or else, and everybody knows that.
Once again, I do hope that he's going to help Celtics on the road to #18.

AK

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Come on now----I'M NOT THAT OLD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

no but Sam is.... hahahahahahhahahaahhahaha!

Bob,
Delonte actauly has played with a 4th member of the current roster- The Green Shamrock was his teammate over in The Land That King Nothing Has Forsaken.

Interestingly the Celtics now have two of the major peices from the team that last season was predicted to win it all accordign to the "experts"(West & Shamrock O'Neil) did manege to win the most games in the reguler season.

Gosh i tell you, i'm realy excited about this upcoming season, i almost wish i could arrange to move to boston and get season tickets this yr! no wait, there is no almost, dang i wish i COULD do that..

As Sam says, there are a lot of subplots going on this season- the effect in a changeing of the guard at the assistnat coaching leval, how will that affect the established system the team has (especialy on defense)? Will the additions of the O'Neils turn around our fortunes in the rebounding dept?

Which will have more of an effect on KG, another summer to heal his knee or coming into camp 4 months older than last time we saw him (ditto on age for everyone over 30)

does Nate become a 4 time slam dunk champion? ( i can see him creating a new dunk where Shaq throws him from the free throw line and lets him dunk the ball the Shaq dances like him actualy made a free throw)

like last season where we began the season at less than full force we'll be as of NOW 2 guys short heading into the reguler season -west wont play till noveber 17th and Perk is gonna miss a good chunk of the season, and will prolly be a while working himself back into his old shape even then. How will that change the teams chemistry?

Can Rondo at some point in the season trump his "holy sh!t! play" of the playoffs?

and how is this for small ball
c- Large infant
pf- Harongody
sf- west
sg- nate
pg- rondo

and how about this for going big

c- Shaq
pf- Jermaine
sf- Baby
sg- peirce
pg- west

most importantly, will the roofs supporting systems be made to have the bear the weight of yet another banner from the ceiling? A lot can happen this season.. gonna be fun seeing what unfolds

Matty,

I'm normally not big on small-ball (pun intended) but I would absolutely love to see your proposed small-ball lineup on the floor. That unit could lead the league in hustle.

You also bring up a lineup trivia item. I'll bet most people have forgotten that in West's last season with the Celtics he was the starting small forward for the season opener. Going into what was sure to be a difficult season, Doc wanted to kick the season off by rewarding those he felt deserving with a start in game one. The starting lineup for the '06-'07 opener was 1-Telfair, 2-Szczerbiak, 3-West, 4-Pierce and 5-Perk. Thereafter West mopped up at both guard spots and even earned a good stretch of starts after Telfair quickly made it to the doghouse. He also got time at 2-guard after Wally went out. By late in the season Doc was also experimenting with Gerald Green and Allen Ray at the 2 and it became evident Rondo was going to take the point. West finished the year in street clothes in the season's finale for the C's after playing nearly the entire contest in the second last game against the Heat.

Regards

Matty, That is quite a visual with Shaq tossing Nate through the air for a dunk! I too wonder how big an impact the departure of Tom T will be. I think it is the most significant roster change this season.

For everyone my question is why did Luke Harangody last until the 52nd pick? I did not see one minute of the summer league so I'm not disputing anyone's prognostication, but it seems many feel he may be able to make a contribution this upcoming year. Yet he lasted until #52 so something seems incongruous. Are we just being optimistic or did Danny find another jewel in the 2nd round?

Wednesday Oct 6th first preseason game against Philly. It will be here soon!!

bobc,

Harangody was projected to be a late 2nd round pick.
He was #60 on ESPN's final mock draft (60. Phoenix Suns (via Cleveland)
Luke Harangody | F | Notre Dame)

And #57 on nbadraft.net.
Below is from nbadraft.net.
57 *Indiana Luke Harangody 6-7 240 SF/PF Notre Dame Sr.

I believe he will be a good player for the #52 pick.

Bob,

Re: Your current avatar. So that's what's wrong with my putting!

I think the deal on Harangody's draft status had a lot to do with size and athleticism and a little to do with injury.

Despite a great career at Notre Dame he was widely viewed as too short to play his natural PF position in the NBA. He's not very athletic, which seems like an odd thing to say about a talented D1 basketball player, and isn't exactly lightning fast so SF seems like a reach. Most NBA SF's would be by him with a quick move.

I saw quite a few of his televised ND games, but only one in person. His hustle and desire are way up there and he has real skill in rebounding, especially on the offensive end. He's also a fairly decent outside shooter. I caught some summer league games (thanks to that wonderful invention the DVR) and he certainly did look good enough to warrant a contract and a roster spot. We'll have to see how he looks against the real NBA competition, but the guess here is he'll be able to hang in there OK as our third or fourth option at PF.

Interestingly enough he was pretty much thought to be a bench player at ND and ended up there as a transfer. He was originally a tight end on a football scholarship at Indiana but tore his ACL. Despite all that he was the first ever ND player to be All Big East three consecutive years. He led the Big East twice in both scoring and rebounding.

As far back as I can remember seeing him he's often been described as Glen Davis with an outside shot.

I think his draft position was so low because like Davis he's simply not the prototypical NBA player. He really doesn't fit in anywhere on the floor. So I guess our hope is the scouts were right and he turns out to be just like Davis!

My personal $.02/guess/view that really doesn't matter; I'm one of those who believes athleticism is crucial at any level of basketball; unless you're really tall and in the NBA. I think the NBA is actually a less athletic league overall than D1 college ball so Harangody may draw some edge there. I think he will help with our weakest spot which is rebounding. Ultimately I think he gives us insurance against injury, and the ability to package either him or Davis in a trade if needed later in the season. I think he was a fairly good pick at #52.

Regards

NYCelt

So who cares what the so called experts think anyway. Too often it seems no one wants to think outside the box and the norm is the only way to go. Sometimes I think the numbers 1,2,3,4,5 as positions on the court can create restrictions that don;t allow for the so called tweeners, to short for this to slow for that. If a player is good enough he'll make it. (somewhere)

I watched a lot of ND hoops over the past few years too and ( I am not a ND fan at all ) and Luke simply was a pain in the butt against whoever they played. Granted it was D-1 in college but it was certainly about a tough a schedule as any D-1 team had.

He has a nose for the ball and seems to know where to be. Will be interesting to see how much time Doc gives him this year.

It would certainly appear our bench will be deep and how the pecking order plays out will be interesting. Oh to be a fly on the wall at practice!

beat

beat,

I'm guessing that, like me, a number of those ND games you caught were against The Orange! The Carrier Dome has still got to be one of the best places to see a game. Even more fun if you go down to Grimaldi's for dinner afterwards!

Regards

Actually we havent seen a game of SU hoops at the dome in a few years but watch many BE games on the big screena t home ( we do have our cheap SU footbal season ticket though )

I actually think the Dome sort of sucks for hoops unless you get in the lower level courtside. I remember many years ago watching SU play U Conn. Marty Head was on the team then and our seats were third level in a corner. Near the end of the game seconds left, with SU trailing by one , Head gets open for an elbow jumper. He lets it fly and our entire area goes nuts........................we ALL thought it went in!!! Till we saw a Uconn player had the ball and dribbled out the remaining second or two. From our angle (looking through the backboard we thought it swished) Of course there was no replay like TV and when we got home and watched the news and saw the clip......Head had thrown up a air ball.

So it wasn't just me and my buddies there had to be 40-50 of us that thought it went in................no and if your thinking we had a little too much beverage that was not the case for "most" of us.

Never like going to a basketball game where you cannot hear the ball bounce or the sneakers squeak or the whistles blow and the upper levels of the dome are just too far away for hoops.

beat

tjmakz wrote:bobc,

Harangody was projected to be a late 2nd round pick.
He was #60 on ESPN's final mock draft (60. Phoenix Suns (via Cleveland)
Luke Harangody | F | Notre Dame)

And #57 on nbadraft.net.
Below is from nbadraft.net.
57 *Indiana Luke Harangody 6-7 240 SF/PF Notre Dame Sr.

I believe he will be a good player for the #52 pick.

TJ,

Interestingly, Derrick Caracter was projected as the #22 pick in the second round by the Celtics. Now, he's a Laker with a contract that incents him to get under 275# by September 10th. That's two days from now. Draft Express has him listed at 265#. What the hell happened to this kid that he needs incentive to only be 10 pounds heavier than his playing weight?

bob


.

Bob,

Last year in college he played at about 305 lbs.
He came into summer camp at 278 and looked really good.
He said he wants to get to 265 so I guess LA thought 275 is a reasonable number to get to.

I was just reading that Caracter's weighted had increased to 320 lbs.
Below is from an article about Caracter on 3/17/10.

'He emerged at UTEP with a different attitude. His coaches say he is often the first player in the gym each morning, and his weight — it had ballooned to 320 — has stayed in check.'

tjmakz wrote:I was just reading that Caracter's weighted had increased to 320 lbs.
Below is from an article about Caracter on 3/17/10.

'He emerged at UTEP with a different attitude. His coaches say he is often the first player in the gym each morning, and his weight — it had ballooned to 320 — has stayed in check.'

TJ,


This kid could be a Big Baby Davis with an inside game or he could be another Oliver Miller. It'd be nice if he shows up in shape (as in "below 275#") so that his contract will be guaranteed but the way things work with people like this, once they've achieved their short-term plateau of success they often reward themselves by falling off the wagon. Let's hope not, in this case.

bob

.

With the Lakers (and all teams) having professional trainers, nutritionists, training facilities, etc, I would think that he would come into camp in shape.
This is not UTEP anymore. Very few people get to play for the Lakers or Celtics so to blow that chance because of your weight seems hard to imagine.

tjmakz wrote:With the Lakers (and all teams) having professional trainers, nutritionists, training facilities, etc, I would think that he would come into camp in shape.
This is not UTEP anymore. Very few people get to play for the Lakers or Celtics so to blow that chance because of your weight seems hard to imagine.

TJ,

Oliver Miller (weight)
Vin Baker (alcohol)
Robert "Tractor" Traylor (weight)
Chris Anderson (drugs)
Mike Sweetney (weight), #9 pick in 2003 draft

And this is just off the top of my head and this is just NBA players. The list of people who succumb to their weaknesses and throw away a gift is endless. We all shake our heads and wonder how they could be so stupid, and then another case comes along as bad as the previous ones. It's human nature. All of the above players had the benefits of all those trainers and nutritionists just like Derrick Caracter will. In the end, it still all comes down to him and his self-discipline and his personal ganas or lack thereof.


bob

.

bobheckler wrote:Oliver Miller (weight)
Vin Baker (alcohol)
Robert "Tractor" Traylor (weight)
Chris Anderson (drugs)
Mike Sweetney (weight), #9 pick in 2003 draft

And this is just off the top of my head and this is just NBA players. The list of people who succumb to their weaknesses and throw away a gift is endless. We all shake our heads and wonder how they could be so stupid, and then another case comes along as bad as the previous ones.

The worst single case of throw-it-all-away syndrome I can remember is Roy Tarpley. A truly gifted player who could've been among the greats of his time but couldn't stay away from drugs.

Although he continued to play, another one was Shawn Kemp. He looked to be on the verge of stardom when he helped lead the Sonics to the finals against the Bulls, but he got into a contract dispute, was traded, gained a lot of weight, and was never the same. Man could've been a beast.

So I have to agree with Bob -- despite all the trainers, nutritionists, and babysitters that modern players have at their disposal, they're no match for human weakness.

I agree with those examples but at least Caracter's problem was only a weight problem and not drugs or alcohol. It sounded like Caracter was depressed after leaving Louisville and showed up out of shape with UTEP.

With the carrot ($$$$$) right before his eyes, it will probably be easier to keep the weight off then when he was with UTEP.

tjmakz wrote:I agree with those examples but at least Caracter's problem was only a weight problem and not drugs or alcohol. It sounded like Caracter was depressed after leaving Louisville and showed up out of shape with UTEP.

With the carrot ($$$$$) right before his eyes, it will probably be easier to keep the weight off then when he was with UTEP.

TJ,

Yes, it's good that at least Caracter's problem was only a weight problem. There's nothing uglier than a fat, alcoholic drug-abuser in shorts and a tanktop.

bob

.

Bob - Just keeping it light I see! You can always make me laugh when I read
some of your replies!

Youare right about Tarpley though, he was such a talented player. That year was a nightmare and a half with all of the players who never reached the stars
that they all thought they would. Bias, Tarpley, Washburn, it's a shame. There are more than that, just too late at night to remember them!

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Bob - Just keeping it light I see! You can always make me laugh when I read
some of your replies!

Youare right about Tarpley though, he was such a talented player. That year was a nightmare and a half with all of the players who never reached the stars
that they all thought they would. Bias, Tarpley, Washburn, it's a shame. There are more than that, just too late at night to remember them!

Rosalie,

It is my pleasure to make you laugh.

bob

.

bobheckler wrote:

tjmakz wrote:I agree with those examples but at least Caracter's problem was only a weight problem and not drugs or alcohol. It sounded like Caracter was depressed after leaving Louisville and showed up out of shape with UTEP.

With the carrot ($$$$$) right before his eyes, it will probably be easier to keep the weight off then when he was with UTEP.

TJ,

Yes, it's good that at least Caracter's problem was only a weight problem. There's nothing uglier than a fat, alcoholic drug-abuser in shorts and a tanktop.

bob

.

Heard today that Caracter came to camp less then 275 LBS so his contract is fully guaranteed for this year.
Time to celebrate with a few double cheeseburgers...