ODDS & ENDS - CAMP INVITEES

1 - Rondo, Terry, Dooling
2 - Bradley, Lee, Xmas (Smith)
3 - Pierce, Green, Joseph
4 - Bass, Sully, Wilcox
5 - KG, Collins, Melo

Dooling can play SG, against smaller SGs, and sit in for Bradley while he's rehabbing. He can also shoot from 3 and knows the offense.

Xmas can play some point, if needed. He's new to the Celtics and the NBA but he has years of experience running teams in Europe.

Our ballhandling was suspect last year when Rondo was out and Ray Allen had to play point on the 2nd unit often to steady that unit. Jason Terry will handle that as well or better than Ray, since that is a more natural position for Terry. Based upon what I saw in summer league Xmas is a much better ballhandler, much better at handling pressure, penetrating and dishing, than Moore was. Throw Bradley's growing confidence and capabilities on top of that and what we've got is: Advantage - this year's team.

Sully and Wilcox are beefy PFs. If they use their bodies to box out, we won't get pushed underneath the basket as much next year as we were last year. That will create rebounding opportunities, and fast break opportunities, for Rondo and now he has some players that can run with him. Wilcox gets to play his more natural position, PF, and can play center if needed.

All our listed centers are 7-footers.

The likely 2nd unit (Terry, Lee, Green, Sully and Collins) has firepower and can defend. Collins is the weak link in that lineup, but at least 3 of them could start on some teams. With Reverend Dooling keeping them focused and in line, there are 4 veterans on that 2nd unit and a player that would have been a lottery pick (maybe even in the first 10) but for the questions about his back. Consider that Collins could also be replaced on that unit by Wilcox, that makes for a smaller but more aggressive bench.

I like this team. It has shooters, defenders and versatility. It has veterans and youth. It can run (Rondo, Bradley, Xmas, Lee, Green, Joseph) and it can pound inside (KG, Sully, Bass). It can spread the floor with its backcourt (Lee, Terry, Dooling, Xmas) and with its frontcourt (KG, Bass, Pierce, Green). Rebounding has improved with the addition of Sully and Green while only losing Sasha and Daniels, neither of which were strong rebounders. Dooling's return provides constancy and continuity to the bench. We lost Ray but we gained Terry, who is used to coming off the bench like a microwave. We lost Steamer but we gained a veteran in Collins and a potential prodigy in Melo (I keep reminding myself he first picked up a basketball when he was 15. He turned 22 in June). We lost the up-and-down offenses of Sasha, Daniels and Pietrus but gained Green and Joseph, both of whom can run and shoot. At 6'9", Jeff Green is big for a 3, bigger than the players he's replacing.

We are more athletic (using a generally accepted definition), but have we sacrificed IQ to get it? They are not mutually exclusive, of course, but one does see it happen.

Sasha and Daniels are smart players, but were rarely played. Pietrus is not. Advantage - Green, with little sacrifice for athleticism.

Steamer was a pretty smart player, all in all. So is Collins and Wilcox. Advantage - I'd have to say Steamer. Not so much because of IQ but he could stretch the floor with a mid-range shot and ran pretty well for a big man. I'm not going to lie, I would have preferred a different player than Collins, but I can see him having utility and that's all I'm looking for now. Give me 5-10 decent mpg, Jason, and I'll be ok. Wilcox can play 10-15mpg at center and Melo can play 5mpg at center in the blowouts and that will preserve KG.

Ray Allen was a very smart player. Terry is smart too. So is Lee. Ray is 37 and has experienced chronic ankle injuries over the past 2 years that kept him out of games for extended periods. Terry is 34 and Lee is in his mid-20s.

Sully is smart.

All in all, it looks to me like we got faster and maybe even smarter. That's sounds pretty good to me.

I like this team.


bob


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sam wrote:Bob,

Just a small addition. (Sorry if you included it but I missed it.) I believe Dooling's very possibly the closest thing we have to Bradley as a defensive disrupter.

Sam

sam,

You're right, I didn't specifically mention Dooling's defense which is, in fact, supposed to be his strong point and not shooting 3s and running the offense like I mentioned. So our backcourt consists of: Rondo, Terry, Bradley, Lee, Dooling, Xmas. I'm going to withhold judgment on Xmas, since summer league is just summer league, but certainly the other players are either elite defenders (Rondo, Bradley) or above average defenders (Terry, Lee, Dooling).

bob

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