Boston signs Leonardo Barbosa

He is not really a point guard but he can still score.
He played well in the Olympics.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/20582267/report-leandro-barbosa-signs-with-the-celtics

Saw that. Can always use another scorer. If he can stll run he will help in uptempo game.

Dboss

Lakers were trying to sign him earlier in pre season, I don't know what went wrong. Interesting, huh? How long has this been brewing?

Rosalie

Solid.

A couple of reports on Barbosa. I can't recall where the first one came from. Didn't James Brady get shot in the Reagan suicide attempt? The second one is from WEEI:

Boston Celtics agree to deal with Leandro Barbosa, according to report
James Brady on Oct 17, 4:39p
The Boston Celtics have signed Leandro Barbosa to a one-year contract, according to Yahoo Sports.
The Boston Celtics have signed free agent Leandro Barbosa to a one-year contract, according to Adrian Wojnarowski on Twitter. The Celtics waived Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith on Tuesday, which left an open spot on the roster. Barbosa was one of the top remaining free agents, and he definitely fits a team need.
Behind Rajon Rondo, the Celtics didn't have much and on top of that, they needed another veteran who could move the ball down the court. Barbosa is that guy, and he'll likely come in for 10-15 minutes per game and fill that void when Rondo isn't on the court.
There are no contract details as of yet, though there were many who felt that Barbosa wouldn't sign anywhere for the veteran minimum. Barbosa played with the Raptors in 2011-12, before being traded to the Pacers. He averaged 11.1 points per game and 2.0 assists per game in 64 games. He also has played for the Suns, and has averages of 12.5 points, 2.4 assists and 2.3 rebounds per game for his career.
Celtics add Leandro Barbosa to backcourt mix 10.17.12 at 5:04 pm ET

WEEI
It was only a matter of time before the Celtics made a move for a veteran guard and in Leandro Barbosa they landed the best of a thin lot. To be sure, Barbosa has fallen off from his peak seasons with the Suns when he averaged around 20 points per 36 minutes and registered a PER of 19.4 in 2009 with a True Shooting percentage of .588.
The last two years have not been as kind, however. He was limited by a wrist injury in 2009-10 and then traded to Toronto, where he had more injury problems that affected his shooting, as well as his overall game. Barbosa was then traded again, this time at the deadline to the Pacers, where he saw action in 22 games and struggled in the playoffs, particularly against the Heat.
Barbosa did open some eyes with a strong performance during the Olympics when he averaged 16 points and shot 40 percent from 3-point range for Brazil, and while his days as a change-of-pace sixth man may very well be behind him, he’ll be joining a Celtics team that simply needs backcourt depth.
Barbosa isn’t a true point, but he can handle the backup job behind Rajon Rondo. He’s not the scorer that Jason Terry is, but he can create his own shot. He’s not nearly the defender that Courtney Lee and Avery Bradley are, but unlike Bradley, he’s ready to start the season.
As a fourth or fifth guard he’s more ready than Jamar Smith, who was waived on Tuesday to make room along with Dionte Christmas, and in keeping with the other offseason moves engineered by team president Danny Ainge he offers versatility and some scoring punch.
With Barbosa on board for the veteran minimum, the Celtics have 14 players on guaranteed contracts. Second-round pick Kris Joseph is the likely candidate for the final spot and they will just barely fit under the hard tax line imposed by luxury tax apron. In other words, this is likely Ainge’s final piece to the 2012-13 puzzle.
Barbosa’s not a game-changer, but the Celtics are a little better than they were at the start of the week and a lot deeper in the backcourt.

*******
I have to assume there was no veteran playmaker out there who was available for the money Danny could pay. So I also have to assume that either Terry or Barbosa will be asked to focus more on ball-distribution so the other can focus more on scoring, with the two of them perhaps switching roles from time to time. It appears that Barbosa's not going to contribute a lot to defense, but maybe he'll rise to the occasion in the Celts' defensive scheme as some others have done.

If they have to go with a compromise (which I believe this to be), it's a good sign that he's a compromise with speed. He apparently loves the transition game—at least on offense.

That off-week between preseason games and the regular season is really looking extremely valuable.

Sam

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Lakers were trying to sign him earlier in pre season, I don't know what went wrong. Interesting, huh? How long has this been brewing?

Rosalie

Rosalie,

The Lakers were interested in signing either Barbosa or Jodie Meeks.
They decided to go with Meeks.

bobheckler wrote:According to Barbosa's Wikipedia page, he is 6'3" (probably in sneakers) with a 6'10" wingspan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leandro_Barbosa

Wow.

By comparison Avery Bradley, whom we all know has knuckle-dragging orangutan arms, is 6'3 1/4" (in sneakers) with a 6'7 1/4" wingspan.

Barbosa has never been on a team that emphasized defense before. Certainly not Phoenix, not Toronto, not Indiana. Can you imagine a player with his quickness and his wingspan playing defense like it meant something to him?

He's also married to a gorgeous Brazilian actress. A link to her is at the bottom of his page. Can't wait to see her at the games.


bob


.

Bob,

Don't get too excited about his defense or his wingspan.
He is an offensive player.
He is a solid player that can still score.
I doubt he sees the floor much when Bradley gets back.

I think of the names that were out there, this is a good signing. Only time will tell about his defensive skills when he is around players who enjoy playing defense. I certainly do not think this is a either/or regarding Terry. JT will have the green light to shoot . I cannot imagine asking Terry to be the facilitator here, he is definitely the shooter!

I like this signing but then again I liked the Pietrus signing too!!!

Rosalie

over in hawaii don nelson must be drooliing, how long before he's on the fone asking Danny & Doc about a return to his roots?

Hi,
Interesting signing. I didn't know that Barbosa was available.
I hope he is good at defense or can learn it quick.
I don't think AB's return will affect LB's minutes much - Doc learned his lesson about AB and PG duty.
Now they have 2 or 3 games and 8 days of practice to incorporate him into the second unit.
So now we have:
RR
CL
PP
BB/JS
KG
----------
LB
TJ
JG
BB/JS
DM, JC (CW when/if he returns)

I don't know what'd happen when AB comes back?

AK

bob,

I doubt you will get the same offensive production out of Barbosa if Boston has him focus his energy on defense.

He is being signed to score and distribute the ball.
I doubt he will be benched because of his defense.

TJ,

Perhaps Barbosa's coming to Boston because no one else wanted him, but I imagine he had choices. And he chose to come to a team that lives and dies by its defense. In fact, I bet that, among the first words out of Doc's mouth in his initial contact with Leonardo will involve the importance of defense.

I can't imagine a situation better than the Celtics' for inculcating an infectious desire to contribute to the team. You can just bet that Barbosa will be highly motivated by peer pressure and by his coach to upgrade his defense. And there's no better crash course for that purpose than being a Boston Celtic.

Apparently he has the physical tools to play good defense, so the only issue concerning his defense should be how much he'll put out at the defensive end of the court. If his effort level is sufficient, his defense should be at least adequate to play within the Celtics' system.

If his defensive effort level proves inadequate, he's going to find senior players tap dancing on his head and his minutes being severely squeezed by Doc. (I don't subscribe to the term "being benched" because virtually no player is 100% benched; it's not an either/or thing.)

Why would the Celtics need offensive production out of Barbosa? Any points he produces will be a bonus because they have plenty of bench players who can provide scoring. But they need a reliable catalyst to make it happen. That's why I hope you're right about Leandro's ball distribution skill being a major reason why he's being signed. That's a much more elusive skill to improve than defense is because defense is primarily a function of effort whereas running a team is more a function of the mind (creativity, quick thinking, anticipation, etc.).

Sam

There is also the part of offense vs defense where their major strength atm is "in numbers".

If anything the Celtics have sort of too much depth and too little peak which means they can "afford" to spend a lot of energy on defense because the depth is there to distribute the minutes. If players conserve their energy it is playing into the hands of teams with less depth but more peak.

NYCelt,

One needn't look back any further than Dennis Johnson as a leopard who changed his spots after becoming a Celtic. But you're right; his is definitely the exception rather than the rule.

The case of Tiny Archibald is interesting. It was obvious, early in his career, that he had a talent for both scoring and ball distribution. But, with passing years—and most especially with the Celtics, his assists per 36 minutes grew and his points per 36 minutes shrank.

I don't believe anyone is realistically hoping for an abrupt metamorphosis from Barbosa. But, if he has at least some latent talent at ball distribution and defense, perhaps he'll find that he will be a better fit for the Celtics by focusing a little more on those areas and a little less on looking for his own shot. That's obviously anything but a sure bet, but it's something to hope for.

Sam

BobH,
Thanks for the highlights.
I have no doubts that LB is a very good player and most probably will fit into the Celtics fold. My only question is how 5 guards are going to share 96 minutes?
There's a good chance that AB comes back around mid-December. RR usually averages 36+ minutes. Which leaves about 60 min to be divided between 4 very good players. How will Doc manage to do it?

AK