Friday, January 06, 2006
Haven't You Moved On?
Our good friend Jeff has posed the question; who in the world would I put on this team, absent Pierce, to not make them suck? I’ll bite. Couple of disclaimers - This is not to say Pierce is overrated, judging by NBA fan voting, he may be a bit underrated at this point. This is also not to say that all of these players are better than Pierce, although most clearly are. This has nothing to do with possible trades.
Simply, the following list of players, if on the Celtics right now, would make this team better than it is with Pierce.
As the point guard experiments continue with the Celtics, with horrible results, I’m really buying into Way of the Ray’s argument. The only way to build a championship team is with a dominant point guard and big man.
Point Guards
If the Celtics had an excellent point guard, Ricky would be the focus on offense (a role he’s far more suited for), and West could move to his more natural position (starting shooting guard or 3rd guard off the bench). Reed/Gomes could play the three and concentrate on defense and boards. A real point guard would get the ball to Jefferson early and often (a problem right now), as well as reward an athletic team that should be running with easy transition baskets. The following point guards would win more with the current Celtic roster minus PP.
1. Nash
2. Kidd
3. Wade
4. Paul
5. Parker
6. Bibby
7. Hinrich
Big Men
When you have a dominant big man, everything else seems to fall into place. The Celtics have not had a competent, never mind dominant, big man since the Chief. While we all have high hopes for Jefferson, he’s at least three years away from playing like any of these current stars. The Celtics lack rebounding, defense, toughness and playmaking in the frontcourt. Imagine any of the following players alongside Big Al. By becoming a frontcourt oriented team requiring double teams, Ricky and West could feast on open jumpers. The following big men would win more with the current Celtic roster minus PP.
8. Shaq
9. Duncan
10. Garnett
11. Amare
12. Wallace
13. Brand
14. O’Neal
15. Bosh
16. Miller
Better Team Players
I’ve stayed away from players like Kobe, McGrady and Francis. While more talented than Pierce, they share his inability make their teammates better. The following, though, would play a similar role as PP on a hypothetical Celtic team, but they all bring something else to the table.
17. Lebron
18. Iverson
19. Dirk
20. Artest
There you go, Jeff, 20 players who are a better fit for the Celtics than Paul Pierce. Given the current state of the team, my list of players I would trade Pierce for could get me to 50.
Now go back to cleaning Wyc’s taint.
Simply, the following list of players, if on the Celtics right now, would make this team better than it is with Pierce.
As the point guard experiments continue with the Celtics, with horrible results, I’m really buying into Way of the Ray’s argument. The only way to build a championship team is with a dominant point guard and big man.
Point Guards
If the Celtics had an excellent point guard, Ricky would be the focus on offense (a role he’s far more suited for), and West could move to his more natural position (starting shooting guard or 3rd guard off the bench). Reed/Gomes could play the three and concentrate on defense and boards. A real point guard would get the ball to Jefferson early and often (a problem right now), as well as reward an athletic team that should be running with easy transition baskets. The following point guards would win more with the current Celtic roster minus PP.
1. Nash
2. Kidd
3. Wade
4. Paul
5. Parker
6. Bibby
7. Hinrich
Big Men
When you have a dominant big man, everything else seems to fall into place. The Celtics have not had a competent, never mind dominant, big man since the Chief. While we all have high hopes for Jefferson, he’s at least three years away from playing like any of these current stars. The Celtics lack rebounding, defense, toughness and playmaking in the frontcourt. Imagine any of the following players alongside Big Al. By becoming a frontcourt oriented team requiring double teams, Ricky and West could feast on open jumpers. The following big men would win more with the current Celtic roster minus PP.
8. Shaq
9. Duncan
10. Garnett
11. Amare
12. Wallace
13. Brand
14. O’Neal
15. Bosh
16. Miller
Better Team Players
I’ve stayed away from players like Kobe, McGrady and Francis. While more talented than Pierce, they share his inability make their teammates better. The following, though, would play a similar role as PP on a hypothetical Celtic team, but they all bring something else to the table.
17. Lebron
18. Iverson
19. Dirk
20. Artest
There you go, Jeff, 20 players who are a better fit for the Celtics than Paul Pierce. Given the current state of the team, my list of players I would trade Pierce for could get me to 50.
Now go back to cleaning Wyc’s taint.
# posted by jerkycsfan @ 10:48 AM 
