Bill Simmons on the Celtics off-season

[paintitgreen]

Mostly the size. I like it to defend 2s and handle the ball alongside House in the second unit. I don't like it to match up against 3s. I don't think he has the bulk to play there, even if he almost has the height - I'd prefer a 6'8" guy or an exceptionally strong 6'6"-6'7" guy. I also would rather have a guy who can help us go small by playing some minutes at the 4. Although with our three big men and potentially a fourth if we keep Davis, going small is not something we're going to do.

The fact is, the guys I really want a backup small forward to help with are Lebron and Rashard Lewis (likely switching to the 3). I don't think Daniels is even an adequate option on those guys (though I still like other things he brings here).

However, I hope that I am totally wrong and he's just fine at the 3.

I just got spoiled by Posey, whom I irrationally loved from day one.

[JHTruth]

2 things.

1. This team has not changed a lot personality-wise in 2008.  Posey was nearly as unlikable as Rasheed, and was known as a dirty player, who also had a bit of dog in him, when the games didn't matter.  KG was just as bad, and Perk was even worse than he was now.  And they also had Sam Cassell to help talk trash.

I don't disagree that this team has become villainous.  But he makes it sound like it is something new.  The only thing that has changed is that they won a championship, and became targets.  But the attitude is still the same as the Ubuntu year.

2. If he wants any more for the MLE than Sheed or Artest, then he is just greedy.  Both of those guys are absolute steals.  Yeah, neither of them are still at the top of their game, but thats why they are not making $12 million a year.  But they are still two of the best players available out there.  

I have been hesitant to say this in the past, but I think living in LA has finally gotten to Simmons.  He has lost what it means to be a fan.  No one here cares what other people think of the C's.  

Yeah, there are questions for the Celtics.  But they have absolutely, positively helped themselves dramatically this offseason.  And to question that is downright ridiculous.

I think he was thinking that the team could have gone in another direction position-wise with the MLE. I'm not sure what he has against Daniels, but he seems to think that teams that go small will hurt us. Maybe. But I also think that our biggest competition (Cleveland/Orlando/LAL) feature large, long frontcourts/players. So yeah, we may get hurt by the Warriors, but in the playoffs we will need size to battle effectively..

[jay]

he has a point, this isnt the same old sheed.  he also makes the best counterpoint:  we had scal/moore in the playoffs.


to me, sheed is a great backup 4/5 and daniels (at age 28) is a good 2/3.  again, in the playoffs, we had to go with house at the 2 and ray at the 3 when paul sat. now, we have a 6'6" guy we can trust to back up both paul and ray.


I love our starting 5.  i like our new 6th and 7th men.  we still have backup pg issues and what role exactly will house and scal have, who knows?  but our front 7 is much better than it was a year ago.

[furball]

I don't understand why when ever he critisizes the C's he's considered a hater or that he's tring to seem like a non homer , etc.  Every point he makes is valid.  Just because he's not gushing over the team doesn't mean he's doing it just to look good.  

Does anyone know how well KG's knee is, and will be for the season?

Does anyone know if Wallace is going to half ass it this season?

Does anyone know how much Ray Allen (who at least half the people here hate as a player) has left?  

Does anyone know if Pierce can still be The Man for this team?  

As far as the bad guy image, that's something that's been discussed on here. And it is something relativly new.  Rondo didn't "turn" until the play-offs last season, K.G. really went bad with his side line antics during the Orlando series, and Wallace's rep speaks for itself.  Now, will they take an "Us against them" approach to augment the Umbutu appraoch?  That's to be seen.  

How many people on here still cry for James Posey yet Simmons suggests replacing him and he's a hater.  

Now, Simmons isn't perfect so not everything he says is going to be accurate or fact.  For instance I think Rondo's coaching the summer league team shows he ok with what happened in June, and I think the fact that Sheed will be a sixth man and not relied on to carry the team lessens the worry that he isn't who he used to be. but he does have valid concerns.  He also didn't say everything was going to blow up, he just pointed out concerns and possibilities.    

[youcanthandlethetruth113]

I think Simmons has tried so hard to prove that:

1) He's objective; and

2) He's smarter than both Boston fans and Celtics' management ...

... that he's turned into a hater.  Thus, why he picked LA two years ago, and Cleveland last year.

Very well said Roy. I hate Simmons. He's such a hater and always has been (especially of Doc).

He sickens me and I can't wait to throw this article of his in his face after this season.

[lostjumper]

Simmons has indeed decided to play the Boston "Hater" role after the C's won the championship. Its a pathetic attempt to endear himself to his antionwide audience at ESPN... "See, look, I hate Boston sports to!"

After Manny was shipped, he did a wonderful hack peice on the redsox front office. He was pro-Manny in every column for months until the steroids thing broke. Then, he wrote an even bigger hack piece on how the 04 and 07 championships were all tarnished, and eveyone on the teams cheated. Just a couple years ago he could pound out a 50,000 word column proclaiming his undying love for the 04 team and no they are all "cheaters"

He brings up spygate somehow in almost every column, andnow likes to rip the C's becuase they are "mean, have to much swagger, prideful, trash talking" etc. I used to love every article he produced, now much of his stuff is trash. He's turning exactly into the time of national columnist, aka Rick Reilly and local colmunist like CHB that he used to criticize to no end.

[the_Bird]

I was totally going to go with an article about how hated we'll be next year, especially if we get Bowen

I'll probably still run with the idea, but I hate that he printed it before me

I've been saying it since the Bowen rumors started...

'09 - '10 Celtics = Bad Boy-era Pistons.  

Celtics team nickname; Twelve Angry Men.

[Fafnir]

I like that he declared AI a top 30 all time NBA player. I don't buy that for a moment.

[fairweatherfan]

Simmons makes some very good points in both sections.

44)
Sheed was worth the money to upgrade from Moore and Scal, but not based on his performance last season.
A James Posey-like swing forward may have contributed more to this team.
Sheed could have a negative effect on the young, emotional Perkins - already a technical foul producer.

All valid points.

expect that he doesn't acknowledge dainels as a stop gap there, nor give people the celtics could have targeted instead.

outside of ron artest and moon, who is pretty much slightly better than the guy we are landing to be our back up three, who should the celtics have gone after?

Simmons is a huge Ariza booster - that's who he's implying there.  There weren't really any other good UFAs who fit that description that we could afford.  The points are all pretty reasonable in a vacuum, but the alternatives really just weren't there.

[jdpapa3]

I like that he declared AI a top 30 all time NBA player. I don't buy that for a moment.

Iverson still gets doubted, but he is one of the greatest of all time. He was NEVER surrounded by a good team.

[Birdbrain]

He's still trying to sell the Clippers.  What a joke.

I agree about the concerns in regards to Sheed but, he's playing to crowd with all the concerns that he mentions about the team.  Yeah they will be hated.. ugh who cares?  I wish he would stick to Red Sox my 8 yr old nephew knows more about basketball.

[SamuelAdams]

I liked the Allen Iverson piece.

[the_Bird]

I like that he declared AI a top 30 all time NBA player. I don't buy that for a moment.

Iverson still gets doubted, but he is one of the greatest of all time. He was NEVER surrounded by a good team.

Horsepuckey.  Forgetting about 'Mello?  Denver was one of the best teams in the west after that trade was made.  The lack of leadership from Iverson - the fact that he doesn't make life easier for his teammates - was holding them back.  Chauncey's play had a direct impact on how much better the team was, but it was also the leadership that he provided that Iverson simply does not bring.  There was plenty, plenty, PLENTY of talent latent on that team when Iverson was in town, they SHOULD have been a lot better than they were.

Likewise, the Pistons still had a lot of individual talent, but AI could never provide the leadership that they lost when Chauncey left.  Given players like Prince and Rip and 'Sheed and Stuckey, they *should* have been a lot better than they were.

When you see TEAMS underperforming, coming apart at the seams like Denver and Detroit when they had Iverson, you look to the guy controlling the rock as being primarily responsible. 

You say he never had a great team; I say he's been surrounded by plenty of talent in recent years, but a true superstar - someone that we can consider top-50 all-time - provides the leadership for talent to coalesce into team.

[byennie]

Simmons is usually entertaining, and has lots of good Boston tidbits / things to think about, but one thing he's never been good at is making predictions. So something to think about, but hardly worth pulling a 360 on how you feel about Sheed...

[drza44]

I like that he declared AI a top 30 all time NBA player. I don't buy that for a moment.

He also declared Nash a top 40 all time NBA player in part 1.  Both of those are very debatable statements.