I think a center is a stronger need than a three point shooter off the bench. I suggested trading Terry because I think he is a solid trade chip that we would use to help us. Bradley and Sully would be worth something to other teams but I don't want to trade either. Green's contract might be a bit much which drives his price down. Bass is not playing well so if you traded him it would be selling low. So I picked Terry to move because he makes the most sense and I see a center as a bigger need than what he does.
We have been a pretty successful team over the past 5 seasons, do you recall who our backup centers were?
2007-2008: PJ Brown / Brian Scalabrine
2008-2009: Brian Scalabrine / Mikki Moore
2009-2010: Rasheed Wallace / Brian Scalabrine
2010-2011: Glenn Davis (Shaq, JO, Krstic all had injuries)
2011-2012: Greg Stiemsma / Ryan Hollins
Do they look like teams that had outstanding backup centers to you?
On the other hand we have ALWAYS had multiple outside shooting threats. Obviously we had Pierce (as with now) but we also had:
* In 2008 Ray, Posey and Eddie House
* In 2009 Ray and Eddie House
* In 2010 Ray, Eddie House and Rasheed Wallace
* In 2011 Ray, Nate Robinson, Delonte West, Sasa Pavlovic,
* in 2012 Ray, Mickeal Pietrus, Sasha Pavlovic
Ray Allen was the #1 guy as a shooter who defenses needed to pay attention to. No defense would ever dream of leaving him open.
Second tier shooters were Eddie House, Nate Robinson, Rasheed, Pavlovic, Pietrus. These uys are no Ray Allen, but if they are streak shooters who can kill you from three if they get hot. You need to keep an eye on them.
This season Terry is like our Ray Allen equivalent. He's the guy that opposing defenses will always put a body on becuase he has an exceptional history as a three point shooter, and his reputation along draws defenders out.
Our second tier of shooters basically comes down to Barbosa - he's no pure shooter, but he's streaky and can kill you when he's hot (much like Eddie House). He's also only averaged 5 minutes per game over our last 8 games
Then we have Green, Bradley and Lee who are all third Tier shooters. Everyone knows these guys can hit the open three, but you aren't going to break a sweat about closing out on them because none of those guys are shooting over 32% for the season from three. In fact you almost WANT these guys to take a three, because they are far more dangerous from midrange (Lee, Bradley) or off the dribble (Green).
You need to consider that Terry has been top 15 or top 20 in the NBA in clutch scoring over the past several seasons. If we make the playoffs we are going to desperately need that scoring, and if we DON'T make the playoffs then it's all irrelevant anyway.
Personally I think all we need is to have a big body on the court at all times. As long as Collins and/or Fab Melo can come off the bench and back up KG for 20 minutes at the center spot, I think that's all we need in order to win games. So far it's worked well, and we've won by an average of 13 points over the two games since we've gone to that lineup. Lets give it some time and see how it plays out before we trade away our third best scorer and cripple our entire offense.
Ah yes, Lee is struggling with his shot... not only does he have the highest FG% after Rondo from our guard/wing positions, shooting a career high 48% from the field, he's shooting over 50% from the field in the last 17 games since December.
So no, Lee isn't struggling.
Lets say Boston have Lee on one corner, Terry on the other corner, and the opposing team wants to double Pierce.
Do you think the opponent would rather leave Terry open or Lee? I guarantee you they keep a body on Terry and leave Lee open if they had to make that choice.
Lee might be shooting 'better' over his recent stretch, but he is shooting 32% from three for the season. For the season Lee is shooting 35% on corner threes and 29% on above the break threes, neither figure is scary enough to scare opposing teams into overplaying him. His overall FG% is high because he's scoring very efectively off layups and from midrange, but his three point shot has been shaky to the point where every time he takes a three I cringe. To add to this I've watched pretty much every game this season, and almost every single three Lee's taken has been wide open. He very rarely shoots from three if he's contested and will generally pass the ball.
Terry is shooting 38% from three for the season. He is shooting 41% on corner threes and 36% on above the break threes. Both of those figures are solid. He has a well known reputation as a three point shooter and a back-breaker in the clutch and opposing teams will always respect his shot and keep a defender on him. This spreads the defense and gives guys like Rondo, Lee, Barbosa and Bradley opportunities to cut to the basket. Many of Terry's three-point shots have also been contested, yet he's still shooting a higher percentage than Lee for the season.
Terry also takes far more attempts than Lee. Terry is attempting 5.5 Three Pointers per 36 minutes, while Lee is attempting 2.3 attempts per 36 minutes. If Lee were taking twice as many attempts as Terry I'm guessing his percentage for the season would be more like 26% rather than 32%.
So despite the fact that Terry is taking twice as many attempts, gets more defensive attention and takes more contested shots, he's still shooting at a significantly higher percentage for the season than Lee is from the three point line.
The fact that Lee has shot as well from three as Jeff Green (both at 32%) this season should tell you all you need to know. Both of those are guys who are capable of hitting the three, but they aren't the guys you want taking that shot when the game is on the line.