would he have become the player he is today? Blake Griffin's work ethic obviously rubbed off on him, and this season Doc was able to get DPOY-like numbers from the guy. I'd like to believe that KG's work ethic would have produced a result very similar to Jordan's pairing with Griffin, but I'm not sure that any of that would have transpired. We know that Doc never played his rookies, so even as a backup, Jordan would be lucky to receive 10-15 minutes a game. Is he flawed? Absolutely - but he has a freakish wingspan, awesome athleticism, and speed that would have allowed the Celtics to have 5 guys who could run the floor on the court at the same time. I still remember shaking my head on draft night when we passed on taking him. The only issue in this scenario would have been the future of Perk. Would he have been traded earlier? What do you guys think?
At the very least, watching him and Rondo on the break would have been a lot of fun, imho, especially after KG got hurt
We don't know that. As a matter of fact, Doc played plenty of rookies plenty of minutes. This is one of those bizarre myths that persists despite having no basis in fact.
I'm not trying to be difficult, I just can't remember the last rookie who got immediate playing time. Wait a minute, it's Sully, right? I mean, Bradley was injured his rookie year, but Doc still should have at least thrown him out there, if for no other reason than reducing Ray's minutes. Ainge could have done a lot in the 2010 draft, because it was such a unique situation, with Chicago, New Jersey, and Miami (at least) selling first round draft picks in order to bolster their finances for the upcoming free agent bonanza. I wanted Stephenson, but say we buy a first rounder and take Bradley and Lance? Now that would have helped our depth considerably, assuming of course that Doc would have played them. Don't forget, Stephenson had a great summer league performance prior to his rookie year, but didn't really get on the court consistently until his the 2012-13 season. That's all I meant by that. There's a guy who would have benefited greatly from the veteran leadership on our team. He might be significantly more mature on and off the court today, but who knows?
Glen Davis played plenty his rookie year. No he didnt start, no he didnt play 30 minutes a game. He played a lot for a rookie 2nd round pick though, he learned the defensive rotations and was effective when he was out there, so doc played him. If he didnt like playing rookies, no one wouldve said much at all if Baby rotted on the bench the entire year, and Leon Powe played 30 minutes a game....assuming we were still winning.
But since we're playing the what if game. In 2007-08 do you think we win the title with a 2nd year PG, and a rookie center playing big minutes around our big three?? You could say it might take a year for Jordan to learn the defensive rotations and come into his own, but KG injures his knee in 2009. Yeah maybe we do end up winning in 2010, but then we're right back where we started with one title.
you can turn yourself cross eyed playing what if games.