If, as some feel, Jeff's not good enough to start the game, and Pierce keeps playing like he has been, then we need to trade both of them and get some SF's who can do what it takes to deal with Miami....
Kirilenko? Ariza? Matt Barnes? Corey Brewer? Wilson Chandler? Martell Webster?
Pierce has been fine. He's been playing at an all-star level for a SF.
Green is a below average starter.
Seriously? Barnes or Webster over Pierce? Yeah...
Hear you on those two, though shocked at the year Barnes is having...giving much more than Butler in the stat department.
One issue I have with your approach in this argument is that it doesn't take a close enough look at things like energy level. Following your logic, how is it humanly possible that we lost to New Orleans and Detroit, among others? These are teams filled with players who are clearly, at this point, inferior to Pierce, and to KG and Rondo too. But they beat us. There's more to the equation than just lining up stats and career achievement. Age matters and so does fit.
If the concern is energy level, how is replacing Paul Pierce -- who has carried this team numerous times, played through injuries, sparked huge comebacks -- with the passive Jeff Green going to do anything positive?
This isn't replacing Ray Allen with Avery Bradley, or Bass with Sully. It's replacing a better and more energetic player with a lesser talent (in terms of scoring, passing, defense, and rebounding), and a guy who brings less energy.
Note that Doc didn't speak about making changes in the starting lineup. Rather, he talked about shipping folks out of town. Clearly, replacing the Captain isn't something Doc is thinking about.
More athletic due to being younger might be a better way of putting it than energy level.
I guess you're saying you don't want Pierce to switch to the bench until his backup shows clearly that he's a better player. I can live with that I guess, though when a player's age is in question I think teams and players should be flexible. I also think we should start games against Miami with our best defensive unit (so let's see how Jeff and Paul move forward on that end as the season progresses).
I actually think the Celts would have a better shot against Miami with Rondo and Jeff Green (or a Jeff Green replacement who is a good defender who can finish) developing chemistry for some months before that series comes to pass, and Pierce doing all kinds of damage off the bench while still closing games.
I don't think we can start a 35 and 36 year old against Wade and Lebron. But we might be able to finish games like that if we manage their minutes wisely, as is already happening with Garnett.
I guess I hold the opinion I do because a pet peeve of mine is watching gassed players heroically try to keep their level of play up when it's clear they're cooked. This has happened to us in some of our playoffs with Paul and Ray. A gassed player with no legs left is not much better than a D-Leaguer and at times worse. But that's more of a coaching issue than a who's the better player issue.
Topic: Start Green, Pierce sixth man (Read 16335 times)