CelticsStrong
Celtics Basketball => Celtics History => Topic started by: Dino Pitino on May 29, 2017, 10:22:40 PM
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Here is the challenge, select an all-time Celtics starting five that could beat both Cleveland and Golden State but without using Russell or Bird or Havlicek or Garnett. So, like...
C - Cowens
PF - McHale
SF - Pierce
SG - Sam Jones
PG - Cousy
Would that do it? If not, suggest your own.
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Is Ray Allen eligible?
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Cowens
McHale
Reggie
Pierce
Tiny
6th man: IT
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Is Ray Allen eligible?
Yes, as long as it's the Ray Allen who played for the Celtics as opposed to the Bucks or Sonics version.
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Cowens
McHale
Reggie
Pierce
Tiny
6th man: IT
I'd take Jo Jo over Tiny, but other than that, you picked my starting 5. Shame Jo Jo doesn't get mentioned often enough in the list of greats.
Need 2002ish Pierce. He was quick. An and-1 machine.
And with Dave and McHale in the middle, no layup rule no doubt in effect.
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Is Ray Allen eligible?
Yes, as long as it's the Ray Allen who played for the Celtics as opposed to the Bucks or Sonics version.
In a series with everyone healthy
Walton
McHale
Pierce
Ray Allen
Playoff Rondo
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Bob Cousy
Reggie Lewis
Paul Pierce
Kevin McHale
Robert Parish
Can swap Pierce and Lewis at SG/SF, but those are my 5
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Cowens
McHale
Reggie
Pierce
Tiny
6th man: IT
I'd take Jo Jo over Tiny, but other than that, you picked my starting 5. Shame Jo Jo doesn't get mentioned often enough in the list of greats.
Need 2002ish Pierce. He was quick. An and-1 machine.
JoJo was a heck of a player. He'd bring more size and defense. I like Tiny's scoring punch and court vision, and he was a little more efficient.
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Subquestion for those responding: How many games out of 7 does it take for your lineup to beat each of CLE and GS?
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Subquestion for those responding: How many games out of 7 does it take for your lineup to beat each of CLE and GS?
6 and 6,but that might be conservative. Cowens and McHale would dominate either team inside, and Reggie/Pierce would both make Lebron/Durant work.
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Rondo
Reggie Lewis
Truth
McHale
Cowens
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PG - Shammond Williams
SG - Ricky Davis
SF - Jiri Welsch
PF - Vin Baker
C - Dwayne Schintzus
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C-Russell
PF-McHale
SF-Bird
SG-Havlicek
PG-Thomas
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C-Russell
PF-McHale
SF-Bird
SG-Havlicek
PG-Thomas
Can't use Bird or Havlicek or Russell.
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Is Ray Allen eligible?
Yes, as long as it's the Ray Allen who played for the Celtics as opposed to the Bucks or Sonics version.
In a series with everyone healthy
Walton
McHale
Pierce
Ray Allen
Playoff Rondo
A healthy Bill Walton was something to behold.
Unfortunately, it was also almost as rare as Haley's comet.
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Since this is fantasy land, I want to see someone special play in a Celtics uniform for once.
C - Kevin McHale
PF- Len Bias
SF - Paul Pierce
SG - Ray Allen
PG - Dennis Johnson
6th man - Reggie Lewis
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Chief
Cowans
Danny Ainge
Bill Walton
McHale
Dennis Johnson
Rondo
Cornbread
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PG - Shammond Williams
SG - Ricky Davis
SF - Jiri Welsch
PF - Vin Baker
C - Dwayne Schintzus
With Brad coaching and a few hours sobriety they just might steal a game.
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If I added Cowens and McHale to the no-can-use list...
C - Parish
PF - Maxwell
SF - Pierce
SG - Lewis
PG - DJ
...would a team like that be able to take down CLE/GS?
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How about I totally disregard your rules and go with.
Bill Russell
Garnett
Larry BirdMan
Paul Pierce
Rondo
Bench
Chief
McHale
Len Bias
Hondo
Tiny Archibald
Cousy and Heinson to round out the bench
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Dennis Johnson / Isaiah Thomas / Nate Archibald
Ray Allen / Sam Jones
Paul Pierce / Reggie Lewis
Kevin McHale / Paul Silas
Dave Cowens / Robert Parish / Bill Walton
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PG: JoJo White
SG: Ray Allen
SF: Paul Pierce
PF: Kevin McHale
C: Dave Cowens
With a bench of:
PG: 08 Rondo
SG: Danny Ainge (early 80s)
SF: 08 James Posey
PF: 12 Brandon Bass
C: 08 PJ Brown
Would absolutely kill those superteams and is a realistic one (fits the cap)
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KG. McHale, Pierce, IT, DJ would floor them. I would take Cowens, Parrish, Ray Allen, Rondo and Jo Jo to round out the rotation and my end of the bench would be Cedric and Silas.
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Cowens
McHale
Pierce
Lewis
DJ
I'm surprised more people aren't picking DJ. With him, Reggie, and Pierce you would have all the pieces to cover shooters and switch at the 1/2/3.
I think (young) McHale on Lebron is a good matchup too. Barkley said McHale was the best player he ever faced, and young Barkley is pretty similar physically to Lebron now, as much as anyone could be.
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Since this is fantasy land, I want to see someone special play in a Celtics uniform for once.
C - Kevin McHale
PF- Len Bias
SF - Paul Pierce
SG - Ray Allen
PG - Dennis Johnson
6th man - Reggie Lewis
3 of those guys are no longer with us..RIP
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IT
AB
Smart
Crowdy
Big Al
We were waiting for them in the finals, they cowardly decided to play Cleveland.
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Robert Parish '82
Paul Pierce '06
Reggie Lewis '93
Tony Allen '09
Dennis Johnson '85
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Cowens
McHale
Pierce
Lewis
DJ
I'm surprised more people aren't picking DJ. With him, Reggie, and Pierce you would have all the pieces to cover shooters and switch at the 1/2/3.
I think (young) McHale on Lebron is a good matchup too. Barkley said McHale was the best player he ever faced, and young Barkley is pretty similar physically to Lebron now, as much as anyone could be.
Yeah, McHale frequently guarded Dr. J. He'd be another body to throw at Lebron.
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Cousey
Allen
Pierce
McHale
Cowens
Bench
JoJo
IT
Lewis
Jones
Maxwell
Horford
Parrish
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How are people sleeping on Reggie??
Long, athletic, excellent defender (ask Jordan), long/midrange/driver, he was before his time. He'd be great today.
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How are people sleeping on Reggie??
Long, athletic, excellent defender (ask Jordan), long/midrange/driver, he was before his time. He'd be great today.
Yeah, to me Reggie / Pierce easily outpaces Pierce / Ray, but some folks might be worried about our spacing. I prefer the length and spacing, and think that Reggie would have added an improved 3PT shot in the modern era.
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How are people sleeping on Reggie??
Long, athletic, excellent defender (ask Jordan), long/midrange/driver, he was before his time. He'd be great today.
I had picked Reggie as the 6th man off the bench. I loved Reggie and he is one of my all time favorite Celtics. I was going back and forth as to who to take at SG, but I decided on Ray Allen due to his superior 3 point shooting, which I thought would have been needed against the two teams involved. I also decided to pick Dennis Johnson to try to lock down Curry and Irving.
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Got to have Bill Walton coming off the bench
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I don't know about you guys, but I feel that good ol' Rick Fox is worth mentioning as he could match up pretty good with this Warriors team. Also, he was able to play with anybody due to his 3&D skillset and good BBIQ.
He won with Lakers, but he bled green and was basically tricked by our FO.
Let's give him some props.
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With everyone healthy?
IT
Ray Allen
The Truth
McHale
Shaq
I'm just laughing thinking of people trying to score inside against McHale and Shaq.
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Cowens
McHale
Pierce
Sam Jones
Cousy
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Dino Radja
Marc Blount
David Wesley
Tony Delk
Xavier Mcdaniel
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Id probably put Posey in there. He can probably contain both Love and Draymond.
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Cowens would kill GSW
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Dj
Jones
Pierce
Mchale
Cowens
Bench
Allen
Cousy
Parish
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Marcus Banks
Joe Forte
Kedrick Brown
Jerome Moiso
Fab Melo
boom.
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Jo Jo White - I wanted DJ to guard Steph or Kyrie, but I think we need shooting
Pierce - play him at the 2, he can guard Klay and make him work on the other end
Maxwell - to stick on Durant or Lebron
McHale - his post up game can still work in today's game, help with weakside D
Cowens - either him or Parish, I think his DC's perimeter game makes him more useful, although I could see making the case for Parish.
If we can do a bench:
DJ - lock up Curry and Kyrie
Ray Allen - shooting obviously, plus jokes about how he will jump to one of these teams if we lose
Satch - another 3 to put on Lebron and KD
Paul Silas - D and rebounding - would match up nicely with Draymond
Parish - Great for posting up, pick and rolls, interior defense
Ainge - D and shooting - I think his athleticism would work well in a death lineup with Max, Silas, Ray and Jo Jo
Sam Jones - you can't have enough shooters or clutch performers
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Isaiah Thomas
Jaylen Brown
Gordon Hayward
Marcus Morris
Al Horford
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Got to add Paul Silas to kick butt on the boards and Din Chaney for defense
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Isaiah Thomas
Jaylen Brown
Gordon Hayward
Marcus Morris
Al Horford
I like it.
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Isaiah Thomas
Jaylen Brown
Gordon Hayward
Marcus Morris
Al Horford
This
Thread ended
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Gimme some Tiny Archibald please
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cowens (make green look sad) I'd actually think he'd be the X factor, he's a guy that gs would want now
mchale
pierce
reggie lewis
jojo white
now prime tiny before he was a Celtic :P
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McHale, Cowens and PP, Reggie Lewis and DJ
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McHale, Cowens and PP, Reggie Lewis and DJ
Cowens was first stretch 5 when stretch was to the top of key. LOL
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cowens (make green look sad) I'd actually think he'd be the X factor, he's a guy that gs would want now
mchale
pierce
reggie lewis
jojo white
now prime tiny before he was a Celtic :P
Nice. Just came to post this. TP.
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Sam Jones ain't getting enough love on this subject. The man's WS/48 is higher than:
Dwyane Wade
Carmelo Anthony
Kobe Bryant
Scottie Pippen
And a ton of Celtic greats being mentioned here. Sam Jones, if he played nowadays would be considered one of the greatest players ever because would have started right out of college and hung giant career numbers up. He played 3 positions and at 6'4" was the one of the most versatile two-way players in the league.
If you're not starting Sam Jones on one of these teams, you just have no idea just how great this guy was.
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My goal would be to work inside-out and do so with bigs that can post-up and hammer them in the post and on the glass. With enough shooting on the perimeter to stretch the D out and allow our bigs room to operate. I also want positional size at every position, which is why I opted for Johnson and White at PG over Rondo, Thomas, Tiny, and Cousy. Walker would be the skinny version. He was a really talented player and on this team wouldn't be asked to do too much, which would reduce his high turnover rate and low percentages.
Starters
McHale
Pierce
Cowens
DJ
Lewis
Second Team
Horford
Walker
Parish
JoJo
Allen
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Pierce
McHale
Thomas
Hayward
Allen
You need at least four good three point shooters to have a prayer.
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I think Parish had the agility and quickness to play today's game, although he didn't showcase it often. He was a 2 way stud in his prime. Rim protection!
McHale began evolving his 3 pointer late. I'd take him regardless. Absolute beast (unicorn, as they say).
Pierce, yes. Reggie, yes. Prime Rondo & IT, yes & yes.
Ray & DJ off the bench. Young Antoine for kicks. Chauncey Billups & Joe Johnson deep bench. Tommy Heinsohn .... wild card/moxy.
Kevin Gamble, Eddie House, Waltah McCarty.
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As a teenager born in the 00s, it baffles me that no one actually even thinks of JoJo White except for a select few, in a group that supposedly should have a lot of people that have watched 70s games. Do you guys not know how average DJ actually was in HIS CELTICS CAREER compared to White?
DJ: 12.6 PPG, 6.4 APG, 3.2 RPG, 1.2 SPG and 0.4 BPG on 44.6/15.6/84 shooting.
JoJo: 18.4 PPG, 5.1 APG, 4.3 RPG, 1.3 SPG and 0.2 BPG on 44.2/NA/83.3 shooting.
JoJo was clearly an All-Star caliber player during his tenure with the Celtics while DJ was a very good role player. I do not mean to slight DJ but White was significantly better as a celtic.
My all-time team (subs will be role players)
JoJo White/08 Rondo
Sam Jones/Danny Ainge
Paul Pierce/James Posey
Kevin McHale/12 Brandon Bass
Dave Cowens/86 Bill Walton
This team has both the defensive versatility to shut down GSW and the offensive firepower to score (JoJo is a GOAT 3rd option, Sam Jones averaged 25 PPG in his prime, 'nuff said about the Captain, McHale was a low post torture chamber and Cowens was an MVP in a 70s with Kareem and Dr. J). Bench is also versatile enough to deal with the Livingstons and Iguodalas of GSW, plus Bill would kill the opposing center.
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I guess no one's willing to admit that JoJo>DJ as a Celtic?
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I feel Jojo white is a very overlooked guy, great player, amazing defender. A side note for c's all time team. Tiny, DJ, Walton (and I'm sure others I'm not thinking of) came to the celtics past their prime. DJ in Seattle was a much different player. Tiny with KC was AMAZING. Players like Dominique , Maravich etc its easy to know he wasn't the same guy. Tiny and DJ mainly still played great for us but were a few steps below their best game.
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Len Bias was a Celtic for a day. :'(
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I feel Jojo white is a very overlooked guy, great player, amazing defender. A side note for c's all time team. Tiny, DJ, Walton (and I'm sure others I'm not thinking of) came to the celtics past their prime. DJ in Seattle was a much different player. Tiny with KC was AMAZING. Players like Dominique , Maravich etc its easy to know he wasn't the same guy. Tiny and DJ mainly still played great for us but were a few steps below their best game.
Thank you for being the only apparent guy with the brains and the balls to acknowledge the GOAT 3rd option JoJo White. TP.
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C - Dave Cowens, 73 - 21/16/4 (MVP)
PF - Kevin McHale - 87 - 26/10/2.5, 2.2 b (4th in MVP voting)
SF - Paul Pierce - 08 - 19.5/5/4.5, 39% from 3 (14th in MVP voting)
SG - Ray Allen - 09 - 18/3.5/3, 41% from 3
PG - Dennis Johnson - 87 - 13.5/3/7.5, 1st team all defense
Main rotation - Bob Cousy, Reggie Lewis, Ed Macauley, Sam Jones
Deep bench - Robert Parish, JoJo White, Danny Ainge
Suits - Rajon Rondo, Eddie House, Isaiah Thomas
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Dave Cowens is one of bygone NBA players who would fit in the modern NBA and excel.
Dave Cowens holds the record for most rebounds at Florida State 17.2 rebounds per game.
He was 6'9" 230 pounds.
In his junior season, against LSU he grabbed 31 rebounds which stands a second best all time.
He was all elbows, nobody wanted to play against him. Lebron James is a far better athlete than Dave Cowens and he would be having nightmares about Dave Cowens. Draymond Green is a better athlete than Dave Cowens...he would positively hate playing against him.
Auerbach took Cowens at 4th overall in the 1970 draft. Guess who told Red to pick him?
Bill Russell.
Cowens wanted it more than the other guy and the other guy knew it.
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To be honest I don't think this is possible. GSW will have the two best players in this series, and then Draymond/Klay/Iggy fit so well. Taking benches into account it might be more even.
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To be honest I don't think this is possible. GSW will have the two best players in this series, and then Draymond/Klay/Iggy fit so well. Taking benches into account it might be more even.
You think Curry would be better than the 5th best Celtic of all time?? Surely not.