Oh I love Delonte. And Delonte is loved in Boston by the fans and by his teammates for one of the same reasons that Leon Powe, James Posey and Larry Bird were so uniquely appreciated.
First, I will say it so I don't get flogged for putting Posey, Power and Delonte in the same sentence with Bird. Bird was obviously a legend while Posey, Powe and Delonte are role players. I'm not comparing them as overall talents - just "one" aspect of their games.
But they all have one "very" endearing quality to them that rings loud and clear with blue collar Boston and their teammates:
* They all give you the sense that they will go to the floor or to the mat every game, all game, to help you win. They all will put their body on the line every night, go head long for the ball or head long for anyone on the other team who's trying to push us around. All those players have that same intensity and physicality to their game. It has nothing to do with the size of the player, it's the mind set. And that inspires their teammates and the fans and it's a really valuable quality to be getting from someone on your team.
Delonte wouldn't hesitate to step in front of Perkins to go toe to toe with Shaq...for Perkins.
That's why people love Delonte. He's huge glue guy because of that - even with his wackiness. Powe, Posey and yes, Bird, even with all his talent, was a major glue guy because of this same pit bull, street brawler mentality.
I think the reason people don't feel the same about Baby as they do Delonte is because they think Baby is soft and whiny, for his size.
I can tell you this, if you put Delonte's head on Big baby's body, no one in the league would want to come in the lane
because you'd have a 6'9", 290 lb guy with a loose screw in his head waiting for you.
But Big Baby is soft and people don't like that. They want him using that weight and strength to hit people and control the paint. But Baby doesn't do that, he's soft, other players aren't afraid of Baby and the fans get frustrated with him.
But with Delonte, if he's in the play, I'm sure most players are wondering what angle he's coming at them from as they go to the rim.
He lays it on the floor, people love that.
I'd sign him in a heart beat - but as he is fragile, I'd have another solid guy behind Ray with him.
Ray / Marquis / Delonte
Rondo / Bradley / Vet point with the min...
One of Marquis or Delonte is likely to be healthy all season and if Rondo goes down you can slide DWest to the point to help Bradley and the vet point...
That's a good rotation. If you don't like the Marquis and Delonte combo because of injuries, sign someone else other than Marquis as insurance...
Topic: Delonte Wests "#1 goal is to be back with boston" (Read 9492 times)