Lets help Doc make the final Roster decisions

[indeedproceed]

some prisoner of the moment type stuff right here. micah downs?? come on lol. and doc probably won't read this thread.

He played like he gave a dang. Smith just cared about looking good.

Preseason heroes are dime a dozen, for every Jeremy Lin there are twenty Adam Morrisons who play tough and with effort but who ultimately just aren't the right fit/talented enough.

Plus Dionte Christmas has one skill Smith, Terry, and Lee don't have, and that's the potential ability to check 1s and 2s defensively.

[bfrombleacher]

some prisoner of the moment type stuff right here. micah downs?? come on lol. and doc probably won't read this thread.

He played like he gave a dang. Smith just cared about looking good.

Preseason heroes are dime a dozen, for every Jeremy Lin there are twenty Adam Morrisons who play tough and with effort but who ultimately just aren't the right fit/talented enough.

Plus Dionte Christmas has one skill Smith, Terry, and Lee don't have, and that's the potential ability to check 1s and 2s defensively.

At least we can both agree on one thing, no Jamar Smith.

[aporel#18]

Rondo/Terry/Bradley
Bradley/Lee/Terry
Pierce/Green/M.Pietrus
Bass/Sully/Wilcox
KG/Darko/Collins

Inactive/DLeague: Joseph/Melo


Christmas is a nice guy and he has some potential both on offense and defense, but heading to the playoffs we'll hopefully have our guard rotation set with Rondo/Bradley/Terry/Lee. We'll need an A+ defender at the wings, and when healthy, Pietrus is a nice specialist.

While Bradley is injured, and during the Regular Season, Christmas should have his chance, though.

Smith/Downs/Kurz... go overseas and earn your payday.

[nostar]

I watched the Celtics/Knicks preseason game last night and I learned a few things.

Pierce just isn't in shape yet. He did this last year too, he'll be fine by January probably. Expect a lull.

Smith/Xmas/Downs/Melo are not ready for the NBA. They don't know how to play organized basketball. I watched probably 10 plays in the 4th quarter where the C's 3rd string guys ran down the court and chucked 3's hoping something would land in the ocean. It was like watching high school ball.

Jeff Green is a beast. I think the reason that Jet is in the starting lineup at the moment is to give Jeff Green the scoring focus in the 2nd unit. That is just a guess though.

Terry can pass like a true PG. He found a couple of cutters and was doing a lot of drive-and-kick stuff when he took over ball handling. I'm pretty sure this is how our backup PG spot will look this season

Sullinger really does have a post game. I really hope he gets exposure this season.

Our bench scored 40 points and that isn't counting the clown car of 3rd string play at the end. I was super impressed.

Our vets are out of shape. KG, PP, and JT all looked winded and sloppy. I am fully expecting a repeat of last season where we sag into the all-star break and burn like a supernova until playoffs. I am also completely okay with that

[CelticsFan9]

I watched the Celtics/Knicks preseason game last night and I learned a few things.

Pierce just isn't in shape yet. He did this last year too, he'll be fine by January probably. Expect a lull.

Smith/Xmas/Downs/Melo are not ready for the NBA. They don't know how to play organized basketball. I watched probably 10 plays in the 4th quarter where the C's 3rd string guys ran down the court and chucked 3's hoping something would land in the ocean. It was like watching high school ball.

Jeff Green is a beast. I think the reason that Jet is in the starting lineup at the moment is to give Jeff Green the scoring focus in the 2nd unit. That is just a guess though.

Terry can pass like a true PG. He found a couple of cutters and was doing a lot of drive-and-kick stuff when he took over ball handling. I'm pretty sure this is how our backup PG spot will look this season

Sullinger really does have a post game. I really hope he gets exposure this season.

Our bench scored 40 points and that isn't counting the clown car of 3rd string play at the end. I was super impressed.

Our vets are out of shape. KG, PP, and JT all looked winded and sloppy. I am fully expecting a repeat of last season where we sag into the all-star break and burn like a supernova until playoffs. I am also completely okay with that

I think I remember Paul and KG saying they felt better than ever coming into this season, particularly Paul.  He's been working on strengthening that knee all summer, so he had to be doing some kind of exercise.  Jet looks fine to me, I think what you saw was three vets who didn't care about a preseason game.  Just wait until opening night, and then we'll see the REAL PP, KG, and JET.

[bfrombleacher]

...

I think I remember Paul and KG saying they felt better than ever coming into this season, particularly Paul.  He's been working on strengthening that knee all summer, so he had to be doing some kind of exercise.  Jet looks fine to me, I think what you saw was three vets who didn't care about a preseason game.  Just wait until opening night, and then we'll see the REAL PP, KG, and JET.

Yup. Pierce has been punking Melo all game long. It's pretty funny.

[Surferdad]

After the lost against the knicks, here is what I see :

Starters:

1) Start Terry until Bradley comes back.
2) Start Sully!! Bass is the better play but Sully strengths better fit with the starters than the bench.. Whereas Ba$$ will always get his and perform the same way anyways..

Making the Roster:

a) I would pick Micah Downs and let Kris Joseph go!
b) I would pick Jamar Smith and let Dionte Christmas go!

Joseph and Xmas are great players and all that but from what i see as area of needs from the team, I think Downs and Smith would bring more for the team (even if each one of them might be the lesser player compared to Xmas and Joseph..)

My point here is to look at how players FIT THE TEAM not necessarily who is the better player...

What do you think?

What suggestions would you give DOc to help him make the final roster decisions..?

I would not take that approach.  Roster spots 11 through 15 are not going to make a difference in the C's chances is season.  I think you have to take the best players available for those positions.  Who are the guys who show some real potential for the future and therefore perhaps are better trading chips as well?
I like Kris Joseph quite a bit but he didn't show much against the Knicks.  Still, I would keep him.  He reminds me a little of Marquis Daniels.  Mica Downs was impressive on the boards and getting to the rim.  I admit I hadn't seen him play before so maybe one game is not a big enough sample, buti would be tempted to keep him and stash him Portland, see what develops.  Smith seems like a chucked.  Where is the great shooting that Gorman was talking about?  If he's really mainly a shooter, I don't see the long-term potential.  Christmas, well, I just don't see what he fuss is all about.

Not sure this is the choice to be made, but I would keep Joseph and Downs, let Christmas and Smith go.

[hwangjini_1]

After the lost against the knicks, here is what I see :

Starters:

1) Start Terry until Bradley comes back.
2) Start Sully!! Bass is the better play but Sully strengths better fit with the starters than the bench.. Whereas Ba$$ will always get his and perform the same way anyways..

Making the Roster:

a) I would pick Micah Downs and let Kris Joseph go!
b) I would pick Jamar Smith and let Dionte Christmas go!

Joseph and Xmas are great players and all that but from what i see as area of needs from the team, I think Downs and Smith would bring more for the team (even if each one of them might be the lesser player compared to Xmas and Joseph..)

My point here is to look at how players FIT THE TEAM not necessarily who is the better player...

What do you think?

What suggestions would you give DOc to help him make the final roster decisions..?

I would not take that approach.  Roster spots 11 through 15 are not going to make a difference in the C's chances is season.  I think you have to take the best players available for those positions.  Who are the guys who show some real potential for the future and therefore perhaps are better trading chips as well?
I like Kris Joseph quite a bit but he didn't show much against the Knicks.  Still, I would keep him.  He reminds me a little of Marquis Daniels.  Mica Downs was impressive on the boards and getting to the rim.  I admit I hadn't seen him play before so maybe one game is not a big enough sample, buti would be tempted to keep him and stash him Portland, see what develops.  Smith seems like a chucked.  Where is the great shooting that Gorman was talking about?  If he's really mainly a shooter, I don't see the long-term potential.  Christmas, well, I just don't see what he fuss is all about.

Not sure this is the choice to be made, but I would keep Joseph and Downs, let Christmas and Smith go.

you have an advantage over me in that you watched the game and i could not. so please help me out with your observations on the "clown car" 3rd string performance in general and downs in particular please? (and a TP for the that analogy. accurate or not, it was funny.)

i have never, ever heard of downs before last night's game. but i looked him up and he is a 6'8" sg/sf. tall, if thin. his rebounding stats were impressive in one game and he has the reputation of being able to shoot and defend when playing in europe.

from what you saw, how did he look? can he handle the ball? did he look good shooting? how about defense?

i noticed he gave up a couple of steals to the knicks.

he might be fun to watch during the pre-season to see if the celtics found a decent bench player. but one game is indeed too small a sample to make much judgement. doc, at least, gets to see him in practice as well.

[dark_lord]

What suggestions would you give DOc to help him make the final roster decisions..?

to never, ever take advise from any1 on celticsblog.

[Jon]

Ideally, I'd like to see the Celtics keep all the vets, only one of the three bubble players (Christmas, Joseph, and Smith), and then get either another vet 1 or 3 to provide extra depth (depending on what direction they go with Joseph, Christmas, and Smith). 

However, I do think it's fairly likely that Danny keeps both 2 of the youngsters and then looks to cut one of them later in the year during buy-out season. 

Either way is fine.  I don't think we're going to be making any trades until at least the deadline and I wouldn't be surprised if Danny holds off until next summer or the deadline after.  I think he may need more time to see a) what he has, and b) build up some players' trade values. 

For instance, how much trade value will Bradley have come the deadline if he doesn't make it back until January?  Similarly, how willing would DA be to part with Courtney Lee if Bradley hasn't yet proven he can handle the 2 full time? 

So while we could have a blockbuster at the deadline for Smith or someone else, part of me wonders if Danny won't wait to see what he can do in the summer or next year's deadline.  Bass might arguably have more value then, with only 1.5-2 years left on a deal. 

[SHAQATTACK]

What suggestions would you give DOc to help him make the final roster decisions..?

to never, ever take advise from any1 on celticsblog.

Yes LoL !!Thats probally the best advise.

but since we are all armchair coachs living in fantasy land ,  IMO...

we should DUMP JSMITH , XMAS shouldn't come this year to Boston.

Keep Joseph and  M DOWNS.


JET  needs to HOG THE BALL MORE
Hope Bradley returns  by DEC.

[snively]

Micah Downs' athleticism is at least intriguing.