Please start Sam vs Detroit!

[BrickJames]

Ray Allen is in a terrible slump.  Chauncey Billups, while old and wiley, is hurt.  Rondo is guarding Hamilton anyway.

Start Sam!  Let him get 5-10 minutes so he won't be completely ice cold if we ever need him late in the game during this series.  Continue to bring in House if it's appropriate, but let Ray come off the bench as the primary guard with something to prove.  Ray is definitely not true to form, but we need him to be if we are going to win this series and possibly the next one.

Sam is a perfect matchup for Billups - they are practically the same player.  Doc has always used the argument that he tweaks his rotation based on matchups.  If this is true, then there's no reason not to do this.

Of course, the primary offensive point guard duties would remain with RONDO.

Start Sam!
Go Celtics!

[rathcor]

Ray Allen is in a terrible slump.  Chauncey Billups, while old and wiley, is hurt.  Rondo is guarding Hamilton anyway.

Start Sam!  Let him get 5-10 minutes so he won't be completely ice cold if we ever need him late in the game during this series.  Continue to bring in House if it's appropriate, but let Ray come off the bench as the primary guard with something to prove.  Ray is definitely not true to form, but we need him to be if we are going to win this series and possibly the next one.

Sam is a perfect matchup for Billups - they are practically the same player.  Doc has always used the argument that he tweaks his rotation based on matchups.  If this is true, then there's no reason not to do this.

Of course, the primary offensive point guard duties would remain with RONDO.

Start Sam!
Go Celtics!

yeah great idea lets change up the line up that we only won 66 games and 2 playoff series. Lets start gabe pruit while were at it.

[crownsy]

Ray Allen is in a terrible slump.  Chauncey Billups, while old and wiley, is hurt.  Rondo is guarding Hamilton anyway.

Start Sam!  Let him get 5-10 minutes so he won't be completely ice cold if we ever need him late in the game during this series.  Continue to bring in House if it's appropriate, but let Ray come off the bench as the primary guard with something to prove.  Ray is definitely not true to form, but we need him to be if we are going to win this series and possibly the next one.

Sam is a perfect matchup for Billups - they are practically the same player.  Doc has always used the argument that he tweaks his rotation based on matchups.  If this is true, then there's no reason not to do this.

Of course, the primary offensive point guard duties would remain with RONDO.

Start Sam!
Go Celtics!

if we were going to shake up the lineup because a player wasen't shooting well, why would we put in a guy who is currently o-17?

if we were to shake up the line up, the better option would be pierce at the 2 and posey at the 3, or vice versa.

[wdleehi]

Keep Ray in.  While his shot might still be drifting to the side, his defense on Rip was good. 


And if he keeps attacking the basket, he will get to the FT line where his shot is still great. 



And isn't Cassell having a shooting slump as well?  And his defense, just bad.   

[BrickJames]

Ray Allen is in a terrible slump.  Chauncey Billups, while old and wiley, is hurt.  Rondo is guarding Hamilton anyway.

Start Sam!  Let him get 5-10 minutes so he won't be completely ice cold if we ever need him late in the game during this series.  Continue to bring in House if it's appropriate, but let Ray come off the bench as the primary guard with something to prove.  Ray is definitely not true to form, but we need him to be if we are going to win this series and possibly the next one.

Sam is a perfect matchup for Billups - they are practically the same player.  Doc has always used the argument that he tweaks his rotation based on matchups.  If this is true, then there's no reason not to do this.

Of course, the primary offensive point guard duties would remain with RONDO.

Start Sam!
Go Celtics!

yeah great idea lets change up the line up that we only won 66 games and 2 playoff series. Lets start gabe pruit while were at it.

Gabe Pruitt is a rookie who didn't play all year.  Sam Cassell is a proven veteran with clutch and playoff credentials.  We acquired him specifically for this reason.

We already saw Lindsey Hunter disturb House to the point that he doesn't bring the ball up when he's in there.

Ray Allen can't guard Billups if Billups is on - Cassell can.  If Rondo is going to continue to guard Hamilton, then it makes perfect sense to start Cassell.  Cassell would be getting minutes if our fans didn't complain every time he missed a shot and tried to scapegoat him for everything.

Ray Allen is also 0 for his last 17 if you remove his layups.  Why keep him in there?  Why not hold a grudge against him too?

The lack of logic being employed here makes very little sense.

[wdleehi]

Plus, what did Billups do that screams out, change the lineup?

[BudweiserCeltic]

Ray Allen is in a terrible slump.  Chauncey Billups, while old and wiley, is hurt.  Rondo is guarding Hamilton anyway.

Start Sam!  Let him get 5-10 minutes so he won't be completely ice cold if we ever need him late in the game during this series.  Continue to bring in House if it's appropriate, but let Ray come off the bench as the primary guard with something to prove.  Ray is definitely not true to form, but we need him to be if we are going to win this series and possibly the next one.

Sam is a perfect matchup for Billups - they are practically the same player.  Doc has always used the argument that he tweaks his rotation based on matchups.  If this is true, then there's no reason not to do this.

Of course, the primary offensive point guard duties would remain with RONDO.

Start Sam!
Go Celtics!

yeah great idea lets change up the line up that we only won 66 games and 2 playoff series. Lets start gabe pruit while were at it.

Gabe Pruitt is a rookie who didn't play all year.  Sam Cassell is a proven veteran with clutch and playoff credentials.  We acquired him specifically for this reason.

We already saw Lindsey Hunter disturb House to the point that he doesn't bring the ball up when he's in there.

Ray Allen can't guard Billups if Billups is on - Cassell can.  If Rondo is going to continue to guard Hamilton, then it makes perfect sense to start Cassell.  Cassell would be getting minutes if our fans didn't complain every time he missed a shot and tried to scapegoat him for everything.

Ray Allen is also 0 for his last 17 if you remove his layups.  Why keep him in there?  Why not hold a grudge against him too?

The lack of logic being employed here makes very little sense.

I think Ray can defend Billups... didn't he defend Billups quite a few times during the season, and successfully? Especially now with his hammy problem.

And Ray does A LOT more positive things in the floor than Cassell does, or you didn't notice all the times he setup his teammates last night, got a good rebound, and played quite good defense on Rip?

[PaulBonner]

No offense or anything to OP, but this is a terrible, terrible idea on multiple levels. Sam is in a worse shooting slump than Ray. Billups, even if he's not 100%, would destroy Sam because Sam is a sieve on defense.

I kind of like the idea of moving Paul to the 2 and starting Posey at the 3 with the idea of bringing Ray off the bench as a 6th man/scorer, but even this is a stretch given Ray's poor shooting lately.

All in all, it ain't broke (at home anyways), so why try to fix it?

[Chris]

Ray Allen is in a terrible slump.  Chauncey Billups, while old and wiley, is hurt.  Rondo is guarding Hamilton anyway.

Start Sam!  Let him get 5-10 minutes so he won't be completely ice cold if we ever need him late in the game during this series.  Continue to bring in House if it's appropriate, but let Ray come off the bench as the primary guard with something to prove.  Ray is definitely not true to form, but we need him to be if we are going to win this series and possibly the next one.

Sam is a perfect matchup for Billups - they are practically the same player.  Doc has always used the argument that he tweaks his rotation based on matchups.  If this is true, then there's no reason not to do this.

Of course, the primary offensive point guard duties would remain with RONDO.

Start Sam!
Go Celtics!

Ummm, Rondo is not covering Hamilton, he covered Billups all of game 1, Hamilton was the one covering Rondo (or whoever was bringing the ball up).

Also, if you start Sam, then sit him down, there is a good chance his back will tighten up again by the time you want to put him back in down the stretch, when you would need him most (if he is playing well).

But most importantly, Ray Allen played pretty well in game 1.  He missed his shots, but he played tremendous defense, and was aggressive on offense. 

[crownsy]

rondo actually gaurded billups quite effectivly  most of the night, and when he didn't ray did fine.

and again, i fail to see how starting sam, a vetran to be sure, but not a hall of famer like ray, would shake anythign up when sam is currently in a worse slump than ray is (0-17, 3-25 overall)

if we were going to make a radical change at the 2, it would be pierce, and posey takes the 3.

[RAcker]

Is this thread a joke?

[BrickJames]

No offense or anything to OP, but this is a terrible, terrible idea on multiple levels. Sam is in a worse shooting slump than Ray. Billups, even if he's not 100%, would destroy Sam because Sam is a sieve on defense.

I kind of like the idea of moving Paul to the 2 and starting Posey at the 3 with the idea of bringing Ray off the bench as a 6th man/scorer, but even this is a stretch given Ray's poor shooting lately.

All in all, it ain't broke (at home anyways), so why try to fix it?

The primary rationale in my post is to light a proverbial fire under Ray Allen's butt.  We will not win this series if he continues to lay stink bombs.

My suggestion, which people seem to be ignoring or not comprehending, is to give Sam 5-10 minutes.  Let Ray come off the Bench and fire away.

If he still can't hit the broad side of a barn, bring in House and let him hoist the bricks.

Edit: also, if there's anyone left in the playoffs that Sam can guard, it's Billups.  Chauncey will not abuse Sam on the post like he does to so many other guards.  That is Sam's game too and he knows how to defend it.

[crownsy]

in my experiance ripping your trust away from a guy who was pretty good for you all year starting midway through the postseason does little to "light a fire" and everythign to destroy confidence. mabey that works with rookies who don't knwo better, but ray knows he's letting the team down, he doesn't need a slap in his face to "wake him up"

i'm sure ray would accept it, because he's a professional, but it wouldn't :light a fire" under him, he's as ticked off at his preformance as everyone else, he's reportedly shooting many extra hours a day to try to get his stroke back...

Benching ray right now is the equivelnt of saying "sorry man, mabey next year, we don't belive in you to get it done."

 

[BballTim]

Sam is a perfect matchup for Billups - they are practically the same player.

  I'll file this, along with "Camy and KG are virtually the same player", in the "things I can't believe I just read" category.

[BrickJames]

in my experiance ripping your trust away from a guy who was pretty good for you all year starting midway through the postseason does little to "light a fire" and everythign to destroy confidence. mabey that works with rookies who don't knwo better, but ray knows he's letting the team down, he doesn't need a slap in his face to "wake him up"

i'm sure ray would accept it, because he's a professional, but it wouldn't :light a fire" under him, he's as ticked off at his preformance as everyone else, he's reportedly shooting many extra hours a day to try to get his stroke back...

Benching ray right now is the equivelnt of saying "sorry man, mabey next year, we don't belive in you to get it done."

Waiting 5-10 minutes to bring Allen into the game and benching him are two different things, the latter of which I am by no means a proponent of.

Let Ray watch the first 5-10 minutes, witness the flow of the game, the defensive strategy, mentally prepare himself to rain threes down on the Pistons.

I think it would work.  Whatever Doc and Ray are doing now to prepare certainly isn't.  Apparently, I'm alone.  Actually, if I'm not mistaken, even JVG/Jackson said on Tuesday that someone on the team should give Ray a verbal lashing.

While I agree that verbal abuse isn't necessarily the most productive, delaying Ray's entrance to the game could only work in his favor.  He will be able to attack the weak point in the Pistons' offense.

It's definitely not going to hurt his scoring numbers.....