ATL and CLE Harder to Beat than DET and LAL in 08 so we need a big, not Posey

[BudweiserCeltic]

I have read many good points here both ways but we need to get a big first and then if we can get Posey too, great.  

Again, though, who is that big?  Is Kwame Brown going to be that much more valuable to our team than Posey?

Lol, why bring up Kwame Brown... yuck.

Desagana Diop needs to be looked at. He'd be extremely good in the role we need him for.

[CoachBo]

Oh, man. I need to drop out of this thread.

There is NO way that we're better off swapping Posey for Diop.

No way whatsoever.

[wdleehi]

I love Poz and want him here, but the guy is referencing specifically clev and atl, Poz did an amazing job on Kobe, but this concept that his D on lebron helped us win the cleveland series, well I just didnt see it. If you still have the games on tape (i do not but watch each game at least twice) what lebron did to posey as far as getting to where he wanted to on the court was just painful. PP was by far our best defender on lebron...

that said, posey is such a solid player I think i would still make him the priority as far as off season spending goes

Who covered Lebron when Pierce went to the bench?  Do we want to see Ray, Tony or one of the rookies on him next year?

Or some other free-agent pick-up.

That's why I wrote

The Celtics need Posey (or someone close to his defensive ability) next season. 

But do we see anyone out there equal?

Matt Barnes or Mickael Pietrus might be up for the task in our defense, especially with all the help defense we can give.

Some might disagree with me, but I think the key for LeBron wasn't as much Pierce and Posey, but our big man rotation behind them... Pierce and Posey were great though. But as we know, we don't stop this types of players individually, it takes the whole team.  Also, Pierce was much better on LeBron than Posey was. Aside from the first 1 or 2 games, LeBron started looking quite good against Posey.  I remember you getting on Doc for putting Posey on LeBron instead of Pierce in one of the games. The reason for that was because LeBron was getting the best of him.

Then there's the Rip Hamilton situation. A bit unfair to put Posey in this situation, but just as we get someone capable of defending powerful powards/guards, we still have problems with the quick ones. So it's not as clear cut as some people might want us to think.

Posey needs to resign, but I wouldn't go and hand him the full MLE without exploring other options to maximize the MLE first.

I don't like Matt Barnes.  He founds his perfect situation in GS and played well.  He was a nothing player before that.


(I feel the same way about Diaw)

I like Pietrus as a 2nd option if they can't resign Posey.



I am a big believer in getting a 2nd C.  But I don't see one out there that I would value over Posey.

[rondohondo]

I have read many good points here both ways but we need to get a big first and then if we can get Posey too, great. 

Again, though, who is that big?  Is Kwame Brown going to be that much more valuable to our team than Posey?

yea seriously who is the big man that would compliment this team better then Posey?? Kwame? Stromile swift? Jamal Magloire? Theo Ratliff? I would rather have posey then any of those guys

[BudweiserCeltic]

Oh, man. I need to drop out of this thread.

There is NO way that we're better off swapping Posey for Diop.

No way whatsoever.

Never said we were... but it has to be explored. We also have to consider who we can acquire for cheap and consider that Diop is much younger.

[Roy Hobbs]

Oh, man. I need to drop out of this thread.

There is NO way that we're better off swapping Posey for Diop.

No way whatsoever.

Never said we were... but it has to be explored. We also have to consider who we can acquire for cheap and consider that Diop is much younger.

If rumors that Dallas will extend him an offer for the full MLE, he's not going to come cheap.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Oh, man. I need to drop out of this thread.

There is NO way that we're better off swapping Posey for Diop.

No way whatsoever.

Never said we were... but it has to be explored. We also have to consider who we can acquire for cheap and consider that Diop is much younger.

If rumors that Dallas will extend him an offer for the full MLE, he's not going to come cheap.

That's not what I meant. What I meant if we spend full MLE on someone, who can we acquire for cheap to fill the other roles.

If it's on Posey, then a cheap center, if it's on Diop, then on a SF... that's the real thing we need to look at in my opinion.

Listen, I'm all up for giving Posey the full MLE... I just don't believe we should just give it to him blindly because I see some good opportunities out there on what the team could do to improve. They need to be explored. If ultimately the team feels Posey is the best choice, then sure, but let's not shut our eyes... I'm sure Ainge is doing his work.

As good as Posey was, he's on the decline... and if we're going to give him a multi-year deal, I can see Diop being as good of a choice because of his youth. Having Diop will set our center position for years to come with Perk in there. We won't have to worry about a big man for quite some time. That's huge in my opinion.

[BballTim]

Point guard is not as good as I would like to see, either.  Rondo really looked inexperienced in the playoffs except for game 6 against LA.

  Rondo really looked inexperienced in games 1 and 2 vs LA?

[indeedproceed]

Anyone suggest Rod Benson as a possible addition to our squad?

[bbc3341]

Atlanta was tough because of their athleticism and the C's not having developed fully - play them again with this team and I bet we'd sweep them. Cleveland was tough because they play great defense and had the best player on the floor. A back up big man would not change anything from either of these series, but losing Posey would be huge.

[Celtics17]

Who was tougher to guard, Lebron or Clevelands bigs? Kobe or Detroits bigs? I still say Posey is more valuable then any big we could get for his money. I do undestand your point though and you may be correct. The thing is, we don't get the title without Posey or another very very good perimiter defender while it is possilbe we get it again with development from our current bigs only.

[Jon]

I agree that we're a bit limited upfront and that Atlanta and Cleveland's size did present some problems.  However, as some have already pointed out, who is really the answer to that?  It's not like there's a lot of great big man out there to begin with, particularly not ones who are going to sign for the MLE. 

I think Perkins and Rondo learning to finish around the basket against athletic big men would go a long way in helping us too.  It always kills me when Perkins dribbles it once before he goes up for a dunk.  It's stupid things like that more than size that hurt us against the Hawks and Cavs.

I also wouldn't worry too much about Bynum.  He hasn't proved anything yet and we don't know how well he's going to bounce back from his injuries.  Furthermore, I'm curious to see if the Lakers can function with him.  Unless they trade Odom for Artest or something like that, what used to be a very quick team becomes rather slow with Bynum at the 5 and Odom at the 3.  Furthermore, while Bynum could help with interior defense, Odom and Gasol are matadors.  Plus, how's all of this going to work with the triangle, none of L.A.'s frontcourt can shoot.  To me, this seems an awful lot like the Rockets team with Olajuwon, Barkley, and Pippen.  It sounds good on paper, but there games really didn't compliment each other.  I foresee Bynum's presence hindering Kobe and Gasol as he clogs the lane both defensively and offensively.  As bad as I think Radmanovic is, I think their offense isn't going to run smoothly without a shooter like him on the floor.  And if their offense weakens, whatever help Bynum can give defensively isn't going to make up for that.  so I wouldn't assume we definitely see the Lakers back in the Finals again next year. 

All in all, I agree we could use some frontcourt help, but that's easier said than done.  And whatever center we could get for the MLE won't be good enough to make up for Posey. 

[Vermont Green]

I don't have the answer to who the big man we should get is.  I agree totally that it is easier said than done but it needs to be done.  I think if we try another run with PJ, Powe, and BBD as our depth at big, even if we have Posey, that we don't get out of the east next year.  At this point, I am the most worried about CLE but there is a lot still to work out in terms of off season deals so we will see.  I would love to see Posey back with the team if for nothing else than that he is a good guy (his mouth guard not withstanding).  I may be well in the minority on this but I think his value for next year (and certainly for the next 4 years) is currently exaggerated.  He is a good, versatile, bench player at the most plentiful position in the league.  Hopefully this whole debate will turn out to be moot and he signs for a couple of years at $3M, leaving enough money for a realistic big (who ever that may be), just for a crack at a couple of more rings.