Would you prefer Allen and Pietrus....

[crownsy]

Keep in mind people, that on a team with stars at the 2 and 3, we really only need one quality backup at the 2/3 unless someone gets hurt.

Ah, the important exception... unless someone gets hurt. As I've said countless times, we were quite lucky that our team was healthy through most of the year and playoffs. Depth is overrated, until you suddenly need it.

depth at spots your solid at while neglecting spots your not (I.E Center) is just as overrated.

I agree with you, which is why I've mentioned that I would like to see Danny try and trade Scal and Big Baby for whatever they can. For one player, or two players if it includes a big man. Then address the roster by signing the big man they were planning to sign anyways. Among those big man, one should be a legit PF/C.

That's my plan in addressing the need... don't know if it's a viable plan, but it's worth looking into.

Why do this? Gives us more legit size, it provides more flexibility in the PF/C positions, and it keeps Garnett at the PF position.

that would work for me, and if birdman wants the minimum, you can toss him in the mix too.

im opposed to paying anything above the minimum or more than a year and an option for birdman though.

[BballTim]

I absolutely wouldn't prefer him, but I would pursue Pietrus strongly as a backup, if you can't get Posey or Maggette.

I have zero interest in bringing back Allen, because I think Giddens fills his spot as the emergency wing with potential to be more very nicely.

My question to you is, wouldn't you like to see this type of unit and see what they can do?

Rondo
Tony
Giddens
Posey
Garnett

If not Tony, some other athletic 2. The reason I ask is because it's only possible if we treat Giddens as an addition instead of a replacement. We got Walker too, but I haven't seen much expectations of him for this year... so if both Walker and Giddens somehow make the roster, we could have a really explosive unit. If he doesn't, then I'd like to see Tony or a real replacement. I preffer to treat Giddens as an addition to the roster.

  Posey at pf generally means a big defensive letdown for the Celts.

[cordobes]

Warriors fan here...

Pietrus is a solid bench guy in the NBA.  However, he's not an outstanding defensive player.  I'm not really sure why he has that label. I've seen him get lit up countless times.  Of course that could change with the KG influence---not many players are driven to play D in Nellie's system.

One of my biggest gripes with him though is that he let's the flow of the game dictate his play.  It seems like he only plays well when the whole team is playing well.  He doesn't have the ability to pull a team out of a funk (like Posey).

However, he can occassionally catch fire.  The corner 3 is his bread and butter. 

Oh yeah, someone mentioned it above, he can be a bonehead sometime---a real liability in the clutch.

Because your team plays too late for east coast fans and nobody really sees them. The love fest for Pietrus has been wild here - it's like he has suddenly became a more athletic, younger Posey. Absurd... I can't stop imagining Pietrus catching a pass while stepping out of bounds (because he's too excited and lost any kind of self-awareness) in the final minute of a elimination game instead of making a clutch 3 like Posey. Why people want him before guys like Jones or Ross is something I can't really understand..

Btw, S&T Biedrins for Powe+fillers? You want to take that kid home...

[silvershamrocker]

Too many wings if we sign both of them. We already have the rookies as wings.

We only have one point guard and only one center, and you guys are wanting more wings.

[Cman]

At the risk of getting crucified, let me suggest that Danny's
back-up plan if he loses Posey and does not get Maggette is going to be Scal and Tony Allen. Yes, Scal.  Scal can defend the 4 well, and can hit the outside 3, although obviously not as well as Pose. He is a poor man's Posey, really. I know that is not what you want to hear.  But it is probably our simplest, most obvious Plan C.  

I don't think so.  I think Danny wants to really cash in on the NBA Championship to get a starting quality player (ie: Maggette) on the cheap (relatively speaking).  There is no guarantee the Cs will do as well next year, so the time to cash in is now.  I continue to think Maggette is Danny's top option right now.

Regarding the Pietrus -- I would be fine with DA bringing him in.  I do live on the west coast and do see a lot of GSW games.  My humble opinion is that he is just a really poor fit for Nellie's system (echoing a poster above).  I don't think anyone sees him as a 100% replacement or even upgrade over Posey.  But he is young, does have some skills, and, yes, he can defend (not like Posey of course).  It's just that Nellie doesn't believe in D.

I do agree it makes no sense to sign both TA and Pietrus.....

[BudweiserCeltic]

I absolutely wouldn't prefer him, but I would pursue Pietrus strongly as a backup, if you can't get Posey or Maggette.

I have zero interest in bringing back Allen, because I think Giddens fills his spot as the emergency wing with potential to be more very nicely.

My question to you is, wouldn't you like to see this type of unit and see what they can do?

Rondo
Tony
Giddens
Posey
Garnett

If not Tony, some other athletic 2. The reason I ask is because it's only possible if we treat Giddens as an addition instead of a replacement. We got Walker too, but I haven't seen much expectations of him for this year... so if both Walker and Giddens somehow make the roster, we could have a really explosive unit. If he doesn't, then I'd like to see Tony or a real replacement. I preffer to treat Giddens as an addition to the roster.

  Posey at pf generally means a big defensive letdown for the Celts.

Meh, only because we didn't have an effective small ball unit... we struggled to score, which put a ton of pressure on our defense. So, of course, those weren't the best defensive units with him at the PF, but our team wasn't getting the easy transition buckets that are customary of small ball units which magnified the diminished defense.

What I see this unit doing is playing competent defense, still be able to rebound the ball (Giddens is a great rebounder...can't forget about Rondo, and Garnett), push the pace up on offense to put the pressure on the other team's defense for easy points. Of course it won't be the best defensive unit we would be capable of, but it should be as good as it gets for a small ball unit that should be highly energetic and athletic... a unit to throw in for 5-10 minutes a game, or when the game calls for it.

[RonJohn]

Tony Allen is done as a Celtic. There is a reason they drafted two wing players in the draft. Giddens is Tony Allen 2.0: smarter, faster, not injury prone with a better offensive game.  As for having a rookie as a bench player, Detroit proved it this year that playing Rodney Stuckey meaningful minutes in the regular season worked out well for them in the playoffs.  Giddens can be the same type of player.

Tony Allen has playoff experience? He's a vet? Really? He got burned everytime he was put in the Detroit Series. He's a vet that still makes bonehead plays and does not take care of the ball. He should be gone as far as I am concerned.

As for Pietrus, I think he's a viable option if they cannot sign Posey. Remember BGJ is 31. I love him, but we need to stay flexible and locking him up for a long term deal can kill the franchise. Do we really want to pay him 4-5 years from now 8 mil a year? I don't think that is good for the long term health of the franchise.

3 years, at the midlevel, no more, no less.

Scal should never see the COURT. EVER.

[BballTim]

I absolutely wouldn't prefer him, but I would pursue Pietrus strongly as a backup, if you can't get Posey or Maggette.

I have zero interest in bringing back Allen, because I think Giddens fills his spot as the emergency wing with potential to be more very nicely.

My question to you is, wouldn't you like to see this type of unit and see what they can do?

Rondo
Tony
Giddens
Posey
Garnett

If not Tony, some other athletic 2. The reason I ask is because it's only possible if we treat Giddens as an addition instead of a replacement. We got Walker too, but I haven't seen much expectations of him for this year... so if both Walker and Giddens somehow make the roster, we could have a really explosive unit. If he doesn't, then I'd like to see Tony or a real replacement. I preffer to treat Giddens as an addition to the roster.

  Posey at pf generally means a big defensive letdown for the Celts.

Meh, only because we didn't have an effective small ball unit... we struggled to score, which put a ton of pressure on our defense. So, of course, those weren't the best defensive units with him at the PF, but our team wasn't getting the easy transition buckets that are customary of small ball units which magnified the diminished defense.

  No, even when he played with starters our defense was worse.

[Jon]

I absolutely wouldn't prefer him, but I would pursue Pietrus strongly as a backup, if you can't get Posey or Maggette.

I have zero interest in bringing back Allen, because I think Giddens fills his spot as the emergency wing with potential to be more very nicely.

My question to you is, wouldn't you like to see this type of unit and see what they can do?

Rondo
Tony
Giddens
Posey
Garnett

If not Tony, some other athletic 2. The reason I ask is because it's only possible if we treat Giddens as an addition instead of a replacement. We got Walker too, but I haven't seen much expectations of him for this year... so if both Walker and Giddens somehow make the roster, we could have a really explosive unit. If he doesn't, then I'd like to see Tony or a real replacement. I preffer to treat Giddens as an addition to the roster.

So we're going to re-sign Tony Allen or someone like him so we can see Doc use that lineup for 5 minutes once every 20 games?  I mean, come one, how often is he going to put 3 swingmen on the court at once and not involve either Pierce or Allen? 

[cordobes]

I absolutely wouldn't prefer him, but I would pursue Pietrus strongly as a backup, if you can't get Posey or Maggette.

I have zero interest in bringing back Allen, because I think Giddens fills his spot as the emergency wing with potential to be more very nicely.

My question to you is, wouldn't you like to see this type of unit and see what they can do?

Rondo
Tony
Giddens
Posey
Garnett

If not Tony, some other athletic 2. The reason I ask is because it's only possible if we treat Giddens as an addition instead of a replacement. We got Walker too, but I haven't seen much expectations of him for this year... so if both Walker and Giddens somehow make the roster, we could have a really explosive unit. If he doesn't, then I'd like to see Tony or a real replacement. I preffer to treat Giddens as an addition to the roster.

  Posey at pf generally means a big defensive letdown for the Celts.

Meh, only because we didn't have an effective small ball unit... we struggled to score, which put a ton of pressure on our defense. So, of course, those weren't the best defensive units with him at the PF, but our team wasn't getting the easy transition buckets that are customary of small ball units which magnified the diminished defense.

What I see this unit doing is playing competent defense, still be able to rebound the ball (Giddens is a great rebounder...can't forget about Rondo, and Garnett), push the pace up on offense to put the pressure on the other team's defense for easy points. Of course it won't be the best defensive unit we would be capable of, but it should be as good as it gets for a small ball unit that should be highly energetic and athletic... a unit to throw in for 5-10 minutes a game, or when the game calls for it.

There are lot of problems with that smallball lineup. First of all, no one in the backcourt can shoot. Rondo can't shoot, Allen can't, Giddens shot 10% from beyond the line when facing passable teams. Then, it's too undersized. Who would defend big forwards? Giddens is 6'5''. Also, he may be a good rebounder for a SG, but with his height, he wouldn't help much in the NBA at the 3. We would be outrebounded by every team who plays a regular lineup. When we went small against the Lakers we had Pierce and Allen playing in the wings... The only team against whom that lineup would make sense would be the Warriors with Ellis replacing Davis. But why let lesser teams dictate the tempo when we're the best one? And what kind of offensive system would you play with that line-up? You couldn't play NellieBall, your best shooters with range are the 4 and the 5.

Explosiveness is overrated, btw. The four conference finalists weren't exactly explosive teams.

[nickagneta]

I absolutely wouldn't prefer him, but I would pursue Pietrus strongly as a backup, if you can't get Posey or Maggette.

I have zero interest in bringing back Allen, because I think Giddens fills his spot as the emergency wing with potential to be more very nicely.

My question to you is, wouldn't you like to see this type of unit and see what they can do?

Rondo
Tony
Giddens
Posey
Garnett

If not Tony, some other athletic 2. The reason I ask is because it's only possible if we treat Giddens as an addition instead of a replacement. We got Walker too, but I haven't seen much expectations of him for this year... so if both Walker and Giddens somehow make the roster, we could have a really explosive unit. If he doesn't, then I'd like to see Tony or a real replacement. I preffer to treat Giddens as an addition to the roster.

No, I absolutely positively, I could never say it enough, ever want to see that lineup on the floor with any consistency.

Doc played some ball last year for stretches at the end of games because he had no choice many times. He had a small roster. Posey was the 5th best player on the team and he could shoot FTs. Perk, early on and for a good part of the season was a liability on the court late.

Doc's small ball lineups always seemed to do little less than give up more points. There were games where smallball got the Celts back in games but those small ball lineups consisted of House-R Allen-Pierce-Posey-Garnett. Maybe Davis or Powe is in there instead of Garnett or perhaps Rondo was in instead of House. But Doc's best small ball rotations always had Pierce and Allen with Posey or Pierce and House with Posey on the floor. Putting Garnett, Rondo, Allen and Giddens on the floor(three bad 3 pt shooters and one unproven 3 pt shooter on the floor with Posey is a recipe for disaster.

http://www.82games.com/0708/0708BOS2.HTM

Here's a link to Boston's 5 man units last year.

Only 4 units scored more points per 100 possessions than the starting unit and at the same time was within 6 points of giving up as many points as the starters.

The starters scored 113 pts per 100 poss and gave up 93 pts per 100 poss.
The second most played unit of T Allen in for Ray Allen scored 115 PP100 and gave up 93 PP100.
House-Allen-Allen-Posey-Davis scored 123 PP100 and gave up 87 PP100
Allen-Allen-Pierce-Garnett-Perkins scored 115 PP100 and gave up 83 PP100
House-RAllen-Pierce-Posey-Pollard scored 132 PP100 and gave up 90 PP100

The last three lineups combined played less minutes together as units as the second most used unit of Rondo-TAllen-Pierce-Garnett-Perkins did together and that group only played a total of 159 minutes together.

Notice 5 of the most effective combos were not small ball lineups and the two that were had either 3 or 4 three point shooters on the court at that time. Other than those two lineups small ball usually meant scoring less PP100 than the starters and giving up a lot more than PP100 than the starters.

With my three guys coming in(Posey, Thomas, and Mason) how's this for a small ball lineup:

Mason-RAllen-Pierce-Posey-Thomas

or

Rondo-Mason-Pierce-Posey-Garnett.

I think on a small ball lineup the way this team plays defense and is constructed offensively small ball means smart, veteran three point shooters that can all handle the ball. Your lineup with TAllen and Giddens would be a disaster. Sorry. Just my opinion.

[powe is the man]

Btw, S&T Biedrins for Powe+fillers? You want to take that kid home...
[/quote]

Ah, probably not.   Even though I love my boy Powe.

Biedrins is the most important player on the W's---more important than Monta.  10 boards a game and he's 21 yrs old.  Good to know that people/fans on the east coast know his value though---you'd never know by watching ESPN's NBA coverage. 

[BballTim]

I absolutely wouldn't prefer him, but I would pursue Pietrus strongly as a backup, if you can't get Posey or Maggette.

I have zero interest in bringing back Allen, because I think Giddens fills his spot as the emergency wing with potential to be more very nicely.

My question to you is, wouldn't you like to see this type of unit and see what they can do?

Rondo
Tony
Giddens
Posey
Garnett

If not Tony, some other athletic 2. The reason I ask is because it's only possible if we treat Giddens as an addition instead of a replacement. We got Walker too, but I haven't seen much expectations of him for this year... so if both Walker and Giddens somehow make the roster, we could have a really explosive unit. If he doesn't, then I'd like to see Tony or a real replacement. I preffer to treat Giddens as an addition to the roster.

No, I absolutely positively, I could never say it enough, ever want to see that lineup on the floor with any consistency.

Doc played some ball last year for stretches at the end of games because he had no choice many times. He had a small roster. Posey was the 5th best player on the team and he could shoot FTs. Perk, early on and for a good part of the season was a liability on the court late.

Doc's small ball lineups always seemed to do little less than give up more points. There were games where smallball got the Celts back in games but those small ball lineups consisted of House-R Allen-Pierce-Posey-Garnett. Maybe Davis or Powe is in there instead of Garnett or perhaps Rondo was in instead of House. But Doc's best small ball rotations always had Pierce and Allen with Posey or Pierce and House with Posey on the floor. Putting Garnett, Rondo, Allen and Giddens on the floor(three bad 3 pt shooters and one unproven 3 pt shooter on the floor with Posey is a recipe for disaster.

http://www.82games.com/0708/0708BOS2.HTM

Here's a link to Boston's 5 man units last year.

Only 4 units scored more points per 100 possessions than the starting unit and at the same time was within 6 points of giving up as many points as the starters.

The starters scored 113 pts per 100 poss and gave up 93 pts per 100 poss.
The second most played unit of T Allen in for Ray Allen scored 115 PP100 and gave up 93 PP100.
House-Allen-Allen-Posey-Davis scored 123 PP100 and gave up 87 PP100
Allen-Allen-Pierce-Garnett-Perkins scored 115 PP100 and gave up 83 PP100
House-RAllen-Pierce-Posey-Pollard scored 132 PP100 and gave up 90 PP100

The last three lineups combined played less minutes together as units as the second most used unit of Rondo-TAllen-Pierce-Garnett-Perkins did together and that group only played a total of 159 minutes together.

Notice 5 of the most effective combos were not small ball lineups and the two that were had either 3 or 4 three point shooters on the court at that time. Other than those two lineups small ball usually meant scoring less PP100 than the starters and giving up a lot more than PP100 than the starters.

With my three guys coming in(Posey, Thomas, and Mason) how's this for a small ball lineup:

Mason-RAllen-Pierce-Posey-Thomas

or

Rondo-Mason-Pierce-Posey-Garnett.

I think on a small ball lineup the way this team plays defense and is constructed offensively small ball means smart, veteran three point shooters that can all handle the ball. Your lineup with TAllen and Giddens would be a disaster. Sorry. Just my opinion.

  One thing you'll notice from those 5 man units i that out of the 20 units, the 6 worst defensive units (including the only 3 units with a negative +/-) have Posey at pf. Small sample sizes, but an unsettling trend.

[nickagneta]

I absolutely wouldn't prefer him, but I would pursue Pietrus strongly as a backup, if you can't get Posey or Maggette.

I have zero interest in bringing back Allen, because I think Giddens fills his spot as the emergency wing with potential to be more very nicely.

My question to you is, wouldn't you like to see this type of unit and see what they can do?

Rondo
Tony
Giddens
Posey
Garnett

If not Tony, some other athletic 2. The reason I ask is because it's only possible if we treat Giddens as an addition instead of a replacement. We got Walker too, but I haven't seen much expectations of him for this year... so if both Walker and Giddens somehow make the roster, we could have a really explosive unit. If he doesn't, then I'd like to see Tony or a real replacement. I preffer to treat Giddens as an addition to the roster.

No, I absolutely positively, I could never say it enough, ever want to see that lineup on the floor with any consistency.

Doc played some ball last year for stretches at the end of games because he had no choice many times. He had a small roster. Posey was the 5th best player on the team and he could shoot FTs. Perk, early on and for a good part of the season was a liability on the court late.

Doc's small ball lineups always seemed to do little less than give up more points. There were games where smallball got the Celts back in games but those small ball lineups consisted of House-R Allen-Pierce-Posey-Garnett. Maybe Davis or Powe is in there instead of Garnett or perhaps Rondo was in instead of House. But Doc's best small ball rotations always had Pierce and Allen with Posey or Pierce and House with Posey on the floor. Putting Garnett, Rondo, Allen and Giddens on the floor(three bad 3 pt shooters and one unproven 3 pt shooter on the floor with Posey is a recipe for disaster.

http://www.82games.com/0708/0708BOS2.HTM

Here's a link to Boston's 5 man units last year.

Only 4 units scored more points per 100 possessions than the starting unit and at the same time was within 6 points of giving up as many points as the starters.

The starters scored 113 pts per 100 poss and gave up 93 pts per 100 poss.
The second most played unit of T Allen in for Ray Allen scored 115 PP100 and gave up 93 PP100.
House-Allen-Allen-Posey-Davis scored 123 PP100 and gave up 87 PP100
Allen-Allen-Pierce-Garnett-Perkins scored 115 PP100 and gave up 83 PP100
House-RAllen-Pierce-Posey-Pollard scored 132 PP100 and gave up 90 PP100

The last three lineups combined played less minutes together as units as the second most used unit of Rondo-TAllen-Pierce-Garnett-Perkins did together and that group only played a total of 159 minutes together.

Notice 5 of the most effective combos were not small ball lineups and the two that were had either 3 or 4 three point shooters on the court at that time. Other than those two lineups small ball usually meant scoring less PP100 than the starters and giving up a lot more than PP100 than the starters.

With my three guys coming in(Posey, Thomas, and Mason) how's this for a small ball lineup:

Mason-RAllen-Pierce-Posey-Thomas

or

Rondo-Mason-Pierce-Posey-Garnett.

I think on a small ball lineup the way this team plays defense and is constructed offensively small ball means smart, veteran three point shooters that can all handle the ball. Your lineup with TAllen and Giddens would be a disaster. Sorry. Just my opinion.

  One thing you'll notice from those 5 man units i that out of the 20 units, the 6 worst defensive units (including the only 3 units with a negative +/-) have Posey at pf. Small sample sizes, but an unsettling trend.

Actually I did notice that. The small ball lineups were awful defensively and just never consistently better offensively to be effective as a whole. I really hope if Posey leaves that that means Danny goes with a real big to play backup center and we only see the small lineup for very specific circumstances. I feel last year Doc went with it because he had to, he had very little height. I hope that gets corrected this year.

[BudweiserCeltic]

I absolutely wouldn't prefer him, but I would pursue Pietrus strongly as a backup, if you can't get Posey or Maggette.

I have zero interest in bringing back Allen, because I think Giddens fills his spot as the emergency wing with potential to be more very nicely.

My question to you is, wouldn't you like to see this type of unit and see what they can do?

Rondo
Tony
Giddens
Posey
Garnett

If not Tony, some other athletic 2. The reason I ask is because it's only possible if we treat Giddens as an addition instead of a replacement. We got Walker too, but I haven't seen much expectations of him for this year... so if both Walker and Giddens somehow make the roster, we could have a really explosive unit. If he doesn't, then I'd like to see Tony or a real replacement. I preffer to treat Giddens as an addition to the roster.

No, I absolutely positively, I could never say it enough, ever want to see that lineup on the floor with any consistency.

Doc played some ball last year for stretches at the end of games because he had no choice many times. He had a small roster. Posey was the 5th best player on the team and he could shoot FTs. Perk, early on and for a good part of the season was a liability on the court late.

Doc's small ball lineups always seemed to do little less than give up more points. There were games where smallball got the Celts back in games but those small ball lineups consisted of House-R Allen-Pierce-Posey-Garnett. Maybe Davis or Powe is in there instead of Garnett or perhaps Rondo was in instead of House. But Doc's best small ball rotations always had Pierce and Allen with Posey or Pierce and House with Posey on the floor. Putting Garnett, Rondo, Allen and Giddens on the floor(three bad 3 pt shooters and one unproven 3 pt shooter on the floor with Posey is a recipe for disaster.

http://www.82games.com/0708/0708BOS2.HTM

Here's a link to Boston's 5 man units last year.

Only 4 units scored more points per 100 possessions than the starting unit and at the same time was within 6 points of giving up as many points as the starters.

The starters scored 113 pts per 100 poss and gave up 93 pts per 100 poss.
The second most played unit of T Allen in for Ray Allen scored 115 PP100 and gave up 93 PP100.
House-Allen-Allen-Posey-Davis scored 123 PP100 and gave up 87 PP100
Allen-Allen-Pierce-Garnett-Perkins scored 115 PP100 and gave up 83 PP100
House-RAllen-Pierce-Posey-Pollard scored 132 PP100 and gave up 90 PP100

The last three lineups combined played less minutes together as units as the second most used unit of Rondo-TAllen-Pierce-Garnett-Perkins did together and that group only played a total of 159 minutes together.

Notice 5 of the most effective combos were not small ball lineups and the two that were had either 3 or 4 three point shooters on the court at that time. Other than those two lineups small ball usually meant scoring less PP100 than the starters and giving up a lot more than PP100 than the starters.

With my three guys coming in(Posey, Thomas, and Mason) how's this for a small ball lineup:

Mason-RAllen-Pierce-Posey-Thomas

or

Rondo-Mason-Pierce-Posey-Garnett.

I think on a small ball lineup the way this team plays defense and is constructed offensively small ball means smart, veteran three point shooters that can all handle the ball. Your lineup with TAllen and Giddens would be a disaster. Sorry. Just my opinion.

Small ball unit doesn't always have to be about players that can shoot the ball. It can be consituted with players that drive hard to the basket and can run up and down the floor. You add Posey, a good 3-point spot shooter. You add Garnett who runs as well as any body in transition, and has a great jump shot, and the unit I suggested should be fully capable of doing some damage.

The problem with our small ball units last year was they were teams that didn't push the ball nor did they ran the floor well. You had to play your half court offense with consistency, and in those cases shooters are important, but not if you push the ball to attack the defense before it is set. We simply didn't have good pieces to do it.

You bring up Mason... what about a Rondo-Mason-Giddens-Posey-Garnett unit? I see that working really well.

But what does Mason mean to this team? That Giddens wasn't the replacement, but the addition to the team. Mason is Tony's replacement, which pretty much goes in line with what I've been saying. You're not too far off from my idea.

You might not see it, but you're actually making my case a bit. I've said that we haven't had the right personel for a small ball unit. When we had a small ball unit was out of necessity... that's why you, me, winsome, and whomever spent the good part of the season defending Doc for his small ball units. They looked bad, but Doc was left without choice in many of those occassions.

What I'm proposing is a legit small ball unit. If you lack the shooters (I don't want House, I want a bigger person at the 2), the next best thing is to go athletic and push the ball up with force.

There are lot of problems with that smallball lineup. First of all, no one in the backcourt can shoot. Rondo can't shoot, Allen can't, Giddens shot 10% from beyond the line when facing passable teams. Then, it's too undersized. Who would defend big forwards? Giddens is 6'5''. Also, he may be a good rebounder for a SG, but with his height, he wouldn't help much in the NBA at the 3. We would be outrebounded by every team who plays a regular lineup. When we went small against the Lakers we had Pierce and Allen playing in the wings... The only team against whom that lineup would make sense would be the Warriors with Ellis replacing Davis. But why let lesser teams dictate the tempo when we're the best one? And what kind of offensive system would you play with that line-up? You couldn't play NellieBall, your best shooters with range are the 4 and the 5.

Explosiveness is overrated, btw. The four conference finalists weren't exactly explosive teams.

There's a reason why it's called small ball, of course there's going to be some mistmatches. The good thing about this particular unit is that it's filled with players with long arms that can play bigger than what they are.

Why would we let a lesser team dictate the tempo? Why can't it be the Celtics dictating the tempo? You play your half court game, then all of the sudden you change tactics. It's a different look, while you have Ray and Pierce resting for a bit, players that had to play a lot of minutes out of necessity.

Explosiveness is overrated, if that's all you do. If explosiveness is merely one of your weapons, your team should be deadlier.

So we're going to re-sign Tony Allen or someone like him so we can see Doc use that lineup for 5 minutes once every 20 games?  I mean, come one, how often is he going to put 3 swingmen on the court at once and not involve either Pierce or Allen?  

Not solely. It's a unit you can have while Pierce and Ray are resting.