Who is the Backup 3? does anyone else NOT see a glaring weakness??

[xmuscularghandix]

[ben]

our back up 3 is MATT BARNES.  one problem, he is currently starting for the Pheonix suns.  But seriously, he signed for the vet minimum, averages 10 points, 6 rebs, 26 min, 6 foot seven, isn't afraid to get into fights with teams with ron artest on them...  i cried when the celtics failed to pick this guy up this summer...  perfect posey replacement, perfect backup 3, good enough to start for the 8-3 Pheonix suns, good enough to back up the Truth

[Sweet17]

TA hasn't been that bad. Check his net PER. Rondo is this teams achilles heel right now.

[Chris]

TA hasn't been that bad. Check his net PER. Rondo is this teams achilles heel right now.

I missed the game on Saturday, but overall, I think TA has been decent this season (and I am an admitted Tony un-apologist).  I am still very scared about him playing in the playoffs because of his tendency to lose all concentration when his offensive game is not working (or for no reason whatsoever), but in general, he has seemed more focussed and steady than he has even been.

I really think the biggest problem right now is the way the team is starting games so cold, it leaves them scrambling to keep up, and makes it very tough for Doc to throw the backups out there for extended minutes.

[Cman]

our back up 3 is MATT BARNES.  one problem, he is currently starting for the Pheonix suns.  But seriously, he signed for the vet minimum, averages 10 points, 6 rebs, 26 min, 6 foot seven, isn't afraid to get into fights with teams with ron artest on them...  i cried when the celtics failed to pick this guy up this summer...  perfect posey replacement, perfect backup 3, good enough to start for the 8-3 Pheonix suns, good enough to back up the Truth

You beat me to it.  I was just about to post on this.  He has always been a scrappy, hustle player, and on top of that he has improved his offensive game.  Would have been a nice, cheap pickup.  Of course, one wonders if he thrives in Phx because, like Gsw, it is a team that gets up and down the floor quickly, which is different from how the Celtics play.

[Roy Hobbs]

our back up 3 is MATT BARNES.  one problem, he is currently starting for the Pheonix suns.  But seriously, he signed for the vet minimum, averages 10 points, 6 rebs, 26 min, 6 foot seven, isn't afraid to get into fights with teams with ron artest on them...  i cried when the celtics failed to pick this guy up this summer...  perfect posey replacement, perfect backup 3, good enough to start for the 8-3 Pheonix suns, good enough to back up the Truth

You beat me to it.  I was just about to post on this.  He has always been a scrappy, hustle player, and on top of that he has improved his offensive game.  Would have been a nice, cheap pickup.  Of course, one wonders if he thrives in Phx because, like Gsw, it is a team that gets up and down the floor quickly, which is different from how the Celtics play.

You know, perhaps surprisingly Phoenix isn't playing at a tremendous pace this year.  They rank 16th in the NBA in terms of pace factor; the Celtics are 12th.  Shaq really changed that team.

[crownsy]

TA hasn't been that bad. Check his net PER. Rondo is this teams achilles heel right now.

can a team thats 9-2 with away wins over 4 playoff teams and home wins over 2 others have an achilles heel? honestly?

certainly were not plaing at our best, but come on now people.


i can't even imagine the shanaigens and overeactions if we were like, say 7-4. the season would already be over, and the trade paul for prospect threads would be up 

[Chris]

our back up 3 is MATT BARNES.  one problem, he is currently starting for the Pheonix suns.  But seriously, he signed for the vet minimum, averages 10 points, 6 rebs, 26 min, 6 foot seven, isn't afraid to get into fights with teams with ron artest on them...  i cried when the celtics failed to pick this guy up this summer...  perfect posey replacement, perfect backup 3, good enough to start for the 8-3 Pheonix suns, good enough to back up the Truth

You beat me to it.  I was just about to post on this.  He has always been a scrappy, hustle player, and on top of that he has improved his offensive game.  Would have been a nice, cheap pickup.  Of course, one wonders if he thrives in Phx because, like Gsw, it is a team that gets up and down the floor quickly, which is different from how the Celtics play.

You know, perhaps surprisingly Phoenix isn't playing at a tremendous pace this year.  They rank 16th in the NBA in terms of pace factor; the Celtics are 12th.  Shaq really changed that team.

Yeah, although I think playing with Nash does make a player like him look better, he can't perform miracles...especially not with the "new look" Suns.

To me, the issue with Barnes was always "did he want to play here?"  I always got the feeling he didn't, and the C's would have had to dramatically overpay him to join them.  And dramatically overpaying role-players who may not be a great fit for your system is not something the C's should be doing.

[Fafnir]

TA hasn't been that bad. Check his net PER. Rondo is this teams achilles heel right now.

can a team thats 9-2 with away wins over 4 playoff teams and home wins over 2 others have an achilles heel? honestly?

certainly were not plaing at our best, but come on now people.


i can't even imagine the shanaigens and overeactions if we were like, say 7-4. the season would already be over, and the trade paul for prospect threads would be up 

I'm just enjoying being able to hold the Celtics to a higher standard for a few years! I only started becoming a big sports fan around 2000 when I went to college. So this is an entirely new experience.

[Fafnir]

our back up 3 is MATT BARNES.  one problem, he is currently starting for the Pheonix suns.  But seriously, he signed for the vet minimum, averages 10 points, 6 rebs, 26 min, 6 foot seven, isn't afraid to get into fights with teams with ron artest on them...  i cried when the celtics failed to pick this guy up this summer...  perfect posey replacement, perfect backup 3, good enough to start for the 8-3 Pheonix suns, good enough to back up the Truth

You beat me to it.  I was just about to post on this.  He has always been a scrappy, hustle player, and on top of that he has improved his offensive game.  Would have been a nice, cheap pickup.  Of course, one wonders if he thrives in Phx because, like Gsw, it is a team that gets up and down the floor quickly, which is different from how the Celtics play.

You know, perhaps surprisingly Phoenix isn't playing at a tremendous pace this year.  They rank 16th in the NBA in terms of pace factor; the Celtics are 12th.  Shaq really changed that team.

Yeah, although I think playing with Nash does make a player like him look better, he can't perform miracles...especially not with the "new look" Suns.

Take a look at Marion's FG%. It is amazing how much more efficient he became with Nash. Now that he's not playing with him it went right back down.

[Cman]

our back up 3 is MATT BARNES.  one problem, he is currently starting for the Pheonix suns.  But seriously, he signed for the vet minimum, averages 10 points, 6 rebs, 26 min, 6 foot seven, isn't afraid to get into fights with teams with ron artest on them...  i cried when the celtics failed to pick this guy up this summer...  perfect posey replacement, perfect backup 3, good enough to start for the 8-3 Pheonix suns, good enough to back up the Truth

You beat me to it.  I was just about to post on this.  He has always been a scrappy, hustle player, and on top of that he has improved his offensive game.  Would have been a nice, cheap pickup.  Of course, one wonders if he thrives in Phx because, like Gsw, it is a team that gets up and down the floor quickly, which is different from how the Celtics play.

You know, perhaps surprisingly Phoenix isn't playing at a tremendous pace this year.  They rank 16th in the NBA in terms of pace factor; the Celtics are 12th.  Shaq really changed that team.

Yeah, although I think playing with Nash does make a player like him look better, he can't perform miracles...especially not with the "new look" Suns.

Take a look at Marion's FG%. It is amazing how much more efficient he became with Nash. Now that he's not playing with him it went right back down.

I haven't watched any Heat games this year, but based on his stat line, Marion looks like he is playing ok.  Sure there is a drop off, but it doesn't seem huge.  I wouldn't mind him coming to the Cs next year as a FA....

[Fafnir]

our back up 3 is MATT BARNES.  one problem, he is currently starting for the Pheonix suns.  But seriously, he signed for the vet minimum, averages 10 points, 6 rebs, 26 min, 6 foot seven, isn't afraid to get into fights with teams with ron artest on them...  i cried when the celtics failed to pick this guy up this summer...  perfect posey replacement, perfect backup 3, good enough to start for the 8-3 Pheonix suns, good enough to back up the Truth

You beat me to it.  I was just about to post on this.  He has always been a scrappy, hustle player, and on top of that he has improved his offensive game.  Would have been a nice, cheap pickup.  Of course, one wonders if he thrives in Phx because, like Gsw, it is a team that gets up and down the floor quickly, which is different from how the Celtics play.

You know, perhaps surprisingly Phoenix isn't playing at a tremendous pace this year.  They rank 16th in the NBA in terms of pace factor; the Celtics are 12th.  Shaq really changed that team.

Yeah, although I think playing with Nash does make a player like him look better, he can't perform miracles...especially not with the "new look" Suns.

Take a look at Marion's FG%. It is amazing how much more efficient he became with Nash. Now that he's not playing with him it went right back down.

I haven't watched any Heat games this year, but based on his stat line, Marion looks like he is playing ok.  Sure there is a drop off, but it doesn't seem huge.  I wouldn't mind him coming to the Cs next year as a FA....

When not playing with Nash he shoots around 45-47% from the field. When playing with him he shot around 52% from the field. That is a big difference. He's still an excellent player. I just wanted to make the point of just how much an effect Nash can have on a players game.

[Chris]

our back up 3 is MATT BARNES.  one problem, he is currently starting for the Pheonix suns.  But seriously, he signed for the vet minimum, averages 10 points, 6 rebs, 26 min, 6 foot seven, isn't afraid to get into fights with teams with ron artest on them...  i cried when the celtics failed to pick this guy up this summer...  perfect posey replacement, perfect backup 3, good enough to start for the 8-3 Pheonix suns, good enough to back up the Truth

You beat me to it.  I was just about to post on this.  He has always been a scrappy, hustle player, and on top of that he has improved his offensive game.  Would have been a nice, cheap pickup.  Of course, one wonders if he thrives in Phx because, like Gsw, it is a team that gets up and down the floor quickly, which is different from how the Celtics play.

You know, perhaps surprisingly Phoenix isn't playing at a tremendous pace this year.  They rank 16th in the NBA in terms of pace factor; the Celtics are 12th.  Shaq really changed that team.

Yeah, although I think playing with Nash does make a player like him look better, he can't perform miracles...especially not with the "new look" Suns.

Take a look at Marion's FG%. It is amazing how much more efficient he became with Nash. Now that he's not playing with him it went right back down.

I haven't watched any Heat games this year, but based on his stat line, Marion looks like he is playing ok.  Sure there is a drop off, but it doesn't seem huge.  I wouldn't mind him coming to the Cs next year as a FA....

No ones arguing Marion isn't a very good player, we are just saying that stats for players (especially wings) playing with Nash need to be put in context the same way stats racked up playing in Coors Field.  Just because a player plays with Nash doesn't mean he is terrible without him, but there is a good chance they won't be quite as good.

[BballTim]

our back up 3 is MATT BARNES.  one problem, he is currently starting for the Pheonix suns.  But seriously, he signed for the vet minimum, averages 10 points, 6 rebs, 26 min, 6 foot seven, isn't afraid to get into fights with teams with ron artest on them...  i cried when the celtics failed to pick this guy up this summer...  perfect posey replacement, perfect backup 3, good enough to start for the 8-3 Pheonix suns, good enough to back up the Truth

You beat me to it.  I was just about to post on this.  He has always been a scrappy, hustle player, and on top of that he has improved his offensive game.  Would have been a nice, cheap pickup.  Of course, one wonders if he thrives in Phx because, like Gsw, it is a team that gets up and down the floor quickly, which is different from how the Celtics play.

You know, perhaps surprisingly Phoenix isn't playing at a tremendous pace this year.  They rank 16th in the NBA in terms of pace factor; the Celtics are 12th.  Shaq really changed that team.

  Even if Phoenix as a team is slowing down Barnes is scoring almost half his points in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock. He's getting a lot of his baskets in transition.

[Roy Hobbs]

  Even if Phoenix as a team is slowing down Barnes is scoring almost half his points in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock. He's getting a lot of his baskets in transition.

Matt Barnes is attempting 40% of his shots in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock. 

For comparison's sake, Paul Pierce is attempting 36% of his shots during the same time period.  Ray Allen is at 35%, Eddie House is at 40%, Rondo is at 42%, Powe is at 44%, Tony Allen is at 50%.  I don't think Barnes number is any sort of statistical oddity, or is an indication that most of his points are coming as a factor of Phoenix's pace.