Starting to warm up to POB

[2short]

I have always said it was a good signing well worth the risk.
If and I underline IF POB worked hard and had the respect of coaches and players here is what I would do if coaching, start him with Perk out.  He'd play much better with the starters and I think he'd bring his work level up.  Is he ready to be a full time backup now, NO.  But he should be able to give us 5 minutes a game with Perk healthy.  I really can't believe that practicing against Perk, KG, Powe & Davis hasn't toughened him up already.  the ball is in his court
we can use him playing at his best (this year)

[dark_lord]

POB is a bust with a poor work ethic.....no PT for him and poor signing by ainge.  the celtic fan in me hopes im wrong.

[nickagneta]

My feeling is, if the Celts have any intention of having POB be a contributor they have a golden opportunity to do so while Perk is out.  That he is still seeing garbage time only, and Scal continues to put his "undefeated as a starter" streak on the line, tells me all I need to know. 

He's not in the plans.

he's being treated as a rookie, he's continuing to develop and they feel that he's just not ready. just becuase he hasn't played yet doesn't mean there counting him out for the rest of the season.

Since when does Doc and Danny.....no....nevermind. Scratch that!

Since when does ANY NBA coach or front office go into the late season and playoffs giving rookies and projects meaningful playing time? Redz is right. If POB isn't playing now, he's not to be counted on this year as being able to play meaningful minutes at all this year.

It's a pipe dream at this point to think that POB will be giving anything significant to this team down the stretch and into and through the playoffs. It just doesn't work that way. As the going gets tough, NBA coaches play the players they trust and have proven can deliver.

Ask Tony Allen about this concept because even though he was a four year pro, he sat in last year's playoffs because his coach didn't trust the quality and consistency of his game. That was after Tony got consistent minutes all last year. Thinking that POB will get any minutes that help this team late this year and into the playoffs when he can't even get into blowouts after 41 games is, and I am saying this with all due respect, ludicrous.

  I'll disagree with a lot of this, but I'm not endorsing POB. Without having many names, I don't think it's rare at all for rookies or young players who haven't done much besides garbage time by January to play a significant role late in the season. Off the top of my head Ryan Gomes comes to mind. I'm sure there are plenty of others. Also, the reason that Tony sat was that any minutes he got would have come from James Posey, who played pretty well in the playoffs. BBD didn't get minutes in the playoffs because Doc trusted the consistency of his game. It was because others were having issues.

  Also, in terms of Doc criticizing POB after a decent outing instead of praising him, that's just Doc's style. Just ask Big Al, who spent much of his sophomore season looking over at the bench every time he made a mistake in case Doc was going to yank him out of the game and put in the consistent, quality players that he trusted: Blount and Raef.
 

Doc Rivers only had great things to say about Al once Al started playing consistently and with the type of quality that Doc knew he could play with. So Doc is hard with rookies. So what. So Doc makes rookies aware of their mistakes and makes them earn their minutes over veterans. So what? That's a bad thing??

Al Jefferson had his moments his first two years and when he played well Doc let people know about it(See the 2005 playoffs). But when players are not playing well Doc also lets people know it. POB isn't playing well. If he was he would have heard about it. Instead we are all hearing the exact opposite. I think that speaks volumes for what Doc thinks about POB's game if during the preseason he publically complained about POB's speed of doing things and now at the half way point he is publically complaining about O'Bryant's consistency and ability.

Expecting time out of him that will be meaningful would be foolish in my estimation. And as much as I understand that some coaches do let rookies loose later in the season after doing nothing for most of the season, that is the exception and not the rule and it is even less common for it to happen on contending teams playing for something late in the year. It is then exponentially rare for it to occur in the playoffs. Oh, I admit it happens every once in a while but even if I thought very highly of POB, I still wouldn't place money on his coming out and producing anything for this team anytime this year if I were forced to bet on it. Quite the contrary.

[Vermont Green]

POB displays great potential, just like Gerald Green did.  Remember also that about 3 teams gave up on Chauncy Billups too.

Every team has a stiff with potential or two sitting on the end of their bench.  POB happens to be a very very tall stiff with potential so if you are going to have someone sitting at the end of the bench, POB is not a bad choice.

[EJPLAYA]

He was never supposed to come out and contribute this year, so any discussion of him being a player who SHOULD get PT right now is a good thing. Danny signed him for next year and beyond, not this one. I like POB and his potential, but the sad thing is it tells you more about BBD   and his disappointing play than it does POB being ready to fill the role.

[Chris]

He was never supposed to come out and contribute this year, so any discussion of him being a player who SHOULD get PT right now is a good thing. Danny signed him for next year and beyond, not this one. I like POB and his potential, but the sad thing is it tells you more about BBD   and his disappointing play than it does POB being ready to fill the role.

Yeah, see, I am going to have to disagree here.  I think BBD has played well beyond expectations, and has become a very reliable player...especially since he is being forced to play out of position. 

And people talking about a young player who SHOULD get PT is nothing new.  I remember people clambering for Gerald Green and Orien Greene to play more in each of their rookie years. 

No matter who the young guy is, there are posters who think they need to be playing more.  It really says nothing about the actual player.

[nickagneta]

He was never supposed to come out and contribute this year, so any discussion of him being a player who SHOULD get PT right now is a good thing. Danny signed him for next year and beyond, not this one. I like POB and his potential, but the sad thing is it tells you more about BBD   and his disappointing play than it does POB being ready to fill the role.

Yeah, see, I am going to have to disagree here.  I think BBD has played well beyond expectations, and has become a very reliable player...especially since he is being forced to play out of position. 

And people talking about a young player who SHOULD get PT is nothing new.  I remember people clambering for Gerald Green and Orien Greene to play more in each of their rookie years. 

No matter who the young guy is, there are posters who think they need to be playing more.  It really says nothing about the actual player.

Let's not forget the wonder that was going to be Brandon Hunter. [dang], some people here thought he was going to be the next coming of Scottie Pippen.

[Chris]

He was never supposed to come out and contribute this year, so any discussion of him being a player who SHOULD get PT right now is a good thing. Danny signed him for next year and beyond, not this one. I like POB and his potential, but the sad thing is it tells you more about BBD   and his disappointing play than it does POB being ready to fill the role.

Yeah, see, I am going to have to disagree here.  I think BBD has played well beyond expectations, and has become a very reliable player...especially since he is being forced to play out of position. 

And people talking about a young player who SHOULD get PT is nothing new.  I remember people clambering for Gerald Green and Orien Greene to play more in each of their rookie years. 

No matter who the young guy is, there are posters who think they need to be playing more.  It really says nothing about the actual player.

Let's not forget the wonder that was going to be Brandon Hunter. [dang], some people here thought he was going to be the next coming of Scottie Pippen.

You mean Justin Reed.  He was the next Pippen (or Artest).  Hunter was the next Charles Barkley.

[nickagneta]

He was never supposed to come out and contribute this year, so any discussion of him being a player who SHOULD get PT right now is a good thing. Danny signed him for next year and beyond, not this one. I like POB and his potential, but the sad thing is it tells you more about BBD   and his disappointing play than it does POB being ready to fill the role.

Yeah, see, I am going to have to disagree here.  I think BBD has played well beyond expectations, and has become a very reliable player...especially since he is being forced to play out of position. 

And people talking about a young player who SHOULD get PT is nothing new.  I remember people clambering for Gerald Green and Orien Greene to play more in each of their rookie years. 

No matter who the young guy is, there are posters who think they need to be playing more.  It really says nothing about the actual player.

Let's not forget the wonder that was going to be Brandon Hunter. [dang], some people here thought he was going to be the next coming of Scottie Pippen.

You mean Justin Reed.  He was the next Pippen (or Artest).  Hunter was the next Charles Barkley.

Was I thinking of Brandon Wallace then? The kid who was real long that played center at South Carolina? Wallace?

[Chris]

He was never supposed to come out and contribute this year, so any discussion of him being a player who SHOULD get PT right now is a good thing. Danny signed him for next year and beyond, not this one. I like POB and his potential, but the sad thing is it tells you more about BBD   and his disappointing play than it does POB being ready to fill the role.

Yeah, see, I am going to have to disagree here.  I think BBD has played well beyond expectations, and has become a very reliable player...especially since he is being forced to play out of position. 

And people talking about a young player who SHOULD get PT is nothing new.  I remember people clambering for Gerald Green and Orien Greene to play more in each of their rookie years. 

No matter who the young guy is, there are posters who think they need to be playing more.  It really says nothing about the actual player.

Let's not forget the wonder that was going to be Brandon Hunter. [dang], some people here thought he was going to be the next coming of Scottie Pippen.

You mean Justin Reed.  He was the next Pippen (or Artest).  Hunter was the next Charles Barkley.

Was I thinking of Brandon Wallace then? The kid who was real long that played center at South Carolina? Wallace?

Ah right, how could I forget the summerleague wonder.

[nickagneta]

He was never supposed to come out and contribute this year, so any discussion of him being a player who SHOULD get PT right now is a good thing. Danny signed him for next year and beyond, not this one. I like POB and his potential, but the sad thing is it tells you more about BBD   and his disappointing play than it does POB being ready to fill the role.

Yeah, see, I am going to have to disagree here.  I think BBD has played well beyond expectations, and has become a very reliable player...especially since he is being forced to play out of position. 

And people talking about a young player who SHOULD get PT is nothing new.  I remember people clambering for Gerald Green and Orien Greene to play more in each of their rookie years. 

No matter who the young guy is, there are posters who think they need to be playing more.  It really says nothing about the actual player.

Let's not forget the wonder that was going to be Brandon Hunter. [dang], some people here thought he was going to be the next coming of Scottie Pippen.

You mean Justin Reed.  He was the next Pippen (or Artest).  Hunter was the next Charles Barkley.

Was I thinking of Brandon Wallace then? The kid who was real long that played center at South Carolina? Wallace?

Ah right, how could I forget the summerleague wonder.

Yeah him. The summer league wonder who blocked a couple of shots and suddenly half the membership here had him ahead of Posey on the depth chart and winning the Sixth Player of the Year Award. People just adore the  young unproven blood and want desperately to see play to see if the team just bought the winning lottery ticket and suddenly has the next giant surprise Top 50 player of all-time. I just don't understand calling to see these kids and unprovens all the time. Doc gets paid millions to put the best on the floor.  think he has a much better handle on this than any of us.

[BballTim]

My feeling is, if the Celts have any intention of having POB be a contributor they have a golden opportunity to do so while Perk is out.  That he is still seeing garbage time only, and Scal continues to put his "undefeated as a starter" streak on the line, tells me all I need to know. 

He's not in the plans.

he's being treated as a rookie, he's continuing to develop and they feel that he's just not ready. just becuase he hasn't played yet doesn't mean there counting him out for the rest of the season.

Since when does Doc and Danny.....no....nevermind. Scratch that!

Since when does ANY NBA coach or front office go into the late season and playoffs giving rookies and projects meaningful playing time? Redz is right. If POB isn't playing now, he's not to be counted on this year as being able to play meaningful minutes at all this year.

It's a pipe dream at this point to think that POB will be giving anything significant to this team down the stretch and into and through the playoffs. It just doesn't work that way. As the going gets tough, NBA coaches play the players they trust and have proven can deliver.

Ask Tony Allen about this concept because even though he was a four year pro, he sat in last year's playoffs because his coach didn't trust the quality and consistency of his game. That was after Tony got consistent minutes all last year. Thinking that POB will get any minutes that help this team late this year and into the playoffs when he can't even get into blowouts after 41 games is, and I am saying this with all due respect, ludicrous.

  I'll disagree with a lot of this, but I'm not endorsing POB. Without having many names, I don't think it's rare at all for rookies or young players who haven't done much besides garbage time by January to play a significant role late in the season. Off the top of my head Ryan Gomes comes to mind. I'm sure there are plenty of others. Also, the reason that Tony sat was that any minutes he got would have come from James Posey, who played pretty well in the playoffs. BBD didn't get minutes in the playoffs because Doc trusted the consistency of his game. It was because others were having issues.

  Also, in terms of Doc criticizing POB after a decent outing instead of praising him, that's just Doc's style. Just ask Big Al, who spent much of his sophomore season looking over at the bench every time he made a mistake in case Doc was going to yank him out of the game and put in the consistent, quality players that he trusted: Blount and Raef.
 

Doc Rivers only had great things to say about Al once Al started playing consistently and with the type of quality that Doc knew he could play with. So Doc is hard with rookies. So what. So Doc makes rookies aware of their mistakes and makes them earn their minutes over veterans. So what? That's a bad thing??

  Doc said mainly good things about Al the year before we traded him when he was starting and putting up 16/12. Before that, not so much.

[CoachBo]

Look, I was perhaps the most vocal critic on this signing of Patrick O'Bryant. My uncle and I have argued about the Celtics for 25 years and this has been an ongoing argument since we signed him. Me against it and my Uncle for it (Moron that he is). I have to educate him constantly. It wasn't that I didn't think he had the talent...he does, he has good talent for a seven footer. My objection was that I thought he was soft and lazy and while I do beleive people can have a fire lit under them and wake up from their sloth, I don't think you can teach toughness and that was my main concern. But I'm seeing him hold his position just a little better now and seeing him throw his body into people just a little more now. The steps are very incremental but they are occuring.

His biggest short comings are all physical to me. If he were a little stronger and our strength coaches put him through the Perkins program for two years, you might have a completely different player.

1. He'd be able to hold his position better on both ends of the floor
2. He'd be quicker up and down the floor
3. He'd be faster on rotations
4. He'd be more willing to throw his body around down low because he'd be stronger and able to do it. It's really tough to bang when you're going against guys that are simply stronger than you. Also being in great shape and being stronger gives you alot more confidence and edge out there. Hard to be confident when you're getting man handled because you physically can't compete. That may change...in time.

I'm going to put him on the back burner of my Celtics log, limit my expectations but but keep an eye on him. Over time, we all might be suprsied. Time is the key word. The Celtics need to tear this guy down first, mentally and physically. Then, they are going to start from the ground up and re-build the kid. Look at Perkins in year one to years 3-4 and now. And with Perkins in house, we have the time to develope him behind Perkins...

On one hand I hope I am wrong because I will never hear the end of it from my Uncle.

On the other hand..if it happens, we may look back two years from now and say we got a steal. Depending on his physical developement, he could be a decent player.

1. He's very long and definately affects shots aroudn the rim
2. He can shoot
3. He's made enough decent passes to know he's at least competant in that area.

Strength is his number one problem right now. It affects everything he needs to do.

That may change.

Let's see...     

I thoroughly resent the premise of this post.

I'm the harshest critic of signing O'Blount.

 

And the only thing I'm warming up to regarding him is waiving him.

[Rondo_is_better]

Starting to warm up to POB?

Yeah...... I'm not.

[EJPLAYA]

He was never supposed to come out and contribute this year, so any discussion of him being a player who SHOULD get PT right now is a good thing. Danny signed him for next year and beyond, not this one. I like POB and his potential, but the sad thing is it tells you more about BBD   and his disappointing play than it does POB being ready to fill the role.

Yeah, see, I am going to have to disagree here.  I think BBD has played well beyond expectations, and has become a very reliable player...especially since he is being forced to play out of position. 

And people talking about a young player who SHOULD get PT is nothing new.  I remember people clambering for Gerald Green and Orien Greene to play more in each of their rookie years. 

No matter who the young guy is, there are posters who think they need to be playing more.  It really says nothing about the actual player.

Yeah, his 36.8% fg%, his 2.8 fouls in only 16 minutes, his horrendous inability to finish around the rim due to his inability to get his fat self up in the air. Those are all beyond expectations.

As far as the out of position, he ate himself INTO that position. It's no one's fault he is almost 300 lbs at a realistic 6'5 or 6'6" tall other than his lack of discipline. He is a SF that is the weight of a center. What else are you going to do with the guy?!

I know he tries very hard out there, but if the guy were a half way decent back up center, we wouldn't be clamoring for a 3rd stringer who has some serious deficiencies. BBD may be a lot of things, but exceeding expectations is not one of them.