Okay, I'm missing something. Somebody please explain what either Rasheed Wallace or Antonio McDyess could do for the Celtics next year in a playoff series against the Magic. Neither would be anywhere quick enough to guard Rashard Lewis or Hedo Turkoglu out on the perimeter. That means they'd have to hang around under the basket to bang with Howard or Gortat. Neither has the strength or energy to do that anymore. So how would they help?
I say, first see if there's a way to bring Gortat here.
I'm not sure if you saw McDyess playing at the end of the season with the Magic, but he has a ton left in the tank.
In the playoffs, of course, you'd have KG playing Lewis, and Perk guarding Howard. McDyess (or Rasheed) could play spot minutes against Orlando's starters, and abuse their bench players.
Gortat has a lot of "boom or bust" potential. I mean, he averaged 3.8 points per game this season, and will be looking at a MLE contract this summer. He certainly looks like he's up for a breakout season, but who really knows?
I'd rather the Celts spend the money on a solid contributor. Now is not the time to gamble.
Exactly. A healthy KG negates the entire issue of who guards Lewis. KG does and KG makes Lewis's life a living hell.
I know the Magic looked good against the Cavs, but they also looked very beatable against our injured, undersized, and fatigued Celtics. There is zero doubt in my mind that a healthy C's team beats the Magic and I think if Doc rests the Big Three enough, they do it in 5-6 games. So I wouldn't be making plans about how to defend the Magic.
Quite frankly, the biggest key to defeating the Magic might be simply to keep KG and Perk healthy. Both can really quiet Lewis and Howard respectively. And I think McDyess or Wallace would both accomplish that goal. Either player would keep both players rested in the regular season, and while neither may shut down Lewis or Howard, they provide enough on both ends of the court to minimize any damage while Garnett or Perk is on the bench.
As for Gortat, I agree, too much risk. Next year's team can be special by just having an average bench that can rest the starters. What we need to avoid is what happened this year: Danny invested in a bunch of risks that didn't pan out. I'd much rather go for the sure thing.
If we did get Wallace/McDyess, Ratliff or LaFrentz would be interesting 4th big men if Baby walks. Both have size, and in the case of LaFrentz, he has the range to expand opposing defenses. I won't be happy if one of them is the big FA addition, but at 5-10 mpg, they wouldn't be bad backups.