Importance of Posey (Sheed)

[drza44]

For the last year-plus I have seen many people talk about why James Posey was important in our championship drive.  And in my opinion, most of the takes that I have seen on that subject were wrong.  Posey's main importance was NOT that he was a great defender (in fact, my eyes and the stats told me that he was only adequate at best as a swing defender) and it wasn't even that he was a veteran back-up SF to take pressure off PP (that was nice, but of lesser importance IMO).

No, Posey played two absolutely crucial roles for the Celtics:

1) He was a vet with a championship ring.  KG, Pierce and Allen could run the ship for the most part due to their accolades/experience, but having the vet there with actual hardware was the last missing link to ensure the strength of the Cs' conviction through hard times.  Of course, after The Cs won in '08 Posey was no longer needed for that particular role.  Which leaves his other, even more important function as something we really missed last season:

2) Posey allowed the team to play great small ball.  That was absolutely crucial.  The Cs already had the best starting 5 in the NBA, but with Posey in the fold they were able to completely change their look in certain situations while maintaining the high quality.  Against any team not featuring Shaq or Howard, KG could man the center position and dominate the middle/clean the glass, and Posey was big enough to keep most power forwards honest on defense.  Then, at the other end of the court, the Celtics could field a line-up with 5 guys that could shoot at a high clip out to at least 20 feet and 4 guys that could drain the trey.  The ability to run that line-up out there is a matchup nightmare for most opponents, and was a key reason the Cs were never out of any game.  The huge comeback in game 4 of the Finals can be traced directly to that small ball line-up.

Now, that said, let's bring it to today.  Many of those that are still looking for a Posey replacement are looking at back-up SFs as the way to do it.  That is a possibility, I guess, but right now rumors are suggesting we might have a chance at the ultimate Posey replacement: Rasheed Wallace.  Sheed is like an updated, upgraded version of Posey that would make this team incredibly hard to beat.  Because he brings all of Posey's key small-ball strengths to the table but at a higher clip.  He has Posey's shooting range and ability to take a key shot but is a MUCH better big-man defender.  He also has a ring and an attitude that always makes his teammates love him and his opponents hate him (much like Posey). 

I have been trying not to get my hopes to high that we get Sheed, and I will continue to try to minimize the possibility in my head so I don't end up disappointed if we miss out.  But if we do get Sheed, I think he absolutely gives us everything we missed from Posey and then some in prep for the next title run.

[Jon]

For the last year-plus I have seen many people talk about why James Posey was important in our championship drive.  And in my opinion, most of the takes that I have seen on that subject were wrong.  Posey's main importance was NOT that he was a great defender (in fact, my eyes and the stats told me that he was only adequate at best as a swing defender) and it wasn't even that he was a veteran back-up SF to take pressure off PP (that was nice, but of lesser importance IMO).

No, Posey played two absolutely crucial roles for the Celtics:

1) He was a vet with a championship ring.  KG, Pierce and Allen could run the ship for the most part due to their accolades/experience, but having the vet there with actual hardware was the last missing link to ensure the strength of the Cs' conviction through hard times.  Of course, after The Cs won in '08 Posey was no longer needed for that particular role.  Which leaves his other, even more important function as something we really missed last season:

2) Posey allowed the team to play great small ball.  That was absolutely crucial.  The Cs already had the best starting 5 in the NBA, but with Posey in the fold they were able to completely change their look in certain situations while maintaining the high quality.  Against any team not featuring Shaq or Howard, KG could man the center position and dominate the middle/clean the glass, and Posey was big enough to keep most power forwards honest on defense.  Then, at the other end of the court, the Celtics could field a line-up with 5 guys that could shoot at a high clip out to at least 20 feet and 4 guys that could drain the trey.  The ability to run that line-up out there is a matchup nightmare for most opponents, and was a key reason the Cs were never out of any game.  The huge comeback in game 4 of the Finals can be traced directly to that small ball line-up.

Now, that said, let's bring it to today.  Many of those that are still looking for a Posey replacement are looking at back-up SFs as the way to do it.  That is a possibility, I guess, but right now rumors are suggesting we might have a chance at the ultimate Posey replacement: Rasheed Wallace.  Sheed is like an updated, upgraded version of Posey that would make this team incredibly hard to beat.  Because he brings all of Posey's key small-ball strengths to the table but at a higher clip.  He has Posey's shooting range and ability to take a key shot but is a MUCH better big-man defender.  He also has a ring and an attitude that always makes his teammates love him and his opponents hate him (much like Posey). 

I have been trying not to get my hopes to high that we get Sheed, and I will continue to try to minimize the possibility in my head so I don't end up disappointed if we miss out.  But if we do get Sheed, I think he absolutely gives us everything we missed from Posey and then some in prep for the next title run.

I agree.  He'd allow us to run a lineup with House at the 1 and Sheed at the 5 that would spread the floor just like the one with Posey did.  I also like his playoff experience.  The only thing he doesn't give us is a perimeter defender like Posey (though he gives us a guy who can defend bigs, something Posey couldn't). 

Speaking of Posey, if sign Sheed, I wonder if we could pry Posey from New Orleans for TA and Scal?  Posey and Wallace off the bench with a healthy KG back in action would pretty much guarantee #18 (and probably #19). 

[Casperian]

I think what we really miss is his skill-set.

Posey allowed us to play several line-ups that we can´t play now, due to our one-dimensional bench. He was a perfect glue-guy, skill-wise.

You could pair Posey with Rondo and Tony, and you stil had enough outside-shooting and spacing. You could pair him with Cassell and House, and you still had a tough wing defender on the floor. You could pair him with Rondo, Allen and Pierce, and you had a great small-ball line-up, where Posey didn´t need the ball to be effective. Or you could simply play him instead of Pierce in the starting line-up, and the team was still better than most teams they faced.

[QuinielaBox]

Sheed can back up three positions for the Celtics so yeah I'm in total agreement with what drza said. McDyess may not have that quickness Sheed can bring, but he is a pro's pro.....

Seems like Tanguay is reporting on the politicking for acquiring the Sheed.

He must smell something burning.

[beantownboy171]

Boston has emerged as the hot new entrant in the race for Sheed. My colleague Ric Bucher from ESPN The Magazine credits Kevin Garnett for convincing Celtics personnel chief Danny Ainge to enter the bidding and for leading the Celtics' lobbying efforts.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=Chatter-090701

Thats from Marc Stein. Im pretty much convinced he's coming here. But we're just going to have to see. I just wonder if artest is the better option of the bench. I'd hate to see him go to cleveland.

[lrybrd]

The importance of Sheed will be especially important at the end of games.  More specifically, his ability to spread the floor and hit a jump shot will ensure that teams cannot double team Pierce and Allen.  During the playoff series against the Magic, we struggled to score at the end of games because we had both Rondo and Perkins in the game and neither of them can consistently hit a jump shot outside of 6 feet.  I love Perkins but you simply cannot have him on the floor along with Rondo during the last 2-3 minutes of a game.  Their defenders will always double off of them and we struggle to get any kind of quality shot.  With Sheed in the game, there will be a lot more room for Pierce and Allen to operate.   

[xmuscularghandix]

The importance of Sheed will be especially important at the end of games.  More specifically, his ability to spread the floor and hit a jump shot will ensure that teams cannot double team Pierce and Allen.  During the playoff series against the Magic, we struggled to score at the end of games because we had both Rondo and Perkins in the game and neither of them can consistently hit a jump shot outside of 6 feet.  I love Perkins but you simply cannot have him on the floor along with Rondo during the last 2-3 minutes of a game.  Their defenders will always double off of them and we struggle to get any kind of quality shot.  With Sheed in the game, there will be a lot more room for Pierce and Allen to operate.   

very nice TP.

[Celtics17]

Posey's importance is very hard to pinpoint but a general synopsis of it was that the guy just seemed to be making the right play at the right time. That is no coincidence either. Some players just understand the game better then others. We dont have to look far to see that as our own Larry Bird was the all time master of it as was Russell. It's not that these guys did not have superior athletic abilities although with Bird you might argue that. I dont think many poeple would say that Russ was a better all around athlete then Wilt but he beat him all of the time. Posey was a player like that with the ability to influence the game in multiple ways and at just the right time too. That is an ability that is both hard to find and hard to spot. I hope that Sheed will provide some of that and I think he will. He is a very underrated player at times.

[Mr October]

Yup, Sheed is one of the smartest, toughest, skilled guys in the game. He'll kill it for us if the C's land him. I'm so excited about the possibility.

[timpiker]

Posey was great becaus ehe kept a level head when the game was on the line and it was hectic.  He played and epitomizes an under control poised vet.