Don't think TA and Daniels can play together

[droopdog7]

I know there are differences between the two but at the end of the day, they are almost the same player.  Shooting guards, that can play undersized Small Forward, sometimes PG, good defense, and can't shoot a lick.  Daniels is more reliable while TA has the potential to be a bit more dynamic. 

My biggest problem is with the last point, which is the fact that neither of these two can shoot with any range.  Can't think of another line up where neither the SG or SF couldn't shoot. And while that may not show up as a huge problem in the regular season, I am thinking it would be a different story in the playoffs(especially if they were on the court with Rondo and/or Perk). 

In the playoffs, teams game plan and you better believe that  team with these two guys on the court at the same time would struggle big time to score.  Guys would lay off of them and sare them to beat them from the outside. 

So what can we do about it?  Not play them together for extended periods?  Don't know if we can help it.  Trade one.  I would if a deal for a shooting SF or a back up PG were out there.

Am I wrong?

[Evantime34]

I respectfully disagree. In my opinion you can never have too many guys who can get to the hoop, and play good defense. Daniels is a good faciltator who will find TA cutting to the basket.

I have no problem throwing out a lineup of Eddie, TA, Quis, Baby and Sheed (as long as Eddie is not the primary ballhandler).

[Tai]

Assuming Daniels plays PG on offense, I'm ok with him not having a long range shot. People were in love with Sheed being behind the 3-pt line to spread the floor, but him and House doing that does make Daniels' job easier. And if the D collapses on him, BBD can get an easy lay up, or kick it out to Eddie or Sheed.

Something like that. I mean, this lineup is definitely fine defensively, no?

[BudweiserCeltic]

They can play quite fine together, particularly when you have players like House, Garnett, Sheed, Ray, and Pierce spreading the floor. With Rondo and/or Perk on the floor, then they might have a bit of trouble spacing the floor, but other than that there are plenty of ways to make it work.

[BballTim]

  They'll rarely play together in the playoffs.

[droopdog7]

I understand what you guys are saying but we already have this issue with Rondo.  That is, there are times when we have to have him off of the floor because his presence actually hurts us.  In the Championship year (when Rondo was admittedly not as good), we actually were more effective at times with House on the floor.

Now if you multiply that times two (or three?) and I think we have a potential problem.  Like I said, teams will definitely game plan against this unit and will literally force those two to beat them from the outside.  Slashing doesn't work as well when teams are actively trying to take it away.  Spacing will also be a problem.  Teams can actually double guys that can shoot and force these two to beat them.

[Greenbean]

I understand what you guys are saying but we already have this issue with Rondo.  That is, there are times when we have to have him off of the floor because his presence actually hurts us.  In the Championship year (when Rondo was admittedly not as good), we actually were more effective at times with House on the floor.

Now if you multiply that times two (or three?) and I think we have a potential problem.  Like I said, teams will definitely game plan against this unit and will literally force those two to beat them from the outside.  Slashing doesn't work as well when teams are actively trying to take it away.  Spacing will also be a problem.  Teams can actually double guys that can shoot and force these two to beat them.

In the short stretches that they play together they will (hopefully) be getting alot of turnovers and getting fast break points. Them together defesively is a nightmare for opponents. So if you want to talk about gameplanning, you also have to mention how teams are going to score on the perimeter against those two.

I definitely understand your spacing concerns but they aren't as magnified when they only play limited minutes together (<15).

I am looking forward to the defensive energy these two will bring off of the bench.

[GranTur]

I am definitely a little worried about this situation. TA is playing absolutely solid and is earning his minutes. We already know a healthy Marquis is good enough to be on the floor.

However, they mainly have the same strengths. Arguably, House, Davis, and Sheed space the floor enough for a second unit, but all three of those players have been horribly inconsistently shooting jumpers.

We'll have to see what kind of plays the Celts run. There'll probably be a ton of pick and roll and cutting to the basket on penetration.

Marquis is better at distributing and posting up. Tony is more athletic and a better finisher.

[Drucci]

It will clearly be interesting to see if TA and Marquis can play together.

I think the lack of spacing they will bring to the 2nd unit will hurt us but on the other hand, Marquis is not as terrible as TA in terms of shooting. Marquis can't shoot the 3 but he has a pretty reliable midrange jumper, and he knows how to use his strengths against the other team. He is an excellent in post-ups and often uses them, he can slash too.

TA slash and cut too but he is more athletic and thrills in the fastbreaks, so I guess, aside from their big similarities, they both bring some assets and complement each other.

As I said, it will be interesting to see how they perform together. It would be great if they could play very well as a "duo", since it would give Ray and Paul even more rest.

[Change]

I think they'll make it work. But it'll be more interesting if you throw in Rondo with those 2.  Now that's a lineup that can do some damage on Defense, and run a fun uptempo offense. I just hope Doc does some experimenting now rather than waiting in the playoffs.

[BballTim]

I understand what you guys are saying but we already have this issue with Rondo.  That is, there are times when we have to have him off of the floor because his presence actually hurts us.  In the Championship year (when Rondo was admittedly not as good), we actually were more effective at times with House on the floor.

Now if you multiply that times two (or three?) and I think we have a potential problem.  Like I said, teams will definitely game plan against this unit and will literally force those two to beat them from the outside.  Slashing doesn't work as well when teams are actively trying to take it away.  Spacing will also be a problem.  Teams can actually double guys that can shoot and force these two to beat them.

  They take Rondo out for the occasional possession when the other team is looking to foul us but they don't take Rondo out because his presence hurts us. This isn't 2008.

[TradeProposalDude]

I think it can definitely work... Daniels and TA while similar in some respects are different players. Daniels is more of a jump shooter and team defender while Allen is a penetrator and terrific on the ball defender. If you play Tony Allen at PG, which he seems to be comfortable doing this season, they could co-exist.

Note: You won't really know till you test it. And via the latest report, Daniels could be back next week. So I'm pumped to see it put into action.

[Fafnir]

I understand what you guys are saying but we already have this issue with Rondo.  That is, there are times when we have to have him off of the floor because his presence actually hurts us.  In the Championship year (when Rondo was admittedly not as good), we actually were more effective at times with House on the floor.

Now if you multiply that times two (or three?) and I think we have a potential problem.  Like I said, teams will definitely game plan against this unit and will literally force those two to beat them from the outside.  Slashing doesn't work as well when teams are actively trying to take it away.  Spacing will also be a problem.  Teams can actually double guys that can shoot and force these two to beat them.

  They take Rondo out for the occasional possession when the other team is looking to foul us but they don't take Rondo out because his presence hurts us. This isn't 2008.

Doc has taken Rondo out early if he isn't being aggressive when they sag off of him at times this year.

[Fafnir]

I think it can definitely work... Daniels and TA while similar in some respects are different players. Daniels is more of a jump shooter and team defender while Allen is a penetrator and terrific on the ball defender. If you play Tony Allen at PG, which he seems to be comfortable doing this season, they could co-exist.

Note: You won't really know till you test it. And via the latest report, Daniels could be back next week. So I'm pumped to see it put into action.

Marquis is anything but a jump shooter.

[TradeProposalDude]

Marquis is anything but a jump shooter.

Not a "jumpshooter," excuse my lack of proper choice of words. But this year has offense is mostly getting into the paint and taking small fadeaway jumpers. Tony Allen in contrast attacks the rim more... for layups, dunks, etc.