"Every time I see a thread like this I ask the same question: name me one young player that Doc refused to play who is now making an impact on his current NBA team. The answer of course is, there are none."
How about Ryan Gomes? He had 21 dnpcds and another 15 games of 9 min or less before injuries forced doc to start him. He wasn't even dressed most of that time. Last time I looked he is a starter in the NBA.
Leon Powe had 23 dnpcds his rookie season with 24 games of 9 min or less. In 07/08 Powe had 25 dnpcds with 18 games of 9 min or less. In the playoffs Leon had 3 dnpcds and 12 games of 9 min or less with an 8.8 mpg in the finals, even though he went 6/7 from the field and 9/13 from the line for 21 points in only 15 min. in the 2nd game.
Rajon Rondo was once in doc's dog house too. In his rookie year there was a period of 21 games from late Nov till early Jan where he only played 9 mpg and had 4 dnpcds. He finished averaging 37 mpg for the month of April. If doc is such a keen talent evaluator: why did that happen? doc chose 2 other guards over Rondo and I believe that if Danny hadn't traded the other 2 away that doc may still not have made Rondo his starting pg. I also believe that is why Danny did NOT bring in a veteran pg till the end of the championship season because if he had he was afraid that doc might have preferred to play the vet over Rondo.
By doc not playing young guys in games to see what they can do until he is forced to either by injury or trade is a major disservice to Celtics Nation.
Even if Billy Walker could only help us mostly at the offensive end at this time - isn't that enough sometimes? Haven't we had major scoring droughts repeatedly happen? Couldn't we use a jolt of offense with running the fast break and dunking on people - get the crowd going?
doc was here when we got our last ring. Thanks doc. It's time to move in a different direction where we play Celtics basketball again under new leadership, bringing back Celtic Pride.
I don't agree with letting go of Doc (not until we rebuild and give Rondo full control, play faster, post big 3, etc..)
But I agree with your post in general. As a big Doc supporter I do have some criticisms in this area, although I don't think he's ever taken anything to such an extreme that it hurt the team.....All I mean is that, at the time, as an uninformed so-called clueless fan, I wondered why Rondo, Leon, and others, even Perk, were not on the floor sooner and more often when they were so obviously superior to what was out there. I chalked it up to needing to get rid of the other players via trade and thus needing to feature them. And I also chalked it up to a coaching philosophy that emphasizes team and playing within a system way more than individualism. (In the case of Gomes, however, hard to imagine he wasn't all team all the time). And I also chalked it up also to a philosophy of sort of
breaking the spirit of the young...so that they'll never go back to bad habits, as they associate those bad habits with a painful past....But all of those were guesses on my part....
One forgotten element in this is the following: The issue is not just whether Billy Walker is any good or not. This is is: Is he replaceable? Danny seemed to intimate the other day that he likes Walker and thinks he'll be a good player, saying he might even him sign him for next year if he's available. But despite this, Danny clearly feels he's replaceable.
Topic: Bill Walker's play with the Knicks...(merged) (Read 47297 times)