Finley to the Celtics (merged thread)

[Bankshot]

when Doc needs someone safe who can hit a shot if called upon, he'll take Tony's minutes

when he needs someone to play defense and be athletic, I hope he'll stick with Tony

That might turn out to be the problem,Doc making the correct call when necessary...but lets hope not,right?

That's how I feel.  I'm not sure Doc would make the right call.   I hope he does though.

[FatjohnReturns]

http://www.businesstravellogue.com/files/2007/10/cocoon.jpg

[j804]

I dont get it in our system and the way our bench is right now, has been playing good. How in the heck is he (in Docs system as we all know) going to get any valuable minutes???

He's leaving SA because of not getting enough minutes and I doubt he'll get much here. Wouldnt this be a distraction?

[celts55]

I don't think it's a bad signing. For one thing, Finley was injuried early in the season. Perhaps now that his ankle is recovering, so will his shooting. He shot the ball pretty well last year as I recall.

Second and more importantly, Pierce, Daniels, and TA all have missed time this season. Daniels and Allen in particular have injury histories. I would think a guy like Finley, with a lot of playoff experance would be nice to have around especially if one of these guys misses time again.

[hpantazo]

I dont get it in our system and the way our bench is right now, has been playing good. How in the heck is he (in Docs system as we all know) going to get any valuable minutes???

He's leaving SA because of not getting enough minutes and I doubt he'll get much here. Wouldnt this be a distraction?

From the herald article today it sounds like he chose boston because he thinks he will get minutes here. Doc must have promised him something, which may be a bad idea.

[chelsearules]

I dont get it in our system and the way our bench is right now, has been playing good. How in the heck is he (in Docs system as we all know) going to get any valuable minutes???

He's leaving SA because of not getting enough minutes and I doubt he'll get much here. Wouldnt this be a distraction?

in doc's system vets go to the top of the class... especially vets who can spread the floor...look at sheed...

[Chris]

I dont get it in our system and the way our bench is right now, has been playing good. How in the heck is he (in Docs system as we all know) going to get any valuable minutes???

He's leaving SA because of not getting enough minutes and I doubt he'll get much here. Wouldnt this be a distraction?

I don't care how the bench has played over the last few games (which has looked better than it actually was, with Nate hitting ridiculous shots), they have a gaping hole on that bench, where they needed another shooter.  Finley fills that hole.

[Who]

I dont get it in our system and the way our bench is right now, has been playing good. How in the heck is he (in Docs system as we all know) going to get any valuable minutes???

He's leaving SA because of not getting enough minutes and I doubt he'll get much here. Wouldnt this be a distraction?

I don't care how the bench has played over the last few games (which has looked better than it actually was, with Nate hitting ridiculous shots), they have a gaping hole on that bench, where they needed another shooter.  Finley fills that hole.

Nate Robinson = 10/15 from the field including 8/11 from downtown

A true shooting percentage of 94.5%

Players + units have a way of looking extremely good when they're shooting the ball at that clip.

[Chris]

I dont get it in our system and the way our bench is right now, has been playing good. How in the heck is he (in Docs system as we all know) going to get any valuable minutes???

He's leaving SA because of not getting enough minutes and I doubt he'll get much here. Wouldnt this be a distraction?

I don't care how the bench has played over the last few games (which has looked better than it actually was, with Nate hitting ridiculous shots), they have a gaping hole on that bench, where they needed another shooter.  Finley fills that hole.

Nate Robinson = 10/15 from the field including 8/11 from downtown

A true shooting percentage of 94.5%

Players + units have a way of looking extremely good when they're shooting the ball at that clip.

And I would say about 7 of those 11 shots from 3 were classic NO NO NO...YES!! shots.  It wasn't exactly great basketball, just a guy who was red hot, nailing shots he shouldn't even be shooting.

[Ersatz]

No, I don't think it does. TA is the better player. He offers more.

Finley should only play ahead of TA when his specific skill-set (shooting ability) is absolutely required.

TA is way better at this point. He can play defense with any perimeter player in the league, has fantastic energy, and is improving on offense (i.e., can hit that 10-12 footer consistently). I hope TA doesn't lose minutes, because (1) he's better than Finely, (2) he works really well with Nate, and (3) I want the Celtics to re-sign him next year; I'm afraid if he gets put at the end of the bench he'll explore his options elsewhere, which would be a shame because he is a pretty good value for the Celtics.

[celts55]

No, I don't think it does. TA is the better player. He offers more.

Finley should only play ahead of TA when his specific skill-set (shooting ability) is absolutely required.

TA is way better at this point. He can play defense with any perimeter player in the league, has fantastic energy, and is improving on offense (i.e., can hit that 10-12 footer consistently). I hope TA doesn't lose minutes, because (1) he's better than Finely, (2) he works really well with Nate, and (3) I want the Celtics to re-sign him next year; I'm afraid if he gets put at the end of the bench he'll explore his options elsewhere, which would be a shame because he is a pretty good value for the Celtics.

While I agree he's been playing better lately, and he's a good defender, I don't see him any kind of shot consistantly. He certainly can't hit free throws. He's making Rondo look good at the line. He slashes to the basket well, but that's about it for hif offensive game. Let's not get carried away.

[j804]

Tony hitting a 10-12ft jumper consistently? LOL

personally id rather tony not even attempt a shot from 5 feet out

[Johhny Least]

No, I don't think it does. TA is the better player. He offers more.

Finley should only play ahead of TA when his specific skill-set (shooting ability) is absolutely required.

TA is way better at this point. He can play defense with any perimeter player in the league, has fantastic energy, and is improving on offense (i.e., can hit that 10-12 footer consistently).

I guess you have a different definition of consistency than I do.

[Eddie20]

Pop reluctantly granted Finley's request, but he wasn't waived due to performance. He fell out of the rotation due to injury and then found himself on the outside looking in upon his return.

Not buying the "he was made no promises of PT" talk. I'm sure there were strong indications made by DA to Finley directly, or through his agent, that he would be part of our rotation. If not, I doubt he would've signed with us so quickly without exploring other options.

Also not buying all the "Finley is done" talk. Here's a guy who just last season started 77 games for the Spurs and shot a career high % from 3pt range (41%). He also shot a blistering 47% on 3's, less than a year ago, during the playoffs. Remember that not too long ago TA was considered "done" too.

Love Finley's game a lot more than TA considering the makeup of our second unit. We need a guy to stretch the floor and having TA and Daniels playing together will hurt spacing. Perhaps not now, but definitely during the playoffs when the game slows down and it becomes more of a half-court game. If we had a good shooting swing man I would rather go with TA to compliment that player's game. However, Finley's ability to spread the floor compliments Daniels' game really well and much better than TA's.

[Jon]

Been away for a couple days (busy).  I think Finley's a good signing.  The nice thing is that he pretty much fits exactly what the bench needed: a larger swingman who can hit the 3.  That could be useful, especially since Marquis is so skinny and TA is so short (he's only 6-4). 

Here's my prediction though: I think Finley may see as much, if not more, time at the backup 4 spot than the backup 3.  Think about it, there's probably not even enough minutes come playoff time for anyone beyond Nate and Marquis at the 1-3 spots in the playoffs.  Add to that the fact that our two biggest rivals (Orlando and Cleveland) have perimeter oriented 3s in Lewis and Jamison.  In many ways, Finley is much more fit to guard them than BBD, especially when you consider that Finley (despite listed heights) may actually be taller BBD.