Doc : "Maybe we need to think about [making changes]"

[moiso]

Does this mean he will activate Scali instead of Williams? 

haha!  Or maybe he's going to make Landry the first guy in the layup line?

[Brickowski]

It won't matter what Rivers does.  It has been evident since the beginning of the year-- yes, even when they were winning-- that this team was in decline.

Milwaukee has a young 7-footer and No. 1 pick who is just coming into his own, plus Jennings.  Memphis has Gay, Mayo, Conley (who was outstanding last night)and  Thrabeet-- all lotto picks-- plus Marc Gasol, who is much better defensively than his brother, and Z-bo, who appears, finally, to have figured it out.

Except for the three old guys who are rapidly running out of gas, what does Boston have?  More old guys plus a bunch of late first rounders, second rounders and retreads. Did anyone think that Nate Robinson was going to be the saviour?  What's the point of addingMichael Finley, another old guy with a 2 inch vertical leap-- when this team desperately needs rebounding?  Rondo is a nice player but he can't shoot and is therefore a terrible match for Rivers' stodgy offense and a bunch of old guys who want to play half court basketball. (When is the last time you saw Pierce get up the court ahead of the ball?)  Rondo belongs on an up tempo team, not in the geriatric ward.

It will be interesting to see how J.R. Buford and Danny Ainge handle similar rebuilding situations.

[BudweiserCeltic]

If Doc makes a change in the rotation, he shouldn't mess with Ray, who has been by far our most consistent player since the all-star break.

I'm wondering if he's thinking of starting Rasheed.  I don't think I'd like that a whole lot, but Perk has definitely been in a bit of a funk.  Still, I think a change would deepen things, rather than improve them.

Perk change -> Sheed - is Sheed really going to help our rebounding and inside scoring and defense

Baby change -> Sheldon - these players are pretty close in overall production, do we really get a net positive making this change

These are the two changes I see being made. Though our rebounding won't improve with Sheed, our defense should stay around the same... Sheed is a very good big man defender. And yes, our inside scoring will improve with easier penetration from Pierce and Rondo.

More single coverage for KG. Sheed is more than a legit option to dump the ball down low to, instead of wasting possessions throwing the ball down to Perk too frequently for my tastes.

[vinnie]

Just heard Doc on Dennis and Callahan. Based on what he said, don't expect many if any changes.

[feckless]

If Doc makes a change in the rotation, he shouldn't mess with Ray, who has been by far our most consistent player since the all-star break.

I'm wondering if he's thinking of starting Rasheed.  I don't think I'd like that a whole lot, but Perk has definitely been in a bit of a funk.  Still, I think a change would deepen things, rather than improve them.

Roy,  I agree with Ray being most consistent and was thinking of the Havlicek/McHale 6th man role--offense, and steadyiness for 2nd line and finish the games--not a punishment but spreading the talent and leadership.  Also doubt that PP's (the other candidate) ego could take it.

[ssspence]

  Rondo is a nice player but he can't shoot and is therefore a terrible match for Rivers' stodgy offense and a bunch of old guys who want to play half court basketball. (When is the last time you saw Pierce get up the court ahead of the ball?)  Rondo belongs on an up tempo team, not in the geriatric ward.
 

This will be a key storyline to watch. If it's clear this team is essentially a lottery team hanging on to a few more wins than most due to some prideful old guys, what direction will the Cs take? Could moving to a system that better suits Rondo mean Doc could be gone?

I doubt KG or PP are tradable, but Paul could decide to opt out if the Cs let him know they're going to have to consider it. Regardless, there's no question that the Cs current style of play will need to be called into question considering we can't score consistently in the half-court anyway. A LOT of shots that go up for the Cs these days don't even come close to going in the hole. It's not just ugly, it's frightening. Kids, cover your eyes.

Teams are praying the end up matched up against the Cs in the playoffs.

[FatjohnReturns]

The best change Doc could make is to start looking for a new job.

[EJPLAYA]

There are two problems. One is health, the other is mental. Changes won't help KG's knees feel better or the players any younger or more athletic. Changes won't help the players mind issues either. It will only make them worse. The only thing that will help this team is to have each player decide they are sick of playing like a bunch of pansies and to come out with the passion and energy they need. If they can't do that then and only then should we make wholesale changes.

[Bankshot]

The best change Doc could make is to start looking for a new job.

[Brickowski]

This will be a key storyline to watch. If it's clear this team is essentially a lottery team hanging on to a few more wins than most due to some prideful old guys, what direction will the Cs take? Could moving to a system that better suits Rondo mean Doc could be gone?

I doubt KG or PP are tradable, but Paul could decide to opt out if the Cs let him know they're going to have to consider it. Regardless, there's no question that the Cs current style of play will need to be called into question considering we can't score consistently in the half-court anyway. A LOT of shots that go up for the Cs these days don't even come close to going in the hole. It's not just ugly, it's frightening. Kids, cover your eyes.

Teams are praying the end up matched up against the Cs in the playoffs.

I do not think Pierce will opt out.  He certainly would not opt out if I were running the team, because I would not be offering him an extension.

We'll just have to see what, if anything, Ainge can get done on draft night.  The good news is that the Celtics' no. 1 pick is getting better as the losses pile up. If the season ended today, they would be in a three-way coin flip with Atlanta and Phoenix for picks 22-24.  But if they keep losing, Ainge might get a pick as good as #20.  There are also some interesting international players projected to go in the middle of the second rond, and losing helps there as well, unless Ainge gave up the pick in the Nate Robinson trade.

There is nothing to be done with Pierce and Garnett.  You just have to wait until their deals expire and hope they decide to retire gracefully.

[Evantime34]

The best change Doc could make is to start looking for a new job.

Agreed.

If he is to make changes they need to be more emphasis on rebounding. Right now it seems that the scheme is for one big to hang out deep to draw the defense out. This big then just runs back on defense after the shot goes up. I initially thought this was big man laziness but since it's been consistent throughout the season I assume it's scheme.

I know that this team prefers to have people run back on defense to stop the break rather than crash the boards, which made sense when we had an elite defense. Our defense is no longer elite, and we need help on the offensive end. If Doc is set on having KG and Sheed shoot jumpers then the 2,3,4 need to crash the boards (the 1 should rotate back to stop the break).

If it's not scheme and the bigs are just being lazy then he needs to yell at them until they crash the boards or sit them. I can live with a team getting hot and shooting around 50% (especially when most shots were contested) I can not live with the other team outrebounding you 2-1.

[hubert.the.potato]

or....we could try to land Durant in 2013!

[feckless]

I don't think another coach would get much more out of these guys, but I have to say Doc makes little sense to me--main problems now are KG, PP and Rondo's inconsistent focus-  Question is are the geezers going to get it back or find a way to be effective while physically diminished--my answer is that it is still possible--but the game had better become fun again real soon.

[Greenbean]

There are so many issues right now with this team that changes are necessary. Just start tinkering and see what happens. It's our only hope to find a spark at this point. We are running low on time.

[ssspence]

This will be a key storyline to watch. If it's clear this team is essentially a lottery team hanging on to a few more wins than most due to some prideful old guys, what direction will the Cs take? Could moving to a system that better suits Rondo mean Doc could be gone?

I doubt KG or PP are tradable, but Paul could decide to opt out if the Cs let him know they're going to have to consider it. Regardless, there's no question that the Cs current style of play will need to be called into question considering we can't score consistently in the half-court anyway. A LOT of shots that go up for the Cs these days don't even come close to going in the hole. It's not just ugly, it's frightening. Kids, cover your eyes.

Teams are praying the end up matched up against the Cs in the playoffs.

I do not think Pierce will opt out.  He certainly would not opt out if I were running the team, because I would not be offering him an extension.

We'll just have to see what, if anything, Ainge can get done on draft night.  The good news is that the Celtics' no. 1 pick is getting better as the losses pile up. If the season ended today, they would be in a three-way coin flip with Atlanta and Phoenix for picks 22-24.  But if they keep losing, Ainge might get a pick as good as #20.  There are also some interesting international players projected to go in the middle of the second rond, and losing helps there as well, unless Ainge gave up the pick in the Nate Robinson trade.

There is nothing to be done with Pierce and Garnett.  You just have to wait until their deals expire and hope they decide to retire gracefully.

I think it's safe to assume Danny Ainge will not take the position that there's nothing to be done with Pierce and Garnett. Wallace too (read: whereever Larry Brown is coaching). He'll look to improve the team, as he should. But I agree their value is highly limited considering their inflated contracts.