If you could pick one player to start your team with, who would it be?

[ajgoodman]

Saying Rondo "lead us" to the 2008 championship is kind of a stretch.

I meant led the team on the floor ... that's the role of a PG, and he did it extremely well. Paul is the Capt, and KG the other emotional leader.

Watching Kevin Garnett carry those talent-deprived Minnesota teams on his back in the glory days makes him tough to beat.  In my opinion, Rondo being able to run the point on a team with three Hall of Famers doesn't make him quite as deserving to be the centerpiece of the ideal team as KG.

As deserving? Probably not ... but he has proven himself Championship-worthy very early in his career, and he has improved a TON since then. This is a personal preference thing, and I think this kid will end up being one of the Top 20 PG's of all time before he's done, despite the fact that Paul and KG are my favorite Celtics. I can't wait to see this team with him at the helm in 2 or 3-plus years.

Technical foul! Using things that haven't happened yet as support!
 

Also, avoid making predictions.  I don't want to here about when LeBron and Rondo hit their primes they'll be the best to start with... If it hasn't happened, you can't pretend it has and definitely will.  Everything must be fact based.

[Bahku]

Saying Rondo "lead us" to the 2008 championship is kind of a stretch.

I meant led the team on the floor ... that's the role of a PG, and he did it extremely well. Paul is the Capt, and KG the other emotional leader.

Watching Kevin Garnett carry those talent-deprived Minnesota teams on his back in the glory days makes him tough to beat.  In my opinion, Rondo being able to run the point on a team with three Hall of Famers doesn't make him quite as deserving to be the centerpiece of the ideal team as KG.

As deserving? Probably not ... but he has proven himself Championship-worthy very early in his career, and he has improved a TON since then. This is a personal preference thing, and I think this kid will end up being one of the Top 20 PG's of all time before he's done, despite the fact that Paul and KG are my favorite Celtics. I can't wait to see this team with him at the helm in 2 or 3-plus years.

Technical foul! Using things that haven't happened yet as support!
 

Also, avoid making predictions.  I don't want to here about when LeBron and Rondo hit their primes they'll be the best to start with... If it hasn't happened, you can't pretend it has and definitely will.  Everything must be fact based.

I'll grant you that one, Buddy, lol! But I know it ... I just know it!! (And I'll agree to disagree ... with a TP!)

[Bahku]

Saying Rondo "lead us" to the 2008 championship is kind of a stretch.

I meant led the team on the floor ... that's the role of a PG, and he did it extremely well. Paul is the Capt, and KG the other emotional leader.

Watching Kevin Garnett carry those talent-deprived Minnesota teams on his back in the glory days makes him tough to beat.  In my opinion, Rondo being able to run the point on a team with three Hall of Famers doesn't make him quite as deserving to be the centerpiece of the ideal team as KG.

As deserving? Probably not ... but he has proven himself Championship-worthy very early in his career, and he has improved a TON since then. This is a personal preference thing, and I think this kid will end up being one of the Top 20 PG's of all time before he's done, despite the fact that Paul and KG are my favorite Celtics. I can't wait to see this team with him at the helm in 2 or 3-plus years.

But you can make the case that KG is a top 5 PF of all time already.  

Of course! I'm not making a slam on KG or questioning that he's a more valuable, proven quantity. I'd still roll the dice with Rondo, personally ... despite it being a much bigger gamble. As i said, personal preference question.

[rondo987]

Top 5 around the league

1- Shaq
2- Duncan
3- Garnett
4- Kobe
5- Grant Hill

Top 3 on the Celtics

1- Garnett
2- Rondo
3- Pierce

[misha]

[boscel33]

this is a good one, but i'd lean toward kg over shaq. the key point being free throw shooting.  can't afford to have shaq on the line in a clutch situation. 

[cdif911]

ajgoodman - you're quickly becoming a ray of light on this board - nice topic, TP for the post - and you gracefully accepted the pointing out of a grammatical error...well done sir, well done

[Fafnir]

Top 5 around the league

1- Shaq
2- Duncan
3- Garnett
4- Kobe
5- Grant Hill

Top 3 on the Celtics

1- Garnett
2- Rondo
3- Pierce

Rondo over Pierce? 

Rondo hasn't peaked yet for us to even know, and I'll have to say I think you're forgetting just how good 2003-2005 Pierce was.

[ajgoodman]

Top 5 around the league

1- Shaq
2- Duncan
3- Garnett
4- Kobe
5- Grant Hill

Top 3 on the Celtics

1- Garnett
2- Rondo
3- Pierce

Rondo over Pierce?  

Rondo hasn't peaked yet for us to even know, and I'll have to say I think you're forgetting just how good 2003-2005 Pierce was.

I think just the fact that it is 2010 gives Rondo an advantage.  People are quick to forget how Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett hitched their starving teams on their backs and dragged them through the season valiantly.

I also did not expect to see Grant Hill brought up in this thread...

[ajgoodman]

ajgoodman - you're quickly becoming a ray of light on this board - nice topic, TP for the post - and you gracefully accepted the pointing out of a grammatical error...well done sir, well done

Why, thank you.  Gee whiz, you're making me blush.   

[rondo987]

Pierce is my all time favorite celtic, so I surely do not take him for granted. In basketball though, I feel like a good point guard/center is harder to find than a 2 or 3 gaurd. I definately remember Pierce carrying the celtics in the early part of last decade.

Grant Hill in his prime was an absolute STUD, and this is when I was a kid, so I barely remember..

Top 5 around the league

1- Shaq
2- Duncan
3- Garnett
4- Kobe
5- Grant Hill

Top 3 on the Celtics

1- Garnett
2- Rondo
3- Pierce

Rondo over Pierce? 

Rondo hasn't peaked yet for us to even know, and I'll have to say I think you're forgetting just how good 2003-2005 Pierce was.

[Eddie20]

Give me a big man! I'll take Duncan, KG, or Shaq.

[twinbree]

Duncan. For me it's not even close. One of the best players of his generation and a great leader who's shown great loyalty to the franchise.

[hubert.the.potato]

2001 Shaq, 2008 Chris Paul, or 2004 KG.

[Edgar]

Tim Duncan

i love his sweetness and killer instinct

Shaq

Unstopable


KG

Heart.