remember Shaq at center?

[winsomme]

does anybody remember what this team was like with Shaq at center? we were extremely difficult to beat.

This idea that that KG, Ray, and Pierce all of sudden can't play anymore is ludicrous. why do you think so many teams are calling for Pierce...

The Big 3 are very close to the players they were this time last year and when they played with a real center they performed at a high level.

trading off a core of players that has been to the Final in two of the last four seasons IMO is asinine. certainly doesn't make sense until you've given them a legit chance to win.

the drop off for this team started last season when we traded Perk and Shaq couldn't get back on the floor. It is very clearly delineated.

you are absolutely have to get a center first before you start tearing the house down. to do anything else with no clear path back to a "rebuilt" contending team is criminal (in basketball terms).

[Eja117]

My memory might be wrong, but I just remember him hurt all the time, so I'd say no...I don't remember him at center

[winsomme]

My memory might be wrong, but I just remember him hurt all the time, so I'd say no...I don't remember him at center

yeah the team was dominant. they were like 35-10 with him in the lineup.

so for all the people who think we need to add youth, please explain why this team was so good with Shaq?

[syfy9]

My memory might be wrong, but I just remember him hurt all the time, so I'd say no...I don't remember him at center

There was a stretch where he was repeatedly scoring 20+ PPG. He gives another legit scoring option and a defensive backbone. Nobody wants to drive to the hole with a 300+ pound 7 footer in your way waiting to hack you.

That team was the Big 5. It was amazing. I believe our 2010-11 team was the best of the Big 3 era when everyone was healthy. We were just so dominant, and Rondo reached star status.

[PosImpos]

My memory might be wrong, but I just remember him hurt all the time, so I'd say no...I don't remember him at center

yeah the team was dominant. they were like 35-10 with him in the lineup.

so for all the people who think we need to add youth, please explain why this team was so good with Shaq?

the team was so good with Shaq because for the first time in the Big 3 era they had a legit post scoring threat, which balanced out the offense and created better looks for everybody.

the problem is that there's no such player in the league now with that kind of post presence who isn't a very expensive star.  also, KG looks like he's declined quite a bit since the start of last season.

[lightspeed5]

35-10 is an amazing record no matter how you slice it. We were so used to success that at the time noone really paid too much attention to how great that start to the season was. Shaq was tremendous.


we would have to go 31-2 to have that same record.

[winsomme]

My memory might be wrong, but I just remember him hurt all the time, so I'd say no...I don't remember him at center

There was a stretch where he was repeatedly scoring 20+ PPG. He gives another legit scoring option and a defensive backbone. Nobody wants to drive to the hole with a 300+ pound 7 footer in your way waiting to hack you.

That team was the Big 5. It was amazing. I believe our 2010-11 team was the best of the Big 3 era when everyone was healthy. We were just so dominant, and Rondo reached star status.

and how old was THAT team? could there be a better example that the real problem is the lack of a center and not the team's age?

plus, it put JO exactly where he should be...backup center...

i hope every takes a look at the game log and sees how good this team was with Shaq.

http://espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/bos/year/2011/boston-celtics

[PosImpos]

My memory might be wrong, but I just remember him hurt all the time, so I'd say no...I don't remember him at center

There was a stretch where he was repeatedly scoring 20+ PPG. He gives another legit scoring option and a defensive backbone. Nobody wants to drive to the hole with a 300+ pound 7 footer in your way waiting to hack you.

That team was the Big 5. It was amazing. I believe our 2010-11 team was the best of the Big 3 era when everyone was healthy. We were just so dominant, and Rondo reached star status.

and how old was THAT team? could there be a better example that the real problem is the lack of a center and not the team's age?

plus, it put JO exactly where he should be...backup center...

i hope every takes a look at the game log and sees how good this team was with Shaq.

http://espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/bos/year/2011/boston-celtics

the age is relevant because that amount of success was not sustainable.  at the start of the season, you had the Big 3 and Shaq all well-rested and energized by the prospect of playing together and competing for a championship.  then the wear and tear of a long regular season set in, Shaq went out (more or less permanently), and age / injuries caught up with KG and to a lesser extent Ray and Paul.

the start to last season was indeed very impressive, but it was unsustainable.  if shaq had joined the team a few years sooner, however, they would have been incredible.

[winsomme]

My memory might be wrong, but I just remember him hurt all the time, so I'd say no...I don't remember him at center

yeah the team was dominant. they were like 35-10 with him in the lineup.

so for all the people who think we need to add youth, please explain why this team was so good with Shaq?

the team was so good with Shaq because for the first time in the Big 3 era they had a legit post scoring threat, which balanced out the offense and created better looks for everybody.

the problem is that there's no such player in the league now with that kind of post presence who isn't a very expensive star.  also, KG looks like he's declined quite a bit since the start of last season.

maybe KG has fallen off, Pos, but I don't think we can really know until we see this team play with a center.

plus, the team really fell off after the Perk trade. and they were playing VERY similar to what we are seeing now. lots of turnovers and getting steamrolled in the paint.

Danny said his plan was to have Shaq back and that might have worked from an Xs and Os standpoint, but it never made sense to bank on Shaq getting back on the court.

anyway, the big thing to take note of IMO is that this team performed well with a real center. you seem to think, Pos, that we performed well because of Shaq's offense. I think it was his defensive prensence, but either way having a legit center made a difference with essentially this same core of players.

[winsomme]

My memory might be wrong, but I just remember him hurt all the time, so I'd say no...I don't remember him at center

There was a stretch where he was repeatedly scoring 20+ PPG. He gives another legit scoring option and a defensive backbone. Nobody wants to drive to the hole with a 300+ pound 7 footer in your way waiting to hack you.

That team was the Big 5. It was amazing. I believe our 2010-11 team was the best of the Big 3 era when everyone was healthy. We were just so dominant, and Rondo reached star status.

and how old was THAT team? could there be a better example that the real problem is the lack of a center and not the team's age?

plus, it put JO exactly where he should be...backup center...

i hope every takes a look at the game log and sees how good this team was with Shaq.

http://espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/bos/year/2011/boston-celtics

the age is relevant because that amount of success was not sustainable.  at the start of the season, you had the Big 3 and Shaq all well-rested and energized by the prospect of playing together and competing for a championship.  then the wear and tear of a long regular season set in, Shaq went out (more or less permanently), and age / injuries caught up with KG and to a lesser extent Ray and Paul.

the start to last season was indeed very impressive, but it was unsustainable.  if shaq had joined the team a few years sooner, however, they would have been incredible.

I don't agree, Pos. The Big 3 were incredibly healthy last season. The thing that changed in the season is going from a dominant center to a soft center.

If you put a real center on this team, I think you would see a huge improvement.

[PosImpos]

My memory might be wrong, but I just remember him hurt all the time, so I'd say no...I don't remember him at center

There was a stretch where he was repeatedly scoring 20+ PPG. He gives another legit scoring option and a defensive backbone. Nobody wants to drive to the hole with a 300+ pound 7 footer in your way waiting to hack you.

That team was the Big 5. It was amazing. I believe our 2010-11 team was the best of the Big 3 era when everyone was healthy. We were just so dominant, and Rondo reached star status.

and how old was THAT team? could there be a better example that the real problem is the lack of a center and not the team's age?

plus, it put JO exactly where he should be...backup center...

i hope every takes a look at the game log and sees how good this team was with Shaq.

http://espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/bos/year/2011/boston-celtics

the age is relevant because that amount of success was not sustainable.  at the start of the season, you had the Big 3 and Shaq all well-rested and energized by the prospect of playing together and competing for a championship.  then the wear and tear of a long regular season set in, Shaq went out (more or less permanently), and age / injuries caught up with KG and to a lesser extent Ray and Paul.

the start to last season was indeed very impressive, but it was unsustainable.  if shaq had joined the team a few years sooner, however, they would have been incredible.

I don't agree, Pos. The Big 3 were incredibly healthy last season. The thing that changed in the season is going from a dominant center to a soft center.

If you put a real center on this team, I think you would see a huge improvement.

i don't disagree, but the reason we had a soft center to end the season was that shaq was too old to play through the entire season.

also, by the end of the season KG was nowhere near the player he had been to start it.  part of that was not having a real post presence at his side like Shaq.  part of it was that he started the year looking spry and energetic, with a bounce in his step we hadn't seen since before his knee injury.  then he kinda fell back to earth over the course of the season.

such is the reality of age.


also, putting all that aside, where do you get a "real" center to put next to our core players?  i don't know if you noticed, but all of the "real" centers on the free agent market this off-season got enormous deals.

[winsomme]

My memory might be wrong, but I just remember him hurt all the time, so I'd say no...I don't remember him at center

There was a stretch where he was repeatedly scoring 20+ PPG. He gives another legit scoring option and a defensive backbone. Nobody wants to drive to the hole with a 300+ pound 7 footer in your way waiting to hack you.

That team was the Big 5. It was amazing. I believe our 2010-11 team was the best of the Big 3 era when everyone was healthy. We were just so dominant, and Rondo reached star status.

and how old was THAT team? could there be a better example that the real problem is the lack of a center and not the team's age?

plus, it put JO exactly where he should be...backup center...

i hope every takes a look at the game log and sees how good this team was with Shaq.

http://espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/bos/year/2011/boston-celtics

the age is relevant because that amount of success was not sustainable.  at the start of the season, you had the Big 3 and Shaq all well-rested and energized by the prospect of playing together and competing for a championship.  then the wear and tear of a long regular season set in, Shaq went out (more or less permanently), and age / injuries caught up with KG and to a lesser extent Ray and Paul.

the start to last season was indeed very impressive, but it was unsustainable.  if shaq had joined the team a few years sooner, however, they would have been incredible.

I don't agree, Pos. The Big 3 were incredibly healthy last season. The thing that changed in the season is going from a dominant center to a soft center.

If you put a real center on this team, I think you would see a huge improvement.

i don't disagree, but the reason we had a soft center to end the season was that shaq was too old to play through the entire season.

also, by the end of the season KG was nowhere near the player he had been to start it.  part of that was not having a real post presence at his side like Shaq.  part of it was that he started the year looking spry and energetic, with a bounce in his step we hadn't seen since before his knee injury.  then he kinda fell back to earth over the course of the season.

such is the reality of age.


also, putting all that aside, where do you get a "real" center to put next to our core players?  i don't know if you noticed, but all of the "real" centers on the free agent market this off-season got enormous deals.

I'd love to see Danny go after Gortat. The Suns seem like a franchise that is going to need to stockpile picks, so I would give them anything outside of: PP, Rondo, Ray, KG, and Pietrus to get him.

how about JO, two #1s, and JJJ (Moore instead?)

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

My memory might be wrong, but I just remember him hurt all the time, so I'd say no...I don't remember him at center

There was a stretch where he was repeatedly scoring 20+ PPG. He gives another legit scoring option and a defensive backbone. Nobody wants to drive to the hole with a 300+ pound 7 footer in your way waiting to hack you.

That team was the Big 5. It was amazing. I believe our 2010-11 team was the best of the Big 3 era when everyone was healthy. We were just so dominant, and Rondo reached star status.

and how old was THAT team? could there be a better example that the real problem is the lack of a center and not the team's age?

plus, it put JO exactly where he should be...backup center...

i hope every takes a look at the game log and sees how good this team was with Shaq.

http://espn.go.com/nba/team/schedule/_/name/bos/year/2011/boston-celtics

the age is relevant because that amount of success was not sustainable.  at the start of the season, you had the Big 3 and Shaq all well-rested and energized by the prospect of playing together and competing for a championship.  then the wear and tear of a long regular season set in, Shaq went out (more or less permanently), and age / injuries caught up with KG and to a lesser extent Ray and Paul.

the start to last season was indeed very impressive, but it was unsustainable.  if shaq had joined the team a few years sooner, however, they would have been incredible.

I don't agree, Pos. The Big 3 were incredibly healthy last season. The thing that changed in the season is going from a dominant center to a soft center.

If you put a real center on this team, I think you would see a huge improvement.

i don't disagree, but the reason we had a soft center to end the season was that shaq was too old to play through the entire season.

also, by the end of the season KG was nowhere near the player he had been to start it.  part of that was not having a real post presence at his side like Shaq.  part of it was that he started the year looking spry and energetic, with a bounce in his step we hadn't seen since before his knee injury.  then he kinda fell back to earth over the course of the season.

such is the reality of age.


also, putting all that aside, where do you get a "real" center to put next to our core players?  i don't know if you noticed, but all of the "real" centers on the free agent market this off-season got enormous deals.

I'd love to see Danny go after Gortat. The Suns seem like a franchise that is going to need to stockpile picks, so I would give them anything outside of: PP, Rondo, Ray, KG, and Pietrus to get him.

how about JO, two #1s, and JJJ (Moore instead?)

I have been begging for some Gortat! I just don't know how/if we can get him! I really think he would be a very good fit!

[Roy H.]

Very few players can score down low like Shaq, even at his advanced age.

Big Al would be a fantastic fit with our starting unit.

[Tgro]

I think we win it all if Shaq stays healthy. We were just scary when everyone on that team was healthy. I think KG falling off has more to do with Shaq or to some extent, even Perk not being there more so than age. KG played better because they were there! When they were gone, it took something away from him. And yes, age has its part in it too but not having a true center made KG show his age. I think KG was working better as a complementary piece in the puzzle rather than we have to strictly rely on him as one of the go to pieces. The team just got too hurt and it brought out all of our weaknesses. We started the season with depth at Center and we ended it basically hoping JO could hold down the fort. That's how we're starting this season and its killing us.