Celtics Sign C Jason Collins (merged threads)

[lightspeed5]

sheldon williams 2.0 ?

https://twitter.com/ESPNForsberg/status/226869366749278208

He can be useful in short spurts against the right opposition.  Can probably help a bit with defending Lopez in Brooklyn, Hibbert in Indiana, and the Lakers should we play them.

Only useful in small stretches against certain teams, which is better than Shelden who was never useful at all.

he cant defend point guards who are 6'2, what makes you think he can defend al horford?

6'2 avery bradley shooting over 7'0 jason collins

[Celtics18]

Ever the optimist, the best part of this signing for me is that this is a strong indication that Fab Melo will get a chance at some real on-the-job training with the big league squad this year.  

[Who]

Really?? I'm usually optimistic about our signings, but this one leaves me baffled. I'm really going to miss Stiemsma, if this is his replacement.

I don't think Collins is a replacement for Stiemsma. Collins isn't a rotation player. Not a primary backup center. Just a third stringer ... who offers a very specific and useful skill-set.

I would hope that Danny still goes out and tries to sign someone like Chris Andersen to be the main backup center. Or maybe a Darko Milicic.

Or, it may signal that Boston do not intend to bring in a (defensive anchor type) backup center and instead intent on going small with Sullinger / Wilcox as their primary backup center ... with Jason Collins as a third stringer whom they can call upon when they need some more size in certain difficult situations.

We'll have to wait and see on that. Still hoping for C.Andersen though.

[Neurotic Guy]

Danny...why would you do that to fans... and to yourself... and to Doc

Guy has made an 11-year career out of hard work. He's going to back up the backup at C. What's your problem with him?

Good point.  Vet minimum -- nothing to lose.  Can give them a few minutes -- give KG a breather or come in and pound someone.  Nothing exciting, but not a problem. 

[rmitchell222003]

its funny danny makes amazing moves this season... now everyone wants to compare him to Morey (oh the Rockets)by getting jason collins. lol

[Lucky17]

he cant defend point guards who are 6'2, what makes you think he can defend al horford?

6'2 avery bradley shooting over 7'0 jason collins

Ha. Looks like Bradley is settling for an 18-foot jumper, instead of trying beat Collins off the dribble.

I wonder if this was one of Bradley's 12 makes in that game, or one of his 10 misses?

Collins started, played 25 minutes, and put up 8 points, 7 rebs, and 4 assists in the Hawks' win.

[CantBeRight]

I hope he wears 20 and shoots three's

[BudweiserCeltic]

Really?? I'm usually optimistic about our signings, but this one leaves me baffled. I'm really going to miss Stiemsma, if this is his replacement.

I don't think Collins is a replacement for Stiemsma. Collins isn't a rotation player. Not a primary backup center. Just a third stringer ... who offers a very specific and useful skill-set.

I would hope that Danny still goes out and tries to sign someone like Chris Andersen to be the main backup center. Or maybe a Darko Milicic.

Or, it may signal that Boston do not intend to bring in a (defensive anchor type) backup center and instead intent on going small with Sullinger / Wilcox as their primary backup center ... with Jason Collins as a third stringer whom they can call upon when they need some more size in certain difficult situations.

We'll have to wait and see on that. Still hoping for C.Andersen though.

Yep. We got two more roster spots available. Options are one more big and maybe Dooling or Christmas. Or both Dooling and Christmas, and if a better big becomes available later on, waive one of these guys.

I can see the reasoning behind all of those cases, and of course, assuming Kris Joseph makes it (got suspicion that he will).

[TheFlex]

Excellent news. A physically strong post defender who can give the team some minutes against bigger front-lines. Did a very nice job on Dwight Howard in the past.

Not as strong a rebounder as a Magloire or Dampier but has better feet ... more mobility defensively. So lose some rebounding to gain some more defensive range.

It is interesting how much the Celtics prioritize defensive range over rebounding (Sheed, JO, Hollins, Collins).

The job of a GM is to find the best available players (or in some cases like this one, the best bang for your buck) who fit a system designed by the coach he employed. The Celtics, in all the years of Garnett have NEVER been a rebounding team, and we've had some guys who on their previous teams seemed to swallow everything below and beside the rim up. That is because of Doc; his defensive rotations and fast break deployment discourage guys hanging around for loose boards. So far, Doc's coaching has been a success, so why mess with it? Defensive mobility vs. rebounding is a different argument, what's at stake here is what better maximizes the strengths of his core (ie Rondo, Pierce, Garnett)? Doc seems to think it may be defensive mobility and so far I'm inclined to believe him. There's nothing more annoying than a GM who is shallow in his research and mucks up a legitimate chance for a coach to prove his system was worth paying millions of dollars for.

[celtsfan84]

sheldon williams 2.0 ?

https://twitter.com/ESPNForsberg/status/226869366749278208

He can be useful in short spurts against the right opposition.  Can probably help a bit with defending Lopez in Brooklyn, Hibbert in Indiana, and the Lakers should we play them.

Only useful in small stretches against certain teams, which is better than Shelden who was never useful at all.

he cant defend point guards who are 6'2, what makes you think he can defend al horford?

6'2 avery bradley shooting over 7'0 jason collins

The two quotes below, one from Stan Van Gundy and one from a report on the series, are both from Magic-Hawks in 2011.

And here’s Magic Coach Stan Van Gundy on Collins defense against Howard:

“That’s the best defense on [Howard] on all year,” Van Gundy said. “[Collins] did a great job. [Howard] missed a couple of good shots against Horford, but against Collins he didn’t even get many good shots. I thought he did a great job on him.  He’s big, he’s physical, he doesn’t give him many angles to the basket, he doesn’t give him anything easy, and Dwight had trouble just getting good, on-balance shots.”

“Collins started all four meetings this season, and the Hawks held Orlando to an average of 82.5 points in those games. The key was not just that he limited Howard’s points and periodically got him out of the game entirely with his penchant for drawing charging fouls, but that his single coverage took away Orlando’s 3-point game. Orlando made only 19 of 84 3-point attempts in the four meetings; that’s obviously a lower rate of accuracy than the Magic’s norm, but perhaps more notably a lower frequency of attempts.”

His key asset is using his strong body to prevent post players from establishing post position.  If he can force Dwight, Lopez, Hibbert, etc... into deep jumpers in limited minutes, he will more than earn the minimum.

A 6'2 guard taking a deep jumper over him doesn't account for his biggest strength of preventing prime post position.

[cb8883]

Rather have Scal play center over this guy...

[CoachBo]

Decent signing. Clear upgrade over Steamer.

[GreenEnvy]

Eh. He's a big body.

Probably wouldn't embarrass himself like I always expected Hollins to.

I still want Anderson like many have mentioned. If we don't get Anderson or Darko, it's not because of this signing, it's the other way around. DA usually has a good handle on these things, so either DA is bringing one of those in as well or already knows we are out of the hunt.

If all goes according to plan, this signing won't even matter anyway.

[hpantazo]

Collins did an excellent job filling in for Horford in the playoffs against us this year, I'm glad to have him aboard as our 3rd string big man. Another excellent move by Danny. We still have the BAE to land a 2nd string center.

[snively]

Excellent news. A physically strong post defender who can give the team some minutes against bigger front-lines. Did a very nice job on Dwight Howard in the past.

Not as strong a rebounder as a Magloire or Dampier but has better feet ... more mobility defensively. So lose some rebounding to gain some more defensive range.

It is interesting how much the Celtics prioritize defensive range over rebounding (Sheed, JO, Hollins, Collins).

The job of a GM is to find the best available players (or in some cases like this one, the best bang for your buck) who fit a system designed by the coach he employed. The Celtics, in all the years of Garnett have NEVER been a rebounding team

Not true.  First two Garnett years we were very good on the boards.