What will we do if a guard goes down?

[Vermont Green]

All joking aside, without Dooling and until Bradley is back, we are very thin at PG.  I am less worried about SG because I feel we have 3 solid options there, Lee, Terry, Pierce.  At PG, it is only Rondo and Terry.

I was surprised to hear Danny say they probably would not sign another PG.  Sure, it is not a problem until it is a problem (problem meaning Rondo or Terry miss games) but I don't think it will be ugly if we have to play a few games with only one PG while we are trying to sign someone or putting a D-Leaguer out there.

[Chris]

All joking aside, without Dooling and until Bradley is back, we are very thin at PG.  I am less worried about SG because I feel we have 3 solid options there, Lee, Terry, Pierce.  At PG, it is only Rondo and Terry.

I was surprised to hear Danny say they probably would not sign another PG.  Sure, it is not a problem until it is a problem (problem meaning Rondo or Terry miss games) but I don't think it will be ugly if we have to play a few games with only one PG while we are trying to sign someone or putting a D-Leaguer out there.

I think this shows that they think the young guys are as capable as any of the available options right now, in an emergency situation.  And since those young guys are not on fully guaranteed contracts, and are making the rookie minimum rather than the vet minimum, it makes more sense to keep them on, until someone better becomes available.

[Interceptor]

We're fine for twisted ankles and bumps and bruises. If someone goes down like a sack of potatoes and looks to be out for weeks... the following sequence of events takes place:

- Pierce runs the point for a while (he can do it).
- We make do with whatever our rookie can handle, which is probably not much.
- Ainge drunk-dials E'Twaun Moore.
- Depending on how #1 and #2 go, some scrap-heap veteran might get signed, unless it was Rondo with a season-ender, in which case we start intentionally tanking.

That's my prediction.

[kozlodoev]

We're fine for twisted ankles and bumps and bruises. If someone goes down like a sack of potatoes and looks to be out for weeks... the following sequence of events takes place:

- Pierce runs the point for a while (he can do it).
- We make do with whatever our rookie can handle, which is probably not much.
- Ainge drunk-dials E'Twaun Moore.
- Depending on how #1 and #2 go, some scrap-heap veteran might get signed, unless it was Rondo with a season-ender, in which case we start intentionally tanking.

That's my prediction.

E'Twaun Moore signed with Orlando. Also, it's very likely to see Terry manning the point if Rondo goes down. We have enough SGs to pick up the slack.

[mgent]

All joking aside, without Dooling and until Bradley is back, we are very thin at PG.  I am less worried about SG because I feel we have 3 solid options there, Lee, Terry, Pierce.  At PG, it is only Rondo and Terry.

I don't know why people are treating it as a joking matter.  Pierce provides some depth, but we can't just act like he's not 35 and might not be able to slide over as seamlessly as he used to 10 years ago.  He's an amazing defender but that's because of his strength, footwork, and smart decision making.  The only guys that give him any problem are the quicker forwards (LeBron, Iguodala, etc)

It's one thing to ask him to guard Joe Johnson, Evan Turner, Jason Richardson, that type of player.  However, the league is packed with young, explosive SGs that could give him problems.

DeRozan
Tyreke Evans
Mayo
Stuckey
Eric Gordon
James Harden
Marcus Thorton
Wade
Ellis
Kevin Martin
Ben Gordon
JR Smith
Jamal Crawford
Brandon Roy (possibly)
Paul George (probably)
Nick Young
Lou Williams

[Interceptor]

E'Twaun Moore signed with Orlando. Also, it's very likely to see Terry manning the point if Rondo goes down. We have enough SGs to pick up the slack.

Yeah, ET is out even if he didn't sign with anyone, because of the CBA. I was having some buyer's remorse fun at Ainge's expense. 

[saltlover]

I get the concern, and I get that it's September and we're bored and feel like being concerned.  And I understand that Dooling's retirement was unplanned and surprising, but all that said, I'm not worried.  NBA teams are limited to 15 players on the roster.  Essentially that means you have 3-4 players per position, since some players can handle multiple positions.  If we say that the roster when at full strength, features Rondo, Terry, and Bradley as the PG options, that's a pretty solid roster.  Of course, we're down Bradley for 20-25% of the season, so that creates the risk that if we're without JET or Rondo in that time, we're down to one PG option and thus desperate.  It's a risk.  But at some point during the season, most teams are down multiple players at the same position.  You hope it's a short period, because if it's a long period you're probably in trouble, but it's life with a small roster and a very limited pool of viable replacements.  Every team deals with it.

That said, to play along I'll assume JET goes down for a couple weeks while Bradley is still out (because Rondo is such an integral component of the team that replacing him is a different story, and it wouldn't really matter if both JET and AB were healthy or not.)  I'd firstly hope that Christmas gets a little run at the lead guard position, to see what we've got there.  His contract is half-guaranteed for the season, which means that we can cut him and sign a vet after the mid-way point without any cap hit.  So in the event we go down another guard early, Doc may be forced to give him some run, and it may actually be for the long-term good.

Otherwise, Pierce can play his point forward position for a few minutes a game, and Rondo probably has to log a few extra minutes.  Sub-optimal, obviously, but life.

If Lee goes down instead of JET, then we get to see if Christmas can play the 2 (which is a much better position for him) and we can again see Pierce playing some there as well.  It's a very versatile roster, and can handle losing two players at the same position better than many teams (my biggest concern is losing Pierce and Green simultaneously, because that will lead to some weird Lee/Joseph/Christmas/Bass mashup), but losing two players who fill similar roles will always stress any roster. (See: our center position the last 4 years.)

[Jon]

We're fine for twisted ankles and bumps and bruises. If someone goes down like a sack of potatoes and looks to be out for weeks... the following sequence of events takes place:

- Pierce runs the point for a while (he can do it).
- We make do with whatever our rookie can handle, which is probably not much.
- Ainge drunk-dials E'Twaun Moore.
- Depending on how #1 and #2 go, some scrap-heap veteran might get signed, unless it was Rondo with a season-ender, in which case we start intentionally tanking.

That's my prediction.

I agree.

The thing is, even if we had a third string PG, it's quite likely that if Terry or Rondo went down, Doc would simply play two shooting guards and let Pierce bring the ball up the court.  So, having a third string PG who likely wouldn't play, really doesn't make a ton of sense. 

[tonyto3690]

This isn't a video game people.  Pierce at the 2 would be a complete disaster.  His legs would be shot just trying to stay with a two guard and it would make him completely useless on offense.

Maybe a decade ago it could work in stretches, but not now.  He's too big, too slow to play the 2 without being abused by mediocre roleplayers.

[Mencius]

- Pierce runs the point for a while (he can do it).
- We make do with whatever our rookie can handle, which is probably not much.
- Ainge drunk-dials E'Twaun Moore.
- Depending on how #1 and #2 go, some scrap-heap veteran might get signed, unless it was Rondo with a season-ender, in which case we start intentionally tanking.

That's my prediction.

I agree with your prediction, with the caveat that I think you meant PP facilitates from the 3 while our undrafted rookie 2 defends the PG.

[SHAQATTACK]

Pray that it closer to AB s return date than not.

[bfrombleacher]

At this point, the options remaining are just as "risky" as our rooks.

You're talking about Allen Iverson, Carlos Arroyo and Jonny Flynn. I don't think it's that much of an upgrade over Christmas and Kris Joseph.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

At this point, the options remaining are just as "risky" as our rooks.

You're talking about Allen Iverson, Carlos Arroyo and Jonny Flynn. I don't think it's that much of an upgrade over Christmas and Kris Joseph.

I thought Flynn was signed yesterday?

I would hope we just keep KJ and Xmas instead of any of the guys you mentioned!

[crimson_stallion]

In the past when we had to deal with these situations Doc has played Pierce in a point-forward role (e.g. Lebron / Odom) and we have actually been pretty effective playing that way. 

Pierce has good hands, is pretty secure with the ball and is a very good passer at the SF position, and with him playing a Point-Forward role we can then play Terry or Lee at the point if we really need to.

It's obviously not optimal, but it's a solution that has worked in the past.

[AshyLarry]

Basically, if any guard gets hurt, we're cool. We aquired depth in the offseason, plus Doc's got platooning down to a science.

BUT

As we all know, if Rondo goes down, it honestly doesn't really matter who fills his spot..