Celtics have a bunch of rimprotectors this season !

[heitingas]

If you look at our bigs this year, the only reliable scorer is KG and the best defensive player on the team.
The other ones are there to clean the glass, take charges,lay down some people,block shots and change direction of other shots.
Darko,Collins,Melo,Wilcox are some mean m**** lovers. Even Melo could be a contributor just by using his 6 fouls and being a goon. Did I forget to mention Sullinger?

This team is going to be nasty, nightmare to any perimeter primadonnas, it Will hurt them to go to the line, they might/ Will get whistles and go to the line, the Wades,Kobes,Lebrons,Melos BUT they Will be bruised.

And whats that how many fouls can our bigs give out? 36 to 40 between KG,Melo,Collins,Darko,Wilcox,Sullinger, add Bass if you consider him a "big" or Green for that matter, we have so much depth and guys that can bruise other teams star players.

We havent had that though squad before, even the championship team didnt have this many though guys before. With all due respect to Shaq and Perk in 2011, they werent even healthy all year.

This is going to be a really fun season, looking forward to this !

[crimson_stallion]

Yep, I've though of this myself as well - what we lack in quality at the center position (behind KG) we make up for somewhat with quantity. 

Perkins was never a fantastic player with us, but we excelled with him in the game because he gave us something we've never had since then - an intimidator.  Opposing teams were SCARED to attack the rim with him in the game, because they knew [dang] well they would hit the floor...hard.

Both Darko and Collins have that same tough 'enforcer' attitude, and I love it.  I'd love to see Lebron and Wade hit the floor a few times a night, so that every time they take a free-throw they spend the next 5-10 minutes feeling the effects.

[pearljammer10]

Enforcers by comitee. Hopefully we can regain our intimidation factor at the center spot.

[Jon]

I agree with everyone about the depth and overall quality of our big man rotation. It will be very helpful in sustaining injuries and foul trouble.

That said, I could see a playoff rotation (particularly against teams not named the Lakers) that features Bass, Green, Sully, KG, and Wilcox with little to know time for Darko, Collins, and Melo.  So while they are nice to have, we'll have to see how often some of these enforcers are used.

[mgent]

Who?

We have exactly one serious shot blocker and he's never gonna play a minute.

[xmuscularghandix]

Fab Melo won't play but if there's serious injuries he COULD come up and at least block shots.

Darko is a good shot blocker (2.6 per 36 for his career)

While Jason Collins isn't a shot blocker he's still a big body that does a good job of throwing his weight around and clogging the paint.

Brandon Bass isn't a great shot blocker but was at a career best last season with 0.9 per game.

I'm not expecting Sullinger to be a great (or even good) shot blocker throughout his NBA career but he did manage to average 1.1 blocks per game at Ohio State last season. The year before he only had 0.5 per game... so that obviously is an area he's challenged himself to improve in.

Celtics have a LOT of fouls that they can spread out between bigs.

Rondo- Terry
Lee- Christmas
Pierce- Green
Bass- Sullinger
KG- Wilcox- Darko- Collins

if they roll with a lineup like this there is a LOT of size up front to combat Bynum and Howard (aka the only centers left in the league)

[CelticSooner]

Playing next to KG will automatically make them better. The only enforcer type I see is Darko though. If Doc and KG can get him to play within himself he could be a huge asset.

Who knows though, he's liable to be as lazy as he was in Minnesota.

[arambone]

Collins might be fighting for a roster spot.

If some johnny flynn lately becomes available, fab melo plays big in preseason, and Collins looks not at his best, Collins might get the hook.

A small forward might also replace Collins, especially if kris joseph doesnt earn great confidence from Doc.

[CelticHooligan3]

Playing next to KG will automatically make them better. The only enforcer type I see is Darko though. If Doc and KG can get him to play within himself he could be a huge asset.

Who knows though, he's liable to be as lazy as he was in Minnesota.

We're sure he was lazy? What's the story?

[More Banners]

KG waives his hands in the air and gets out of the way when the opposing player goes to the rim, apparently trying to alter the shot without committing a foul.

And I don't think going into the penalty early in the quarter is going to sit well when we're watching a free-throw parade as opponents take their advantage late in close games.

But it IS good to have shot-blockers.  KG can do it, as can Darko and Wilcox, who will compete for backup C minutes.  Wilcox can, I think, move to PF as well.  The main thing is to get Bass the heck out of there.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

KG waives his hands in the air and gets out of the way when the opposing player goes to the rim, apparently trying to alter the shot without committing a foul.

And I don't think going into the penalty early in the quarter is going to sit well when we're watching a free-throw parade as opponents take their advantage late in close games.

But it IS good to have shot-blockers.  KG can do it, as can Darko and Wilcox, who will compete for backup C minutes.  Wilcox can, I think, move to PF as well.  The main thing is to get Bass the heck out of there.

You can't make fts if you don't know who you are anymore, we have some guys that will be asked to put a little shiver in your spine.

[CelticSooner]

Playing next to KG will automatically make them better. The only enforcer type I see is Darko though. If Doc and KG can get him to play within himself he could be a huge asset.

Who knows though, he's liable to be as lazy as he was in Minnesota.

We're sure he was lazy? What's the story?

Rick Adelman certainly wasn't a fan. haha

Hope he is committed because he can shine in the C's system.

[celtics2]

Time to put the clubs away. NFL & NBA time. I am also happy our inside game has some depth. Been sadly needed for a long time. Early ranking on the Power Rankings is 6th. About where I thought we deserve now.

[BudweiserCeltic]

We've pretty much have always had plenty of rim protectors... health has always been the problem. Even the year with Shaq, were our big man depth should've been phenomenal, turned out to be one of our weakest in that role particularly because of health considerations.

That said, I'm excited with what we have right now, plenty of big bodies.

[guava_wrench]

Collins might be fighting for a roster spot.

If some johnny flynn lately becomes available, fab melo plays big in preseason, and Collins looks not at his best, Collins might get the hook.

A small forward might also replace Collins, especially if kris joseph doesnt earn great confidence from Doc.

Or we just dump Joseph in that last case. If Collins has a guaranteed league minimum contract, there is a major financial incentive to keep him around. After signing Darko, we have very limited financial flexibility.

I suspect KG might have some days off, Melo is still very raw, and Sully is not a sure thing health-wise, so depth is a needed.