The Critical Guys (lose them and we're screwed)
1. KG
Boston actually took a bigger hit statistically on offense then they did on defense with KG out. His ability to be an inside/outside scoring threat along with his IQ (always makes the right play) and passing ability make him more valuable offensively then people realise. I'm only talking about his offense here because the impact he brings with his defense, energy and leadership goes without saying.
2. Rondo
Very close second behind KG, but second regardless simply becuase his impact is more more focussed towards the offensive side of the game. I don't think Boston loses that much defensively when Rondo is off the floor, despite him being known as a very good defender. I put Rondo above Paul becuase he makes everyone better offensively, and having 4 offensive threats on the court is more dangerous IMHO than 1 offensive threat. I rank him below KG because he can be turnover prone at times, forces some questionable shots at times, and his unpolished offensive game can sometimes be a liability (as other teams will cheat off him and double other guys).
3. Pierce
Along with KG, Pierce is probably the most complete player on this team. Offensively he is almost unguardable becuase he can score in every possible way - he's threat from midrange, from three, can attacking of the dribble, very good post up game, will score on the fast break, an excellent finisher around the basket and great at getting to the line. He draws so much attention on offense that he acts as a 'decoy' and draws attention away from our other scorers. He's also an elite passer at his postition, a very good rebounder, and an underrated defender. He is the best clutch scorer on this team. Pierce is a guy who (if he gets hot) can turn a 15 point defecit into 3 point lead in the space of abou 6 game minutes.
Key guys (lose them and we'll really struggle)
4. Bradley
Yep, It may seem crazy but I'm putting Bradley down as the most important play after the big 3. The pure chaos he causes on defense is invaluable to this team, and at times it gives us just as much advantage as Rondo's playmaking or Pierces scoring. Aside from that he's improving as a scorer and as a ball handler, so he's no longer an offensive liablity. All of this is evident in his on/off Net Rating in the playoffs last season, which was the highest of anyone on the Celtics roster (even above KG).
5. Terry
This was a REALLY close call between Terry and Green, and I'm still somewhat on the fence about it. I'm put Terry above Green by a whisker simply because his toughness and his history of being a dominant clutch scorer will be critical for us come playoff time. He may well be out most important offensive player after Pierce. He will be much like Ray Allen in that no team in the league will be able to leave his body when he's out there, and that makes us very hard to defend. Outside of this he is dependable (has missed barely any games over his career) and he's the emotional leader of out second unit, and should have a similar locker room presence to what Dooling had last season.
6. Green
Green rounds out this group because of his versatility on both ends of the floor. Terry is mainly a shooter right now, and we need a guy on our second unit who can in the post, off the dribble and can get to the line. Green is that guy. We also need a guy who can defend dominate offensive swingmen (like Lebron, Camello, Durant, etc) when Pierce rests, and Green gives us that as well.
You could pretty much interchange these three guys in any order and it would be fair enough - they are all VERY important to our title hopes.
Important guys - We'd really miss them if lost
7. Sullinger
Yes I know this is crazy putting this much weight into a rookie, but he gives us two things we are in desperate need of - inside scoring and offensive rebouding. He seems to have a knack for getting to the foul line as well, and he shot about 85% from there in the preseason. Aside from the post game he also has shooting range out to the three point line, so opposing teams cannot leave him to double or he is more than capable of punishing them. His defense needs work but towards the end of preseason it seemed like it was already improving a lot, and I think after a couple of months into the season he'll no longer be a liability on that end.
8. Darko
Crazy much - Darko at #8?? You didn't read wrong. Last season we were getting absolutely butt-whipped every time KG sat down becuase we had absolutely zero paint protection. We have also severely missed having an 'enforcer' type guy since Perkins left, and teams had no fear attacking the rim against us. Darko will change that. He blocks shots, he fights for rebounds, he's big and scary (and physcho). See what happened in the preseason when Darko was out and KG sat down? We got slaughtered. This guy will have almost zero impact on offense, but if he keeps playing the way he did in preseason he's going to be a key piece for our second unit.
Valuable players, but we can win without them
9. Lee
It might seem mean to have Lee this far down on the list. Truth is he is a jack-of-all trades and that means we're better with him. He isn't exceptional at anything though, and that means we can live without him. Nice (if streaky) shooter, solid defender, valuable in the fast break running with Rondo, and he has decent size for a SG which will help at times against bigger guards. Becuase of Bradley's situation Lee would have been way further up in this list in the short term, but now that we have Barbosa it again pushes him back down. To put it simply Lee is a good shooter, but not as good as Terry. He's a good defender, but not as good as Bradley. He's quick on the break, but but not quicker than Barbosa. I really like Lee but if he goes down, we have three other SG's who can pretty much replace what he gives us.
10. Bass
Again, it sounds mean having Bass this far down the list, but like Lee there is nothing he gives us really that another guy on our team doesn't. He's a great midrange shooting big - so is KG. He's athletic - so is Wilcox. He's a decent rebounder - Wilcox is a better one. Wilcox is also a better inside scorer. The only key things he gives us are hustle and hard work (which I love) but otherwise we are stacked enough at PF that if he does go down we can live with it.
11. Barbosa
Barbosa is this far down for the same reason as Lee is - he doesn't do anything that another guy can't do. He's a better scorer probably than Lee and he's similarly quick on the fast break, but he is smaller and less capable defensively (especially against bigger guys). I rank him above Wilcox because he can play some time at the PG spot which allows Terry to spend more time at his natural SG spot, and I think that's important. Also gives us a second person who can play the point if Terry or (god forbid) Rondo gets hurt.
12. Wilcox
I REALLY like Wilcox. Love the effort and energy he gave us last year, and if this was last years team he's be much further up in the list..but we are just so [dang] stacked at the frontcourt positions. Hell in some ways you could almost argue that Wilcox could be more important than Bass, becuase he gives us athleticism in the front court without giving up size..plus he's a better rebounder and a better finisher around the basket. Bass is probably a better defender though (maybe, if so not by much) and is a more consistent scorer. Wilcox also turns the ball over a lot more than Bass does. Really tough call to be honest between Bass, Barbosa and Wilcox - these positions also are pretty much interchangable.
Bottom of the bench (i.e. insurance) guys
13. Collins
Collins has one talent and one talent only - frustrating opposing big men and (in the process) causing their offensive play to diminish. This year I thik Collins will have pretty low value simply because I believe Darko will do exactly the same thing, and probably do it at least as well. Darko also has been rebouding well and has been blocking shots consistently, while also making a solid passer from the post (Collins appears capable of neither). Still he's a Vet and he's a servicable player who will earn his pay at some point in the season.
14. Joseph
I've put Joseph on top of Melo because I believe that he is more NBA ready at this point in their careers. If Green or Pierce have to miss time Joseph could step up and get some time. While he'd be unlikely to produce much in a real game, he's also unlikely to turn the ball over and become a liability. He's a bit like a poor man's Cortney Lee in that he's not exceptional at anything, but just solid at everything.
15.Melo
I've put Joseph on top becuase right now he is less a liability. Still Melo has a roster spot becuase he gives us one thing that no other center on this Roster (bar KG) can give us - decent Pick and Roll defense. Downside is that right now he is still a major liability on offense, getting just as many turnovers per night as he has rebounds and blocks combined. He has had a decent assist rate though - he'll be nice when his offensive game improves. For now he'll be insurance in case one of our backup centers (Darko or Collins) gets hurt and the other gets in foul trouble.
Wow, so difficult to make that list! I feel so bad listing Lee and Bass as out 9th and 10th most valuable players...just goes to show how amazingly deep this team is.
Topic: 1-15. Rank 'em if you got 'em (Read 9468 times)