Bring IT back off the bench, problem solved!

[Hemingway]

Thomas is the Ricky Davis of this Celtic era. 

Ainge got Davis cheap.  We flipped him when he was averaging 19.7 points, 5.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals with 46%/32%/79% shooting....  He was also 26 years old.  Good player with a ceiling.

Now we have Thomas. I like Thomas.  He's a fun player.  But he's a gimmicky player.  He's averaging 20.9 points, 6.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals with 41%/32%/89% shooting ... Pretty inefficient.  Probably not a long-term starter.  It might be a good time to flip him.

I really hate this post, but you might be right. We better get something good for IT if we trade him because he is playing great for us and really going all out. Ricky is a poor comparison of players but it is of trade oopertunity.

[manl_lui]

Let Rozier backup IT.
Move Smart to the two guard.
Smart is not a point guard.

He's more of a PG than 2 guard. He doesn't turn the ball over often, gets the offense going fast, and makes some really nice passes. Problem is he's been playing with IT and ET and they run the show and he has to stand around waiting for one of them to get in trouble.

When he's playing the 2 he's standing around the 3 point line and jacks up shots because thats all he's getting. He doesn't look comfortable out there at all at the 2. When he's playing the PG he seems to take it to the paint more often and shoots that floater. He's better when he has the ball in hand from the get go.

I honestly don't think who starts (IT or Bradley) is the problem. I think we played well for 3 1/2 quarters (whether we are up or down). Then in the last 5 minutes, our aggressiveness disappears. We are not getting the rebounds, we are settling for a lot of 3s. Just like last night's game, we are getting outrebounded in the 4th quarter or at least what I can see is we are not aggressive on the boards...We cannot just be aggressive or all sides of the courts and disappear in the 4th. We need to keep the intensity throughout the game. Maybe it's experience, which I hope they continue to grow. However, I do agree with most of the CB bloggers that IT is better suited off the bench because there really aren't anyone in the 2nd unit that can guard him, and he can score almost at will with other starters.

It might hurt our offense in the beginning of the game, but our defense will be superb with Smart/Bradley/Crowder on the court together.

[Rosco917]

IT doesn't give the offense a chance to develop. He kills ball movement. Our offense is Helter Skelter with him at PG. He is best used off the bench where he can provide a change of pace. After the opposition adjusts to him, back to the bench he goes.

Smart may not be a natural point guard, but in a ball movement system, he does his job. He gets the team into it's offensive scheme, the ball doesn't stick to his hands, he's a good passer, actual plays can be run.
Give him the keys to the car, or give him enough rope. Besides...the NBA doesn't have many "Natural" PG's.

Start: Smart, Bradley, Crowder, KO, Amir.
(Sully, off the bench to help with the boards we'll surely loose)

[Evantime34]

Thomas is the Ricky Davis of this Celtic era. 

Ainge got Davis cheap.  We flipped him when he was averaging 19.7 points, 5.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals with 46%/32%/79% shooting....  He was also 26 years old.  Good player with a ceiling.

Now we have Thomas. I like Thomas.  He's a fun player.  But he's a gimmicky player.  He's averaging 20.9 points, 6.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals with 41%/32%/89% shooting ... Pretty inefficient.  Probably not a long-term starter.  It might be a good time to flip him.

On one hand, I think his inefficiency stems from having no one else on the team that can create their own shot. The offense takes an absolute nose dive when he's not in the game.

On the other hand, I think if this team is ever to grow into a contender, it will be through elite defense and Thomas doesn't fit that.

I'm really curious what teams would give up for IT, he is a very good scorer, has showed he can move the ball on offense (this year).

Ainge has put us in a good position though. Currently our 3 best players Thomas, Bradley and Crowder are all on extremely reasonable contracts so if a quality free agent is interested in Boston we already have his supporting cast and the money to sign him.

Edit- the problem lately has been with Bradley out, Turner moves to the starting role and suddenly the bench has no scoring. Our depth doesn't count for much if the second unit doesn't have scorer/creator to drive the offense.

[BudweiserCeltic]

Thomas is the Ricky Davis of this Celtic era. 

Ainge got Davis cheap.  We flipped him when he was averaging 19.7 points, 5.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals with 46%/32%/79% shooting....  He was also 26 years old.  Good player with a ceiling.

Now we have Thomas. I like Thomas.  He's a fun player.  But he's a gimmicky player.  He's averaging 20.9 points, 6.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals with 41%/32%/89% shooting ... Pretty inefficient.  Probably not a long-term starter.  It might be a good time to flip him.

On one hand, I think his inefficiency stems from having no one else on the team that can create their own shot. The offense takes an absolute nose dive when he's not in the game.

On the other hand, I think if this team is ever to grow into a contender, it will be through elite defense and Thomas doesn't fit that.

I'm really curious what teams would give up for IT, he is a very good scorer, has showed he can move the ball on offense (this year).

Ainge has put us in a good position though. Currently our 3 best players Thomas, Bradley and Crowder are all on extremely reasonable contracts so if a quality free agent is interested in Boston we already have his supporting cast and the money to sign him.

Edit- the problem lately has been with Bradley out, Turner moves to the starting role and suddenly the bench has no scoring. Our depth doesn't count for much if the second unit doesn't have scorer/creator to drive the offense.

His been inefficient throughout the season, but this latest stretch is directly linked to him playing with an injured thumb. So not going to pounce on him when he's down. He's missing his free-throws... you know something is wrong just with that.

[footey]

Thomas is the Ricky Davis of this Celtic era. 

Ainge got Davis cheap.  We flipped him when he was averaging 19.7 points, 5.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds, 1.2 steals with 46%/32%/79% shooting....  He was also 26 years old.  Good player with a ceiling.

Now we have Thomas. I like Thomas.  He's a fun player.  But he's a gimmicky player.  He's averaging 20.9 points, 6.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals with 41%/32%/89% shooting ... Pretty inefficient.  Probably not a long-term starter.  It might be a good time to flip him.

What did we get for trading him? Was it worth it?

Bit complicated because there were other pieces involved from our end, but we basically ended up getting Wally Z and a protected 1st... wally z's contract was a key part of the trade to bring in Ray Allen.... the 1st went back to Minny along with other pieces in our trade for KG.

You exaggerate, LB.  The key component of that trade was the  5th round pick. to say Wally's "contract" was a key part could refer to any player who had a similar contract. I.e., Seattle could care less about getting Wally. Also I don't think the Thomas-Davis analogy is accurate.  The team's W-L record hardly improved with the addition of Davis (may have dropped) while we clearly improved as a team when IT joined. He has far more value than Davis ever did for us.  As far as trade value, I think IT has out-performed our expectations.  Yes, he is limited player, especially on D, and propensity to try and take over the game when he is unable to, but the trade for IT turned out to be much better for C's than the trade for Ricky Davis.