Free agent guard Leandro Barbosa has reached agreement on a one-year deal with the Boston Celtics, league sources tell Yahoo! Sports. -Adrian Wojnarowski http://twitter.com/WojYahooNBA/statuses/258662394769842176 Don't know if they can top Miami, but the Celtics are definitely one of the deepest teams in the league.
I like Barbosa, but I'm not sure if I like the signing. This is team that is stacked at 2-guard (and that's not even considering Avery Bradley). Will he be playing the backup three? Will Bradley play backup point guard?
They brought in Lee to throw at Lebron, Durant, Wade, etc... there isn't anyone else on their roster that can disrupt elite wing scorers. His minutes are safe.
They could still run a small lineup out there of Rondo/Barbosa/Lee. This would be a fast lineup to say the least. A defensive backcourt of Rondo/Bradley/Lee. A bench squad of Terry/Barbosa/Bradley. This signing gives them depth and options. There is NO way they can run starters minutes all year with JT and Paul Pierce, they need able veterans to take the pressure off and give them more minutes. This does that.
All these players are about resting Pierce and Garnett for the stretch and the playoffs. Rondo is young and has a great body to play heavy minutes. And they are good enough with these bench guys and Rondo to win 45 games or so without Garnett and Pierce playing a single minute. Then you play Garnett and Pierce enough to click off another 10-15 wins or so and compete for home court advantage.
tbh, positions are fairly irrelevant in this case. Lee can easily be used at SF in most matchups. Terry-Bradley makes sense together. Lee could be used as a playmaker next to Bradley too, though I think that will be mainly Terry's job. And Rondo makes sense with any of them + Lee at SF. Barbosa is just a minimum guy who will get minutes while Bradley is out, or in case someone else gets injured. I don't see him as a big part of rotation when the other guards can play.
ROLF C. Lee would get eaten alive by Lebron and Durant, he excels at defending quick guys but struggles against bigger guys.