As you all know the Celtics absolutely dominated the Lakers in the final game of the 2008 NBA Finals...when I look at the trio of Allen, Pierce, and Garnett I can't help but make a comparison to our Houston Rockets: A big man who prefers to shoot hookshots and fadeaways: Garnett = Yao (check) An aging, overlooked swingman who has always been under the shadow of Kobe: Pierce = T-mac (check) A sharpshooting star who can lead mediocore teams but is better used as the 2nd or 3rd banana: Ray Allen = ???? (?) ???? = Michael Redd? Mike Miller? Gilbert Arenas? Hell even Jason Terry?
I'm also starting to warm up to the "three star" mold. The Spurs have been doing it for years and both teams in this NBA Finals followed that strategy. Having three stars enables you to still win if one of your guys has a bad game. The C's won so many games where Pierce or Allen were off or KG went into "disappear mode" yet still won because the other guys knew when to step up. I'm curious what a Battier/B-Jax/picks/whatever package could get us. Vince Carter, Michael Redd, Jason Richardson, Joe Johnson? Maybe even throw the house at LA for Elton Brand in a S&T? I think at this point it's definitely worth the gamble. I know i'm likely dreamcasting here but teams like the Hawks and Bobcats don't have the financial flexibility to keep everybody they would like. It's common knowledge Milwaukee and NJ want to move Redd and Vince. I'm just saying that although this appears to a pipedream there also might be an outside chance of us pulling one of these type of deals off.
Honestly, I DO think we are one scorer away. This would take the load off of Yao and Mac and make us a fresher team in general.
Redd's defense (or lack thereof) is the biggest knock on his game. I mean they guy literally plays no defense at all. Also, his contract is near unattainable, I mean who is he honestly worth giving up?
What about JR Smith? The guy can play defense can score.....takes it to the basket hard..........And won't cost as much as Redd or Artest. Plus given the fact that he has all ready had to play with the ball hogs of Iverson and Anthony he would fit in perfect here.........
The positive thing I take out of the Celtics team is that Morey was in part responsible for the drafting of Rondo, Perkins, and Powe, so it gives me more assurance that our team will be having an infusion of you playmakers with every consecutive year that Morey is our GM. We don't need expensive guy to win. We just need more young cheap contributors. If we can get a shooter through the draft (and I have no reason to believe we can't) and possibly another back-up big, then we can win a championship no question.
Yao is a better low post scorer than KG but there is a much bigger difference on defense,athleticism,rebounding. Paul Pierce isn't the passer that Tracy is but he is fitter,stronger and more likely to make the big shot or be able to drive and finish at the rim.Defensively he is somewhat stronger than Tracy too. We have no Ray Allen,or Ginobili,Tony Parker equivalent which could help us out a lot but we need more athleticism,length,height and toughness on defense as well as on offense.Injuries are a major if not the biggest problem as well. Both Yao and Tracy aren't clutch players either. I think we aren't as close as some people might think,but things are moving in the right direction with the addition of Luis,Carl,and to a certain extent Brooks. The bottom line is we haven't gotten past the 1st round,and unless we get past it we don't know how far can we go.
I agree, i think we are much further away from winning than people think but it doesn't have anything to do with Yao or Tracy. Pierce was not the defender he is now just a year ago, he wasn't as clutch (cause he had more double teams), and he wasn't as scrappy. Him and Tracy are very different players but lets not act like he is just this great player all of a sudden when he's on a great team. Yao at this point is more effective than KG so that leaves the role players and bench who are far behind other contending teams by a long shot.
X Factor is Steve Francis but I wouldn't count on him for anything. I think we do need to upgrade the scoring at SF. We got the PF and Center Position pretty well covered. SG is also covered but I'd like another good backup than give T-Mac more rest. PG we could definitely use more production from this position.
If Steve Francis does respond and play well after rehab, then things will only go on the Rox side even more. A healthy Steve Francis could be our Rajon Rondo, perhaps even better.
haha yah he dealt with the ball hogs of melo and iverson because he came off the bench to be the new ball hog. he shoots some stupid stuff man. i mean when he makes it i'm blown away cause he can catch fire, but i would prefer a disciplined scorer that is willing to take his time rather than jack up a 3 pointer from 8 ft behind the arc with 19 seconds left in the shot clock...but that's just me
I've said it a 1,000 x's Miller to the Rockets = Championship !!!! Even Redd who cares we need a real shooter on this team....Personaly I Love Miller that guy never ever misses I swear and he plays hard on every play !! C'mon Morey !!!!!
I think Steve will respond next year. I can't believe that a 3 time all-star who is only 31 is washed up. Steve has heart and pride and he's playing for his next contract, unless he comes out and says he doesn't have the desire to play anymore than I think he'll have a good year for the Rox.
Maybe you are right, we have Yao we jave McGrady. We also need to add 3rd scorer because we are usually not good ebough offensivly. But I still doesn't solve the problem. Now the main question remains HEALTH. Can Yao, McGrady stay healthly? Celtics were healthly and they now have results.
......or Vince Carter, Jason Richardson, Joe Johnson If that's all it took to get the job done it's hard not to pull the trigger.
I'm all for Arenas or Miller. I like Arenas because he is obviously an elite scorer, but a hard worker as well. He is a big, strong PG like Deron, Kidd, B.Davis etc.. Rafer is a decent starter but I always thought of him as a backup. He would be the best backup PG in the league. The problem with Arenas is that his injury leaves us with question marks as well as his ability to defer to T-Mac and Yao. Miller might be the best fit for the Rockets. He is a bona fide scorer and I can see him getting 8-10 solid 3 point looks every game. I know he is really good friends with Battier and McGrady too which means chemistry is not an issue at all. I say we get them both!
