The Brand-New 07/08 NBA Thread
- Thread starter Chuckles
- Start date
Who does everyone root for in the nba? I've been a die hard phoenix suns fan since charles barkley joined in 1993. Their window of opportunity is slowly closing, hopefully they will win the championship in the very near future.
What do you think about Kevin Garnett joining the celtics for 6 players?
On paper they look really good with pierce and ray allen to at least win the east.
What do you think about Kevin Garnett joining the celtics for 6 players?
On paper they look really good with pierce and ray allen to at least win the east.
Absolutely. This was a great move for Ainge, along with the Allen trade in retrospect. The Celtics are relevant again and are a legitimate threat. With the recent pickup of Eddie House, they are rounding off their roster as best as they can.master_bates said:
Though there are a bunch of variables: 1) injuries (Ray ray coming off ankle surgery along with Pierce's past troubles), 2) chemistry (what is the system going to be like? Though no threesome is hungrier with less ego than the Big Three in the league and should make this work), 3) Rondo needs to carry the weight at the 1-spot (a lot to ask from a kid, yet has shown promise), and 4) coaching (Doc sucks, plain and simple)...just to name a few...the Celtics are contenders.
Nice to see for the first time in 20 years they have a better team than the Lakers!!
For the record...I follow the Celtics and Raptors.
Nah, House ain't that bad. He's a bench player shoot-first point guard. You can't expect him to be play outside his game. Look at what happened with Mike James in 'Sota this year...a shoot-first PG being forced to be a pass-first PG. Think of Eddie House like Knick's Mardy Collins or Lakers' Sasha Vujacic or Cav's Boobie Gibson. Besides, just because New Jersey played him at SG don't mean he can't play the PG...remember that the 1-spot is his natural position, played it in college and led Arizona State in assists, or that in his breakout year a couple years ago he played behind Steve Nash in Phoenix.tony_montana said:
Rondo is best at the PG position. He's young and shown all signs that he CAN succeed. You can't ask for anymore from the guy up to this point. Also consider that for most of their careers, Pierce and Allen did not play with a true PG or a good PG(no disrespect to Luke Ridnour) and yet they averaged 20+ points a game. Actually, all three stars were continually expected to create their own shots and thus now with that ability, a playmaker becomes less critical.
You are right though, depth is a concern. But with the roster not yet finalized, rookies not yet signed, and gaps to fill...the coaching staff just needs to do their thing. Guess it's a wait and see.
Think about it this way though...if one star goes needs rest or gets injured...worse case scenario? You got TWO all-stars out there...nice situation to be in, if you ask me.
tony_montana said:
Tony,
I agree with your assessment of House. He is a 6'1" shooting guard, a rarity in the NBA, but the fact is he can really shoot and sometimes it is important to have guys like this on your bench (think Vinnie "Microwave" Johnson on the Pistons 1989-90 championship teams). They provide offensive spark sometimes when it is needed, and House was a productive bench player for the Nets.
UNDFTD said:
UNDFTD,
Excellent analysis. It should also be noted that Allen was a First Team All American at UConn, and never played with a true point guard starting beside him at UConn (Doron Sheffer was not really a true point), but he produced big time anyway. Sheffer was a scoring threat and that UConn team did have other scoring threats, but only in Allen's last year was there a true point guard (Rickey Moore), and he came off the bench and was primarily known as a great defender who single handedly shut down Allen Iverson when UConn defeated Georgetown for the 1996 Big East championship, a game UConn won by 1 point when Allen hit a twisting, off balance shot at the buzzer.
Allen himself has the ability to play point guard, but his talents are obviously best suited to the shooting guard position. Last summer I went to the UConn Blue-White alumni game at the Mohegan Sun Casino, a game in which Allen went head to head with Ben Gordon who stars for the Bulls, and Allen went off on Gordon after Gordon trash talked him.
Last edited:
You aren't helping my bias, EB. Hearing stuff like this...not only am I jealous but I get giddy and stupid about the Celtics' upcoming season.EagerBeaver said:
Ray Allen deserves a ring and hopefully it comes with Celtics 17th championship in the near future.
UNDFTD said:
That's why I will be rooting for the Celtics next year.
I think it is going to be easier to fill out the rest of this roster than a lot of people think. The Celtics already have a few guys who are excellent candidates as role players. Look at the defending champion Spurs, they have 3 elite players, Duncan, Parker and Ginobli (and I would argue that the collective talent of those 3 is less than the collective talent of the Garnett-Allen-Pierce trio) and a bunch of role players like Bruce Bowen. The Celtics maybe have their own Bowen already on the roster and need to go out and find a few other veteran type players. I heard they are talking to Dikembe Mutombo and his addition would be nice.
The key to the ascendancy of the team is Rondo's development at point guard. If that happens, the Celtics will be highly dangerous and a threat to go to the finals.
Last edited:
GUY'S
DON'T FORGET THE OPTION B. Danny ainge & Doc Rivers come back!
Think about it:
KG
Ray Allen
Paul Pierce
Doc Rivers
Danny ainge
NICE STARTING FIVE!
DON'T FORGET THE OPTION B. Danny ainge & Doc Rivers come back!
Think about it:
KG
Ray Allen
Paul Pierce
Doc Rivers
Danny ainge
NICE STARTING FIVE!
The Celtics should go after Brevin Knight. An experienced pass first point
guard is what they need.
They already have to worry about sharing the ball with the big 3 they dont
need any more shooters they need someone to get them the ball and create
shots for them.
guard is what they need.
They already have to worry about sharing the ball with the big 3 they dont
need any more shooters they need someone to get them the ball and create
shots for them.
All good examples and a great point all around. Don't forget about the all-star triumverate in Phoenix! Here's the difference though...if one of those stars is not a big man...it yields very mediocre results. I wouldn't count out Yao and T-Mac...Houston played their best ball last season since the duo were paired together...and that was with injuries to both. Granted, post-season success has been difficult. The other point is that with Yao, Amare, and to some extent Tim Duncan as well...their effectiveness drops without a playmaker. KG? Doesn't matter because he can manufacture his own shots near and away from the basket...20-10 every night.tony_montana said:
You're right...that's why I cleverly said "most of their career".tony_montana said:
I hear ya about the Raptors...it's tough whenever they play each other as I get pretty torn. Actually, I think the Raptors will give the Celtics the most trouble this year in the East. They match up well especially with team/help defence on the perimeter. Plus, Bosh is the only big in the East that can keep up with the mobility and range of KG.
The Clippers must have offered Knight a lot of money because they are going nowhere with Elton Brand likely out for the season after rupturing his achilles and Shaun Livingston's career likely over due to a kneecap injury. Knight was likely signed because the Clippers know Livingston is done and as a result they have even more desperate need at point guard than the Celtics.
BTW, I am impressed by the basketball knowledge of some of the posters in this thread.
BTW, I am impressed by the basketball knowledge of some of the posters in this thread.
Last edited:
Tony,
LOL, I probably should have said all of the posters in this thread have contributed, and some have posted very insightful analyses.
Brand ripped up his achilles during a workout a few days ago. Although the Clips are saying Brand will be back in February, I have a friend who played college soccer in the US that had the same injury, and I think the Clips are engaging in a whole lot of wishful thinking.
Like everyone else, I remain very curious about what additional moves Danny Ainge will make to strengthen the Celtics' bench and particularly the point guard position. I believe he can assemble a better bench than most people think he will be able to do, if he makes the right moves. I kook at the Spurs' bench, and think it should not be that hard to pick up guys like what they have on their bench, they just have to know and understand their roles and then perform those roles in a professional and productive manner.
LOL, I probably should have said all of the posters in this thread have contributed, and some have posted very insightful analyses.
Brand ripped up his achilles during a workout a few days ago. Although the Clips are saying Brand will be back in February, I have a friend who played college soccer in the US that had the same injury, and I think the Clips are engaging in a whole lot of wishful thinking.
Like everyone else, I remain very curious about what additional moves Danny Ainge will make to strengthen the Celtics' bench and particularly the point guard position. I believe he can assemble a better bench than most people think he will be able to do, if he makes the right moves. I kook at the Spurs' bench, and think it should not be that hard to pick up guys like what they have on their bench, they just have to know and understand their roles and then perform those roles in a professional and productive manner.
Last edited:
Too bad for Boston fans Montreal only has the NHL . I want to go see a game in Montreal but oh how the Bruins are just plain aweful. Now Boston has three great teams with the Patriots, Red Sox & the new & improved Celtics !!!!!
tony_montana said:
Francis went to portland on the randolph trade with ny they then
bought out his contract and he signed as a free agent with houston.
If it's the veteran minimum of $1.1M per year...then a pretty good deal for Ainge...if he comes back in shape and stays in shape for 80-90 games. I like the thought of having one of the best clutch players the NBA has ever had playing 10-15 minutes a game (preferably on the lower side) for the C's. If he just can bring back a portion of his game...man...tony_montana said:
Remember all the buzzer beaters? Or how he'd torch the Knicks just because of his ongoing feud with Spike Lee? Or his 3 pointer over Jordan to win the game? (yeah yeah, it wasn't a push
)......but you just can't beat the time when he scored 8 points in 9 seconds!!
knick knack
i just read about the fact reggie is contimplating comming back into the nba and wearing green. now i see that it is being discussed. it sounds promising for everyone who is not associated with the ny knicks. i enjoyed watching the you tube classic clip. it brings back such a rush of emotions. it was in the bag and it got away.
he will be a great addition to the celtic bench and provide excitment when comming in the game in the forth quarter.
i just hope spike's heart (and mine too) can handel it.
i just read about the fact reggie is contimplating comming back into the nba and wearing green. now i see that it is being discussed. it sounds promising for everyone who is not associated with the ny knicks. i enjoyed watching the you tube classic clip. it brings back such a rush of emotions. it was in the bag and it got away.
he will be a great addition to the celtic bench and provide excitment when comming in the game in the forth quarter.
i just hope spike's heart (and mine too) can handel it.
Last edited:
tony_montana said:
It's the other around. The Celtics are the ones who approached Miller about a possible comeback. Proof that after Garnett, Pierce & Allen, there's not much depth on the team (it was all traded away when the acquired Garnett). I doubt Miller will come back with any team other than the Pacers. He played his whole career with Indiana & that means a lot to him.
http://www.torontosun.com/Sports/Basketball/2007/08/09/4404541-sun.html
By the way, i also was unaware that Steve Francis was back with the Rockets. Thanks for the update.
tony_montana said:
Pollard is a decent backup & they won't be paying much for him. I had a good laugh when i read the first paragraph of the ESPN story re: Pollard's signing:
"The Boston Celtics traded so many players to the Minnesota Timberwolves to get Kevin Garnett, they had plenty of roster spots to fill. They did a little work in that area on Tuesday."
Let's just hope (if you're a Celtics fan) that none of the team's top 3 players winds up going on the injury list for a long time. As for Allen Houston possibly coming back, i doubt many teams will take a chance on a 36-year old player who hasn't played in over a year & with an arthritic left knee. He also had only played 70 games over his last two seasons due to that bad knee.
Similar threads
