sully00 wrote:Not to ignore Insatiable's directive but another element that is extremely important in early season evaluation, is how this team has prepared for this season.
Last year this team was wound up like a top, it was all about the big 3 and making it work and becoming a contender and all of that. Now the team is coming off the longest post season in history and some of that was of their own making.
I think there is a central issue far more prominent than trying to prove some preconceived notion of Ray Allen's worth true or false.
Bench production is crucial for the extended championship success of this team. Beyond the obvious loss of Posey was the rather ineffective performance of Boston's bench and supporting cast in the post season specifically on the road. That directly lead to extending the post season in early rounds.
In contrast to last year when the preseason was all about team unity and building towards getting out of the blocks, this year is about the bench production and consistency. Doc is not screwing around at all with his bench in stark contrast to his entire coaching career. They got starter mins in the preseason and have hit the ground running. Offensively the starting unit is behind but that is actually a good thing, defensive production is there and the results in the win column are the same and the mins for Ray Allen and Garnett are down significantly from Nov. last season, with Pierce shouldering the load mins wise, as well acting as a playmaker on that second unit, but no more than he did a year ago.
This team will be far better off if that first unit builds to a crescendo in the spring as opposed to trying to rest up in March and April and then trying to regain their momentum as the postseason starts as their play was better at the end of the postseason than it was at the start.
Ahh, don't worry about ignoring a direct order!
But seriously, I agree...last year everything was new, I mean EVERYTHING. This year they knew each other, the system, who they are, how and why they win and lose, etc. I think now they are integrating a slightly new look bench, different roles for the bench guys, etc. Doc's rotations are better than last year, and the D is way ahead of the O, which is how you want it...when the O catches up to the D, watch out NBA!