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First off I'd like to apologize to Ray Allen and members of Celtic Nation for seeming weary on the guy. Ray is a very crucial part of this ball club and I never felt better about having him as a Celtic.

Now moving on...'Toine and Sam I am.

I know all of us are trying to be realists here, but sometimes we become too optimistic about our title hopes. As of now the C's do not have such a cake walk in the East. I think there are 2 teams that can really put some pressure on us in the playoffs in Detroit and Cleveland.

The Pistons are a very savvy veteran team that can execute down the stretch and expose our major weakness, backup point guard. The Cavs have LeBron and now have the players to space the floor out for him. I think West and Wally will flourish in that lineup and it already looks like Ben Wallace is regaining some of his old form. I am getting fairly scared..and that's only the Eastern Conference. How about our title hopes against Western Teams?

The Lakers, Suns, and Spurs are in a class of their own at this point. Kobe is playing his best ball of his career and Gasol is proving to be one of the more underrated post players in the league. LA passes very well and if you give Phil Jackson a talented enough team, he usually leads them to a title.

The Suns seem like a very strange team at this point. Sure they have the fire power, but without Marion thier lineup does not seem to flow naturally. In the end though they are led by veterans and should overcome their chemistry flaws. With so many offensive weapons to deal with, I can't see Boston at this point, being able to match up with them effectivley.

Finally, the Spurs. San Antonio just knows what their doing. They have a very solid balanced attack and also have players who will stick in the dagger three or big shot down the stretch of ball games (Horry, Bowen, Ginobli, Paker, and Duncan to name a few). They are playoff tested and have excelled at that stage.

So why am I mentioning all of these teams to you now? I believe in order to defeat any of these teams in the post season, we will need both Antoine Walker and Sam Cassell.

You would think a team with KG, Pierce, and Allen wouldn't need a talent upgrade....and during most seasons they wouldn't. The cream of the crop in this league is just too talented right now and in order to compete with them Boston will need even more talent.

Sam Cassell has proven throughout his career to be an excellent clutch performer down the stretch. I believe Sam may be one of the more underrated clutch players in league history. Some times you can't even put a price on a clutch guy like that. As of right now the C's do have 2-3 very clutch players...Pierce, Allen, and Posey (I know surprise). I think KG can be a clutch player, but he usually doesn't get the ball too often in those situations (big men rarely do) so I can not place him in that category. As for Pierce, Allen, and Posey...they all have a knack of hitting big shots...shots that put teams away...buckets that finalize a run and destroy the mentality of the other team. That's clutch.

Sam Cassell would add yet another clutch performer to this team. I think his presence in the 4th quarter could mean series victories over Cleveland, Detroit and maybe even the Western opponent.

The reason for Walker is fairly less evident. I think getting a guy like Sam is imperative, Antoine may just be the skim of the frosing on the cake. Walker could jolt our second unit offensivley. He is familiar with Pierce and that may be enough to allow Boston to get those huge runs late in the 2nd and 3rd quarters that put teams away. Walker also loves Boston and I feel that he would come back for cheap if the opportunity presented itself. I understand that Big Baby and Leon Powe have emerged as solid big men contributors off the bench, but I don't feel its fair of Doc and the fans to expect great things from them in the playoffs. All in due time.

If you have watched the Wolves this season, you would see that Walker has stopped (to a solid extent) his 3 point happy barrages. He can become more of a low post threat and can even force a double team. He is an excellent passer and a very good teammate (I am just assuming this on his report with other players). I understand he is a weak defender. I do believe his short comings defensivley will be aided by our already stellar Team Defense, most notably by Perkins and Garnett.

In the playoffs you need a strong 8-9 man rotation. Right now that would probably be Rondo, Allen, Pierce, KG, Perkins...House, Posey, Allen, G. Davis. I don't feel it's fair for us to expect young guys like Rondo, Perkins, and Davis will emerge and breakout this post season. We can hope for it, but we shouldn't expect it. If Boston really wants a safe and steady way of competing this post season managment will acquire both Walker and Sam...I'd feel a lot more comfortable with this 8-9 man rotation...Rondo, Allen, Pierce, KG, Perkins...Cassell, Posey, Allen, Walker.
That lineup would probably be a favorite to win the title.

Sam....Yes.

Walker....just check out my sig.

I know Walker is probably on his last leg, but there is a part of me that wants to see him back with the Celtics for the championship run. Then I can break out my Employee #8 jersey!!

WALKER SUCKS!

Your half right. Say no to Antoine.

I think Walker could be that small missing piece though. As much as some of us may dislike the guy, he was fairly under appreciated as a Celtic. The guy always played with passion and did what it took to at least try and win. Players loved playing for him (at least that's how it seemed) and he loved playing here. I also think he would instantly transform our 2nd unit into a lethal attack. Imagine having none of the big 3 on the floor and still killing teams with just our 2nd unit. I know it has happened in stretches this season, but surely not consistently. In the playoffs, a guy like Walker...with his talents and character...could put Bean Town over the top. C'mon, how great would it be to see that Walker Wiggle in the playoffs.

[quote="eitanr"]I think Walker could be that small missing piece though. As much as some of us may dislike the guy, he was fairly under appreciated as a Celtic. The guy always played with passion and did what it took to at least try and win. Players loved playing for him (at least that's how it seemed) and he loved playing here. I also think he would instantly transform our 2nd unit into a lethal attack. Imagine having none of the big 3 on the floor and still killing teams with just our 2nd unit. I know it has happened in stretches this season, but surely not consistently. In the playoffs, a guy like Walker...with his talents and character...could put Bean Town over the top. C'mon, how great would it be to see that Walker Wiggle in the playoffs.[/quote

He is a chucka. He doesnt rebound anymore. He can barley dribble. And he is over weight. But he lets sign him cause he use to play here. I love watching guys shoot 3 for 11 and have 5 or 8 turnovers a game. Not to mention a PF who will grab 3 boards a game. JUST WHAT WE NEED!

Lets be honest...getting Antoine back in a reserve role/along with Cassell would be alot of fun. As a Celtics I'd love to see Antoine come along for the ride, I still look a Toine as a Celtic.

Toine is a waste of money and time. I would rather have a seven foot stiff than a PF who shoots threes and cant hit them.

Thank heavens this came up, we haven't seen a new thread discussing the merits of bringing back everyones favorite volume shooter in ages. This is a subject that is almost never discussed on these boards and needs to be gone over in detail.

Whether you love him or hate him...you love to watch him. If the C's can sign Sam Cassell, I think getting a guy like Walker for the vet min in a 15-20 minute role would be ideal. He won't get the opportunity to shoot 3 for 11 (he probably won't get that many attempts). He is a smart player believe it or not and has matured since his young days in Green. I also am of the belief that he plays his best ball in Green. Worst comes to worst the Celts wasted the vet min. on a nice cheer leader. I'll take that risk to reward any day over the likes of Jamaal Magloire etc. I mean what would Magloire even bring to the table...maybe a slighlty better version of Scott Pollard.

You have to respect Walker for how he has handeled himself in Minnesota. He plays well with the youngins and they seem to love him back. I have league pass and watch Minnesota a lot as they are my 2nd fav team (b/c of all the ex C's). I can vouch for this.

Ant wrote:(picture)

Great post couldnt have said it better my self.

Antoine would bring more passion and more of a desire to win to this team. Theres no way we go as far as we did back in 01 without Antoine. I still think we can win it all as we are right now but bringing back employee #8 and Cassell would be huge

hiphop1 wrote:Toine is a waste of money and time. I would rather have a seven foot stiff than a PF who shoots threes and cant hit them.

Pathetic

Can we go back to the original argument that we NEED at least Cassell (for argument's sake) to win the title? I can see this current lineup defeating Cleveland, and having a tough time with Detroit...but defintley not beating what the West will offer.

GWVan wrote:Thank heavens this came up, we haven't seen a new thread discussing the merits of bringing back everyones favorite volume shooter in ages. This is a subject that is almost never discussed on these boards and needs to be gone over in detail.

Yes, in detail. This is news. It is a unique contribution to this board.

BTW, has anyone every thought of signing Chris Andersen or Gary Payton? Maybe these two also deserve their own threads. Remember though: I thought of it first!

eitanr wrote:Can we go back to the original argument that we NEED at least Cassell (for argument's sake) to win the title? I can see this current lineup defeating Cleveland, and having a tough time with Detroit...but defintley not beating what the West will offer.

Cassell vs. Billups would be great to watch in the ECF.

If we end up signing Cassell and Walker, the buzz at the garden will be even higher than it already is. There is a part of me that would love to see Pierce and Walker back together, this time with Rondo, KG, And Allen. But that part of me is not the rational part. The rational part says 'no' to Walker, and I assume Ainge's does to.

Tricky Ricky wrote:Antoine would bring more passion and more of a desire to win to this team.

Because that KG guy lacks heart and the team barely has enough passion to keep the best record in the league even when injury troubles and the January doldrums set in.