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I personally feel like we are not going to make any other kind of splash in this offseason. Perhaps we sign a Chris Anderson type to the minimum or perhaps we sign or trade for a vet big in season like with PJ last year. No matter who it is though, I dont see it being any major "splash". So our team may be essentially set for the season.

We probably have one of the top 3 starting 5's in the league, with many likely to argue for us having the top spot.

Then there is our bench, which would appear to be very weak. We have essentially 3 veterans on the bench. One who may never play, one who many think plays out of position and is a defensive liability and one who has had knee trouble and needs to be 100% healthy in order to be productive.

From there the common theme with the rest of the bench is youth and inexperience. Sure Powe and Davis had their moments and Gabe played well in the D League, and then theres the intrigue we all have about both of our draft picks and the fact that O'Bryant, a lottery pick 25 months ago, will be entering just his third season and will work with KG and Perk as well as Clifford Ray and Tom Thibodeau every day, makes him that much more intriguing.

Some may call our bench a weakness, much like many did with the Pistons last year for the same reasons, but I very much believe this will turn into a strength. These guys are all young and hungry and with our veteran starting lineup and coaching staff there to influence them, they know if they want playing time they have to earn it, they have to get better. They know that if they are going to earn a lucrative contract in one of these next few offseasons they need to earn it. Of Pruitt, Giddens, Walker, Powe, Davis and O'Bryant it would not surprise me to see at least two of them net big contracts (at least MLE) from other teams after proving themselves as part of our bench. I am saying here and now, at least two of these guys will become stars on other teams.

The fact that their all young and inexperienced means that we wont coast into the playoffs. We wont take it easy in the regular season like some believe Spurs vets do and then just turn it on in the playoffs. For us it will always be "on" because this is their chance to shine. No Posey and No Brown means we need some players to step up. Chances are a healthy Tony Allen will be one of them and maybe he is young enough to still fit in this conversation but I'm not counting him, if he is 100% healthy though, he should net at least as many 6th man votes as Posey did.

So while many will look at our bench as a weakness, look deeper before believing that. These guys have some bright futures.

I don't think our bench is a weakness. We may not have a go-to guy off the bench like Posey, but we have a decent amount of depth and talent at every position.

I think Pruitt and House are capable of being Rondo's back up for about 10~15 minutes a game. We pretty much had the same thing last year, but without Cassell, which is a positive. At the 2, I fully expect Tony to hold down the backup job. If need be, we can even slide House in at the 2 from time-to-time. We may even see Giddens in there, but I think he'll probably start the season in the D-League and I'm not sure how much of a contribution he'll make throughout the season. We may also see Tony and Ray play the 2-3 together too. The important thing is that we have a bunch of swingmen, who can play multiple positions.

At the forward spot, we are pretty stacked. No we don't have Posey, but we still have very good depth. KG and PP will get the lionshare of the minutes at the 3-4, but there will be times when KG will slide over to the 5 when we go with Powe or Big Baby. I think whether POB can play meaningful minutes or not will be an important factor too because if he can give us 10~15 minutes a night, then I see KG getting a lot more rest and less time at the 5. But then, at the rate Perk picks up fouls, that may not happen. I'm still holding out hope that PJ Brown will join us for another title run mid-season.

No doubt, we are definitely weaker off the bench without Posey, who can be the 6th man for just about every situation, but we have young guys developing and should be better and we have a year of playing together under our belt. I think we have what it takes to repeat.

For me, it feels a little bit like Christmas Eve with the bench. I know we're going to get something, but I'm just not sure what, or how good it'll be. But I'm looking forward to it.

I suppose we could have continued with a strategy of signing relics and train wrecks for the bench, but that seems to have been the approach Miami used to go from championship to worst record in 2 years so didn't bear repeating.

(I specifically exclude Posey from that snide comment, he's a big loss).

I love that I look at each position, and see a prospect who unquestionably has up side, might turn out to be gem, and given another year or two, is sure to be better. As the Big 3 decline, we're developing young guys who might suck up extra minutes, and eventually might become starters.

Whereas, if we signed Cassell, Lue, Mourning, Mutumbo, Brown, or many of the other names bounced around, we'd know that next year they'd be worse, or might have to be replaced altogether.

Cassell and Brown, along with all the other guys Ainge passed on like Stoudamire and Radcliff, should have taught us that there is some measure of safety net available later in the year, should our bench as constituted not be adequate.

I would have loved to see Posey back on the bench, I still hold out hope for a solid SF to be found, but all-in-all I'm really looking forward to see what the young guys can give us.

I think Ainge has plans before the trade deadline in February. He wants to give young players a chance to play and prove themselves. I am sure he won't weaken the bench when we enter the playoffs.

I don't think our bench is that bad. People are underrating Tony Allen again. When he gets minutes, he has an impact on the game. Also, Big Baby and Powe will have bigger contributions this year. They're clearly ready for it. I think they brought House back just in case Pruitt isn't quite ready to step in as Rondo's backup.

BTW, expect Rondo's minutes to increase as well. All we need to do is bring in someone like D. George to bolster the 3 spot and we're fine.

its not like we lost anyone we had going into last year except posey, thats not to dimish posey, but one player doesnt make that much difference on this team who isnt named paul, ray, or kevin

Posey is sort of no-man's land, because there were times when it looked like he didn't get enough credit, and there are times when it looks like he's getting too much credit. There's certainly 2 ways to look at the situation. What we really can say altogether is that what he brought to this team was important, but NOT irreplaceable. I feel Allen can bring a lot defensively with consistent minutes, and he can bring some aggressiveness offensively and speed in the open court. He will not be the shooter that Posey was, and he will make more turnovers/mistakes than Posey, but he could definitely bring a positive energy overall on both ends. If we're utilizing Allen and House consistently, and they have a good chemistry on the floor, they could bring the defense and shooting that Posey was supplying Boston with.

It appears Ainge has a tough job ahead of him to make sure we don't lose too much off the bench. Maybe there is untapped potential in one of our wings... maybe Pruitt is ready to step in and contribute in a different but positive manner... There's definitely talent to work with on the bench, but finding the right mix and rotation will be a challenge.