Brian Scalabrine at Center ???

[Jammer]

Yeah, it surprises me too.

But the more I think about it, the more I can see it.

Looking at the roster as currently constructed (15 signed players, 12 ? guaranteed);

with Posey no longer around to log 12 minutes at PF,

Kevin Garnett may spend 33-36 minutes at PF, exclusively, which would make KG happy not having to bang with centers like he did last year for 12 mpg.

This would leave 12 to 15 minutes for Leon Powe at PF. Powe was abused when he played center, so this is good.

Now, if Perkins logs 24 to 26 minutes at center, that leaves 22 to 24 minutes for the bench.

Glen Davis got abused worse than Leon Powe at center, and Patrick O'Bryant seems to prefer using his 6' 11" frame at shooting guard.

So, there is a huge opportunity for Brian Scalabrine to check in and defend centers, while spreading the floor on the offensive end.

Of course, if 42 year old Mutombo decides he'd rather play 6 minutes per half for minimum and win a championship, this point will become moot. In Houston, they could want a lot more of him (with Yao always hurt) than the Celtics would.

[Scalamental]

I thought I was the only one getting drunk on a sunday.

[GreenGrizz]

I believe Scalabrine played some center for New Jersey and did abuse some of our players.

[mainevent3405]

I believe Scalabrine played some center for New Jersey and did abuse some of our players.

Very strong word. I cant ever.....never, ever, ever, ever (chris tucker from the movie Friday) see big red abusing anyone!

[s1ickd]

as undersized as they are, Powe and Baby are better centers than Scal.

Scal absolutely cannot play center. He'll just constantly get dunked on.

[Dave_From_NB]

Scal, along with Powe and Davis, are just not suitable answers at Center. Between them they have at least one of the following faults - too small, no vertical leap, no inside game. They can go there in a pinch, but the objective needs to be to develop POB or acquire a suitable backup. (Mutumbo can't consume even half the backup C minutes, I don't believe he is suitable as a result)

Scal is handy to have as 14/15 man, because he can help out at the 4 or 5, even at the 3 if complete disaster strikes. Unfortunately his salary is too high for that role. But remember when Perk, Pollard (of course), KG weren't available just before the All Star game, sometimes a guy like Scal is good to have around.

[greenbeans]

Brian Scalabrine at the center of what?? a krispy kreme???


ehhhhOOOO

[Hemingway]

Were going to have to see how POB works out for us. If he fails to be a good back up center we have to bring someone else in (Brown, Mourning, Mutombo) or make a trade. Scal is ok for a very short term fix, if perhaps Perk goes out for a few games but to rely on him night in night out is a mistake I think.

[Celtics_85]

Funny, I don't remember Davis getting abused too many times at Center. Davis was better than Powe at Center, and he seemed to hold his own playing there, but to say he got abused is just not true.

[OBisHalJordan]

Funny, I don't remember Davis getting abused too many times at Center. Davis was better than Powe at Center, and he seemed to hold his own playing there, but to say he got abused is just not true.

yeah, i remember BBD playing some real good D on Duncan, who is as much of as center as anybody is in this league.

[Jammer]

The Celtics 26 Playoff Game Numbers
(More Important than Regular Season) Follow:

Roland Beech's Roland Rating is
75% NET PER (Your PER minus Your Man's PER) plus 25% on court/off court plus minus.

********************* Production ***** On Court/Off Court Roland
Player **** Min% Own Opp *Net ****On **Off **Net ******* Rating
Garnett ** 79% **24.7 13.8 +10.9 +9.0 -8.8 +17.8 ******* +12.4
Pierce *** 79% **18.6 *14.0 +4.6 *+6.6 +0.2 +6.4 ********* +5.0
Perkins ** 51% **13.9 *13.4 +0.5 +9.4 *+1.0 +8.4 ********* +4.4
R.Allen *** 79% **16.0 13.9 +2.0 +7.3 **-2.6 +9.9 ********* +3.7
House *** 13% **11.6 *10.6 +1.0 +13.4 +4.0 +9.4 ********* +2.1
Cassell *** 21% ***7.0 *8.6 **-1.6 *+7.8 +4.5 +3.3 ********* -0.6
Rondo *** 67% *17.0 *15.6 +1.3 *+3.6 *+8.5 -4.9 ********* -0.8
Powe **** 22% *15.5 *18.8 *-3.3 +0.5 *+6.5 -6.0 ********* -3.9
Posey *** 46% *15.3 *17.0 *-1.7 +1.1 *+8.8 -7.7 **********-4.5
T.Allen ** 5% **11.4 *19.6 *-8.1 +5.1 *+5.2 -0.1 **********-7.7
Davis **** 11% **8.9 *18.4 *-9.5 -10.8 +7.2 -18.0 *******-10.5
Brown ** 27% ***8.8 *20.7 -11.9 -7.8 +10.1 -17.9 *******-13.5

With the exception of Perkins (major improvement) and
Eddie House (about same),
everyone else is down from the regular season.

But, when Pierce and Posey have to match up on LeBron,
or Ray gets Kobe, Joe Johnson and Richard Hamilton;
it would explain the drop in everyone's performance
when the bottom half of the league is removed.

Out of 12 players on the playoff roster, Davis was the 11th best performer,
and on a NET PER basis, got killed
(8.9 for Glen Davis minus 18.4 for the man he checked) for
a NET PER of -9.5.

Powe, on the other hand,
registered a 15.5 minus 18.8 for the man he guarded,
for a NET PER of -3.3, much better than Davis.

Compare that to Kevin Garnett, who had
24.7 minus 13.8 for the man he guarded for
a NET PER of +10.9.

Again, this is just for the 26 playoff games.

One reason that Mutombo might join the Celtics over Houston is that the Celtics
could promise to not play his 42 year old body (at least)
more than 6 minutes per half.

Of course, if that's the last 6 minutes, the interior D will just kill.

[Al-Haqq]

I really dont see why he would be playing and significant minutes and / or role with the C's this up-coming season.

[Jammer]

Somehow I see bangers

Kendrick Perkins & Glen Davis paired with Kevin Garnett for 36 mpg;

and Brian Scalabrine paired with Leon Powe for about 12 mpg.

Mutombo, who could wait until training camp is over to sign,

would minimize the impact of having an undersized, unathletic (Davis) or weak (Scal) center.

And as nice the San Antonio game against Duncan was, Davis played like crap in the playoffs.
Actually, Davis played as best he could, which, given he is undersized and unathletic going against the best, just made him look like crap. But, on the bright side, he's a hellava nice kid with a great personality. Beats saying "You can have it your way" from behind a Burger King counter.

[Dave_From_NB]

Funny, I don't remember Davis getting abused too many times at Center. Davis was better than Powe at Center, and he seemed to hold his own playing there, but to say he got abused is just not true.

yeah, i remember BBD playing some real good D on Duncan, who is as much of as center as anybody is in this league.

I think of Davis sort of like Fools Gold. An odd physical speciman going though the league the first time, and people don't know what to do about him. There's no scouting report, and the good players probably haven't bothered to study his moves. He had a good first game against Duncan, with Perk missing his first game with injury. (i.e. Duncan wasn't preparing to play Davis, he was preparing to play Perk) Duncan got 22 points, 14 rebounds, 6 assists, so it's not like Davis shut him down, although Duncan didn't explode. Second game against San Antonio Perk is back, and Doc thinks so much of Davis' previous performance that he plays 5.5 minutes. (Duncan down to 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists against Perk)

What I saw as the season went on, was Davis being stuffed constantly inside, and he was more and more relying on jumpers for offense. The game against Duncan, the good game against Detroit, just anomolies due to lack of preparation by the opposing team.

Whether Powe or Davis make better Centers to me is a bit like arguing whether Powe or Davis would be better Small Forwards. It's not a position they're suited to, it's not a position they would play well, and if we're relying on them to play out-of-position, we're in trouble.

[gocelts]

ONly if he takes his shirt off.







purely fiction.

[Spin Move]

Uh no, weve got baby, POB and POWE the show, Scalabrine will not play in 50 games, period, end of story he will ride the injured list. Scalabrine can do one thing those other guys can't he can shoot the 3, however if KG is in the game we dont need a C to shoot the 3, if perk is you can argue that one would be useful, the end of the story is veal sucks and if he didnt play that much last year he def wont this year.

[captain_cheapseats]

I see the logic behind what the thread starter is saying. However, sometimes it's easy to get wrapped up in a "who can fill this role? who can fill that role?" discussion and forget that the players you're discussing still actually need to have some ability to be of any use. So yeah, maybe Scal's style of play would be a better fit at center than Powe/Davis, but so what? His talent level is so far below those guys at this point, there's no reason to play him unless there's an injury.