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I'm chewing my nails to the bone. I mean, I know that we're already near the best team. That's while we await the Daniels deal. After that it comes down to Starbury or maybe – maybe – Hudson as the backup PG. So the only questions are as follows.:

Q#1: What do we do with Scalabrine, Giddens, and Walker?
Q#2: How do we make T. Allen appealing as a dump-off to whoever will take him?
Q#3: Is Marbury our choice, since no one else wants him; controversy and all?
Q#4: Or, do we go with the kid, Hudson? All he's got to do is be the backup PG. Albeit on the best team in the NBA. But, if the kid can do it, then we don't need Marbury.
Q#5: With what's shaping up to be the best backup lineup ever, how many minutes should the starters be playing?

1. Doc and Danny seem to have an affection for Scalabrine and overall, he's pretty well liked in Boston. I think people mistake his red hair for Irishness even though he's clearly Italian but hey, that's just me. The good thing about the guy is that he understands his role and that will be important to the team as the season wears on. If he's traded before the season starts it has to be part of a Marquis Daniels sign-and-trade. Scal's whiteness would definitely be well received in Indiana and his expiring contract is $3 towards a better player at the trade deadline. If that falls through and Ainge can move him for a significant upgrade he'll do it but that remains unlikely. Ainge will probably hold onto Mr. Intangibles for the time being and resume talks at the All-Star break. Trading Giddens and/or Walker isn't a good idea. In spot minutes last year Walker played well and both players looked good @ the VSL. It looks like Doc is playing Giddens and Walker against each other like Powe/Davis last year. I'll give the edge to Skywalker.

2. Tony Allen has talent but he has no idea what to do with it. I read somewhere that he, unlike every other player on the team, continually chooses not to wear Celtics practice gear, and opting instead to don OKC shorts and a wife beater during lift sessions. That really made me laugh because he gets fined every day and continues to do this. If that's true, I'm unsure of how this guy will ever be appealing again. It actually hurts me to say this because the Tony Allen I remember was dropping a near triple double for a 10-game stretch before tearing his other ACL. I was @ that game against Indy and after it happened, the crowd was straight up ominous. I hope he gets back to his old self but time is definitely not on his side and Ainge will move him if he can. 2 second-rounders might get it done. Just sad.

3. Marbury is officially one of the strangest basketball players of all time. Not only that, he wasn't even good last year. Not impressed on multiple levels. I might offer him Lucky's old job but that's it.

4. Hudson is no doubt an intriguing prospect. I hope this guy gets some burn but given Doc's track record with young guys there's usually a one year waiting period. That's what he did with Gomes, Powe, Davis, Pruitt, Giddens and Walker. I'm not saying it's necessarily a bad strategy but the Celts are pretty slim at PG behind Rondo. He'll gets some minutes if Rondo goes down but for the time being he's a Red Claw. The back up PG minutes will likely go to House and Daniels (and under extreme circumstances, Hudson). However, this whole notion of needing a typical backup PG is silly to me. Rondo, House, Allen, Pierce and Daniels are capable ball handlers so the C's should be set this year. If the C's want a more traditional back-up for the playoffs, they'll find someone that wants a shot at a ring.

5. Good question. Dos has to cut down Garnett's minutes and he will but I think he should do the same with Allen and Pierce. Surprisingly, KG averaged under 32mpg last year compared with Allen @ 36 and Pierce @ 38. If I'm making the calls I'm playing KG 30mpg, Allen 32, and Pierce 34. I've got Rasheed Wallace @ 30 and about the same, maybe less, for Perkins. Baby, unfortunately, gets the scraps and Shelden Williams and Scal won't see the light of day until someone gets injured. 20mpg seems reasonable for Marquis Daniels and maybe 15 for E-Harmony. Giddens, Hudson and Walker will be jockeying for position throughout the season and will sweat it out in the D-League at some point. I would first give some time to Walker to see what he does with it. Rondo's minutes will go up. The Celtics are a better team when he's on the floor and NOBODY is competing with him so, 38 (5 more than last year) look like a good number in a contract year.

My ideal rotation looks like this:

Wallace(30)/Perkins(24)
Garnett(30)/Davis(12)
Pierce(34)/Daniels(20)
R. Allen(32)/Walker(8)
Rondo(38)/House(12)

Under this scenario Garnett, Pierce, Allen, Perkins, Davis and House play less minutes than last year. Rondo and Walker play more. Wallace would play 2 less minutes than he did in Detroit and Daniels would play 10 less minutes than he did for Indiana. But, as we all know from last season, the injuries will come and players' names will be called so the minutes are bound to fluctuate. I really like the make-up of the team as it is (assuming the Daniels deal goes through), and as Parliament10 pointed out, the Celtics have a ridiculously talented second unit that is comparable to any other in the league. The Lakers, Spurs and Cavs are deep but the Celts get the nod despite my obvious bias. Our top 3 bench players (Perkins, Davis and Daniels) are clear starters on many other teams. Though some may disagree, I think Wallace will start over Perkins. My reasoning for this is that Perkins gets into early foul trouble so, for the sake of preservation, he's the 6th or 7th man. I think that either player will be comfortable in either role, and that is a great thing. In the back court, Daniels and House will handle the ball when Rondo is resting. I have a feeling that Bowen will wind up with the C's, in which case every GM in the league would be banging his head against something.

I see the MPG rotation more along the lines of:

Rondo 38 ... (will run the show)
Allen 34 ... (since hes a set shooter, he can last on the floor longer)
Pierce 32 ... (Daniels alows his minutes to go down)
Garnett 28
Perkins 30 ... (hes an up-and-coming big man, why limit him by givin him less than 30 a night?)
Wallace 29
Daniels 19
House 14
BBD 13

Perkins 30 ... (hes an up-and-coming big man, why limit him by givin him less than 30 a night?)



I agree with you in that Perkins is an up-and-coming big man and, in my opinion, he's a top-10 Center. However, Perk ranked 8th among Centers in fouls per game last season @ 3.3. I remember cringing so many times when he would pick up two early fouls, forcing Davis or Powe to sub-in early and making KG sometimes D up against the bigger guy. By slightly cutting down his minutes from last season (he averaged 29.6) he will be more effective overall and able to play when it matters. His per minute numbers from last year were also slightly inflated because of KG's injury. I'm sure that we can both agree the Celts are incredibly deep at the 4/5 but there is absolutely no way Perkins plays more than Garnett and Wallace. Perkins is very good but Garnett and Wallace are still better. Besides, Perkins will do some serious damage against the back-up big men of the league. He's a better player when the pressure is off and he's not expected to be assertive.

The one player who will really be limited this year is Big Baby. It's too bad he won't be getting more minutes but there's simply not enough to go around. I mean, Shelden Williams as the 5th big man? That's ridiculous.

Actually, I DO believe Perkins will average more or just the same minutes as KG will average during the course of the season. You cant sit here and think that KG will play all 82 games, maybe not even 70 for that matter. Im sure that games such as Boston vs Clippers, Doc will allow KG to get rest, thus making Perkins play more minutes. Especailly towards the end of the season. Hes young, his body can handle it, pending his shoulder is fully healed.

As for the fouling situation, thats how Perk is. Hes an aggressive big man. He does and will always pick up fouls, and limiting his minutes is not the solution, IMO. As he becomes more wiser and expierenced, he wont get those same foul calls as he used to, and he will be more smart about picking them up. Dwight had more fouls than Perk did, in only 6 more minutes a game. During the playoffs, Davis and Rondo had just about the same foul totals as Perk (Davis had more). Its all about him learning. As it stands, I believe that Wallace will be the one getting the more "crunch time" minutes. Big OT games, I see Sheed getting the time over Perk, unless a matchup calls for it (i.e Shaq or Dwight). When we play Orlando and Cleveland, Perks fouls will be more expendable, rather having KG or Sheed fouling out. Just my opnion

It's too early to predict KG's recovery. He won't play all 82 games, that's for sure, but if I'm trying to win the game I'm looking to KG (and Wallace) before Perk. Don't get me wrong, Perk is a beast but the goal is championship and we need the most talented players on the floor. This isn't a knock on Perkins, it's really a credit to the Celts depth up-front. I believe that Doc trusts his veteran players first and the numbers don't lie. Garnett (73) and Wallace (153) share a combined 226 playoff appearances versus Perk's 45. Perk's numbers will go down (from an incredibly solid 12-12 last year) irrespective of his minutes because the team is oozing with talent. What is so bad about Perk playing 24 mpg against lesser competition? He could still average a double-double against backup Centers in fewer minutes. I really believe that would help more than hurt. More than that, KG is under contract for 3 more years at $20 Million per so if he's not playing 30mpg this year, the next 2 seasons will be rough.