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...Leon was a fan favorite, a rags-to-riches story. Coming from nothing and always having to prove himself.

Can Lester Hudson fill that void, left by Powe?

I certainly see the parallel.

But Lester wasn't as proven by his level of competition, isn't undersized for his position, and isn't limited by the injury and surgeries, so Hudson's basketball swing actually COULD be the greater; while Powe's family-raising personal story is maybe more impressive and compelling.

Well, the stories are quite a bit different. But I'm cheering for Hudson, a guy who wants it that bad is such a positive change from PoB, Marbury, Pruitt, and I'm sure other recent Celtics players I haven't thought of who just didn't reach their potentials.

No. Bill Walker is our newest Powe.

Lester Hudson is the next Eric Strikland.

Hudson is a shooting guard in a PG's body, so he's undersized.

I think Hudson is a natural combo who is going to make himself stick as a strong, good-sized and fast point.

He may be our new Delonte...

I think Shelden Williams is our new Leon Powe.

I like the dude.

ehh, Leon is actually younger than Lester Hudson, and if I'm not mistaken dealt with a bit more hardship. Lester might have been through hardship of his own, although I don't think it was as much and it also sounds as if he was surrounded for awhile with guys that really wanted to see him succeed...and he still needed a few chances to get everything right.

Leon made a name for himself in the NBA a year before Hudson made it into the NBA....despite well documented knee injury issues....I'd love to see Lester succeed I trust Danny's judgement and all but making it in the NBA isn't child's play and I am personally not ready to endorse a Leon Powe comparison.

Shelden Williams isn't the new Leon either...doesn't bring enough to the table on the offensive end.

FakeScreenName123 wrote:Lester Hudson is the next Eric Strikland.

that's a good thing. not a bad thing.

Dirty Water wrote:

FakeScreenName123 wrote:Lester Hudson is the next Eric Strikland.

that's a good thing. not a bad thing.

I'd be happy with that too.

I was at the game yesterday and sat pretty close to the floor. The reports of Hudson's confidence are not overstated. He looked like he belonged out there running the team. His scoring hasn't looked great, but at this point I think he is going against his natural inclination to score and concentrating on being a distributor instead. Whether or not he can integrate his offensive abilities with his new responsibilities remains to be seen--- sometimes a guy like this is 'thinking too much' and that has an effect on his usual rhythm on the offensive end. But hey, it's still preseason. He looks good.

In fact, I thought the 'second team' had a nice identity and played very nice uptempo ball against the NJ starters. Hudson, House, Daniels, Davis, and Sheed have an opportunity to form a particular identity as a second unit with good chemistry. It's a bit of an undersized team, but it works. I think many people see four of those guys forming part of a 9-man regular rotation. But I think Hudson might force his way in. To wit:

2 decent interior defenders: Sheed for blocks, rebounding and length, Baby for strength and position.

Likewise, Sheed and Baby both have ability to score in the post.

3 good spot up shooters in House, Sheed, and Baby.

2 guys who can create their own shot and run the break: Hudson (I think so, anyway) and Daniels.

3 guys on the perimeter with active hands and defensive intensity (Eddie is better than given credit for, although he and Hudson are both undersized for guarding most SG's and will have to rely on scrappy defense in order to be effective together).

2 guys who can bring the ball up the floor: House and Daniels. Neither is great, but between the two of them it will keep teams from trying to trap Eddie.

5 guys who are all acceptable passers. Yup, they all seemed aware of where the other players were on the floor. Not bad considering 3 of the players are new to the club.

If these guys work together and stay unselfish, they could run up the score, especially if Eddie and Hudson are both hot from the floor. And Sheed's range is a thing of beauty.

Well, maybe this deserves a new topic. I'd actually love to have Powe back with the club, but I'm willing to just let Lester be the new Hudson and see if Baby/Williams can pick up some of what Leon used to do.

Is Lester Hudson our new JR Bremer?

Dogen, I really vibe with your post there. I think that at some point it would be great if Hudson forced his way into the rotation or perhaps it would be a good thing for Eddie or Rajon to suffer from some temporary minor injury where Lester can have a chance to prove himself. Not that I hope for an injury but Lester brings the type of physical and basketball talents that could help this team. His athleticism, overall scoring ability, confidence and defensive intensity would be a welcome addition to the big club... And there really aren't any other inexperienced guys in the rotation so adding Hudson would be far from disrupting the maturity level of the club as a whole.

In terms of Hudson being our new Leon Powe, I'd also agree that NO, he isn't. In fact, for good or ill, Glen Davis is being asked to play a similar role. Glen is now the main interior big/offensive rebounder off the bench. He's won't the amount of low post iso's that Powe received but he should get a substantial number of mid-post iso's where in time I believe Davis will become solid. Obviously, Davis will never be quite as capable finishing around the basket as Leon was due to his lack of lift but if he continues to learn the refined art of body positioning, ambidexterity, finishing on the strong and weak side, upfakes, etc. he'll become a solid finisher with a more polished outside game than Powe could claim. Basically Davis has to go back to what he was trying to be in his first season an interior banger and offensive rebounder. So I think there's going to be some level of frustration and growth with Davis in the early part of the year, accepting this more limited role. But in the end game I think that this will only benefit him and the team.

I'm rooting for the kid but at this point I'm not really impressed. Right now he looks like a SG that cannot shoot. It's a small sample so hopefully it's the low end of his output.