Has the Big 3 become the Big 1?

[sam_I_am]

This is the best Celtics team I have ever seen since watching in 1979. I think it looks more unbeatable that the 1986 Celtics. That being said, I don't think Ray Allen or KG are playing at their Hall of Fame level nor are they playing at an all star level. Only Paul Pierce can make that claim. Rondo is the next closest but as we have stated on other threads he is probably 5th or 6th PG and there are a plethora of shooting guards that would take his roster spot too. KG could round into form of course - he shouldn't even try to be the 20/10 guy he was his whole career until late in season anyway.

It is a good thing that Ainge added so much talent to the roster because there is only one dominant player on the roster right now and that is Paul PIerce.

Am I exaggerating? Is the team so strong that I am underating the other "big 2"? What do y'all think?

[Gant]

Pierce is playing fantastic ball, but...

Because the minutes and responsibilities are so evenly spread I think in some ways the Big 3 is now the Big 9.

[Zin5]

Our team around the big three has just gotten a lot better. Added Sheed/Daniels/Williams (pleasant surprise so far), Perk looks a lot better, and Rondo's playing with a lot of confidence. KG and Ray still look solid out there and their stats aren't really a good implication of their impact. The fact that we've basically controlled every game says that everyone's basically clicking right now. Pierce is playing out of his mind, but I expect him to come down to about 16PPG as well, just because of how deep we are.

[TheMartian]

No. The "Big Three" is not about stats, but something much much greater. If the "Big Three" becomes the "Big One", then the Celtics as we know them today, are no more.

[sam_I_am]

No. The "Big Three" is not about stats, but something much much greater. If the "Big Three" becomes the "Big One", then the Celtics as we know them today, are no more.

I am not merely referring to stats. I am talking about playing at a hall of fame/all star level. Only Paul is doing that. Pierce is actually sacrificing quite a lot. He is averaging 12 shots a game compared to Kobe for example who is averaging 25 shots per game. And yet, he is still producing.

I think our roster requires that all players play team ball and Pierce is leading the way. Yet he still stands out as a dominant player who can step up and deliver 20 pts in a quarter when asked almost every night. Can anyone else on the roster deliver that consistently? Once Sheed could but no more. Once Ray could but we have seen in playoffs he is not the guy who once scored 40 twice in 2 wins over the best Spurs team ever in playoffs. KG doesn't seem to have the ability to score in the post that he once had to be that guy anymore either.

It is the Big 1 and the not quite that good but still Fantastic 4.

[Kefa461]

No... I think you have it right it is the Big 1........the 1 is the TEAM.......the 1 unit including the bench. Finally we have a WHOLE team......KG and Ray can both have an off night and we can blow a team out by 31 points because of the bench.......outstanding and without 3 players from the bench......we are stoked.

[sam_I_am]

No... I think you have it right it is the Big 1........the 1 is the TEAM.......the 1 unit including the bench. Finally we have a WHOLE team......KG and Ray can both have an off night and we can blow a team out by 31 points because of the bench.......outstanding and without 3 players from the bench......we are stoked.

I like it! Has a team ever had a 22 pt. differential in scoring after 5 games before? Did Cleveland do this last year for a stretch? I don't recall ever seeing a team this dominant.

[tombattor]

I agree with Kefa461. All 3 of these guys can score 20, if they were on a team without the other 2. But that team probably won't win the way the Celtics are winning right now. There are only so many shots and possessions to go around, so I don't think their total numbers are indication of how they are playing. They are destroying teams right now and unless they are all playing well, I don't think that's possible.

[ParticleMan]

meh, it's a long season. pierce is playing the best now but it's 5 games. there will definitely be games where Ray carries us, and where KG carries us, and even where Rondo carries us.

frankly i think the starters are coasting a bit since they know the bench will just come in and clean up. last night daniels +21, sheed +18, williams +18, house +12... i mean damn...

[er1c]

[/quote]

I like it! Has a team ever had a 22 pt. differential in scoring after 5 games before? Did Cleveland do this last year for a stretch? I don't recall ever seeing a team this dominant.[/quote]


ESPN reported
"The Celtics have won their first five games by an average of 21.6 points per game, which is the best such start in Celtics history and the third best in NBA history. It trails just the 68-win 1966-67 Sixers and last year's Lakers. "

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=291103020

I looked up those other teams

1966-67 76ers 131.2 - 108 +23.2 (ironically helped by a 42 point victory against the celtics in game 5)
2008-09 Lakers 106.8 - 84.4 +22.4

[dsorc]

Pierce is without a doubt the most explosive scorer we have in part because of his style. But that being said, the team right now is so good that we don't usually need an explosive scorer. Everybody is contributing and that has made the load easier on the big three. It really does seem like our starters are coasting right now. But when the pressure is on any of the big three and even Sheed and Rondo can probably put the team on their shoulders if needed. But with the team clicking like this, specially on the defensive side, there's no need for heroics.

[drza]

No... I think you have it right it is the Big 1........the 1 is the TEAM.......the 1 unit including the bench. Finally we have a WHOLE team......KG and Ray can both have an off night and we can blow a team out by 31 points because of the bench.......outstanding and without 3 players from the bench......we are stoked.

I like it! Has a team ever had a 22 pt. differential in scoring after 5 games before? Did Cleveland do this last year for a stretch? I don't recall ever seeing a team this dominant.

I heard on the radio this morning that this is the best differential through 5 games in Celtics history, and the 3rd best in NBA history (but they didn't say who the top 2 were).

On topic, I agree with those that say that this team is just a monster in general right now. I'm not convinced Ray couldn't do a lot more on offense if it was needed, but it isn't. Likewise, KG seems to be using this time period as like extended spring training. Pierce and Sheed are on fire, and the bench is balling so the other vets can kind of chill/work out the kinks.

edit: scooped by Er1c

[kgnwally]

this years bench is simply ridiculous. i would say it is hands down better than the bench from the 08 championship run. we could use one more guy to give ray some extra rest but honestly the bench is so dam good especially with rasheeds defense taking over when he needs. did you see rasheed last night? he was gobbling up the boards and he couldnt miss a shot. i am really impressed with the second unit.

as for this being a big 1? pierce gets hot can get cold to. its not a biggy give kg and ray ray some time that was rays first bad game. they will all pick it up

[cloverleaf]

The most dispensible of the 3 is RA, but that doesn't mean I don't want him.

There's a real drop off from Pierce to Daniels and from Rondo to whomever. But just because KG's the best backed up doesn't mean we don't want him too. Rondo's probably the guy we could least do without, followed by KG and Perk. So KG's knee, Perk's shoulder, and Rondo's everything are all precious to us. Lose any one and the C's are challenged. Lose two and they're out of it.

[GuyClinch]

It was kinda the big 1 before IMHO. I always thought Pierce was the best of the 3 in alot of ways. You could say the same about Bird in the old days though.

[JSABleedsGreen]

the big 3 has definitely become the "One". As previously noted by Kefa and other people....This has become entirely a team effort. Yes Paul Pierce is balling right now but it's just a matter of time before we have a post that says...Ray Allen is balling right now or KG is balling now, the same for Rondo. Aside from last night Rondo had sacraficed his shots entirely the previous 3 or 4 games because he understands that PP and the rest of the team is on fire....Rondo had a few games where literally attempted 3 or 4 shots.

You know the team is good when you have Sheldon Williams playing solid against some first stringers and second stringers. Sheldon has stepped up his game and he's attacking.

But you know guys.......the reason why the offense is clicking is because the defense is clicking.....i mean seriously.....they had the sixers at 59 points with 7 minutes to go.....those numbers inflated because of the garbage time the last 7 minutes but the Celtics this year are dominant because of the Defense. Yes they can score a lot when they have to but last night during the telecast, Gorman was saying how Marquis Daniels is excited on being on this team for many reasons. He said how he's been on teams with one or two All Stars and how soem of them slack on defense because their job is primarly on the offensive side. He said he's never been on the team like this, where the best player all the way down to the bottom player is talking only about defense....it's intoxicating. You get addicted to wanting to show what you can do about defense.

Guys.....this is arguably one of the best teams ever built........arguably, it's still early, long season.....but on paper....even the role players are over achieving...

[The Rondo Show]

It was kinda the big 1 before IMHO. I always thought Pierce was the best of the 3 in alot of ways. You could say the same about Bird in the old days though.

Maybe offensively, but I don't know how anyone can call it "The Big 1" overall with the impact Garnett has defensively. The difference between this teams defense with Garnett the past 2 years vs. the defense we played down the stretch and in playoffs last year is nothing short of amazing. I'd consider it more of the Big 2, with Pierce the guy who can carry the offense and KG the guy who carries the defense. KG could average in single digits and he's still part of The Big 2 or 3 or whatever you want to call it, IMO. He's that good and that important defensively.

Ray is still a borderline all-star and Rondo is pretty close to that as well, but neither one is on the same level of Pierce or Garnett.

[Dave_From_NB]

I think the rest of the starters are under orders from Doc not to turn up their game, because 80-25 half time leads aren't good for television revenue. (sic)

To be honest, other than the Cavs game, I'm not sure that we've learned much about who is clutch. Pierce has been extra hot (59% for 3's), and when you have a hot player you ride that. The shooting %'ages Pierce is putting up are far above his career averages. The other guys are still there and can pick it up, but other than the Cavs game haven't been needed.

I like the spirit of the Big One Team, or Big Nine. I hated last year seeing the starters have to go back in when the bench blew a big lead, sure doesn't look like that's going to be a concern this year.

[GuyClinch]

Maybe offensively, but I don't know how anyone can call it "The Big 1" overall with the impact Garnett has defensively. The difference between this teams defense with Garnett the past 2 years vs. the defense we played down the stretch and in playoffs last year is nothing short of amazing. I'd consider it more of the Big 2, with Pierce the guy who can carry the offense and KG the guy who carries the defense. KG could average in single digits and he's still part of The Big 2 or 3 or whatever you want to call it, IMO. He's that good and that important defensively.

I entirely agree with what your saying. I just think that as we learned during the world championship year PP is actually the best of the 3. His defense is not shabby either. This isn't to say the other players are bad or not needed - to the contrary they are great.

Pierce is like our Bird and KG is like our Mchale. Ray doesn't really fit in - I guess he is like our Ainge.. Anyway the other two guys will pick it up. Though honesty KG's lower numbers make me think that perhaps something could still be wrong with that knee..

It's just a name of course. Back in the day they could have called the C's "Bird team" but they just focused on the big 3 to indicate that we had three superior players not just one.

Pete

[theman]

Pierce is currently ranked #1 in yahoo's fantasy rankings and #5 for per game fantasy average.