10 things

[SLCceltic]

good stuff

except for #6
doc seems to be able to handle high caliber talent fairly well, but having garnett pretty much ensures that

tibadeau has been excellent and danny signed high-energy, passionate players to fill out the roster............those players hustle and stellar play won the games

doc is the beneficiary of everything around him coming together so well


doc has miles to go before i see him as a winning factor

[Al n' Perk No Layups!]

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How in the world does Darth have 842 posts on a Spurs thread!?!?

Could be an imposter. I know there is an imposter DC on the Hoopshype forums.

As a side note, raps fans are exactly the same there as here, just less of them.

[Jammer]

Ditto the comment about the Allen negativty being ill-conceived.

The primary reason for the Celtics success this season, on the offensive end, is the addition of Ray Allen, James Posey, and Eddie House.

KG is the best player on the team, but the offense functions because of the addition of the 3 players mentioned, which allows everything else.

The spreading of the floor with 3 point shooters is the mantra. The players who do this brilliantly are Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Posey, House, Tony Allen (to a limited degree, minutes wise and shot wise), and Brian Scalabrine in function, but not result.

The ability to draw double teams is the second critical component - only Ray Allen, Pierce and Garnett require this.

Third, this opens up the floor for the penetrators, who happen to be Pierce, Ray Allen, Rondo and Tony Allen. There is a pattern here - Ray Allen's name keeps recurring.

The fourth component is the open looks the man under the basket gets - because even though Perk, Powe, Davis and Pollard can't create their own shot, their opportunity has been created by the 3 point shooters, double teams and penetrators.

That Ray was able to miss the games against Milwaukee and Seattle and the team still win was more a matter of playing two of the ten worst teams in the league on those nights.

The improvement in team defense in obviously due to Tom Thibodeau, the additions of KG, Posey, Ray Allen, Davis, and Eddie House's smarts and experience.

[AlCelticFan]

"Oh no. That was Tim Duncan! He's like Kevin Garnett! I was just soaking up the immortality."

[sam_I_am]

2) Underestimated

I have three favorite games so far this season: The game in Detroit, the Dallas game, and now the Spurs game. Oddly it's been just as exciting winning without Garnett than it was winning with him. I didn't think the Celtics could play nearly this well without their best player.

Underestimated Paul Pierce. I guess this shows how good this team could have been even without trading for Garnett. Jefferson is not nearly as good as everybody thinks - getting outplayed by Powe was no surprise to me -but Jefferson, Gomes along with Ray, Paul and Rondo would have had a nice season.

Clearly, Garnett is the piece we need to win a championship. Without that type of guy, this team couldn't be the brilliant team that went 30-3.

But those of us who saw Pierce struggle when the second best player on the roster was Toine and nobody on the roster brought the veteran toughness that House and Posey have, have always said that if we would only build around Paul the team could be a lot better.

This season a pattern has emerged. When Paul plays badly we lose. Garnett may be the best player on the roster..... but it is up for debate and not a slam dunk like everybody assumes. He needs Paul just as badly as Paul needed KG.

[The Rondo Show]

You Allen haters are NUTS - what... so he is ONLY putting up 19 pts (and then 30+ when PP has an off night)?

Another great read Gant...

But I really think Tom T should get some credit in #6...

They really are. Ray is the same guy he was in Seattle, only he's taking 14.7 shots per game now instead of the 21 he took in Seattle. I'll take a 19 point, 4 rebound, 3 assist stud SG that rarely turns the ball over and is very efficient (don't be fooled by his somewhat low shooting percentage, he hits tons of threes and leads the NBA in FT%; TS% of 56.2, roughly the same as Pierce) on my team any day.

Oh yeah, he's been by far our best clutch player and one of the most clutch players in the NBA so far.

[Relative Autonomy]

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Underestimated Paul Pierce. I guess this shows how good this team could have been even without trading for Garnett. Jefferson is not nearly as good as everybody thinks - getting outplayed by Powe was no surprise to me -but Jefferson, Gomes along with Ray, Paul and Rondo would have had a nice season.

Clearly, Garnett is the piece we need to win a championship. Without that type of guy, this team couldn't be the brilliant team that went 30-3.

But those of us who saw Pierce struggle when the second best player on the roster was Toine and nobody on the roster brought the veteran toughness that House and Posey have, have always said that if we would only build around Paul the team could be a lot better.

This season a pattern has emerged. When Paul plays badly we lose. Garnett may be the best player on the roster..... but it is up for debate and not a slam dunk like everybody assumes. He needs Paul just as badly as Paul needed KG.

exactly, it really bothers me that PP is getting overshadowed by KG. I think you could even make the argument that the KG needs Pierce more than Pierce needs him. Consider this, the biggest knocks against KG his entire career are: he plays out too much outside, he doesn't get to the foul line, he doesn't make game winning plays and he can be a little soft. What KG brings in intensity and culture of accountability, defense, and good scorer at the 4-spot, even though he doesn't bring the traditional post presence. Pierce, on the other hand, is an unstoppable scorer when he is on. If Pierce is having a good night. There is no one in the league who can stop him. When things are going his way, there is no one else better at getting the winning basket or getting to the line when you need it.

Perhaps, what Garnet brought brings been obtained with other players? if DA could have some how kept jefferson and gotten camby or AK-47. If one of those players came in and provided an anchor to the defense and, along with allen, the veteran support Pierce needed, perhaps Pierce would have stepped up and provided the leadership and culture of accountability that KG brought.

In the end, this is all an irrelevant counter-factual. What happened, happened and there is no way to tell what could have happened otherwise. Still, i think it is shameful than PP gets overshadowed by KG and i really think you can make the case that Pierce is the team mvp not kg. [/img]