How bad was the 2008 offseason?

[I love heinsohn]

i still say more of a pitch should have been made to matt barnes

i agree. back up small forward is the teams big weakness. it doesn't seem like a big deal but when the only person we have to guard Lebron is pierce it seems a bit concerning, especially given the the likelihood that the Cs and Cavs will be meeting in the playoffs.

Yup. I don't know how they expect to guard him for 45-48 minutes per game in the playoffs. Pierce will either need a breather or be in foul trouble. KG and Ray seem ill-suited for the matchup. None of the other bigs is quick enough to slide down and it seems like none of the other wings are strong enough to step up. If TA gets healthy, then I guess he sees 10+ minutes against the Cavs with 100% focus on LeBron duty, but is there any contingency plan if TA doesn't heal up?

[Bluewhale]

Every contract shorter than 2 year (before 2010) is irrelevant. So I don't know why Eddie's 2.5M/2 year and Tony's 2.5M/2 year is a problem.

If you think Mag could fit Pollard's role, I don't see anything wrong with POB to fit Pollard's role. POB did as much (or as less) as Mag.

Once again, James shoot only 21% from the arc and played only 17 games for MIA. I am very happy that Ainge know something in him is WRONG before wasting a MLE contract on him. (MIA paid him 4M+4M and 3 year team options.)

Edit: And you also put Dorell, I played only 1 games, Wright on the table to accuse Ainge made a big mistake not getting him. Dorell Wright is even more expensive than Tony. (2.75M+2.75M)

[Mahoney_jr]

Stop that Magloire bs, celticfan. He is done like Penny Hardaway is done. Pollard was at least great for team chemistry.

Regarding SF:
There was either Posey or no other free agent who could replace his skills. I didn't agree with the ownership/management to not re-sign him, but to replace him with someone lesser (like James Jones or Matt Barnes) for the same yearly amount would have been way dumber than not signing him in the first place. To get TA under contract as a cheap compromise was the best Ainge could have done.

[rperez2007]

Remember that we did make a push for Magette before locking up Tony. It just didn't go our way.

[billfromBoston]

It was either take a project big man with potential to pay a high dividend or sign a medicore wing for spot minutes at the 2ing...the main objective was to play the trade deadline/waiver game and fill the most pressing needs...which they did....

As for defending LeBron - i'll repeat what I wrote on C's blog....Boston doesn't rely on man-to-man defense to defend these marquis players - they "steer" players toward the help defenders and play the percentages.

Between Pierce/Scal/TA/Ray/and even Walker/Giddens if extremely desperate - Boston has plenty of bodies to throw at LeBron and the top 4 all know the team defense as well as anybody.

Controlling LeBron is a lot of luck, but also its about forcing jumpers by denying lane penetration - that wasn't done by stout man defense last season nor will it be done by man defense this season. You hedge to his dominant side and force him baseline into the waiting help defense....the rest is luck...

LeBron can't shoot jumpers very well, though he gets hot from time to time - as he did in game 2 against Boston this year. But playing the odds and keeping him shooting more jumpers and less dunks is the way to go - all accomplishable with the current personnel.

People look at matchups too much when they do their calculations - its about 5 defenders being on the same page, not how many individual defenders can lock LBJ up - none can this year and none could last year....

[AlCelticFan]

Break it down for 'em Bill.

[Banks2Pierce]

The best part of this offseason was that it kept us flexible for this season, and the season after that, and so on. Even New Orleans regrets signing Posey already. They gave him too many years. If we're not flexible, Eddie House is our backup point going into the playoffs. The Birdman or Mikki Moore...take your pick, but I think Mikki fits into this team better because of his jumper.

The thing is, Danny planned as if we could lose Posey and Allen by drafting Walker and Giddens. I bet if Danny were coach, one of the 2 would be getting minutes. But he's not, and he doesn't tell Doc what to do regarding rotations and who to leave on the active roster. I personally want Walker to be a rotational player for 8 minutes or so for the playoffs. Eddie House doesn't impress me against good defenses and I am nervous about his defense and offensive productivity against Cleveland. Pierce can have a little Lebron rest if Walker puts a little bit of time on him and just gets a body on him and guides him to our help defense, just as bfb described.

[I love heinsohn]

Bill: nobody is denying the importance of team D in stopping LeBron, but Scal is 100% incapable of even "steering" LeBron into certain spots. If things were that easy, then every team would stick a big slow guy on him. The other problem is that LeBron has gotten smarter in the last year AND upgraded his teammates. You stick RA on him and Bron will penetrate and either pick up fouls on players that the C's need on the court (Ray, KG, Perk) or he will kick it (or kick+swing) to the wing shooters. I would be happy to see LeBron getting 35 ppg on 25 shots in the playoffs, but I just don't see that happening. Instead, I see him scoring 25 with 8+ assists on ~12 shots and 10-12 FTs. That will make things extremely difficult for the Celtics' offense.

[canman1971]

Bad? Last time I checked, the 2008 offseason was spent as NBA champs. If that is bad, I'll take it every year.