Leon Powe - The Real Deal

[Havlicek17]

There has been some discussion on this board recently about Leon and why he doesn't get the starting job versus BBD or Scal, when KG sits. I have seen posts that suggest he's not as good as BBD or Scal, or that he is too short to play against other starting teams height, or he doesn't play defense as well as they do, etc, etc, etc. Let's try to set the record straight on Mr. Powe.

First, the reason Leon doesn't start and BBD and Scal do, is because he is the only one of those three that can create his own offense. Our second unit needs a consistent scorer off the bench and our starting unit does not, that is why BBD and Scal start ahead of him. Neither of those guys can create their own offense, but that's O.K. if you are playing alongside PP, Ray, Rondo, and Perk.

Can Leon play well against taller players and play well against other teams starters?

Leon was a 20 and 10 player in college. In his final season at Cal he led the PAC 10 in both scoring and rebounding (I don't think that had ever been done before). Since joining the Celtics, I'd have to say Leon does what Leon does. Give him the ball anywhere within 10-12 feet of the basket and I don't care who is guarding him, he goes strong to the rim, scores and gets the "and 1". How many times do we have to see it to believe it. The guy is absolutely a beast on the block.

Well, maybe it's his defense.

As you guys know, nobody comes out of college and is instantly a good defender in the NBA. I've watched Leon grow on the defensive end of the floor and I don't see him as a liability. He plays very good interior defense against bigger players, he bodies up well, he rebounds well, he blocks a shot or two, and probably gets more charging calls than the rest of the team put together.

We have 4 PF's on this team and BBD and Powe are FA's this offseason, who should we sign, BBD or Powe?

I think we will sign both. But if KG was not on this team, make no mistake, Leon would be our starter at PF. No if's ands or but's about it. There is a shortage of low post/high percentage scorers in this league. He is a very hard to find commodity, and he is only going to get better.

If I am not mistaken, we have his Bird rights, so in all likelihood he ain't going anywhere. My guess is he will sign a Jason Maxiell type deal this offseason; 4 years, $20 Mil.

Danny, pay the man, he deserves it!

[Downtown]

Memphis could easily offer $7mil per season. The way he played against them surely made them sit up and notice. The Grizzlies could make a really big offer to Boozer, a bit smaller one to Milsap, or go after Powe. I think it could cost the Celtics more than they think.

The key will whether or not they draft a power forward. That should tell us whether Powe's at risk of leaving or not.

[Dirty Water]

Leon "Karl Malone" Powe!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FTW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kids Are Alright]

He sure made the Grizz's inside game look weak. They need a beefy guy down low and a leader like Pierce to get going. Very nice supporting cast, though.

Leon matches some teams well, some terribly (I'm thinking the Pacers for one). He's a small big at 6'7" with no outside game, but he's a great bench player on this team, and a good starter the last three games.

[kmgarnett21]

I pray almost every night that he stays here. He'll be KGs replacement when KG hangs em up, hopefully. Danny better bring him back, quit trying to plug guys in and filling roles with replacements that don't fit the bill.

We NEED Powe.

[Celtics_85]

There is a good possibilty that Powe's stock goes up a little before the end of this season. Once the playoffs start I believe he will be the first off the bench in the frontcourt, and even get big minutes depending on which teams we play in the playoffs.
A team like Orlando isn't a great matchup for Powe to get a lot of time as Perk is the better matchup against them with the starters. Teams that are bigger in the frontcourt I think Powe should get big minutes against as he is the better matchup with the starters than Perk is.
There will be times in the playoffs when we will need more offense and Perk just seems to bog the offense down as he doesn't do much with the ball and kills seconds on the shot clock. Powe would get these same touches and he knows what to do with the ball. I'm tired of seeing 3 on 5 offensive basketball, and with our defense not as good as last year we will need this extra offense. Powe also will make Rondo's game even more better as teams can't just lay off Powe as they do Perk, and Powe can finish much better than Perk at the basket without having to set himself after the pass.
I'm not saying we should start Powe, but I believe if Perk is bogging our offense down we will see Powe come in early with the starters on the floor to help the offense flow. I don't think we will suffer too much at the defensive end with Powe in there either. Once the playoffs start it will be more about matchups and what makes us a better team on the court.

[humblebum]

Where I've been most impressed with Leon is in his defensive rotations. After Davis' hot streak started a while back you could see that Leon was playing with a greater sense of purpose and confidence, even though his shot wasn't falling you could tell he was trending upwards. Lately, he's been much much more consistent in his off the ball rotations, it's not just the charges, it's denying penetration, helping on the weakside and cutting off players at the corner of the basket. He's been really really solid.

Offensively his activity level and finishing are there but again I think it's more about his positioning, finding the open spots and keeping proper floor spacing. He's also been very impressive in finding the seems on pick and rolls.

Doc will have interesting job trying to utilize Powe, Davis, Moore and Scals to good effect. Leon is making his case as a core bench player, he's seemed at times to be in jeopardy of losing the primary backup role. So kudos to him for turning the corner.... now hopefully he can keep it up.

[BRUNiNHO91]

He should start over Perk...Perk sucks this year...he getting too many fouls..barely plays 5 straight minutes...

[aboubata]

I always liked Leon but he is not a starting PF on a lot of teams. No team is going to offer him (or any non star) much of money this summer.
1. Economy
2. 2010 FA

Teams that could use Powe are the likes of Utah (if they lose 1 of their PF) and Dallas (he could be backup C and PF).

I think if he stay consistent then he stays around and get something between what Perk got and the MLE.

[cloverleaf]

Agreed--in a different economic year he could be gone, but it may be the C's gain as he is a worthy keeper for them. With Walker emerging, possibly with Marbury and House and Baby as well, all they're really needing is for Moore to catch on--or the luxury of a full-sized 5 in backup. Giddens could be the guy to sit the first part of the season. With the exception of a new big lug backup I think next year could be the one of great continuity--before the first big makeover.

[spf211]

Powe has come on great during the second half of the season but --

Any team silly enough to offer him $7 million a year gets what they deserve.

The only thing more silly than that would be the Celtics matching an offer over $5 million for Leon.

[humblebum]

Ya, regardless of how well Powe plays the reality is that he still fills a limited roll on the team. Perk and KG will continue to be the major players up front. And given the salary committments to Ray, Paul and soon Rondo the salary slot for Powe (or any other front court player) will undoubtedly be limited. I couldn't imagine Powe making more than $4 million with the Celtics.

[Fencer reregistered]

Playing like an all-star for a few games, especially against bad teams, doesn't even prove you're an OK starter. Think Tony Allen.

It DOES prove you're one of the few hundred best basketball players in the world. Nobody should go overboard in disrespecting Powe, Tony, or anybody else who ever makes good use of minutes in an NBA game. But it doesn't prove you deserve a starter's salary.

[AlCelticFan]

Hmmm,

Well regarding Tony, who knows how he'd be playing right now if he hadn't been injured? Also, Tony's defense is possibly the best on the team. People often forget to give him credit for that, myself included. Old Tony easily deserved to be a starter, I think.

[billfromBoston]

....bad teams like Cleveland, Orlando, and Miami?

[campybatman]

The reason Rivers wasn't starting Powe had more to do with him not wanting to change his regular rotation. That is, he didn't want to play certain players more than what they normally play minutes wise. Since Scalabrine was an end of the bench guy. An increase or decrease in his minutes probably doesn't affect what he's use to anyways. The question is: Why start Davis ahead of Powe? I think Rivers was attempting to replace the outside/inside attack on offense that he can employ having Garnett starting with Perkins. However, Davis lacks consistency in his shot. And I remember Rivers was initially reluctant to start two post players together in Jefferson and Perkins. The fouls that both of these players would get might have played a part in that as well. Still, perhaps, the same reasoning applies here with Powe and Perkins. Nevertheless, Powe is the better rebounder between he and Davis and offers you the best opportunities at second chance points. On the other hand, I would've rather had Davis provide his size backing up Perkins before acquiring Moore. But, Moore can't guard stronger opponents. Like Powe, Davis gives up a lot of height guarding a center. But, at least it's tough to move Davis when fighting for position.

I always have felt that Powe is a type of player and person that every team should want to have on their bench. A blue collar player. Someone who can accept being a role player and gets the most out of his minutes. Powe's the one to retain. Trade Davis...

[grantlongforpresident]

Powe is the man. I've been saying it for too long now, i'm surprised people are just starting to figure it out. He was the man last year too.

And please, get rid of Big Baby.

[GreenMachine]

First let me say - I am a Powe fan. And I did not see the game today. But all season Leon has been pulling this - "I'm amazing one game, and invisible the next act." What's is up with that?

Did he play good today and it not show up in the box? Or can anyone explain why he is SO inconsistent?

[MyInsatiableOne]

Powe is the man. I've been saying it for too long now, i'm surprised people are just starting to figure it out. He was the man last year too.

And please, get rid of Big Baby.

Same here, and I agree on the second point. Any debate should be put to rest now...

[cisco]

First let me say - I am a Powe fan. And I did not see the game today. But all season Leon has been pulling this - "I'm amazing one game, and invisible the next act." What's is up with that?

Did he play good today and it not show up in the box? Or can anyone explain why he is SO inconsistent?

I think Powe's inconsistency has more to do with matchups. I am not surprised he dominated the Memphis Grizzlies. They are a young, inexperienced team that hasn't learned how to play defense and their only decent big is a 2nd year player who is tough on offense, but just as weak on defense has his brother, Pau, probably worse than Pau (I doubt Powe would ever score 30 against Pau). I think Powe surprises some teams with what he can do. Put Powe against a better team with some decent bigs and he doesn't fare as well. Just look at the Miami game where Powe played very well, mainly in the 1st half. He played out of his mind in the 1st quarter, but then didn't do as much in the final 3 when Miami decided to counter Powe with some size for the rest of the game (Miami made sure O'Neill or Magloire was in the game at all times in the 2nd half of that game). Same with LA in the finals. He surprised them that one game, but LA never let him do that again. Doc was doing the right thing, imo by starting Baby over Powe (mainly because the C's can use the same offensive sets since Baby can spread the floor and knock down some jump shots). Powe has the ability to dominate 2nd string guys, especially if they lack size or quickness. I don't think he'd ever be an effective starter for a good team, because of his limitations in his size and game.

The good thing about his limitations though, is that it may allow us to keep him at a reasonable price.