Powe expected to have surgery, done for season

[humblebum]

Totally agree with TA needing to be in the rotation. With Powe out for the playoffs the team just became even less physical and tough. The team needs TA's physical/aggressive brand of ball. Same for Walker.

It's unfortunate that Powe's out but I do feel that Scal can make an impact if he finds his groove quickly. He at least brings toughness. Something that Mikki Moore has probably never heard of.

[floyd]

I need a drink.

[Rocky5000]

At least we can probably resign Leon on the cheap now. Damn I don't know if its true, but if we could have had Dekembe, oh man, he would help right now.

Not so sure about that anymore. Dikembe just went down with a knee injury in the 1st quarter against the Blazers.
Even the guys we would like to have on our team get injured!

[IEcelticfan]

effing DA man. in hindsight, if he woulda just stayed patient and waited for joe smith; that is, if joe wanted to come here instead back to clev. that, or really push to claim dice @ waivers. with the ? marks with leon this summer, i think DA should really be going after sheed with MLE. you can never have too much big guys, 4 or 5 bigs WITH size for the playoffs are beneficial. BBD might be an undersized pf/c, but look at that girth!!1 he somehow reminds me of that hippo who was in Madagascar 2 LOL.

ps: oh yeah, and Deke too (see above post).

i saw the det-clev boxscore just now and i noticed clev's bigs are: Z (who's what 7'3?), Pussyvarejao, Big Ben, Joe, and Darnell Jackson a big-ass 6'10 252lb rookie. wow, that's deep. (and 30 fouls!!)

[billfromBoston]

....

Considering the paucity of defensive pressure Boston has brought to bear thus far, a cold streak in shooting looks like it will virtually guarentee a loss...Scalabrine isn't going to help this equation either - i'd love to see Bill Walker thrown in for energy and physciality because this team is paper-thin on those two things right now...especially with TA out of the rotation.

Well, Scal can stretch the defense and allow Rondo room to penetrate...which would be nice if Rondo hadn't sprained his ankle. So, yeah, Scal ain't going to help much, other than being a nice alternative to playing Moore.

As for Walker, yes this opens the door for him...but..why not just put TA back in the rotation? It made no sense to not play him last night. The Bulls were killing us on the perimeter and in transition and our best perimeter defender played 4 seconds. Doc talks about defense and then leaves his best defender to waste away on the bench. Stupidity.

The best move going forward is to put TA back in the rotation and let him cover who ever starts going off from the perimeter, be it Gordon, Rose, Salmon...put Pierce at the 4 and pack the lane and make sure the guards hit the boards. With our overall lack of height, we can't afford to play a six-foot shooting guards anymore...so either Marbury sits or House does...the Bulls seem quite able to find and neutralize House on the perimeter...they probably haven't game planned TA at all...what I am missing here, why isn't TA playing? OUR BIGGEST PROBLEM IN THIS SERIES IS DEFENSE. WHY NOT PLAY OUR BEST PERIMETER DEFENDER?

Tough break for Leon, obviously. I feel for him. He'll come back strong, though, that's who he is...

Agreed - TA needs to play and so does Marbury I think - we need guys that can penetrate and create points in the paint.

[mrblunt]

This is sick. I thought Leon was going to be a major factor in this series. I guess he was still fighting through injuries. This is some of the worst news I've heard being a fan of Leon. He is a great guy and deserves much better than this. I feel bad for Boston and Leon. He'll be there to cheer us on and stay positive I hope. Maybe Boston will become even more close next year due to all these injuries we had to go through this year. Good luck to the Celtics and to you Leon and KG. Get well everyone.

[Mahoney_jr]

Awful. For us, but even more for Leon. I don't know a player who least deserved such an injury to experience again.

[MyInsatiableOne]

I guess the silver lining for the team is they'll be able to re-sign him on the cheap...not so good for Leon, though...

[Havlicek17]

We all know what Leon has had to go through to get here. I feel so badly for Leon. He's an outstanding person and he's family.

"Powe will be a restricted free agent after the season, and to maintain their right of first refusal the Celts will have to tender him a one-year offer of $1,030,189 (the minimum for a player of his experience plus $175,000). Considering the club was willing to give Patrick O’Bryant $1.5 million last summer, the C’s might consider a repaired Powe a better bet. But that decision obviously won’t be made before surgeons get inside the knee."

Here's to hoping the surgery goes well, and hoping that Leon stays a Celtic for a very long time to come.

[MyInsatiableOne]

We all know what Leon has had to go through to get here. I feel so badly for Leon. He's an outstanding person and he's family.

"Powe will be a restricted free agent after the season, and to maintain their right of first refusal the Celts will have to tender him a one-year offer of $1,030,189 (the minimum for a player of his experience plus $175,000). Considering the club was willing to give Patrick O’Bryant $1.5 million last summer, the C’s might consider a repaired Powe a better bet. But that decision obviously won’t be made before surgeons get inside the knee."

Here's to hoping the surgery goes well, and hoping that Leon stays a Celtic for a very long time to come.

Agreed...this couldn't have happened to a nicer, more hard-working guy. It just ain't fair!

[Mahoney_jr]

I hope we tender the one-year to him.

[campybatman]

I guess the silver lining for the team is they'll be able to re-sign him on the cheap...not so good for Leon, though...

No way Ainge doesn't resign him to a fair offer. It'll look bad from a PR standpoint, if he doesn't... Plus, it could help Ainge down the road if he should have an interest in other players represented by this same agent. I've said before, Powe is the kind of person and player that good teams have on their roster. You don't let them go unless it's for reasons of age and decline in performance or a better option comes around.

“He’s such a good human being,” Rivers said, “and to think of what he’s gone through in his life just makes this hurt even more. When I told our guys, I could barely talk about it with them. For me, it’s just . . . I don’t know. It just really bothers me. You know these things happen, but, darn, he’s just so right for the game. He does so many good things. He’ll get back though. He’ll be back.”

Powe’s agent believes so, as well.

“I’m optimistic,” Aaron Goodwin said. “I had a similar situation with Willie Green. He was in his free agent year when he hurt his knee, and the Sixers stepped up and tendered him. Then when he proved he was all right, they signed him. We’re hoping the Celtics will do the same thing. The Celtics have always done what’s in the best interest of Leon Powe, and I think he’s rewarded their loyalty.”

Powe will be a restricted free agent after the season, and to maintain their right of first refusal the Celts will have to tender him a one-year offer of $1,030,189 (the minimum for a player of his experience plus $175,000). Considering the club was willing to give Patrick O’Bryant $1.5 million last summer, the C’s might consider a repaired Powe a better bet. But that decision obviously won’t be made before surgeons get inside the knee.

“I think everyone feels bad for Leon and his family, but he’s a warrior,” Goodwin said. “I know he’s going to come back strong. He’s going to have the surgery and then there’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll do the rehab and be ready to play again. He’s upset more right now because he knows the team needs him, but everyone’s aware of the free agent thing, too. Leon’s such a good kid that all he’s thinking about right now is what’s going on with the Celtics.”

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/bask ... ion=recent

[MyInsatiableOne]

bonsai, I'm not saying we're gonna sign him for $200k, but 1 mill or 1.5 mill and that's it, tops...

[campybatman]

I get the sense that players like Powe and Tony like being a Celtic. However, you can't always resign your own players, even the ones who prefer to remain on board. A lot of talk about fans wanting Rasheed... I can see the reasons for the interest. But, I would focus first on resigning Powe, and then gauge Rasheed's interest in signing with Boston after the season.

I expect changes this off-season and the decision to resign Powe and Davis will be near the top of the list. Personally, I wouldn't resign both of them if signing Wallace is a realistic option. Also, there wll be other options in free agency that are unrestricted free agents. Players such as Chris Andersen, Joe Smith and McDyess (if Ainge wants to try again with those two).

[MyInsatiableOne]

^I think at this point our front office would have to be mentally (Please Use More Appropriate Word) to re-sign Tony...he's horrid and shows no signs of "getting it" after 6 years in the league...

Powe we'll sign on the cheap, and Davis we'll probably panic and overpay for since who knows when/if Powe will come back and how effective he'll be. After that, who knows? Rasheed is a possibility but not for too much $$...he's old and on the downside of his career....

[GuyClinch]

C's flat out need more height around the basket. I can't imagine we would bring back both Davis and Powe..We should be searching out for a serviceable big with good length.. For Joel Pryzbilla or Dan Gazurdic.(sp?) someone of that low quality.

People don't like to hear it because it diminshes the value of the sport but in basketball height does matter. It allows your entire team to do things differently on the defensive end...

[campybatman]

Powe continues to prove himself to be a draft bargain and injuries haven't really been a concern up until this season. He deserves to be resigned. While Tony continues to frustrate Celtic fans and this might be his last season with Boston. Ainge will have his work cut out for him... Powe, Davis, Tony (trade) and House (opt out) all could be gone. In my opinion, the theme for this off-season has to be toward getting taller. Taller at power forward and shooting guard. Powe's the one of these four I don't want to lose. He's efficient and plays taller than he is. Ainge must target players that aren't just taller but good defensively and good shooters. And players with toughness and heart, passion for the sport.