RiversideClips wrote:I think Quake is right w/ his quote below, sorry for the horrible editing
refereeing.
refs who once would not give us the benefit of the doubt because we were whiney and floppy now have to respect a guy like Doc, KG or Paul Pierce
I still feel like Pierce will break down, I think he is one of those guys like Antoine Walker/ Penny Hardaway who's skills will diminish quickly. I think last year put a lot of stress on his body, which he doesn't do a great job in taking care of can't handle it at this stage of his career.
I disagree that Doc is a great Coach, he has always had HIGH profile players McBaby w/ Orlando & the Celts and he has gone to 2 finals & lost one. Ask Rondo or Big Baby Davis if they think he is a great coach, Doc picked on those two for no reason half the time and they are both good players who work hard.
As a Celtic fan who watched Walker and PP closely I must say I think you are wrong about PP. Ever since Ray Allen arrived, PP has been great about trying to preserve his body for the long haul and he was never bad like Walker at taking care of it. Walker was terrible and often completely out of shape. And Paul Pierce can shoot the ball and those sort of players last a long time while Walker was a horrible shooter. And PP relies upon strength and not quickness as much. For sure his skills have already diminished in a major way but compared to many players his age, he really has aged very gracefully since his game is based to a decent degree on shooting and strength.
What PP will lose and has already lost to a decent extent is the ability to beat very good defenders off the dribble. But as a 3rd/4th option he doesn't really have to do that much and would be a great value at the MLE. Look at what Ray Allen has done this post season... PP with Boston was much better then Ray Allen all around the last couple of seasons and he is younger. I'll be the first to say RA is the much better shooter but PP can still shoot very well.
Unless the Clippers were scared by a KG injury -- he did have some foot pain at the end of the season that doctors determined didn't need surgery --, I think they were nuts not to accept the Celtics offer. But perhaps there is a better alternative for them that I don't know about.
I can see the Clippers reluctance to pay the asking price for Rivers given his high salary demands but KG was being offered for a deep discount IMHO to more then make up for it. DJ is not a player I would have confidence in the playoffs anytime soon. More then anyone else he is the player holding back the Clippers. I didn't even want him on the Celtics.
Say what you will about the Clippers coach this past season and perhaps he should have played DJ more but he was right on the money about DJ and the need for a serious upgrade. Anyways if I don't post again on this forum, I sure hope the Clippers upstage the Lakers for a very long time.