With the insertion of Tony Allen into the starting lineup against the Hawks, I think Doc is officially looking for a spark to get this team going. While Tony responded with a career night, the Celtics blew ANOTHER double-digit, second-half lead (honestly, I thought they would have stopped doing that by now). Personally, I think Jiri was made to be the scapegoat for the malaise of the starting unit as a whole, which is unfortunate, cause I still think Jiri can develop into a great player and I hope this doesnt ruin his confidence. I noticed that Mike Gorman started off the telecast with "Raef LaFrentz, Mark Blount, Gary Payton and Paul Pierce remain in the starting lineup... for now." You have to figure that Mike would know something we all don't, so it sounds to me like someone else could be moved to the bench. My question, then, is this: If you're Doc Rivers, who do you move out of the starting lineup, who replaces them and why? I know Blount may be the obvious choice but, speaking as a guy with bad knees, Raef is obviously straining with his. The grind of the schedule looks like it caught up with him and he could be hitting a bit of a wall. He could possibly use the decrease in minutes to rest for a stretch run. I swap him for Jefferson.
It boggles the mind that Mark Blount is still in the starting lineup. al Jefferson and Perk have worked their asses off to earn more minutes. I say give em the ones Blount isnt earning
My prediction is that the next starter to be pulled will be Blount, and he'll be replaced with Perkins. I would have said AJ, but that'll have to be in 4 weeks or so.
I saw on espn.com today the insider questioned if the Celts should rebuild and had 2 possible blockbuster trades involving Paul Peirce, does anybody know what they were??
Trades? <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Here is what he said in today's chat: the Celtics are discussing everything from small moves like McCarty and shipping out Payton to a contender to radical extreme make-over type things that could see Pierce, Ricky Davis, LaFrentz, Payton and Mark Blount in new uniforms by the trade deadline. I swear, Chad must be the best paid "that guy on message boards that makes up insane trades" ever. Here's the carnage: 1. Trade Pierce and Blount (& Googs) for Dalembert and Igudala (& Big Dog + K. Brown) 2. Dump Payton, Davis, and Raef on the TWolves for expiring contracts (Spree/ErvinJ) 3. Rebuild through cap space and the draft (since the season will officially be a tank job) Lovely.</div>
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">(since the season will officially be a tank job) </div>I'm obviously opposed to those trades, but I think the Celts could still win the atlantic after either one.
I have a great idea. Trade Paul Peirce to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Latrell Sprewell. Then trade Gary Payton to the New Jersey Nets for Travis Best. Then trade Al Jefferson to the Los Angeles Lakers for Brian Cook. Once that's all done, you've got yourself a team.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting MaxBallin:</div><div class="quote_post">I have a great idea. Trade Paul Peirce to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Latrell Sprewell. Then trade Gary Payton to the New Jersey Nets for Travis Best. Then trade Al Jefferson to the Los Angeles Lakers for Brian Cook. Once that's all done, you've got yourself a team.</div> I would love to have Peirce for Sprewell, but i dont know Paul's contract might be too big. We've been looking to get rid of Sprewell for awhile, but since our 4 game win streak nothing has been talked about.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GarnettKG21:</div><div class="quote_post">I would love to have Peirce for Sprewell, but i dont know Paul's contract might be too big. We've been looking to get rid of Sprewell for awhile, but since our 4 game win streak nothing has been talked about.</div> While we're on the subject....I'd love to trade Marcus Banks for Jason Kidd. Also, I think a deal of Justin Reed for Tim Duncan could help us out a little.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting GarnettKG21:</div><div class="quote_post">I would love to have Peirce for Sprewell, but i dont know Paul's contract might be too big. We've been looking to get rid of Sprewell for awhile, but since our 4 game win streak nothing has been talked about.</div> Umm.. yeah.. I was obviously kidding.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting 44Thrilla:</div><div class="quote_post">Also, I think a deal of Justin Reed for Tim Duncan could help us out a little.</div> I'll only do that deal if the Yogi and Googs for Shaq deal falls through...
the Celtics with Tim Duncan would be good.. but any team with Duncan would be LOL but back to the topic, Danny Ainge isn't helping the franchise in my opinion, sure the Celtics had a good draft and Al Jefferson is a solid big man, but with the way Mark Blount has been playing lately, the Celtics are dying at the center spot.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Da_Future_2k5:</div><div class="quote_post">but back to the topic, Danny Ainge isn't helping the franchise in my opinion, sure the Celtics had a good draft and Al Jefferson is a solid big man, but with the way Mark Blount has been playing lately, the Celtics are dying at the center spot.</div> That's a good point, but I'll ask you this: who would you rather Ainge go after? I can't remember another center out there the celtics (realistically) could have gone for. If Blount had bolted we would pretty much just have Raef and Perk at the Center spot. No one knew how much Perk had developed in a year and there was a question about Raef's ability to come back from the knee injuries. Looking back it was a bad signing, but at the time it made sense.
