<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>0 - Leon Powe: He?s gotten better with time here. One of the toughest things to deal with for most of those entering the NBA is going from having the ball when you want it to finding out how to make the most of limited opportunities. After being tentative in the opener, Powe began picking his spots and scoring via offensive rebounds. He?s a tough kid who knows how to handle himself and the ball inside. 4 - Ryan Gomes: He?s still getting a lot of his offense by going to the bucket, but his offseason work improving his outside game is more than evident. And even if he plays a lot of small forward this season, he?ll still be trying to get to the goal against smaller or weaker defenders. Hey, if he could score against bigger fours, he?ll be even better against threes. The question remains whether he?ll be able to get out on the floor and defend the quicker foes. 5 - Gerald Green: He?s still very much a work in progress, but his body is more solid than last year. His skill set says he should be able to help this season as a bolt of offense off the bench. If he?s on, let him fire away. 7 - Al Jefferson: He wasn?t nearly as off here as some believe, and he actually did quite well when the Celts were able to get into a set and work the ball to him. He definitely needs to do a better job of expecting and catching the passes of Sebastian Telfair and Rajon Rondo, and his defense continues to be an issue, but the first step for Jefferson is to be less tentative with his steps (the right ankle is still a problem). 9 - Rajon Rondo: After checking him out here, execs from two different teams pronounced him the steal of the first round. The Celts had planned to wait on Rondo this season, but with the ability he?s shown here to upset an opponent with his defense and get pretty much anywhere he wants with the ball, that timetable might be sped up considerably. His outside shot is still suspect, but even with foes backing off him, Rondo was still able to get into the lane. 12 - Allan Ray: It?s impossible to watch this kid and believe there were 60 other players worth drafting before him. He can play. He?s got a nice stroke from the outside and he?s done better than advertised handling the ball and finding teammates. At the very least, Ray is the kind of guy who will soften the blow if some of the kids are dealt for a veteran. 27 - Dwayne Jones: He hasn?t played much as the Celts have decided to spend minutes on Powe. They know Jones can rebound. He still needs to do a better job of handling the ball inside, but Jones could be around the league for a long time.30 - Sebastian Telfair: Numbers aside, he?s the type of drive-and-kick point guard the club has been looking for. Telfair was a vocal floor leader out here, and if he can perform that task in the regular season, the times the Celts get horribly out of sync on offense should be curtailed significantly. 37, 51, 52 - Kevin Hamilton, Wes Wilkinson, Akin Akingbala, respectively: Thanks for coming. Maybe see you again for training camp. All three showed they could play a little, and Wilkinson in particular may have some decent overseas options if things don?t work out in the NBA just yet. Much will depend on how many people Doc Rivers wants in camp. With Ray coming and Brian Grant going, the Celts presently have 15 players under contract. But that could, of course, change if the C?s send a few players off in trade for a vet.</div>Some VERY comforting stuff. two team execs labeled Rondo the steal of the draft. yesss.
LOL you love Rondo huh? It's pretty promising stuff though, and I'm happy to read that. I would not be suprised if Jones was cut and Powe took his spot. Last time I looked, Jones only has played like 20 minutes this summer league, while Powe has played over 50. I'm pretty sure that's a sign they like him more than Dwayne. Allan Ray, like I have said in other threads, I would put money that he will make our final roster. About Gerald - I'm very happy that he said he is more built this year and that he's ready to bring some scoring off the bench. Gomes - DON'T PLAY HIM AT THE 3 GOD DAMMIT! Haha. I hate when people say he should be a 3, who cares if he's 6'7'', he is a big man. He bangs in the post, has a nose for the ball, hustles his ass off, and holds his own against bigger players. Sure, he has a consistant 17 footer - good. But he's not quick enough to be playing other SF's. Even then, screw quickness, he has the skillset of a PF but also with a nice tough from mid-range. Rondo - I'm just as excited as you about him, but I'm not going to get carried away until I see it in real games. Think back 3 years ago, Marcus Banks was talked up to be our starting PG and a future All-Star player. I mean I know Rondo is a true PG and they are different in many ways, but still. They both are quick PG's with killer defense and no jumper. I'm not getting my hopes up. I have been fooled too many times - remember when Banks/Kedrick/Brandon Hunter all TORE IT UP in summer league? Well, Marcus is the only one that's shown promise (but not in Doc's system), Kedrick was out of the league by age 25, and Hunter is struggling to find a home on a team (but, once again, is playing great summer league ball for Cleveland). Bassy - very excited to have him. I firmly believe he is going to flourish in our system. I am also happy to hear that Big Al hasn't been as bad as everyone is saying. I still think he should be playing better than what his stat sheet says, but hey - all that is is.. well.. a stat sheet. So, I can't judge. But I am extremely excited about this team! I can't wait to see this team in action.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (nba dogmatist @ Jul 14 2006, 01:21 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>Some VERY comforting stuff. two team execs labeled Rondo the steal of the draft. yesss.</div>Rudy Gay will be the steal of the draft in Memphis...
he was still picked at #8.and the thing about Banks. I stil believe that Banks has a shot at being a great player, he just had a bad attitude towards Doc, so he didn't get much time. Banks was one of my fav players last year. He was so explosive on both ends, a joy to watch. He is still very talented, but he's a punk. I haven't heard anything about Rondo having an attitude problem.
How is a lottery pick that you had to give up a 5 year solid consistant veteran starter to get, along with the baggage of another player who does not want to play there a steal?I would rather have the player that some projected as a lottery pick but dropped to 21st and was had for a future 1st that will be a low pick(and wasn't even theirs). They also got Brian Grant who has a very low contract and is expiring so they might be able to move him for something and if not just waive him and his minimum salary.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (nba dogmatist @ Jul 14 2006, 02:01 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>he was still picked at #8. and the thing about Banks. I stil believe that Banks has a shot at being a great player, he just had a bad attitude towards Doc, so he didn't get much time. Banks was one of my fav players last year. He was so explosive on both ends, a joy to watch. He is still very talented, but he's a punk. I haven't heard anything about Rondo having an attitude problem.</div> Let me clear some things up: - Banks didn't have an attitude towards Doc, it was the other way around, and Doc didn't use him right. He tried to make him a true/pass-first PG straight from the get-go, when that clearly wasn't his game. If he "let Marcus loose" per-say, trust me, he could have broke out - as a Celtic. - Banks is not a punk. He's a very mature guy who is patient and respectful. He works real hard and he does everything he can for the team and he does it in a classy way. And yeah, I love Banks too. I literally jumped around and screamed when we traded for him on draft night haha. Then he tore it up in summer league and shut down LeBron defensively. But, Doc did not use him right, and he was waaaay to hard on him. Instead of saying "No, Marcus, do it this way.. try this" he said "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT MARCUS!?!?! SIT DOWN!!" ^^^ It was like that on a daily basis for Marcus. Then what happened? We traded him to Minnesota, Casey let him run his own style, and Marcus excelled. Marcus will be a good player in this league.
i guess you're right about marcus. I really wanted to hear that, bc i still have a place in my heart for him. But that picture explains it all.
