Last year at the trading deadline, GM Danny Ainge made a controversial move in trading Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic. This trade was intended to help the Celtics for both the future and the present, yet it backfired horribly. Point guard Rajon Rondo went into a deep mental funk that he could not escape from, and the Celtics appeared to have lost their heart.
This offseason, Ainge attempted to make a major move for the Celtics, in his efforts to deal Rondo in a package deal for Chris Paul. This inevitably did not happen, and it was discovered that the rest of the NBA regards Rondo as some sort of head case, someone who, despite his obvious talent, will never reach his potential as a player. As such, the Celtics were stuck with an emotionally fragile Rondo, which may have ended up as an unmitigated disaster on all sides.
Ironically, Rondo is the one of the two players on the Celtics, along with Greg Stiemsma, who appear to care about this season. Kevin Garnett has emotionally and mentally checked out on this year, knowing that he is in the final year of his contract and is not coming back. Ray Allen just does not have the same quickness any longer, and would be better off as a bench scorer at this point in his career. Paul Pierce has been injured off and on all season, and just does not look the same. The Celtics have an aging roster, which does not bode well for playing 66 games in 120 days, especially when younger, more athletic teams will have the advantage with this type of schedule.
So, what should the Celtics do at this point? Presently, they sit at 5-9 in a weak Eastern Conference. With the talent on their roster, they should be able to make the playoffs, where the theory is that they would turn on the competitive juices. Yet, the Celtics have yet to defeat a good opponent, their victories coming against the Detroit, Washington twice, New Jersey, and Toronto. Not exactly the best teams the NBA has to offer.
Given the present mindset of future free agents, where they want to play in cities like New York, LA, or Dallas for endorsements and/or marketability, the Celtics would seem to be on the outside when it comes to signing marquee players. As such, the Celtics need to make trades to acquire players for the long term. Given the value of the expiring contract, the Celtics actually have two trade pieces in both Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. Both veterans would help a contending team that would be able to put talent around them. Garnett needs a change of scenery as of yesterday. Suppose, hypothetically, he ends up with the Clippers. Being matched up with Blake Griffin and Chris Paul would reignite the spark for him, as he would see the possibility of getting a second championship. Or picture Ray Allen on a team like the Bulls, where he would be an upgrade over Kyle Korver. Both teams mentioned have pieces that would allow the Celtics to build for the future, and possibly even make a run at this year’s playoffs.
At any rate, the Celtics need to make some moves, and they need to make them now. Find a couple of pieces that, with Rajon Rondo, they can form a legitimate nucleus for long-term success. Otherwise, they will find themselves perpetually stuck in mediocrity, which is the worst place to be in the NBA.
Showing posts with label Ray Allen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ray Allen. Show all posts
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Doc Rivers' Curious Crunch Time Rotation
Prior to the trade deadline, the crunch time rotation for the Boston Celtics had been Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Glen 'Big Baby' Davis. Davis was on the court at that time mainly because the starting center, Kendrick Perkins, is an offensive liability. While a solid defender, Perkins is painful to watch on the offensive end.
Then came the trade of Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Nenad Krstic and Jeff Green. Green was thought to be the centerpiece of this trade, as he is capable of playing small forward and power forward, thus providing a legitimate scorer off the bench that could help to keep Pierce and Garnett fresh for the playoffs. Also, Green's offensive capabilities (he was averaging approximately 15 points per game at the time of the trade), would theoretically provide them with another scorer in games where they were down by two or three points late.
However, this has not proven to be the case. Doc Rivers has continued to use the same rotation as he has in close and late situations as he had previously. Wednesday night, down by three to the Memphis Grizzlies, Glen Davis is on the court while Green is on the bench. To make matters worse, Davis launched a three pointer that, predictably, missed. While Green may not have made that shot, he would have been a better option. Yes, Green did finally get on the floor at the end of that game - albeit with four seconds left. Sort of pointless at that juncture.
Last night, against the Charlotte Bobcats, the same situation appears to be coming. The game is close, there is under three minutes remaining, and the typical grouping is on the floor. Then, with roughly 2:30 left in the game, Davis fouled out. This would seemingly provide Rivers with the perfect opportunity to put in Jeff Green for his scoring ability. Yet, Nenad Krstic enters the game instead. Green did finally get into the game, with thirty seconds left to go. While not a great time to bring him in, it was a marked improvement over the four second mark from the previous game.
While Krstic is not a bad player, his entering the game at that point, and the continual usage of Davis in these situations, makes the trade that much more curious. The Celtics, as they had been constructed, were the clear cut favorites in the Eastern Conference. They were playing with swagger. They were confident, to the point of being thoroughly bored with the regular season. Yes, there were injury concerns at the center position with Kendrick's knee, Shaq being old, and Jermaine O'Neil being fat and useless, so getting Krstic was not a bad move. The part that makes it look worse was the secondary trade of Luke Harangody and Semih Erden to the Cavaliers for a 2013 second round draft choice. Both of those players, while very raw and not great defensively, provided viable backups at center. Their roster spots were then filled by Carlos Arroyo, a decent point guard, and Troy Murphy, who has done the best impersonation of a corpse this side of Weekend at Bernie's.
So what was the point of acquiring Jeff Green? Is he that far behind in the playbook and knowing the defensive rotations where he is chained to the bench while Glen Davis plays late in games? In the limited time Green has played, he has managed 10.8 points for the Celtics in roughly 20 minutes per game, so he hasn't been terrible. Is Doc Rivers just playing around, knowing that the regular season just doesn't matter in the NBA, especially for his team?
Jeff Green is a much better option on the court than Glen Davis is when the Celtics are down by a basket in a late game situation. Now they just need Doc Rivers to realize that.
Then came the trade of Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Nenad Krstic and Jeff Green. Green was thought to be the centerpiece of this trade, as he is capable of playing small forward and power forward, thus providing a legitimate scorer off the bench that could help to keep Pierce and Garnett fresh for the playoffs. Also, Green's offensive capabilities (he was averaging approximately 15 points per game at the time of the trade), would theoretically provide them with another scorer in games where they were down by two or three points late.
However, this has not proven to be the case. Doc Rivers has continued to use the same rotation as he has in close and late situations as he had previously. Wednesday night, down by three to the Memphis Grizzlies, Glen Davis is on the court while Green is on the bench. To make matters worse, Davis launched a three pointer that, predictably, missed. While Green may not have made that shot, he would have been a better option. Yes, Green did finally get on the floor at the end of that game - albeit with four seconds left. Sort of pointless at that juncture.
Last night, against the Charlotte Bobcats, the same situation appears to be coming. The game is close, there is under three minutes remaining, and the typical grouping is on the floor. Then, with roughly 2:30 left in the game, Davis fouled out. This would seemingly provide Rivers with the perfect opportunity to put in Jeff Green for his scoring ability. Yet, Nenad Krstic enters the game instead. Green did finally get into the game, with thirty seconds left to go. While not a great time to bring him in, it was a marked improvement over the four second mark from the previous game.
While Krstic is not a bad player, his entering the game at that point, and the continual usage of Davis in these situations, makes the trade that much more curious. The Celtics, as they had been constructed, were the clear cut favorites in the Eastern Conference. They were playing with swagger. They were confident, to the point of being thoroughly bored with the regular season. Yes, there were injury concerns at the center position with Kendrick's knee, Shaq being old, and Jermaine O'Neil being fat and useless, so getting Krstic was not a bad move. The part that makes it look worse was the secondary trade of Luke Harangody and Semih Erden to the Cavaliers for a 2013 second round draft choice. Both of those players, while very raw and not great defensively, provided viable backups at center. Their roster spots were then filled by Carlos Arroyo, a decent point guard, and Troy Murphy, who has done the best impersonation of a corpse this side of Weekend at Bernie's.
So what was the point of acquiring Jeff Green? Is he that far behind in the playbook and knowing the defensive rotations where he is chained to the bench while Glen Davis plays late in games? In the limited time Green has played, he has managed 10.8 points for the Celtics in roughly 20 minutes per game, so he hasn't been terrible. Is Doc Rivers just playing around, knowing that the regular season just doesn't matter in the NBA, especially for his team?
Jeff Green is a much better option on the court than Glen Davis is when the Celtics are down by a basket in a late game situation. Now they just need Doc Rivers to realize that.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Ray Allen's Fraudulent Record
Last night, Ray Allen passed Reggie Miller's mark for most three point shots hit in a career, with 2561. Over his illustrious career, Allen has been a remarkable shooter. From pure aesthetics and touch, there have been few equals. For his fifteen year career, he has hit on roughly 40% of his three point attempts, 89% of his free throws, and 45% of his shots in general.
Of the shots taken by Allen over his career thus far, roughly 38% of them have come from beyond the three point arc. This is a player who, despite his obvious skills shooting the ball, has made his livelihood from over twenty feet from the rim. Breaking down his three point attempts per game, Allen averages just a shade under six (5.98) three point attempts per.
Now, he obviously has done his part to reach this record, by not only attempting the second most three point shots in NBA history, but also by hitting at a prodigious rate. His 39.8% success rate ranks 38th all time amongst those with a minimum of 250 three pointers attempted. However, there is a major flaw with this 'record' - namely that the three point shot didn't even exist in the NBA until the 1979-80 season.
For the first few years, the three point shot was not a major staple of a team's offense. From 1979-80 until 1986-87, the most three pointers attempted in a season was 257 by Darrell Griffith in 1984-85. In fact, he also had the second most attempts during that era as well, with 252 the previous season. However, in the late 1980's and the early part of the 1990's, teams began to use the shot with more frequency, leading to a time now where players are routinely taking 500 or more three pointers over a season. In fact, Allen had taken 653 three pointers during the 2005-06 season alone.
Also, the distance of the three point line has been subject to change. From 1994 until 1997, the line was set to be 22' feet from the basket at every point, as opposed to the 22' feet from the corners and 23'9" that it had been previously at the top of the key. The original dimensions were restored during the 1997-98 season, but several 'records' for three point shots had been established by the line change: George McCloud attempted 678 threes during the 1995-96 season, and Dennis Scott hit 267 threes that year as well. Allen broke Scott's record during his 2005-06 year.
When thinking back on some of the players who were in the NBA prior to the three point shot, it's interesting to think what they would have done had it existed. For example, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Elvin Hayes, and Pete Maravich didn't get to play their entire careers with this shot, and all were excellent shooters. Would the record be the same if they had the three point line back then?
Yes, this is a great feat that Ray Allen has accomplished. But it cannot truly be considered a record without having everyone on the same playing field.
Of the shots taken by Allen over his career thus far, roughly 38% of them have come from beyond the three point arc. This is a player who, despite his obvious skills shooting the ball, has made his livelihood from over twenty feet from the rim. Breaking down his three point attempts per game, Allen averages just a shade under six (5.98) three point attempts per.
Now, he obviously has done his part to reach this record, by not only attempting the second most three point shots in NBA history, but also by hitting at a prodigious rate. His 39.8% success rate ranks 38th all time amongst those with a minimum of 250 three pointers attempted. However, there is a major flaw with this 'record' - namely that the three point shot didn't even exist in the NBA until the 1979-80 season.
For the first few years, the three point shot was not a major staple of a team's offense. From 1979-80 until 1986-87, the most three pointers attempted in a season was 257 by Darrell Griffith in 1984-85. In fact, he also had the second most attempts during that era as well, with 252 the previous season. However, in the late 1980's and the early part of the 1990's, teams began to use the shot with more frequency, leading to a time now where players are routinely taking 500 or more three pointers over a season. In fact, Allen had taken 653 three pointers during the 2005-06 season alone.
Also, the distance of the three point line has been subject to change. From 1994 until 1997, the line was set to be 22' feet from the basket at every point, as opposed to the 22' feet from the corners and 23'9" that it had been previously at the top of the key. The original dimensions were restored during the 1997-98 season, but several 'records' for three point shots had been established by the line change: George McCloud attempted 678 threes during the 1995-96 season, and Dennis Scott hit 267 threes that year as well. Allen broke Scott's record during his 2005-06 year.
When thinking back on some of the players who were in the NBA prior to the three point shot, it's interesting to think what they would have done had it existed. For example, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Elvin Hayes, and Pete Maravich didn't get to play their entire careers with this shot, and all were excellent shooters. Would the record be the same if they had the three point line back then?
Yes, this is a great feat that Ray Allen has accomplished. But it cannot truly be considered a record without having everyone on the same playing field.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)