Official Celtics Thread

[YanksHater213]

So they drafted...

 

SG/SF Gerald Green (HS)- Hes a great player. Compared to T-Mac. Cant wait to see where he fits in

SF/PF Ryan Gomes (Providence)- Hes a good player, honorable mention all american last year, and first team all american the year before I believe. But like Warrick hes pretty much stuck in the middle of 2 positions. I think he can be a decent guy off the bench at best.

PG Orien Greene (Lousiana-Lafayette)- Yeah, he wont do much, likely sit on the IR all year (see: Justin Reed).

 

But I'm excited about this upcoming season. We have got a pretty solid team, nothing that will win championships though. If we could resign Walker, that would be great, because it would keep Pierce happy, and keep the veteran leader here. He loves Boston, and we love him here, so it would be a great fit. The only downfall of that move would be that Big Al would see less playing time, and I think he's ready to start.

 

But if Raef can stay healthy again, he will have another good year. Banks and West both with more expericence under their belts, I think will be able to step it up and share time at the point this year. I expect to see Ricky coming off the bench again with Allen starting, with Ricky getting the majority of the minutes. The only real mystery I see is at PF. We could get Toine back and have him play with Jefferson, we could deal Blount, let Jefferson play PF and sign a center (Dalembert, Chandler), and have Raef play both PF and C while theyre sitting. But thats the position where they have a lot of options, the 4 and the 5. At small forward is where I expect Pierce to come in with Green backing him up, I also expect to see Green get some time at the 2 too.

 

But pretty much whatever they do, they will be in a good position. They have a very young and athletic team, and I give SO much credit to Ainge for the drafting job that hes done the last few years, being able to pick up Perkins and Banks in 2003, Allen, Jefferson and West in 2004, and Green and Gomes this year. He has done a pretty amazing job scouting this talent, and he deserves all the credit. All he needs to do is bring in maybe 1-2 veteran guys to provide some leadership for the young kids, if they can do that, this team could be special in 2-3 years.

[DOrtiz4prez]

I live pretty much right between BC and PC so I switched time between watching those 2 teams. Ryan Gomes was a great player. He had his off nights though. He's either hot or cold.

[Sizzlin22]

Gomes was great in college, I jsut don't thinmk he and his game translate well into the pros.

[YanksHater213]

Yeah, Gomes is definitely going to make the team. Hes probably one of the more inconsistent players I've seen, and he doesnt really have a defined position. Those are the only two things that scare me. Other than that he is a very good player when he is on.

[DOrtiz4prez]

Where's Green supposed to play for us?

 

We have so many good players that we're trying to build up it's going to be hard to get everyone a reasonable amount of minutes to develop them. I think I'd prefer letting loose Antoine or Pierce to get more time for rebuilding. I'd prefer Toiney so then we could have Jefferson start most of the games. I'm most interested in him.

[YanksHater213]

I think the overwhelming majority of Green's minutes will come as a backup to Pierce.

[stocker323]

I think the overwhelming majority of Green's minutes will come as a backup to Pierce.

Well I don't see Pierce lasting in Boston for the season, if he's not traded this offseason.

[YanksHater213]

I realize that, but seeing as how Pierce is on the roster as of this second, thats where his minutes will come. It is obviously subject to change though.

[DOrtiz4prez]

At the draft, it said Gerald Green, F.

 

Forward?

[See Red]

Well, he is 6'8".

 

I can't believe he fell to 18. I'm still in absolute shock over that. There's going to be a lot of teams that regret passing him up. In my opinion, the Celtics had the best draft (and have certainly done the best over the past 2 years), but it's tough to not have the best draft when T-Mac version 2 falls onto your lap. Man, the Celtics are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future if they handle these kids properly.

[Sox fan in Tex]

I'm still learning more and more about the Celtics, so the main reason the C's would pass on Pierce for this coming season would be because of money, correct? I mean, the guy averaged 22 PPG in '04-'05.

[YanksHater213]

Definitely the money is part of it. But also he has made it known that he doesnt want to be here if we dont have a good team. He also is a bit of a party animal, and isnt a great example for the younger kids. We are paying him a lot of money, along with Raef getting 10 mil, Blount makes a lot too, and we are also STILL paying 5 million this season to Vin Baker. If we could get rid of 1-2 of those contracts it would bring us under the cap with room to sign solid veteran leadership. I really like Ray Allen, but I dont think we can get him. He is probably one of the top 10 jumpshooters of all time and would be a great leader if we could get him. To solve the veteran leader problem shouldnt be hard, because Antoine was an amazing leader, and he could still come back, though that would cut into Big Al's playing time.

 

I still have no idea what Ainge is going to do, but whatever he does, it will be one of many options. He could still deal Pierce and Blount and cut cap. If they did that, I would be pretty happy, because it would mean that Perkins would get more playing time, and I'm pretty high on him. He is the best rebounder the Celts have, if he could only play within himself and not foul as much, and develop a little more of a presence on the blocks he could be a fine player along side Big Al Jefferson for years to come.

 

I dont really care what we do with Pierce, and I dont even care if the Celtics suck this year. They have the youngest team, and each and every one of the young ones has shown some promise (well, maybe not Justin Reed). But Tony Allen was solid last year, played very good defense starting at the 2. The PG tandem of Banks and West is another amazing defensive one. While Banks is better on defense, and West has a better jumper, theyre both going to be good a year or two down the road. Then you have Perkins, who showed a few flashes of brilliance with some great rebounding and outlet passes leading to fast breaks. The there is Al Jefferson. We are so lucky that he dropped to us at 15 last year, he is just so good.

 

The one thing they must get is veteran leadership to guide these young kids, and teach them how to deal with the NBA life and game. If Ainge can pull that off, we can be one of the best teams in the NBA a few years down the road because of the amazing job the Danny Ainge and company has done. He needs to not forget the brilliance that Ricky Davis showed last year. Im sure that if Pierce is dealt, and we cant get Allen or Redd, which we probably wont, that we still have Davis, who is capable of coming in and not only providing energy, points, but uptempo defense as well, and I think Ainge needs to look at that and analyze whether he thinks Davis can step in and start at the 2 or 3 full time.

[YanksHater213]

We are reportedly going to sign PF Brian Scalabrine. 5 years, 15 mil. I think its a little much to pay for a backup, but he is a pretty solid back up. Still, I dont expect much production, or for him to see much playing time anyways, so I believe that 3 mil a year is a bit much. The only way I could see him getting significantly more playing time is if we deal away Blount. He was very solid down the stretch for the Nets and I hope we can see play like that here.

 

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2005/07/07/report_celtics_have_deal_with_scalabrine/

[Manny Goes Boom]

Gerald Green will play the three position (athletic, 6'8") and Pierce will play the two, not anyone else

[YanksHater213]

Yep. This signing of Scalabrine pretty much ensures that Antoine Walker is gone. Ainge is more than likely going to try to push Jefferson with Scalabrine coming off the bench. With Scalabrine, it makes the free agent picture for the Celts a lot clearer. They used $3 million of their mid-level exception, leaving about $2 million left. They also offered a contract to PG Sarunas Jasikevicius. If he accepts that he will make about $1.6 million next year, and the contract could be for three years. We are probably going to sign and trade Walker. I have no idea to who, but since we are close to the cap, and almost have a full roster, I am thinking it might be for maybe 1 player - a veteran leader, and draft picks. Since Ainge has done a good job drafting the last three years, picking up 6 quality players between these three drafts, he has got an amazing future ahead of him, especially if Perkins and Jefferson develop soon.

[YanksHater213]

Well, he is 6'8".

 

I can't believe he fell to 18. I'm still in absolute shock over that. There's going to be a lot of teams that regret passing him up. In my opinion, the Celtics had the best draft (and have certainly done the best over the past 2 years), but it's tough to not have the best draft when T-Mac version 2 falls onto your lap. Man, the Celtics are going to be a force to be reckoned with in the future if they handle these kids properly.

Yeah, the Celtics are probably the most lucky team though. They didnt think Jefferson was going to fall to them last year. Tony Allen was similar coming out of OSU last year as his former teammate at OSU, Joey Graham was this year. You know they would both be solid and be able to contribute. West was one guy he took a chance on and cashed in. None of this I consider to be amazing by any stretch, just either good scouting and/or dumbluck. But the one amazing move that Ainge made that really made this team was dealing Dahanty Jones and Troy Bell, who have done relatively little so far in the NBA, for Kendrick Perkins and Marcus Banks, who have both shown flashes of brilliance. If Perkins can get his low post game better, and stay out of foul trouble, he could be amazing, because he probably our best rebounder. Banks, if he can get consistency on his jumper will be great because if his speed and defensive abilities. And, s***, if Gerald Green turns into what he is projected to be, 1 to 2 years down the road, the rest of the NBA will be screwed.

[YanksHater213]

Las Vegas Summer League - July 7

 

Celtics 76

Clippers 59

 

NO NAME MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS 
CELTICS .TEAM, N/A 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 1 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 
00 Will McDonald, C 15 3-5 0-0 2-3 3 2 5 0 0 0 1 3 8 
04 Ryan Gomes, F 13 1-5 0-0 2-2 1 5 6 0 0 0 0 2 4 
05 Gerald Green, F 19 5-9 0-0 4-4 0 1 1 0 0 0 5 6 14 
07 Al Jefferson, F 22 4-9 0-0 1-7 2 6 8 0 0 0 2 5 9 
09 Justin Reed, F 24 4-9 0-0 4-5 3 4 7 1 0 0 1 4 12 
13 Delonte West, G 20 4-7 0-1 1-1 2 4 6 0 1 0 1 4 9 
38 Will Bynum, G 20 0-3 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 1 0 0 0 3 0 
42 Tony Allen, G 27 5-11 0-0 3-4 2 7 9 0 0 1 2 2 13 
43 Kendrick Perkins, C 16 0-3 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 5 1 
52 Taylor Coppenrath, F 24 2-3 0-0 2-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 6

[YanksHater213]

Las Vegas Summer League - July 8

 

Celtics 77

Mavericks 73

 

NO NAME MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS 
CELTICS .TEAM, N/A 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 2 1 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 
00 Will McDonald, C 13 1-1 0-0 1-2 3 1 4 0 0 0 2 4 3 
04 Ryan Gomes, F 21 4-6 0-1 2-2 2 6 8 1 0 0 4 1 10 
05 Gerald Green, F 21 3-10 1-2 1-2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 4 8 
07 Al Jefferson, F 26 5-9 0-0 1-1 4 5 9 1 0 0 0 3 11 
09 Justin Reed, F 26 3-5 1-1 6-7 1 3 4 4 0 1 2 6 13 
13 Delonte West, G 27 3-8 0-1 6-7 0 2 2 1 2 0 4 5 12 
38 Will Bynum, G 15 0-4 0-0 1-1 0 2 2 4 2 0 3 3 1 
42 Tony Allen, G 20 3-8 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 1 0 6 6 6 
43 Kendrick Perkins, C 21 1-5 0-1 0-0 1 6 7 0 0 1 0 3 2 
52 Taylor Coppenrath, F 10 4-8 0-0 3-3 2 2 4 0 0 0 1 5 11 

[YanksHater213]

Las Vegas Summer League - July 11

 

Celtics 82

Suns 53

 

NO NAME MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS 
CELTICS .TEAM, N/A 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 3 3 6 0 0 0 2 0 0 
04 Ryan Gomes, F 27 6-10 0-0 2-2 4 7 11 1 0 0 2 3 14 
05 Gerald Green, F 19 5-8 2-3 1-5 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 5 13 
07 Al Jefferson, F 25 3-5 0-0 0-0 0 3 3 0 0 1 1 6 6 
09 Justin Reed, F 25 6-10 1-1 4-6 1 3 4 1 1 1 1 5 17 
13 Delonte West, G 21 0-2 0-1 2-2 1 2 3 3 1 0 1 4 2 
38 Will Bynum, G 21 2-7 0-0 0-0 0 2 2 3 1 0 3 4 4 
42 Tony Allen, G 26 5-8 1-2 5-5 0 1 1 1 2 0 4 5 16 
43 Kendrick Perkins, C 15 1-2 0-0 0-2 0 2 2 1 0 0 2 6 2 
51 Jeremiah Massey, F 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 
52 Taylor Coppenrath, F 14 3-5 0-0 2-2 2 1 3 0 0 0 1 5 8 

[YanksHater213]

Las Vegas Summer League - July 12

 

Cleveland 71

Celtics 65

 

NO NAME MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS 
CELTICS .TEAM, N/A 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 4 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 
04 Ryan Gomes, F 25 5-9 0-0 4-5 1 2 3 0 1 0 1 2 14 
05 Gerald Green, F 11 2-5 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 4 
07 Al Jefferson, F 20 3-9 0-1 2-3 1 2 3 1 1 1 1 6 8 
09 Justin Reed, F 34 4-12 1-4 0-0 1 1 2 0 1 1 6 3 9 
13 Delonte West, G 18 1-4 1-1 3-4 1 0 1 2 1 0 2 6 6 
38 Will Bynum, G 20 4-7 0-0 1-3 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 3 9 
42 Tony Allen, G 33 6-13 0-0 2-4 2 2 4 2 4 0 3 2 14 
43 Kendrick Perkins, C 32 0-4 0-0 1-2 2 3 5 0 0 3 3 5 1 
52 Taylor Coppenrath, F 7 0-1 0-0 0-0 2 0 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 

[YanksHater213]

Las Vegas Summer League - July 14

 

Celtics 108

Warriors 89

 

NO NAME MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS 
CELTICS .TEAM, N/A 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4 2 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 
04 Ryan Gomes, F 20 5-7 0-0 5-5 0 2 2 1 0 0 2 1 15 
05 Gerald Green, F 23 3-7 0-0 0-1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 5 6 
07 Al Jefferson, F 23 4-5 0-0 1-3 2 4 6 1 0 2 2 6 9 
09 Justin Reed, F 29 4-12 1-2 8-9 3 1 4 2 0 0 1 3 17 
38 Will Bynum, G 28 4-11 0-0 3-6 0 2 2 4 1 0 3 3 11 
42 Tony Allen, G 27 9-13 0-0 5-7 2 2 4 1 1 1 2 4 23 
43 Kendrick Perkins, C 23 5-10 0-0 3-4 4 5 9 0 0 2 1 4 13 
51 Jeremiah Massey, F 9 1-2 0-1 2-3 0 3 3 0 0 0 3 4 4 
52 Taylor Coppenrath, F 18 3-3 0-0 4-8 4 2 6 1 0 0 0 1 10 

[YanksHater213]

Yeah, so far a lot of these players have been impressive, especially Gomes. I see him, along with Green, Jefferson, Reed, Allen, Perkins, and possibly Bynum as well making this team, meaning that it would probably be the youngest in the NBA. Both Perkins and Jefferson started out really slow and didnt really play up to expectations but they both showed last night what theyre capable of. In the end maybe towards the end of this year/ beginning of next year, that these two guys will be the starting PF and C of this team. But I really like what I am seeing so far from a lot of these guys.

 

But since a lot are playing so well, Ainge has a few decisions to make. Will he deal Pierce? Its obvious that they have a rocky relationship and I doubt it will hold up and I think he will get dealt. But if we deal Pierce, we dont really have a bonafide scorer. Davis I dont think can do it because he is way too inconsistent. He will be 10-10 one night on FGs then 1-10 the next. Which of the two expensive big men will get waived? Raef is obviously a better player than Blount, because Blount just downright sucks, and doesnt deserve the six million hes going to make, but I think Raef will get waived because of the fact that he is making 10 million dollars. Yeah, I have no idea what he is going to do to get this all to work, and to get all these guys on their roster, but whatever it is, I hope he doesnt screw everything up.

[YanksHater213]

Las Vegas Summer League - July 15th

 

Pistons 73

Celtics 69

 

NO NAME MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS 
CELTICS .TEAM, N/A 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 4 4 8 0 0 0 1 0 0 
04 Ryan Gomes, F 29 7-10 0-1 2-2 1 6 7 0 0 0 0 3 16 
05 Gerald Green, F 20 1-8 1-2 0-0 1 2 3 1 1 0 3 3 3 
07 Al Jefferson, F 25 1-8 0-0 0-0 3 4 7 0 0 0 5 7 2 
09 Justin Reed, F 21 0-4 0-0 2-2 1 1 2 0 0 0 3 5 2 
38 Will Bynum, G 34 0-6 0-1 0-0 1 4 5 3 1 0 6 4 0 
42 Tony Allen, G 36 10-15 0-0 9-12 0 4 4 1 3 0 2 4 29 
43 Kendrick Perkins, C 15 3-3 0-0 3-3 1 1 2 1 0 1 2 8 9 
52 Taylor Coppenrath, F 20 1-2 0-0 6-8 0 5 5 0 0 0 0 0 8 

[Sox fan in Tex]

Been watching some of the games this summer... Bynum is a guy that certainly really looks like he could be a pretty good player. If I remember right, he was the kid from Georgia Tech that went undrafted. There is talks of comparing him in a way to Pierce, except unlike Paul Pierce he likes taking more turnaround shots -- Pierce would rather drive or take a jumpshot instead. For not being picked in the draft, he's supposed to be a great addition.

 

Ryan Gomes (the guy taken 50th in the second round for the C's) looks like a pretty big guy, I think he was listed at 6'7, 250 lbs. but there's no way right now he looks 250. He's lost some weight over the summer, but still is a fairly big guy. He's a local kid who went to HS in Waterbury (Conn.) and just tore it up when he went to Providence. I expect big things out of him -- remember, unlike a lot of professional players these days, Gomes went to college all four years.

 

Some other little notes:

 

- I remember watching Allen at Oklahoma State in 2004... he's a very aggresive and quick guy, that is going to come up with some steals and nice defensive plays to go along with the good amount of points he puts up. Expect him to get more playing time this year and take advantage of that time he gets.

 

-Gerald Green didn't play great, but you have to remember he's a guy right out of HS (and he didn't play his freshman and sophmore) and it's going to take a little time more him to develop. Like YanksHater213 said, if he lives up to the hype, the NBA is going to be in trouble. I also really believe Perkins and Jefferson who both came straight from high school will help Green with the adjustment. If any of you remember, the Globe had an article about the three in yesterday's paper.

 

All in all, I'm going to state the obvious: the Celtics have a lot of young talent. Over these next few years it's going to be really interesting what this group of young players can accomplish. I still don't know how we picked up Green, but the biggest problem the Celtics have is we don't have a real veteran core leadership.

 

I know the C's didn't need or want a HS player, so it'll be interesting to see if he can live up to all of this. Hopefully this isn't like Acie Earl when he fell down in the draft and the Celtics were so excited to get him, and you could say things didn't turn out well. I still think it'll be three or four years before Green makes a significant impact, but who knows.

 

A final thought: With the pickups of Green, Jefferson, and Perkins, the C's now have nine players twenty-three or younger on their team -- a little scary if you ask me.

[YanksHater213]

Yeah, the youth is scaring me. That was the only reason why I wanted Antoine back, just for his leadership. But it was obvious that he wasnt going to accept a lesser role, so I think it was the right move for him to go. Pierce is really going to have to step up though, and now we will really get to see if he is one of the true superstars of this league.

[Sox fan in Tex]

YanksHater213, I'm sure you know more about the Celtics more than I do... how much of a chance do you think Peirce has of coming back? I thought Peirce's contract was supposed to be discussed this weekend, but apparently it wasn't.

[YanksHater213]

To be honest, I have no idea what the hell is going on with Pierce. Right now, Pierce is the best they have, and at 13 million dollars, its better than some other contracts on the team (i.e. Raef LeFrentz - 10 million, Mark Blount - 6 million). I think those two should be opitions first to get done, but whatever Ainge has gotta do, hes gotta do.

[Missin_Cabrera]

To be honest, I have no idea what the hell is going on with Pierce. Right now, Pierce is the best they have, and at 13 million dollars, its better than some other contracts on the team (i.e. Raef LeFrentz - 10 million, Mark Blount - 6 million). I think those two should be opitions first to get done, but whatever Ainge has gotta do, hes gotta do.

 

 

you relize that pierce isnt going anywhere rite??? the draft is over with...and the trading is still going...but they were only going to trade him or let him go so they could have the first round pick...hes staying in boston and if they were to get rid of him there team would b horrible...

[Sox fan in Tex]

...hes staying in boston and if they were to get rid of him there team would b horrible...

 

Depends who they would have ended up getting for him. Pierce needs to stay for obvious experience reasons, but I'm really looking forward to what the Celtics are going to look like 5 years down the road.

[26 to 6]

Depends who they would have ended up getting for him. Pierce needs to stay for obvious experience reasons, but I'm really looking forward to what the Celtics are going to look like 5 years down the road.

As i Knicks fan i must say that last year i was paying more attention to the Celtics than the Knicks, the Walker trade was magnificant, especially since they got GP right back. Definately an exciting team next year and should look good for years to come.

 

But i still gotta go with my Knicks...who yes, i am man enough to admit, absolutely suck.