MVN - Most Valuable Network

Still Miles to Go

Phew!  Darius Miles can sure stir up a lot of controversy.  Hopefully you read the good, the bad and the ugly of Mr. Miles here at Celtics17. Not surprisingly, he’s a guy that seems to seems to foster a love-hate relationship with the fans of any team he’s been with. Miles has been a tease for each team, a showman due to his hops, a perennial fanstasy hoops break-out candidate as a 5-cat wonder. He’s got all that potential, but still a kid at 24 - now he’s fast forwarded to the ripe old age of 26 during his recuperation.  So what’s it going to be Darius?

I didn’t get into the statistics supporting Miles potential contribution in the previous article, but thanks to an assist by TrueHoop, we see that Dave Berri at Wages of Wins took the liberty of doing so in The Miles File. His Wages of Win approach beats down Darius Miles quite a bit as not being a producer. Good enough. But as was discussed earlier, Miles is merely a role player that somehow got expectations heaped upon him with Cleveland and then Portland.

After looking like a break-out player coming off the bench with the Clippers his first two seasons, this is what Cleveland and Portland did with Miles on board for wins:

CLE 2002-03 17-65 (pre-James)
CLE 2003-04 14-27 with Miles, 21-20 without Miles
POR 2003-04 17-23 before Miles, 24-18 with Miles
POR 2004-05 27-55
POR 2005-06 21-61


From a “Wins Produced” perspective, Berri states that Miles’ Wins Produced per 48 Minutes declined from the promise he showed in Los Angeles. Part of that was being on lousy teams in CLE and POR, part of it was due to the injury, but as Berri points out - Miles shifted his focus to scoring while on CLE and POR, and that appeared to detract from what he did best.  Berri writes:

In his first two seasons Miles was above average in terms of shooting efficiency, rebounds, and blocked shots. As his career progressed, though, Mile increasingly focused on scoring. Relative to his first two seasons, the Miles in Cleveland and Portland took more shots and generally scored more points. This increased focus on scoring, though, came at a cost. His shooting efficiency, rebounds, and blocked shots generally declined while his turnovers generally increased. In essence, it looks like Miles - after his life as a Clipper - began to respond to the incentive all NBA players face. Players are primarily paid to score. Unfortunately for the team’s employing Miles, his attention to scoring led to less production elsewhere, and ultimately, far fewer wins.

What Berri fails to mention is that Miles, if healthy, can get back to doing what he does best - what he did in his Clipper days, and that is bring energy off the bench and not worry about having to carry an offensive load like he was expected to do in Cleveland and Portland. If he’s James Posey’s replacement, certainly they will be relying on him for his defense and rebounding.  Given Miles shortcomings as a pure shooter, the clutch shooting off the bench still falls squarely on Eddie House, along with whoever steps up between Brian Scalabrine, Leon Powe and Glen “Big Baby” Davis.

On the importance of the Wins Produced statistics, it is no coincidence that the losing records that Minnesota, Seattle and Boston had in 2006-07 with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, respectively, was accompanied by a precipitous drop in Wins Scored for each player had year (see www.basketball-reference.com).  While Wins Scored is different than Wins Produced - you get the point.  The stats for good players on bad teams can suffer.   Garnett, Allen and Pierce were all on lottery teams 2006-07, and due to the over poort team play, each of these “big three” only appeared slightly above-average players from a Wins Scored perspective. 

So you can see that Wins Scored/Produced is not going to tell the whole story when it comes to Darius Miles.  What you can’t take away from Miles is his ability to do so many things (except shoot long-range jumpers) well.  That is special and puts him in unique company similar to others long, 5-category guys (rebs, steals, blocks, assists, points) like Andrei Kirilenko, Shawn Marion, Lamar Odom, Boris Diaw, Gerald Wallace and even Miles’ idol, Kevin Garnett.  That is only if the stars are aligned correctly, and Miles approaches the game the right way.  Keep your fingers crossed on that one Celtics fans.

Breaking Down Darius Miles

Darius Miles joining the Boston Celtics has been covered in The Globe, The Herald, Celticsblog.com and Connpost.com.  As I don’t want to miss the party on the Miles signing, here is a more detailed analysis from both the Trail Blazers’ and the Celtics’ perspective.

The Life and Times of Darius Miles

THE MOSTLY GOOD

He’s 6 ft 9 in , 235 lb and plays small forward, some power forward, and has played the guard positions as well (sound like Posey?).

He was selected 3rd in the 2000 NBA Draft by the LA Clippers, the highest high school kid ever selected in the NBA draft up to that point (Note: born Oct. 9, 1981, he would have graduated a 4-year college in 2004).

Made the 2001 NBA All-Rookie First Team and the 2002 All-Sophomore Team.

As a Clipper reserve his first two years, he averaged 10 points, 6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks while playing 27 minutes per game - he only missed one game during that time

Miles and Quentin Richardson gained notoriety for tapping their fists against their foreheads after making a big play or shot (they claimed no special significance for the controversial gesture).

He was traded to the Cavaliers after his 2nd season, as th Clippers recieved point guard Andre Miller in return (others involved in trade as filler). A typical Clipper fan reaction after the trade: “What the f—? This guy is gunna be Kevin Garnett in 3 years. He’s the most exciting player they have. Everyone is buying his jersey. And they f—ing trade him. Dam Clippers…..”.

Miles averaged 9 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assist per game while he was with the Cavs for 1.5 seasons. In a strong start to the 2003-04 season, he had 26 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks starting as the team’s point guard in a win over the Wizards on November 8, 2003. However, Miles was soon coming off the bench due to his uneven play.

He was traded in the middle of the 2003-04 season to Portland for Jeff McInnis and change. A typical Cavs fan reaction: “Darius Miles is [close] to falling out of the league, which is shocking considering his talent. I used to watch him a lot when he was a Clipper, and he would occasionally show Kobe-like brilliance. He’s gotten worse every year, and I don’t know why. What coach might be able to take him to the next level? Hubie Brown? Doc Rivers (assuming he gets a job quickly)?”

2003-04 Blazer highlights: With the Trail Blazers, Miles immediately became one of the foci of the Trail Blazers offense and increased his scoring average from 9 to 12.6 points per game along with 4.6 rebounds. He was the back-to-back king. Over a weekend in March 2004, Miles put up 19 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists followed by 24 points and 13 rebounds, securing a starting spot over Sharif Abdur-Rahim. And then in back-to-back games later that month, he had 31 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals followed by 18 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals.

In August 2004, as a result of being a favorite with the Portland FO and fans, Miles signed a whopping $48 million contract for 6 years with the Trail Blazers. Miles said: “It’s more than I thought I would get”.

2004-05 season highlights. Miles first full season with the Blazers was a bit up and down.  He played behind Abdur-Rahim despite having signed the big contract, and was not happy about it. However, he started for a period of three weeks in December and put up these averages for 9 consecutive games: 17 points on 50 percent field goal shooting, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.9 blocks. WOW! He finished the season by scoring a career-high 47 points on April 19, 2005, which tied him for the eighth-highest single-game output in franchise history.

2005-06 season highlights: In the first 15 games, prior to being sidelined with the fateful right knee injury, Miles averaged 18.2 points, 5.6 rebound, 2,6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game. He then missed several months and did not regain his form upon his return. He appeared in his last game for the Trail Blazers on April 15, 2006.

Due to the damage to his right knee, he had microfracture surgery in November 2006. He missed all of the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons. Portland waived Miles on April 14, 2008 due to the “career-ending” injury, almost 2 years after he played his last game.

THE BAD

A free throw shooter he is not - with a career 58% shooting percentage from the charity stripe, i.e., we will not likely see Miles on the floor during clutch situations.

Miles was 4-for-52 from three-point land prior to the 2003-04 season with the Cavs. Coach Silas wanted Miles to take more shots from long distance beginning the 2004-05 season, saying “He just has to concentrate [on making 3-pointers] and when he’s concentrating, he’s one of the best. Getting him to concentrate all the time is going to be one of my goals.” Miles has shot a putrid 17 for 73 (23 percent) for 3s in the NBA since Silas’ request.

Darius Miles was fined for missing practice on January 19, 2004. He was traded to Portland a day later.

Although without a rap sheet, Miles somehow was thrown into the Jailblazer image forged by Damon Stoudamire (marijuana incidents), Zach Randolph’s (dogfighting, drugs, alleged rape), Qyntel Woods (dogfighting), Ruben Patterson (assault, felony, rape of babysitter), and Rasheed Wallace (marijuana).

In March 2004, along with Quyntel Woods, Miles was involved in a brawl outside a Portland strip club. No penalties were levied.

After signing his generous contract in August 2004, Miles voiced displeasure by his inability to unseat Abdur-Rahim at the starting 3-spot beginning the 2004-05 season. Rahim was being showcased with the playing time as a starter, with Portland seeking to trade him, but Miles was not too patient with the situation.  Rahim never ended up being moved. The “Kobe-Killer” Ruben Patterson was also vying for minutes behind Miles on the depth chart.

On January 28, 2005, Miles was suspended by the Blazers for two games for arguing with coach Maurice Cheeks during a film session.

In a February 26, 2005 game, Miles had five turnovers in 21 minutes, including three in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, leading coach Maurice Cheeks to bench him. Post-game, Miles said, ”I look at it as a job; it ain’t fun no more. It’s work.”

Maurice was fired on March 1st after the Trail Blazers had lost 7 of 9 games. He was in the final year of a 4-year, $12 million contract. The previous season, Portland missed the playoffs for the first time in 22 years (not blaming Cheeks, just the facts).

Miles begins playing for new coach McMillan, and sustains the fateful right knee injury on December 2, 2005. After arthroscopic surgery, he returns for a game on February 13, 2006, and is slow to regain his old form.

On April 9, 2006, Miles badly tweaked his surgically repaired right knee and hobbled off the court in the fourth quarter, unable to put pressure on his right leg.

Miles did not appear to have any major altercations with new coach Nate McMillan during the 2005-06 season. But at the conclusion of the season, Miles revealed that he asked for a trade during his very first meeting with new coach Nate McMillan during the preseason. In April 2006 at the conclusion of the season where the Blazers went a league-worst 21-61, Miles said “Get me out of here. That’s all I can say. Get me out of here. I want to leave. I really don’t want to be here. It’s just crazy.”

During the April 20, 2006 interview, Miles was also asked about smelling of alcohol at practice and being dropped off at an Indy hotel at 3 a.m. with five teammates several hours before the Blazers were blown out by the Pacers on December 2nd. “Yeah, you probably smelled liquor on me [from the night before]. But it’s not like I’m at practice drunk. I’m totally focused.”

An immense amount of trade talk revolved around Miles in the summer of 2006. However, Miles reports to training camp, but it becomes apparent that his knee did not heal properly from the surgery in December 2005. He has the microfracture knee surgery on November 14, 2006, and does not play another game for Portland.

This summer, Miles fails a drug test and is suspended 10-games. It was later found that the drug was of the weight-loss variety.  According to Oregonlive.com, Miles must have failed three prior drug tests in order to incur this penalty. Not much is known about these other drug test situations for Miles, which must have been triggered by one of the four random tests per year that the NBA players are required to take.  The next failed drug test will cost Miles a 15-game suspension.

The Trail Blazers Perspective

The Trail Blazers feelings about Darius Miles making a comeback is not ambiguous. In essence, you can hear the Blazers saying how stupid the Celtics are for signing Darius Miles since he’s been a certified head case not only with Portland, but also with the Cavaliers.  And gosh darnit, he was determined to have a career-ending injury. 

There are serious cap ramifications for the Trail Blazers if Miles successfully returns to the NBA, so that you have to consider that there may be ulterior motives in play. Portland’s golden parachute looks like this:

[Miles being waived April 14, 2008] positions the Blazers to become one of the major players in the 2010 free agent market. Now that Miles’ $9 million salary for the next two seasons is off the books, the Blazers will have between $25 million and $33 million to lure free agents in 2010, placing them among teams with the most cap flexibility that summer.

As such Blazer fans were furious when Miles worked out with the Celtics in early July:

Will we have to wait all summer to find out if someone’s going to take a risk? Seems to me that he would be a last resort type of player. One that a team would look at after striking out in FA. I don’t think the defending champs will be left out in the cold during FA. This worries me.

and on the day of his signing, a post entitled Dang it, Darius had this:

[The] Celtics are my new enemy. How long will he last there before he’s cut, or do you think that he’ll actually contribute? There goes our big cap space. Can’t believe this. [link to RealGM article] Words, words, words, words, words, words, dang it, shoot, darn it to heck! words that I can say on a family site. Fiddle sticks. How could you do this to your old state Ainge?

The “Miles and the Cap” post in the Blazer’s Edge stated:

How often does a guy come back from medical retirement at all, let alone in a semi-scandalous way? Some moves are unprecedented because nobody’s been enough of a visionary genius to see the possibilities before. Other times things just…don’t…work that way. This doesn’t seem like a visionary genius moment [for anyone that would sign Miles]. Could this middle-ground scenario happen? Anything could, I suppose. But I wouldn’t lose any sleep over it. It would take a special brand of putz–a special cadre of putzes really, when you count owners, coaches, and staff–to make a move with this combination of ineffectiveness and publicity. I doubt you’ll see people lining up to take the shot.

Ha! Looks like Ainge and the Celtics walked right into a putzy mess. Why risk jeopardizing an ideal locker room climate with the engimatic Miles?  Fortunately, Ainge has already laid down the law for Miles, and it is conditional that he will make the team at all, as implied by the non-guaranteed contract. Ainge told the Globe:

“He’s coming to training camp and he’s going to try to prove that he can make the team. . . . He has come in for a couple of workouts. He’ll try to make the team somehow.”

Some Blazer fans hypothesize that Ainge has it out for the Blazers because he’s been screwed by making trades with them, and LOY’s Place also hinted that Ainge may have some spite toward Portland since his playing days.  The Blazers did make the Celtics look incompetent when they got future ROY Brandon Roy with the Celtics lottery pick, as well as Raef LaFrentz’s albatross contract, while all the Celtics obtained was the disappointing Sebastain Telfair.  But the C’s also obtained the cornerstone in the future deal for Kevin Garnett - Theo Ratliff’s expiring contract.

But seriously, would Danny Ainge convince Wyc Grousbeck and the other owners to waste the veteran’s minimum salary of $1 million just to stick it to the Blazers? I don’t think so. This Darius situation is genuine on the Celtics part. Like the Patrick O’Bryant signing, it is another low risk-high reward move engineered by Ainge.

Celtics: Eight Miles High

. . . and when you touch down, you’ll find that it’s stranger than known” - The Byrds

Assuming Darius Miles makes the team, the Celtics are looking at a guy that can fill up the stat sheet in a hurry. He could be that scoring spark the team needs off the bench, something they really didn’t even have in James Posey.  With this length and athleticism, Darius Miles also looks to be built for playing defense. 

The possibilities are endless with a healthy and disciplined Miles. Ainge told the Globe, “He’s healthy and has a great attitude. He’s ready to resurrect his career.”

Miles has never been a leader, and the Jailblazers team was in a state of anarchy despite Cheeks and McMillan’s best efforts. It seems much better now for Portland, with the young Brandon Roy taking the reigns in only his second year, similar to what LeBron James did in Cleveland.

Perhaps Miles was a coach’s nightmare - but I’ve seen much worse . . . such that the bad behavoir he had can easily be reigned in by a strong team concept that the Celtics have.

You have to feel for Darius Miles, if in fact he is risking the long-term health of his knees by playing ball again. The Portland Tribune stated that the severity of the injury and the subsequent microfracture surgery was not trivial. Blazer GM Kevin Pritchard went so far as to say that two doctors told the GM that Miles knee condition was the worst they have ever seen.

I’m feeling what TrueHoop stated about Miles opportunity with the Celtics:

. . . Miles has been working hard. Sometimes adversity can bring out the best in people, and it would be a happy NBA story if this proves to be one such case.

There is a win-win scenario here for both Miles and the Celtics. For Miles, maybe he does want to grow up, as well as win. Perhaps knowing his limitations, Miles has come to realize that he wants to follow the greatness of these current Celtic veterans, and be lead to the watering hole of a champion experience.

I believe there is hope . . . take a look at this 2006 video where Miles got cornered by a giddy 17-year old geek fan in a mall, and tell me he didn’t handle it cordially, like he does have a heart and a brain along with that talent.

Note: Credit to rotoworld.com for some player highlights provided above

Filling Six Spots: All Done, None to Go

Danny Ainge must be back from vacation.  Today, your Boston Celtics signed the much maligned Darius Miles to a non-guaranteed free agent contract AND their 2nd round pick Billy Walker to fill out the last two spots on the Celtics 15-man roster. Unless they put out some promising fodder for the Celtics squad of 15 to spar against, we are looking at the Celtics 2008-09 roster right now with the following depth chart:

PG: Rajon Rondo | Eddie House | Gabe Pruitt
SG: Ray Allen | Tony Allen | J.R. Giddens
SF: Paul Pierce | Darius Miles | Billy Walker
PF: Kevin Garnett | Leon Powe | Brian Scalabrine
C: Kendrick Perkins | Glen Davis | Patrick O'Bryant

Stashed in Europe: Semih Erden (C)
Subtract FAs: JPosey (signed with NO), PJ Brown, SPollard and SCassell (all to retire)
Add: Patrick O'Bryant and Darius Miles (FAs), J.R. Giddens and Billy Walker (rookie contracts)

These signings apparently close the door on Sam Cassell’s return as a player. Also, it is understood that PJ Brown and Scot Pollard have all but retired (again), and let’s not talk about James Posey’s departure . . . Cassell may work his way back as player-coach, but he’s not going to be an integral part of the Celtics even if he does come back. Thanks for your contributions Sam, PJ, Scot and James!

But hey - it’s time for Celtics fans to wake up from their mid-summer slumber. Training camp is only a few weeks away, and I already got my tickets for the first preseason game at the UMass Mullins Center for October 8th where they face the new and improved Philadelphia 76ers.

We’ve got us a mighty Celtics team that is restocked with the resigning of Eddie House and Tony Allen, the signing of FAs, Patrick O’Bryant and Darius Miles, and the signing of rookies J.R. Giddens and now Billy Walker.

A Unique Mix of Youth and Veterans

The C’s now have 5 guys who are age 22 or under (Walker, O’Bryant, Rondo, Pruitt, Davis), and that doesn’t include Kendrick Perkins, J.R. Giddens and Leon Powe who are 23, 23 and 24 years old respectively. That’s a total of 8 guys who are age 24 and under to start the season on the defending championship team, who of course are lead by the veterans Pierce, Allen and Garnett.  For the record, Tony Allen and Darius Miles are only 26 and neither have reached their ceiling (see more on Miles below).

In comparison, the supposed dynasty-in-the-making LA Lakers only have 6 guys of age 24 and under, and the Spurs only have 4 who are age 24 or under - and they all happen to be rookies.  So it is interesting indeed that the Celtics can keep adding quality youth, most of who are discounted due to some injury or other issues, but that still have a tremendous amount of upside.  Danny Ainge, you’ve done it again.

Darius Miles Signs as a FA

The Darius Miles signing is headline news indeed.  The guy was left for dead, as he was actually documented as having a career-ending surgery by the Portland Trail Blazers last season.  This status was approved by the NBA which resulted in the Blazers getting salary cap relief for Miles’ remaining $18M due over the next two years.  This all goes away if Miles plays 10 games during the next two years.

No disrespect to the Lewis family as I mention this, but even Reggie Lewis didn’t earn any salary cap relief for the Celtics when he passed away on the court (Reggie RIP).  So this attempt by Miles may play out like a George Romeo movie where the dead perform beyond your expectations, all made possible by today’s medical technology sans universal insurance coverage.  Or is it manipulation by the venerable Trail Blazers’ front office?  This drama will be played out in a future blog article here at Celtics17.

The conventional wisdom sported by TrueHoop and others is that you can’t keep a good man down, and perhaps Miles is ready to come back as a different player, hopefully a role player on these veteran-lead Celtics.

Bill Walker - the Youngest Celtic

Bill Walker is another 2nd round pick by Ainge that slipped through the 1st round due to  concern about his knee ailments.  He had the requisite ACL procedures performed for him in June and has worked hard since, impressing Danny Ainge enough to get him signed.

He no doubt will find a home in the NBA, but it may not be with the Celtics. Not much can be said of Walker other than what was said before here at Celtics17.  I’ll leave you with this highlight video of Billy Walker, the man that should have been a 1st round pick this summer:

Pondering Patrick O’Bryant

Patrick O’Bryant (POB) is shaping up to be the big (as in 7′ and 250 lbs) and only free agent signing the Celtics will likely be making this summer. He was the 9th draft pick only two years ago, and is widely regarded as a low-risk, high reward pick-up for the Celtics (e.g., a Piston’s viewpoint). We gave POB some ink in Filling Six Spots: One Down, Five to Go. As such, I like to look over the “bust” moniker he’s sported in San Francisco, and think he was the surrogate lottery pick for the Celtics this past summer!

Since he’s apparently been the only Celtic making strides this summer, I thought we’d give him another shout, and ask the question: “Will POB be able to pull himself up by the boot straps with the Celtics and break into the rotation?”.

Probably not, but stranger things have happened, especially when you consider that he has the tutelage of one the more renowned front court coaches in Clifford Ray. His plan was to work out in the Waltham facility this summer - and he’s been doing that - and attend the the big man camp in Florida run by Ray and Robert Parish see Camerota’s Hoopsworld article - and he’s done that.

HOOPSWORLD’s Steve Kyler reported Ray has been preaching the importance of hustle, energy, and conditioning to O’Bryant, who will also be expected to run the floor. O’Bryant averaged less than five minutes per game last season with the Golden State Warriors but he could see as many as 10 to 12 minutes next season (and even average three blocks per game) if he follows through.This jump in playing time is not guaranteed, though. Informed sources have noted that O’Bryant, 22, is still trying to figure out how to use his two-guard mentality in his seven-foot frame. He lacks the post moves of a traditional big man but his offensive repertoire does include a nice shooting touch and sky hook.

I can live without the post-up moves for now - even Garnett lacks some of the post moves of a traditional big man, and he’s survived somehow. What is more important is that POB get let’s his foot off the clutch and gets his “head in the game” as those kids at High School Musical sing. He will essentially be tasked to be KG’s and Kendrick Perkins punching bag during practice, and the hope is that he will be able to provide some shot-blocking, plus some front court offensive punch off the bench for the Celtics this season. He’ll have to go through Leon Powe and Glen Davis to get his court time, but if length is needed to match-up against the taller front court line-ups, he could be looking at playing 10 minutes per game this season if things go well. I, for one, am looking forward to seeing a sky hook every once in a while from the guy. But better yet, we will have a young center that can hit a mid-range jumper as well.

POB admits he became a lost soul playing for Don Nelson’s Golden State Warriors for 2 years. He wasn’t suited to the run-and-gun mentality of “Nelly ball”, but if Andris Biedrins could do it, why couldn’t POB? Last month in the Globe, POB gave this explanation:

“You’ve got to expect that,” O’Bryant said of Nelson’s criticisms of his play. “Coaches always want more from you. They aren’t going to say, ‘That’s good enough.’ You have to expect that. You need to have tough skin.“But I feel I never had a chance to prove myself. You can’t judge what you don’t know. They didn’t see me as a fit, whatever it was. I wasn’t lost [in the Warriors’ system], but it was different.”

The situation in Golden State was that POB was drafted before Nelson took the reigns later that Summer in 2006. But if you consider that POB at 22 years of age, is the same high school class as Greg Pruitt, Rajon Rondo and Glen Davis, and that he only started playing ball in high school, some patience is required for this project. Kendrick Perkins has 3 years of NBA experience on POB, and where was Perkins three years ago? He was pretty much emulating the production of POB, but getting a lot more TLC from the Celtics than POB ever did from Golden State.

I’m also interested to see what the Celtics renowned training program will do for POB. His physique did not appear to change much with Golden State, and adding on some additional muscle will most certainly increase his ability to do what he does best, block shots and rebound. Then there’s that process of osmosis that seems to occur on a veteran basketball team like the Celtics, where where great attitude and discipline become second nature.

So what’s it going to be with this surrogate lottery pick for the Celtics? The second coming of “El Busto” or another “Rags to Riches” story. At the least, I think we can have some confidence that POB will increase his value as one of Danny Ainge’s potential trading chips, as we’ve even seen Gerald Green and Sebastian Telfair accomplish that.

Finding Clutch Players on the Celtics

If you’ve been following Celtics discussion groups lately, you know that filling the hole that Posey’s departure has left has been the major preoccupation this summer. As in, “Who the heck is going to play the back-up at the No. 3/4 position with Posey gone?”

No worries! Ainge essentially responded to that question the day James Posey signed with the Hornets, by saying he would be replaced by committee (see Globe article, Celtics17 also posted a decent SF by Committee article too). At the time of Posey’s departure, Ainge had no particular free agent in mind, and was pointing to utilizing a combination of players, including the new draft picks J.R. Giddens and Billy Walker, with perhaps Tony Allen, etc.

What has been noted quietly amongst the analysts in the blogosphere is that Posey has been a clutch player. So not only do the Celtics need to replace him from a positional perspective, but also they need to make up for his key contributions during the clutch.

Offensively, Posey was superb at making the free throw under pressure, hitting the key 3-pointer and just making the right pass when the game was on the line. But defensively, Posey was probably even more valuable, as he had the uncanny ability to take a charge, make the defensive stop on the opponent’s go-to player, or get the key rebound.

The “clutch statistics” from www.82games.com bear this out. They define “clutch play” as the time with 5 minutes remaining in the 4th quarter or in overtime, with the score being within 5 points or less. The plus-minus (+/-) statistic is a handy metric to use here, as it combines the players contribution when they are on the floor. You could also look at shooting statistics, rebounding etc. during the “clutch” time, but the overall impact is well summarized by +/- stat. The links to the “clutch statistics” data for the 2007-08 regular season is presented for each of the Celtics players at here (link to the player and then to “Clutch Play”).

IF NOT POSEY, THEN WHO?

There is no question that Posey was the leading guy “in the clutch” for the Celtics this season. With +13.3 +/- per net 48 minutes of clutch time (net48), he had a better +/- than any of the Celtics starters during clutch play. Interestingly enough, all the Celtics starters had negative +/- values for clutch play. The best of the starters was Pierce who had a -4.6, and Garnett had the worst at -12.3. Go figure, as their overall +/- on the season were +14.4 and +16.8, respectively.

One explanation is that the Celtics routinely generally won their 66 games during the regular season in the 2nd and 3rd quarters (see 2nd Quarter Knock-out). By the time the 4th quarter rolled around, it was a done deal. In the close games (determined by 5 points or less), the Celtics were only 10-9 last year, so you can see that the Celtics did have their problems closing out the closer games.

Getting back to the possibilities that the Celtics have in getting clutch play off the bench – fear not Celtics fans.

In contrast to the Celtics starting five, the remaining key Celtics bench players Eddie House, Glen Davis and Tony Allen all have good to excellent +/- net48 numbers during clutch play. However, you would never know it because they were seldom in the rotation at the end of games. But the stats do bear out that Eddie House had a +8.4 net48, Tony Allen had a +14.4 net48, and Glen Davis lead the way with a +40.5 net48 for clutch play.

HERE COMES BIG BABY DAVIS

While Paul Pierce basks in post-championship glory by misspeaking about greatness and such, the rest of the Celtics are laying low and not providing much in the way of quotable material. Thank goodness Glen “Big Baby” Davis has at least hung around to fulfill a load of goodwill activities for the Celtics here in Boston (see Souza article).

And you read that correctly about Big Baby being a clutch player. After Sam Cassell and PJ Brown, he led the team in clutch play +/- net48, and arguable made a difference when he had the opportunity to play in the close games. The January 5, 2008 game in Detroit where Davis helped the Celtics to victory with his 4th quarter play in the paint certainly made a big difference. That was the game he scored 20 points going 8-10 from the field in only 23 minutes of play. He never reprised that role the rest of the season or in the playoffs, but the numbers suggest that the Celtics play well when Big Baby is on the floor during “clutch time”. During the regular season, he had a respectable +8.3 net48.

Good things just seem to happen with Big Baby on floor, which is why we are all pulling for Davis (along with Leon Powe and Tony Allen), at succeeding in filling the “Posey void” when the game is on the line during the 2008-08 season.

They’ve had one season under the tutelage of James Posey, hopefully that is enough for them to indeed make a difference this year.

Filling Six Spots: Four Down, Two to Go

Well it’s been a few weeks since the Celtics feathered their nest, in an official transaction sense, so it was about time they announced that their 1st round selection of this year’s draft, the 30th pick overall, has signed.  We are talking about J.R. Giddens folks.  He’s a gamer, a guy that is long for his 6′ 5″ frame, and he comes with a lot of college experience (4 years) that may just be ready to hit the ground running come the regular season. More of our ruminations of Giddens being selected by the Celtics is presented here.

He looks like a great draft selection by the Celtics, but you have to be a bit shocked to see Giddens get much court time this year, especially with Tony Allen on board. There was never much drama with this signing, as it is a rare moment when a 1st rounder doesn’t take the guaranteed money and sign without delay.

But the fact that it took this long suggests that there had to be some posturing on both sides, as the Celtics were looking to fill their bench needs the best they could this summer through some trades. Giddens’ agent Mark Bartelstein, also the agent of AWalker, EHouse, JPosey, SPollard, and JReed, was likely looking to get the high-end of the rookie scale so he could say he did something for his client!  Note:  The Globe reported that Giddens was mulling several offers to play in Europe.

SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL?

As of now, this is how the depth chart looks with J.R. Giddens being officially signed:


PG: Rajon Rondo | Eddie House | Gabe Pruitt
SG: Ray Allen   | Tony Allen  | J.R. Giddens
SF: Paul Pierce | Brian Scalabrine | FA1/Billy Walker**
PF: Kevin Garnett | Leon Powe | FA2
C: Kendrick Perkins | Glen Davis | Patrick O'Bryant

Stashed in Europe: Semih Erden (C)**, potentially Billy Walker
FAs: JPosey (signed with NO), PJ Brown (to retire), SCassell, SPollard
** - unsigned draft pick

Patrick O’Bryant not withstanding, you get the feeling that the Celtics are on the small side the way the available six spots on the roster have been filled out.

Subtract: Scot Pollard, PJ Brown, James Posey, and Cassell

Add: Patrick O’Bryant, J.R. Giddens

Perhaps it’s a bit of testament with regard to two gentleman they already have on board: Leon Powe and Glen Davis. Both of these guys have demonstrated that they have arrived due to their play during sustained periods during the regular season. They are the two birds that are in hand that, in addition to Tony Allen, will most likely rise to the occasion and potentially fill in the vacuum left by Posey and P.J. Brown.

Powe was a force to be recognized, and his per 48 minutes stats suggest that he made things happen when he was on the court. Davis, believe it or not, was one of the better clutch players the Celtics had, and they can certainly trust him to make the right decision . . . for a rookie anyway.  Tony Allen, albeit small, can be athletic as any swing guy. And Brian Scalabrine and certainly Patrick O’Bryant are long and should see significant time in the Celtics’ front line, depending on match-ups of course. 

So the cupboard is not exactly bare along that front line. Especially when you have guy named Kevin Garnett available to help out a little here and there.

The thing is, with Posey and P.J. Brown gone, you are looking at replacing two veterans who knew how to make their shots count and didn’t make rookie mistakes during crunch time.

So the question remains, at the end of ball games when you know the opponent is going to foul, who do you want on the floor. The 60% free throw shooters - Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins?  You no longer have the clutch 80% FT shooter in Posey, and he often was selected for intentional fouls as the weakest shooter amongst Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and say Eddie House or Sam Cassell.  And for all their talents, none of the bigs on the bench except perhaps for Scalabrine is an above average shooter.

Let’s just hope that Glen Davis and Leon Powe are pouring in the jump shots and free throws this summer, and can carve out even more time on the court in their back-up roles as they shore up their shooting and decision-making by virtue of experience and practice.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING?

As we’ve said often, we are necessarily talking about a lot of minutes when it comes to the back-up players for this team, but reducing the minutes of your aging stars has to become a priority if the Celtics hope to have anything in left in the tank come playoff time. You want to win. You want to get the home court advantage, as the Celtics proved how invaluable that advantage was.

That means that you need to hold the lead, if not increase it, when Doc is rotating the big three to the bench for a rest, and they need to be on the bench for adequate speels during the regular season games. They need to be on the bench for the Celtics to repeat. I’d say that resting each 15 minutes a game would be a high end goal. Combined with Perkins sitting for his usual 20 minutes, that is potentially 65 minutes of playing time for the back-up bigs and wings.

Mssrs. TAllen, Davis, Powe and O’Bryant - the challenge is yours, if you chose to accept.

Celtics versus the “Redeem Team”?

One person’s opinion from the deep south voiced in the Birmingham News

Redeem Team? Please …:

Did I hear this right? The U.S. Olympic basketball team is calling itself the Redeem Team?

Please.

Enough with the slogans.

Enough with the pros.

Does it really matter if this collection of American millionaires wins the gold medal the 2004 collection did not?

Does it really matter if the Americans fail to medal at all?

No.

The best individual players in the world still live here. So does the best team. It’s called the Celtics.

What would matter would be if a collection of college players banded together like in the old days to bring home the gold.

That would be worth a wave of the flag.

Kevin Scarbinsky –

COULD THE CELTICS REPRESENT THE USA?

It’s nice to know that the Boston Celtics have some respect in Sweet Home Alabama. But that brings up an interesting idea.  Could the Boston Celtics represent the USA? Interestingly enough, they were one of the few teams in the playoffs (perhaps the only team?) that did not have a foreign-based player on the squad. The only thing they would have to worry about is one of the key players defecting to their ancestral home a.k.a. Chris Kaman goes to German (just kidding of course).

Given that the Celtics solidified as a unit during the regular season, and then again in the playoffs, would that give them an advantage over the ad hoc collection of stars and super-stars assembled for this 2008 USA Olympic team? After all, the problem in the past has been chemistry and composition for the USA teams.  Also, they have been pretty much thrown together to play for a few weeks prior to the competition, which is pretty much what you see in the all-star games, where they have one day to practice together.  But I understand that the “Redeem Team” was composed differently, and was assembled long ago with additional practice time together . . . so we shall see . . .

WHERE ARE THE CELTICS?

This year’s USA Olympic squad may redeem, but if you ask me, there is something empty about the whole situation without a Boston Celtics member on that team. It is not the Olympic Committee’s fault, as Garnett declined an invitation back, wanting to focus on a championship with the Celtics (see November 2007 Globe article). Ray Allen and KG actually won gold back on the 2000 Sydney Olympics team.

Paul Pierce, for whatever reason, has not been a great fit on the national team, getting most of the blame for the 6th place finish at the 2002 world championship in Indianapolis. Pierce was reportedly invited to few years ago according to an AP article in ESPN.com. But was he really? In an August 1, 2008 O.C. Register article (Lakers Blog), Pierce said that for the 2004 Olympics, “I had no chance to play in the Olympics, so I didn’t want to play [in future Olympics] after that.” However, as stated in the AP article, Pierce remains a great fan of the USA team, and wants them to win the gold.

THE GOOD OL’ DAYS

And about the US college ranks being able to compete against the international competition - those days are long gone. This is in fact old news . . . but I do reminisce about trotting out the US amateurs out there and beating the grizzled international vets, similar to what was done pre-Dream Team. Alas, the talent level available in the NCAA just isn’t what it used to be with the exodus of players after 1 or 2 years of college experience.

Go USA!

Backup Small Forward by Committee

Note: This article is contributed by Surferdad is inspired from discussions he and other patrons of Celtics 17 have engaged in on the topic of the back-up small forward.

In looking at how the roster is shaping up, the small forward position would seem to be a bit of a weak area, especially with the departure of James Posey. Does the team need to replace Posey? Anybody for Darius Miles? I didn’t think so.

If there is a “hole” at the back-up 6′6″ - 6′9″ wing, it appears that DA has resigned himself to see who just may show up later. Don’t forget we had holes to start last year at back-up center and point guard (arguably the two most critical positions), and PJ Brown and Sam Cassell came on the scene to fill in nicely. So maybe there’s a bit of “In Danny We Trust” as far as him making a good move for SF help, if needed, around the trade deadline - just in time for the playoff push.

But to start the upcoming season with “Backup SF by Committee” may not be so bad either when put into playing time context. If Pierce plays conservatively 36 minutes (and he will play more on many nights), we’re only talking about 12 minutes a game of backup SF, give or take a few, and Ray Allen can be expected to play a bit there as well. Will Doc give the remainder to Tony Allen, or will he be more creative and slot in Brian Scalabrine or even one of the rookies and see what they can do at SF? Then there’s the rogue idea of trying Baby at the SF spot. Is this much ado about very little? Maybe, but it’s off-season and I’m bored, so let’s go through the options:

Tony Allen:

Tony gets the first and most ink on this topic. Last season, Tony hardly had to play the role of SF with Posey, Ray Allen and Pierce covering the spot. This year he will be healthier going into the season and he will need to do more with Posey gone. We can expect him to mostly be getting minutes at the backup 2, but Doc may want to pull the reigns on the big three to save them for the playoffs now that they have won one, so TA could play a key role this year if he can stay healthy, that is if the *real* Tony Allen comes back - the guy with the scary athleticism, not the guy afraid of re-injuring himself.

Concerns over rebound production from an undersized SF may be legit, however it was athleticism not rebounding specifically that hurt the team most often when the opposing bench outplayed ours. TA should help prevent us from being outhustled, even if we don’t grab an actual rebounding edge. So Tony’s height disadvantage may not be as important as the quickness advantage he has over his taller opponents. Tony has shown he can hold his own on the boards especially on the offensive end.

In going back to the 2006-07 season (pre-injury), he was a bit more of a banger and played some SF (82games.com says 20% of his court time). I can recall games when I felt that Tony Allen was the best player on the floor, literally taking over games with his slashing style. Sometimes Tony gets to the hoop with such apparent ease that you might wonder how he did it. He finds non-existent holes. It’s like he has an extra gear that most players his size simply do not have. He’s very slippery around the hoop on both ends of the court. Defensively, he will get after it as well as Posey did. In fact, Tony can be a one-man wrecking crew on other team. He is a better man defender than Posey, but again Posey has that veteran experience going for him that Tony doesn’t have.

However, whether it’s biting on a head-fake, or making an out-of-control play on offense, one is left feeling that although TA undeniably has talent, you can’t trust him. It was frustrating to see him digress into such poor decision-making at times, and it made me think he was actually a liability out there. It’s almost as if the guy sometimes tries to do too much. He’s been in the league long enough now and has to get over that habit. Admittedly, all that may change if he stays healthy and gets enough playing time to settle down, but until it does, it remains a stark contrast with a guy like Posey, who regularly came up big in the clutch. To be kind, the jury is out on TA as far as these game elements are concerned.

For the most part however, there is a consensus that TA is a good matchup against many other SFs in this league. He gives up standing height to some guys, but makes up for it by getting in their face on defense and being physical if they try to get by him. If they opt to shoot over him, he’s right there and has the athletic ability to challenge shots. If the opposing small forward is not a main scoring option for the other team it becomes even less of a problem as Allen will be able to play the passing lanes, something else he excels at. But regardless of TA’s athletic ability, the fact is that at 6′4″ he could be giving up as much as 6 inches to certain SFs, which brings us to…

Brian Scalabrine:

It is not inconceivable to play Scalabrine at SF, especially if he loses about 20-30 lbs. For last year, 82games listed him at SF about 20% of the time, and 80% PF. He also played some SF in New Jersey. Scals playing SF off the bench against the taller guys essentially gives you a long SF who can hit threes, but who lacks Posey’s athleticism. It should be noted that Scal is a lifetime 34.7% from beyond the arc (Posey is a lifetime 35.1% 3 PT shooter).

Unfortunately, he had a terrible offensive year last year, far and away the worst of his career. One wonders if he can resurrect himself. (He shot 40% from the arc the year before.) As usual, the problem is that Scal simply isn’t good enough to merit regular playing time unless we are in dire need, even at PF (which should be no surprise). So Scal’s primary role as the disaster insurance policy stashed on the bench may continue.

Glen Davis:

The guys we might expect Tony Allen to have some trouble with at small forward would be the guys who are much bigger AND post him up (though less common for small forwards these days). Given that situation, why not try Glen Davis at “small forward”? This sounds radical, but it may be worth a try. Baby is quicker than most people give him credit for (though not nearly the tireless athlete Tony is) and he has excellent footwork. He may be able to keep up with smaller, quicker players. He’s an outstanding passer and a smart player. A key question is whether he can develop a consistent mid-range jumper. Adding that to his skill set would create big match-up problems for other teams.

The Rookies:

I am hoping one of JR Giddens or Billy Walker will surprise people and earn a role with the big club this season. That would put pressure on Tony Allen to step up. If not, one or both of the rookies will see the D-league to get playing time and seasoning. Giddens will be a guy who can guard most 3’s. At 6′5″ he seems a little small, but his wingspan is reportedly 6′9″. How quickly he picks up the D is still unknown, but the fact that he likes to play D will help. If Giddens is good, he will compete favorably with TA for minutes at the 2 as well. Realistically however, and barring injuries to rotation players, Giddens, Walker (and Pruitt) are not going to get to see much court time assuming House and TA are doing their jobs.

Leon Powe:

I mention this only for completeness sake. Considering how many charges Powe draws, he may be able to keep up with some SFs. He actually did defend Josh Smith, who is really a 3 in a 4’s body, and did it pretty well. Powe is a better man defender than team defender, but he can work on that with coaching. However, his meager passing skills would hurt him much more than Big Baby at the 3, who is an excellent passer. Bottom line: Expect Leon to get nearly all his minutes backing up KG at PF.

The Projected Rotation

So here’s how I see the depth chart with Backup SF by Committee in effect:
1 - Rondo, House, Pruitt
2 - RAllen, TAllen, Giddens
3 – Pierce, TAllen, Scal, Davis, Giddens/Walker
4 - KG, Powe, Davis
5 - Perkins, POB

Notice that 3 guys could split time between positions (Baby, TAllen, Giddens) as well as occasionally Pierce moving to the 2, or the ‘small ball’ lineup with Paul at the 4 and RAllen at the 3. The good news is that the Celtics boast a number of multi-positional players and this adds flexibility. Doc has a variety of options and I’m betting he tries a few different things, depending upon the particular matchups as well as who looks good in training camp. Again, injuries will change the complexion. Camp starts next month folks, and it should be fun to see how things shape up.

Sifting over the FA Forward Bone Pile

Here is the current list of available forwards from Ball Don’t Lie:

One name that popped up was Pat Garrity - a connection to Doc’s Orlando past? Didn’t realize that Garrity had been with the Magic for 9 years! That is a lifetime in NBA years . . . but he looks like he’s washed up at this point.

Juwan Howard could be this year’s PJ Brown for the Celtics, if Howard wants to semi-retire for the 1st half of the season . . .

And here’s a dark horse candidate - the Providence College alum Austin Croshere . . . I think he’d thrive playing on the Celtics, but at 33 yrs old, you’re seeing why Posey wasn’t extended for 4 years . . .

And it looks like one of Stephane Lasme (UMass), Kasib Powell or Dorell Wright will be available as the Miami Heat have a glut of back-up small forwards and won’t be able to sign all these guys back . . .

Certainly no James Posey’s out there at this point . . . but we do have a rejuvenated Tony Allen and can certainly dust off Brian Scalabrine for some different looks at the back-up small forward position.  And of course the two rookies (J.R. Giddens and Billy Walker) could help out at small forward if they get the opportunity to get on the court at all (ask Gabe Pruitt how easy it’s been see court time while playing 3rd string). 

Finally I’ll issue this WARNING:  Don’t be surprised to see Glen “Big Baby” Davis out on the wing!  It could work as he has the foot work and the shooting range beyond 15 feet, although he’s yet to take a 3-point shot in his young NBA career.

The Underrated Paul Pierce

I’m joining the brouhaha about Paul Pierce’s interview in Spain regarding his comment that he’s the best player in the world (see marca.com and english version here at Red’s Army) earlier this week.  Pierce further clarified yesterday (see today’s Sunday Globe):

“That’s what I said. I am a confident player and a lot of people might look at it like, ‘Oh, another cocky attitude,’ but I don’t look at it that way. I have an opinion, I have a right to have one, and that’s the way I feel. I felt I’ve played against the best over the years and felt right now that I’m the best player in the world.”

The Ball Don’t Lie blog took up the issue this week and the topic appears to be on it’s way to being an internet legend with almost 14,000 posts in only 5 days. What better way to infuriate the pro basketball proletariat by stepping over Kobe Bryant and saying this:

I don’t think Kobe is the best player. I’m the best player. There’s a line that separates having confidence and being conceited. I don’t cross that line but I have a lot of confidence in myself.

The Point Is . . .

I have no argument with what Pierce is saying.  Paul IS the No. 1 player in the world right now - he is due his 15 minutes of fame after all.   At long last he is a champion, and as the NBA Finals Most Valuable Player, the bravado is more than fitting.  He’s been down more than most stars for a longer period of time.  The championship has vindicated him and the best part is, because he’s talking the big talk, it means he’s going to be more than willing to defend the title this season.  It will be up to his opponents to prove otherwise.

And truth be known, if we are really going to give it up for the best player in the world, right now I’d be inclined to give it up for another Celtic player.  Sorry Kobe and Lebron.  It means pushing you two down to being in the running for No. 3.  Let’s recognize Kevin Garnett as the guy that should have received the league MVP, and he certainly put up the best numbers during the playoffs and finals as well, and in my opinion can say he’s the best player in the world at this time.

And why are these argument so misconstrued by fans such as the Lakers?  I think it is  because they have all fallen in love with scoring?  It’s going to be Showtime in LA as long as Kobe’s in town. 

What people have to figure out is that there is another side to the coin that is sometimes forgotten in these MVP arguments: DEFENSE.   Kobe and LeBron can do it all offensively, just like Pierce, and get it done with more flair.  After all, they are the centerpiece of their respective organizations, which prescribes a healthy dose of volume shooting. James is No. 1 and Bryant is No. 2 in field goal attempts with 21.9 and 20.6 attempts per game respectively last season. At only 13.7 shot attempts per game, Paul Pierce doesn’t even show up in the top 50. But yet, he still ranked 31st in scoring due to his ability to get to the line and his great shooting percentages.   Pierce climbs even further with regard to the NBA.com efficiency rating, which combines additional ‘box score’ stats to come up with a simple production rating. For NBA efficiency, Pierce is ranked No. 23.  The more complex metric PER (player efficiency rating) by Hollinger has Pierce ranked 32nd in the league.

So these metrics of scoring, efficiency and PER for Paul Pierce all seem to place him far from being number one. But . . . in the end, isn’t it all about winning? And that is where Pierce is coming from.  He certainly sacrificed any individual goals he may have had to strive for the singular team goal - winning, which the Celtics did in a big way this past season.

Defense - Giving Pierce his Due

To Pierce’s credit, and to further add to his value, I thought I’d remind everyone that Pierce also thought he should be on the all-defensive team, and and as you will see, he is correct in my opinion.

I had him projected to be on the 1st team with Garnett. Instead he doesn’t even get an honorable mention - he was instead a very also-ran only getting 2 frickin’ votes.

His competition? The pathetic Bruce Bowen should not have been considered on the 1st all-defensive team. Raja Bell, Tayshaun Prince and Shane Battier on the 2nd team at the wing spots? Are you kidding me? Paul Pierce (along with Ray Allen) are vastly underrated for their defense simply because they have an all-around game, but it seems that except for Kobe Bryant, if you have any offense - it automatically detracts from your defensive reputation. According to 82games.com, Pierce holds his opponents to the 3rd lowest production in the league behind his team-mate Tony Allen and Tracy McGrady. He obviously benefits by the Celtics vaunted team defense, but I just don’t see these other guys being in the conversation for the 1st team.

I will give Kobe his due, he appears to belong on the 1st team all-defensive.  For the record, a guy that may be suffering from the offense discount is Lebron James, so kudos to Kobe for getting that recognition in a market biased against you if you have any semblance of an offensive game.

The MVP

With the inept performance of USA in the 2002 World games and the discordance on that USA team focused on Pierce, to his post-playoff game bandage incident after the elbow from Tinsley in the 1st round of the 2005 playoffs, to the wheel chair escort from the game 1 of the Finals followed by a triumphant return that was dissed by Phil Jackson, to the constant trade rumors that swirled around Pierce during each losing season after the AWalker-TBattie-EWill break-up, it seems like he’s been thrown into the category as being a spoiled arrogant star athlete.  Yup - sounds like he’s been cast as the Manny Ramirez of the NBA.   But that is just plain wrong.

Pierce survived many losing and tumultuous seasons when the team was torn apart while going through what  seemed to be continuous rebuilding by Danny Ainge and the Celtics.  The agony an ultra-competitive guy like Pierce went through during that time was obviously only tempered by making on the order of $15 million per year.  More importantly, Pierce wanted to make history with Boston as his predecessors with their numbers hanging in the rafters had done 16 times before him.

The frustration that he had to deal with was not approached by any other star of his caliber during the prime of their careers. And players that don’t win typically get traded, unless the organization has faith in their abilities and stands by them, which is what the Celtics have done for Pierce.  He’s was drafted by and stayed with the Celtics for 10 seasons and is in rarefied air in that respect.  Only Tim Duncan (11 yr at SAS), Kobe Bryant (12 yr at LAL) and Dirk Nowitzki (10 yr at DAL) can say they have matched that with their respective teams, and they have not had to deal with the losing through rebuilding that Pierce did.  It has been a true test of patience for guy that has a heart of a champion.

So when it came to the Finals MVP selection, Pierce was finally rewarded for his patience.  This the NBA finally did acknowledge.  The Celtics former lone big dog refined his game and his attitude to allow two huge players come in and share the stage in order to achieve a greater goal.  This was not an easy task, as veterans being pulled in to revamp a team has proven to improve the outcome, but never take the team to the top.  And for a team to have the single largest turnaround in the history of the NBA means that there were no egos holding the team back whatsoever.

So now, Pierce is basking in his own light during a time when basketball is on the back-burner, except for the impending Olympics basketball competition.  Pierce is thankful.  But Pierce wants recognition for what he’s done, and the Finals MVP is only completes part of that vindication.

Come October, there will be ubuntu post-Posey, and unless it is about team first, Pierce will be silent, Ray Allen will be silent, and KG will be silent.  They will be looking to defend their hard-earned championship with great pride and commitment to do it again.