Boston Globe basketball news
The Celtics made a roster move last week, sending 2012 firstround pick Fab Melo and cash to Memphis for forward Donte Green. It was a sign that the Celtics had seen enough from the 7foot Melo to cut ties with him. Melo has proven he can block shots at every level, but everything else about his game was a work in progress. Taken one pick after Jared Sullinger, Melo was always considered a project. Sometimes, projects don't pan out. The Celtics will get salary cap relief from the deal if they choose to release Green, and Melo will get another shot somewhere else.
Expectations are the focus of this week's Celtics mailbag, with your questions focusing on individual players as well as the team.
Have you seen the Bobcats play, Larry? In all seriousness, 30 Dashon Goldson Black Jersey is a good number to debate. Fans seem to be all over the place on where this team finishes, but I'm in the camp that the losses of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett, as well as Rajon Rondo's recovery from knee surgery, leave the Celtics in a bad spot. Add in a new coach and a repetitive roster I'll go just over and say the Celtics win 31 games. That leaves them out of the playoffs but maybe ahead of the Bobcats.
Jeff Green is one of the Celtics' most versatile players. His natural position is small forward. But how much time do you think he'll play at Dashon Goldson Jersey Ebay power forward and shooting guard? And if he averages 36 minutes a game at small forward, which other Celtic or Celtics will play small forward when he doesn't?
This is a twoman race between Green and Rondo. If it were total points I'd go with Green, as he should play more minutes right from the start of the season. In an upset, I'll give the edge to Rondo. Teams will key in on Green all season, and everyone expects Rondo to pass. I'll peg Rondo for an average of 19.5 points per game, with Green just slightly under that.
With a younger Brad Stevens being a selfproclaimed statistics nerd (and whiz kid Drew Cannon joining) what if anything do you expect to see differently from the coaching staff using their newly found analytics? Are these guys "moneyball" enthusiasts?
Cannon sends Stevens a 10page email breaking down and analyzing the numbers after every Butler game. The report takes 10 to 12 hours for Cannon to put together.
Cannon's greatest value is with lineup analysis, as Stevens terms his work "unreal." "It includes every player, pairs of players, groups of three, big lineups, small lineups, etc.," Stevens said. Cannon will also include the offensive and defensive efficiency of Butler's players from previous matchups with an opponent, which Stevens said, "Will help me determine probable sub patterns, late game lineups, etc."
With no salaries to worry about in college, Cannon was not operating on a Dashon Goldson Jersey "Moneyball" system, per se, but the idea of quantifying a player's value in measures other than points and rebounds is something Cannon and current Celtics numbers guru Mike Zarren are focused on.
Here's a list of the guys the Celtics have listed at center aside from Kendrick Perkins since 20082009:
You aren't wrong, Bob. It's a pretty terrible list, though I thought the Wallace and Jermaine O'Neal signings were at least good ideas that didn't pan out. You can look at this a couple of ways. With money tied up in the Big Three and Rondo, the Celtics didn't have the funds to go out and sign one of the better free agent centers on the market. You can also look at it as they never developed one. With Melo gone, that streak will continue for a little while. Melo's Celtics tenure began just 14 months ago when the team selected him in the first round of the 2012 NBA draft.
Though Melo was a lowrisk gamble for the Celtics at the No. 22 overall pick, he made little progress in his rookie season. The Brazilian played sparingly in six games, scoring 7 total points, proving to be little more than a longterm project at best.
Beyond that, the deal could help the Celtics avoid the luxury tax if they choose to waive the 6foot11inch Greene, whose contract of slightly more than $1 million is nonguaranteed. The Celtics right now are about $700,000 over the $71.8 million tax line for next season.
It makes little sense for the Celtics to be a taxpaying team heading into a rebuilding season, so it's likely that Greene will be waived either immediately or following training camp, which he must attend as a nonguaranteed player if only to help their bottom line.
Greene, like Melo a former Syracuse player, has appeared in 253 games in his fiveyear career, all with Sacramento, averaging 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game.
Greene didn't play last season after fracturing his foot the previous summer. He had been acquired by Memphis (the team that originally drafted him in 2008) in April.
Melo's exit follows an underwhelming stint in the Orlando Summer League, where he averaged 18.2 minutes in five games, with 6.2 points and 3.4 rebounds.
"When you're going into your second year, and you're playing in summer league, and they're keeping you on the bench, something is really wrong," an NBA scout http://www.officialbuccaneersfootball.com/Black+Dashon+Goldson+Jersey said of Melo.
Melo also famously sustained a concussion by walking into a door frame last season, an incident former Celtics coach Doc Rivers referred to as "Fab being Fab."
And in a game at Toronto in April, Melo picked up four fouls in three minutes.
Melo starred at times when he played in 33 games for the Maine Red Claws of the NBA Development League, averaging 9.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, and a leaguehigh 3.1 blocks in 26.2 minutes per game.
In one game, against Erie, Melo had 15 points, 16 rebounds, and a DLeague record 14 blocks. In the next game, against Idaho, he had 32 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 blocks.
But whatever flashes of talent he showed were brief and too often overshadowed by simple mistakes that revealed just how far Melo has to go to be an effective player.
Dealing Melo also helps clear up a crowded frontcourt that already includes 7footers Kelly Olynyk, a rookie, and firstround draft pick, and Brazilian center, Vitor Faverani.
The Celtics now have 14 guaranteed contracts for a commitment of about $71.2 million.
If there is a textbook that explains precisely how to conduct oneself upon becoming the head coach of a new team, then Brad Stevens has followed every step to a tee.
http://wikiweb.ma/social/index.php?do=/blog/35196/birthday-party-ideas/
http://www.cf-wellness.com/beta/event/404/associated-press-football-rankings-out-today-at-noon/
http://www.frosch.co.za/index.php?option=com_blog&view=comments&pid=5&Itemid=0