Comments on: Offensive Rebounding and the Celtics Off-Season

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:06:27 +0000

One thing not really mentioned about defensive or offensive rebounding stats above is the way offensive penetration and/or poor defensive rotation impact those numbers. When teams don’t have to help on a penetrator — when a Paul Pierce can stop a Kobe one-on-one — or double a big man — when Perk can keep Howard away from the hoop — the other defenders are in position to box out and get a DRB. When a Pierce or an Allen forces a double or help on one side of the rim, a Powe or Davis has a free lane to an ORB, if needed (if Pierce and Allen weren’t such great finishers/passers/foul drawers, Davis might be an even better ORBer.
It’s a team game, and these stats work synergystically with other stuff.

By: CelticsFanatic

CelticsFanatic — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:05:47 +0000

I don’t have a good feeling about Powe. He will miss at least 1/3 of the season, and I just don’t know. I hope we re-sign him because he is quite possibly the BEST human being in the world, and he stands for all that is right in sports and in humanity, and the dude can get offensive boards and play pretty solid post defense. His game is really coming together and he’s adding all sorts of moves to his offensive game… But damn. It doesn’t make sense financially at all. If Powe is willing to take a discount to stay with the Celts, I can see the front office cutting him a 2 year deal for just over $1.2 million per.

I wouldn’t mind seeing TA and Scal traded to a team looking for depth off the bench and some additional role players. TA and Scal could be packaged together to help a team defensively. In our system, TA can’t get 8-10 touches to put up 12 points in a game and be a reliable perimeter defender; but somewhere else, in another system, TA could help improve a bench with his athleticism in an uptempo style game: Phoenix? Golden State? New York? Scal is the king of intangibles on the court: smart fouls on defense, taking charges, hustling for loose balls, guarding positions 3-5, and helping to stretch the court out a bit with his ability to knock down some outside shots. Packaged together, they can be very appealing to a team looking to dump one player earning $5-6 million: the total salary between Scal and TA.

I’m pretty convinced that TA will be moved. After the whole Chicago fiasco of the death threats against him and his inability to stay healthy and him having a basketball IQ of a acorn, it’s time the Celts cut ties with him. We’ve given him time, but it’s time to walk away from the table. What should we get in return? How about a veteran point guard? Or a veteran center? Either one. Size would be preferable, but a decent back up for Rondo has to be found somewhere at some point. These are two roles we NEED to fill, and it would be great to see it taken care of by dumping TA and unfortunately saying goodbye to Scal. Let’s say we go with the size: we trade TA and Scal for a BIG. Done. Taken care of.

Thoughts??

By: Zach

Zach — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:48:01 +0000

@Carl: You were the one who wrote that awesome “LeBron never gets a foul called on him” to TH, weren’t you? Good stuff.

Yes, I’m sure Baby gets his share of ORBs off his own misses. He put up even better ORB numbers last season, when he was taking fewer Js, so it makes sense. But he may also have a knack for using his body to create space as an offensive rebounder. Only time will tell.

Just one more thing to consider in the evaluation of Big Baby.

By: Carl Spackler

Carl Spackler — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 20:31:47 +0000

Doesn’t even mention that the majority of Baby’s Offensive Rebounds come off his own putrid shot selection/inability to finish around the hoop.

Davis is also a sever liability on the Defensive End, so most of his offensive totals are a wash with his negatives on D.

By: rick

rick — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 19:04:55 +0000

For offensively challeneged players, not having to worry about a defender focused on you can free you up into finding good position for the impending offensive boards.