Knee, ‘Ny, or ‘Ney?
Posted by Brendan Jackson on Oct 14, 2009
Last night, the Celtics caught a glimpse of their biggest nightmare. Garnett in street clothes on the bench, ‘Sheed relegated to the locker room with a twisted ankle, and Shelden Williams playing as only a shell of himself (8 minutes, 0 points, 0 rebounds). We all know Shelden can play better than that, but we assume that his play won’t be consistent. We also now know that Glen Davis can play 27 minutes and play well for 27 minutes (18 points, 3 steals, 2 blocks), but we can’t assume that he would be able to bring that every night.
Right now Doc has the big man depth with both Shelden Williams and Michael Sweetney on the bench, and in the case of last night, it turns out he didn’t need either of them to win the game. However, that is not saying that he won’t at some point this season.
If you thought the last two roster spots were sewn up, think again, because the way I see it, it’s a battle between Bill Walker (Knee), Tony Allen (‘Ny), and Michael Sweetney (‘Ney). One thing I think I know for sure is that Bill Walker will not be cut. This summer he worked hard in the community, worked hard on his defense, and still (ughh, I hope after three knee surgeries) has the potential to be a rotation player.
The main thing up in the air right now is the decision to cut Tony Allen and sign Michael Sweetney, or stick with Tony Allen and let Sweetney return to the Big Mac box from which he crawled out. For me, the decision is really a simple one. Sign Michael Sweetney and cut Tony Allen, and here’s why:
1) Tony Allen has worn out his welcome. Let’s face it, Tony needs to go. There was a time in last season’s playoffs where I was lobbying for Doc to give TA more playing time, and now I’m finally off that band wagon and I see TA for what he is: inconsistent, injury prone, and reckless with the ball. Besides, we might as well keep Giddens if we want a guy with length that can’t shoot from outside. At least Giddens plays hard and defers to others on offense. Last night, Giddens showed that he is still a little gun shy when it comes to getting his own- a habit that has clearly been drilled into his head by coaches and veterans alike. Now though, it’s time for him to come into his own- or at least try- and he does not need Tony Allen in front of him taking away his garbage time. Oh and he grabbed 13 boards last night. When was the last time you saw Tony Allen do that? Giddens also has an expiring contract, while not worth as much as TA’s, it still can be used as a trade chip so I don’t think the mil and a half is worth keeping TA around. In conclusion, I’d rather have a guy shoot too little than force the issue, all other factors being equal.
2) Sweetney can still ball. In limited time this preseason Sweetney has shown his value on both ends of the court. He’s scarily agile around the basket for being fifty pounds over-weight and he knows how to put the ball in the bucket. He also shots free throws exceptionally well (approximately 70%) for a guy who will probably be fouled a lot (he’s so big, opposing players can’t not foul him if they tried). On defense Sweetney may be a liability on quick rotations, hedging, and in transition, but as a one-on-one post defender he uses his size extremely well to push guys out of their comfort zone. I would love to see Sweetney belly-up Dwight Howard making him shoot from the outside.
3) It’s not like he came out of nowhere. Sweetney was nasty when he played for Georgetown. He was so good he was this guy in the big east before this guy was even this guy! Here’s his ESPN draft bio:
The early-entry candidate was a first team all-Big East selection after leading the Hoyas in scoring (22.8), rebounding (10.4), blocks (3.2), field goals (264), field goal percentage (.547), free throws (248) and free throw attempts (336). Sweetney was also selected to the NABC All-American second team and was a finalist for the Naismith Award. Sweetney was also a Wooden Award candidate and Associated Press All-American (Honorable Mention).
Sweetney had 16 double-doubles as a junior, bringing his career total to 38. Scored a career-high 38 points at Notre Dame and led the team in scoring in 24 of 34 games, while leading Georgetown in rebounding in 29 of 34 games.
As a junior, Sweetney was the USBWA District II Player of the Year and first team All Big East selection. He is a two time Playboy All-American.
Clearly the dude can play ball, he just couldn’t get his work-ethic in order and put the fork down.
4) If anything, he could lead by example. Michael Sweetney is the perfect person to mentor the young guns, (Walker, Giddens, and Hudson) on what not to do. Sweetney learned the hard way that nothing in the NBA is guaranteed and that a lack of worth-ethic is not rewarded. It seems like the Celtics’ young guys “get it,” so to speak, but there’s always a chance of faltering, and what better than a 300 pound reminder sweating on you.
5) Think of the possibilities. Comcast SportsNet could do a “Sweetney Watch” sideshow during pregame about how much weight he’s losing and how he’s improving. There’s also the possibility of Sweetney becoming the new Scal. Scal is not the useless, end-of-the-bench player he once was when the Celtics won the Championship. Seriously, chanting “shoot it” when he gets in the game is old because, surprise, he can knock them down. Just ask Brian Robb or Celtics Blog. Celts fans need a new bench guy to root for and Sweetney would be it.
There’s no guarantee that Sweetney will be on the team but things seem to be hinting at that. The other day during a preseason broadcast, Tommy Heinsohn said he believed Sweetney would be on the team and last night Sweetney even got a little pregame intro interview quote. Also, Tony Allen has that ankle injury that will never heal and he didn’t even make the trip to New Jersey. The question that it comes down to is simply, “Who deserves to be in this team?” If the Celtics were to ask me, Walker, Giddens, and lil’ ol’ Michael Sweetney.
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