I Miss Leon Powe

Posted by Brian Robb on Mar 22, 2010 693024 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2010%2F03%2F22%2Fi-miss-leon-powe%2FI+Miss+Leon+Powe2010-03-22+19%3A49%3A23Brian+Robbhttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D6930

Not to put a damper on the day, but I couldn’t help but take notice of this excerpt from Monday’s Bullets on Truehoop:

John Krolik of Cavs: the Blog, describing the efforts of a player who has already once helped a gritty team win a title: “If I had to sum up what the Cavs did tonight in one word, that word would likely be POWESMASH. The Cavaliers beat the Pistons up in the paint and on the boards, and nobody was doing that better than Leon Powe. Despite barely leaving the ground, Powe was grabbing rebounds left and right and wouldn’t be denied when he got the ball in the paint. Every time he got it down low, Powe either finished the play or got to the line, and the rest of the team matched Powe’s effort en route to an easy win. Powe ended up drawing eight fouls on Sunday, but the Pistons were the ones who came out looking worse for the wear.”

(Proceeds to slam head into desk)

Listen, I’m not going to dwell on this too much. No need to rehash the past here. Three things though.

1) How surprised are you Leon Powe has made it back and is now a potential contributor on a Championship contender? If the answer is, “not at all,” you’re probably a Celtics fan. The man has heart and his body is still young. I’m happy for the guy and never really doubted the fact he could fight the adversity and make it back against another debilitating knee injury.

2) How worried are you that Powe will come back to haunt this team in a playoff series? I’ve been worried about this scenario since the offseason, and you know this storyline will be front and center when these two teams face off. The good news is Mike Brown is coaching the Cavs and will have Shaq and Ilgauskas back at his disposal, which we can only pray will keep Leon buried deep in the rotation, unable to enact much damage.

3) I have loved the majority of Danny Ainge’s recent moves, and I understand on the surface why we let go of this guy to pick up Shelden Williams. The injury woes this team has had, have proven the need for a healthy big man there. However, I can’t get over the fact we couldn’t find another roster spot for Leon, last summer. We couldn’t have cut bait with J.R. Giddens back over the summer? I understood he was on the hook for a million dollars this year, but what were the odds of him being a contributor this year and earning Doc’s trust? Next to zilch. That spot could have gone to Leon! They should have cut him or dealt him for a bag of basketballs.

Sorry, end of rant. It just really frustrates me. Thankfully, Glen Davis has resorted back to his 08-09 ways this year, helping the spirit of Leon Powe live again in Beantown on the blocks. For now though, we can only watch and wait, in hope that we will not be Pow(e)ned come May.