I mentioned it in my earlier post on Mo Williams’ performance in Game 1: When the C’s put Rasheed Wallace in the game, you can bet decent money the Cavs are going to call a high screen/roll in which Sheed’s man is the screener. The Cavs think Sheed isn’t capable anymore of playing the screen/roll like an active big man—i.e. jumping out to cut off the ball-handler and then rotating back to find the screener again.
And when Mike Brown watches the film from Game 1, he’s going to see his hunch was right. We’ll examine the carnage below, but the larger question is this: If the Cavs continue to attack Sheed this way, is it time to sit him on the bench in favor of Shelden Williams? That’s certainly what a lot of commenters here and elsewhere are suggesting. (And, according to this CelticsBlog post I didn’t see until this morning—after I wrote this one—Doc has at least thought about placing Shelden in the rotation, mostly because of Sheed’s defensive problems).
C’s fans have spent all season lamenting Sheed’s shot selection, but could it be that his defense is what makes him too much of a liability to play?
Let’s look at three such screen/rolls:
Here’s an Antawn Jamison/Delonte West screen/roll from the early part of the 2nd quarter:
That didn’t go well.
To his credit, Sheed tries to play this screen/roll as if he were KG—he jumps out to cut off West’s left hand, but West makes a decent move to split the defense:
Sheed whiffs awkwardly when West makes his move, and I’m not sure a more agile big man could have done much better. But Sheed’s footwork, to my eyes, doesn’t help. In the above photo, he’s positioned in a open stance that sort of gives West an alley to the hole.
Not surprisingly, the Cavs go right back to the same play on the next possession:
As Jamison hits Ray Allen with a screen, it looks as if Sheed is going to jump out to cut off West:
But instead, he drifts back toward Jamison, leaving Ray out to dry. West has an easy lane to the basket:
The rest of the defense is compromised. Pierce is sagging way off of Jamario Moon and Perk is drifting away from J.J. Hickson on the baseline. This is dangerous. Moon’s nothing more than an average three-point shooter, but he’s been hot lately, and average three-point shooters get a lot better when they’re wide open. Hickson is a threat off the ball, and West is a skilled passer.
I already highlighted a third play in my post on Mo’s 3rd quarter outburst, so I’ll present it without commentary and direct you here if you want to read my thoughts on it:
Again: If the Cavs are smart, they are going to do this a lot when Sheed is in the game. That of course raises the question of whether Sheed should be in the game at all.
Despite vowing to turn up his play when the post-season started, Sheed has basically been a disaster in limited minutes. He’s missed 13 of 20 shots, hasn’t made a single three-pointer or grabbed one offensive rebound. His PER is 4.8, which would have ranked 329th out of 331 qualifying players in the regular season.
So why is he playing over Shelden Williams?
Simple: Offensive potential. Shelden Williams works his ass off, but he’s not an accomplished offensive player and he likely never will be. He has shaky hands and an inconsistent touch, and he has trouble finishing at the rim. He has no post-up game.
Sheed has the potential to carry the team’s offense for a five-minute stretch. He was 1-of-5 from the floor in Game 1, but three of those misses were gimmes—two bunnies and a wide-open 12-footer from the left baseline. (The fourth miss was a rushed three, which we can’t have). If Sheed makes two of those three misses, the calls to bench him would be a lot quieter today.
I don’t know what the solution is. I do know Rasheed Wallace hasn’t filled his role in the post-season, and that that void felt larger in Game 1 when Glen Davis got in foul trouble and the Celtics needed someone to step up while KG and Perk rested.
But I also know benching Sheed for Williams represents a trade-off. Are you willing to make it?
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Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss *Deep breath* Yessssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss
Bench the lazy ass has been and send his fat ass to McDonalds, you know he’s craving a cheese burger.
I’m glad you took that deep breath, Jay P
Now that my disdain for Sheed is known, let me actually make an argument for it.
1) The offensive loss is marginal, Sheed can barely hit open shots anymore, and his post presence is marginalized by the fact that the Cavs are EXTREMELY deep front line (see: Jamison, Varejao, Z, Shaq, Powe) who are all pretty solid defenders, your going to see either Varejao or Z on Sheed, so he has little size advantage over either. Varejao is extremely mobile, Sheed has no chance against him, Z has too much size, Sheed would have to beat him with speed. Sheed has no chance against him.
2) Most second unit line ups have at least Paul or Ray in there. There’s someone to do the scoring. And the Cavs showed a weakness in game 1 in their inability to keep people out of the lane. Tony Allen is great at getting into the lane and finishing, we have offensive options. I’m completely fine with using Shelden as a screener and having TA/ Rondo (if he’s in with the second unit) slashing. I’ll sacrifice the post presence, no problem.
3) The defensive gain is HUGE, not to mention rebounding. I nearly threw my remote at the TV when Sheed held the ball out on his fingertips and just let Varejo walked right in and take it away. “Oh here, why don’t you take this since I’m too lazy and stupid to hold the ball on the rare times I actually come down with it.” Jackass.
At least we know we’ll get effort from Shelden. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go run to the bathroom and vomit because this talk is now making me further aware we have to put up with his crap for two more years.
Just bench him, he sucks. He has aged. We thought we would get good production off the bench and look what we got. Somebody who loves the three ball and just sucks. Bench him now.
1) Only 1 guy can score on each possession anyway, so having an offensive dud out there isn’t a huge liability as long as you don’t keep going to him.
2) Shelden can score when open, and he draws a decent # of fouls and shot free throws at 77% during the regular season, so the Cavs can’t leave him open and I’m not even sure that he’s a worse offensive option than Sheed. He had a higher eFG% and a higher PER than Sheed during the regular season.
Shelden needs to play over Sheed. It’s like House over Cassell 2 years ago.
i would play sheed for a while… see how hes doing then if he isnt doing well but shelden in… at least he will be active, try to do things right and work hard
the only bad thing with benching sheed is that when he goes to the post he can give us 3 or 4 good buckets which is good enough to give KG and perk some rest. we need is inconsistent offense because really with the second unit either paul or ray are in and really only they can score and maybe also a bit of bug baby and TA… so in the end i dont envy doc
There is a tradeoff, but it’s with a hope, not a reality. We hope he will post up, hope he will hit those easy shots, and then have to hope he doesn’t screw up on D. That’s a lot to hope for… and as you pointed out, that last one not only hasn’t happened, it doesn’t look like it’s ever going to happen… it looks rather like Sheed can’t do it.
For me, the last straw was that rushed 3 he took. All season long, when he took those shots… and missed EVERY ONE OF THEM… I thought ‘Ok, he’s experimenting. There’s a good chance he’ll get it together for the playoffs, as he’s promised he would.’ When he took that 3 — which he should know is an effectively IMPOSSIBLE SHOT FOR HIM (he only makes 3s when they’re uncontested, NEVER when contested or rushed) — I realized that Sheed is, in fact, hopeless, even now. When you add in his open insurrection vs. Doc in the last regular season Cavs game — it’s time to find some way to get him out of Boston. Whatever it takes. And… apparently, he will be useless in the playoffs.
Play him in the first half in game 2. Pending on his production that half…see if he earned a 2nd half appearance. If the game is close and he is not getting it done….Sheldon Williams.
Sheed may be fat and over the hill, but he is still a competitor. He has been challenged through the media, you want to give him an opportunity to respond. He will play in Game 2…count on it.
Man! WTH is the bench?? We never even use it! Our rotation is lazy ass sheed, TA, Big Baby & Finley, that’s it! Why doesn’t Doc at least try using Williams, Daniels and Nate Robinson?? Rondo was UNBELIEVABLE in the first half, 19 and 8???? That’s crazy but I’m sure he ran out of gas at the end of the game (plus the Cavs adjusted) give the guy a blow!
We had the game and blew it but we’re on older team, we need an effective bench!
I think we have to. While Shelden may struggle with the scheme and be limited offensively, he WILL get rebounds and will kill himself to stay on the floor. So, do you trade a guy who has not shown anything this season offensively (aside for that one big game against Toronto) or defensively for a guy who will work the boards and get to the line? I think the answer is obviously “yes”.
He’s a liability on the defensive end with how lazy he is. He gives nothing on offense either, HE COULDN”T HIT THE BROAD SIDE OF A BARN with the basketball much less a jumper. I cringe every time he is involved on a pick and roll on defense. I feel bad for our perimeter defenders who have to constantly guess what Rasheed is going to do and when he does the opposite of what he should it makes them look foolish. Not even going to talk about rebounding. CAN I GET SOME HUSTLE SHEED? ISN’T IT THE PLAYOFFS?
SHEED IS JUST HORRIBLE!!! I don’t expect anything else from Sheed anymore. He’s had his chances, I would have benched him long time ago. He’s too lazy and makes the Celtics look like trash the minute he comes in. He can’t play defense, too lazy, compromises our entire defense, slows down our team not to mentios he kills every momentum we have. So I say, it’s more than time to have a shot at Sheldens increase of playing time, at least the guy has heart and legs. What are we waiting for? better do it now that we are only one game behind. And Sheed should retire…
It is time to bench Sheed for sure, as I am reading through this tread, i am getting happy..
Sheed was (in the past) a good shouter and a great defender, not anymore, he is as good a good very old cat I have in my house, does not do the cat’s job to chase mice… it is actually afraid of them..
Doc said he isn’t willing to completely bench Sheed, only lower his minutes. Sheed played 11 minutes in the first game, and puting Shelden in for 5 of those won’t make a big difference. Doc would have to sit Sheed for good and see what Shelden can do, which I’m for. Fun Fact: Sheed didn’t have a SINGLE GAME with a double double this year. Not one.
Does anyone know if Shelden did?
Listen you guy cant blame Rasheed for the L we got. Yes he can play better and yes he looks lazy, but look at the captain of the team what did he do in that game scored the first set of points then became invisible playing like hes scared to attack the rim and draw fouls. We need him more than Rasheed so yall should be on his case also for playing like a god damn girl no heart like LBJ injected fear into him.
Also second half why didnt the coaching staff continue posting Garnett he was killing Jamison they had no answer for him but they continued to give captain Paul the ball which he bail out the cavs by shooting jump shots all night instead of driving and drawing fouls down low.
Us Spurs fans were clamoring for Sheed during the off-season. Now I’m glad we got McDyess instead. I’m not trying to rub salt in the wound, just observing.
On a sidenote: You guys gotta beat Cleveland though. I hate those guys.
@mrDuncan5
I completely agree with you. No, Sheed was not the reason for the loss, he didn’t play enough minutes to take that kind of blame.
But we need more out of the bench, there’s no doubt about that. He certainly didn’t help anything.
You are absolutely right about about the second half. Doc mentioned it in some post-game stuff, that they got away from Garnett on the post.
It’s an area that can be both their greatest strength and greatest weakness. They spread the ball so much that when someone goes cold, he’s still getting shots. Inversely, if everyone is playing well, you just flat out can’t stop them, since they’ll get everyone looks.
It’s almost like when Paul misses some shots they go “Ok we need to get him going cause we’ll need him later” and they keep feeding him. They need to learn to ride the hot hand, and take advantage of mismatches. Involving everyone is great, but when it’s not working, you need to make adjustments.
They completely failed to do that in the second half, and it lost the game for them.
I’ve been saying this all season!!! I am so glad it’s now being brought to light. They should have left him off the playoff rotation. His shooting is horrible and his defense is even worse. He plays lethargic or to put it bluntly, like he just doesn’t give a $hit!
I agree though, it’s not all his fault. Pierce was throwing up bricks left and right and we’ve got no bench support other than Big Baby. I really wish Eddie House was still on the team. Nate Robinson was a bust!
It’s exactly this situation where Sheed has to show he cares and can do anything: Down a game in a series against the league’s best team and playing in their house. If Sheed doesn’t bring it tonight on both ends, he completely sucks. I agree with someone above: play him in the first half tonight, and if he sucks it up, bench him for the rest of the postseason. If he can’t help the team when they are down and need a lift, he shouldn’t play. Ever again.
Rasheeba is a lazy pig! The reason he’s playing is beyond me. Sheldon Williams will play better defense and he’s not that bad on offense as Doc thinks. He won’t take stupid shots and is a better offensive rebounder. Sheed should never see the floor, I’m tired of is boring act.
@mrduncan5– Right… but nobody is saying the game was lost only because of Sheed. The question is whether he should be kept in the lineup or not.
It’s sad. Most of us were worried at one time about Sheed missing games because of techs, but now it seems like most of us would love to see him miss some games. Doc is very, very stubborn sometimes, & it REALLY HURTS THE TEAM. If he puts Sheed out there it has to be an extremely short, early season–TA kinda leash. Shelden WILL RUN HARD. Shelden WILL PUT A BODY ON SOMEONE. Shelden WILL NOT CAMP OUT AT THE 3PT LINE. Shelden has a decent 10′ jumper & some rebounding skills.
IF you just put Shelden in & say, ‘Shelden, your minutes are totally based on you putting a body on Varejao & keeping him off the offensive boards.’ IF, we could just get that ONE thing, it would be worth it.
Let’s face it, the C’s lost game one because they#1-Lost their agressiveness-#2-Pierce completely tanked in the 2nd half-#3–Ray only getting a couple of touches throughout the entire 4th quarter, and true you certainly can’t blame Rasheed for all of that, however what do we have to lose by benching Sheed and playing Williams? Sheed gives us a big fat 0 everytime he steps on the court. We just can’t afford Sheed’s brain dead moments anymore. This is a critical Game 2 for the C’s, considering that coming back home guarantees us nothing with how inconsistent we have been there. All it’s going to take is for Sheed to screw up again tonight at a pivotal point in the game and we are in trouble. I can’t except blowing our shot at this series by sticking with Sheed. The first blown defensive assignment by Sheed and it’s to the bench for good.We just can’t wait anymore for him to start giving a damn.
Sheed has been freaking worthless for five years. And I am a Pistons fan, so I know.
He played OK in Spring 2004 after being acquired by the Pistons because he was on the jagged edge of getting waived out of the league — if he hadn’t played well the next stop was Uzbekistan.
Since then he has been the same lazy, selfish, stupid, back-stabbing, coach-killing (he tanked TWO Pistons coaches, Saunders and Curry) screw-loose whack job he was in Portland before they dumped him. His mental lapses and defensive breakdowns were HUGE factors in catastrophic Pistons playoff losses virtually every season since then.
Who can forget his immortal performance against the Cavs when, in a close game with 6 minutes left, he goes berzerk, gets thrown out of the game, 2 technicals, the Cavs convert, bang-bang the game is over they win by 15.
This media-fueled idiocy that Sheed is a “proven winner” is just plain delusion. He has helped a team win for exactly 12 weeks in his 15-year career. That’s it. Other than that he is a cancer who takes your team down in flames.
The Celtics certainly should have known all this, so it is coming as no surprise.
If Doc Rivers is smart he will tell Sheed to take a long walk on a short pier. Otherwise he will end up like Saunders and Curry.
I do have one question for Sheed…Have you hit rockbottom yet? Or can you sink lower? Is a PER of 4.8 the lowest you can go or can he possibly gain a PER of 0.0? Is there nowhere else to believe he can go but up? Or is that just bullshit hope?
The only “hope” to take out of Sheed is to say, he can’t possibly play any worse.
Rasheed is totally useless, and he is somewhat likely to score on his own basket. He needs to be benched.
rasheed wallace has to get into shape but no they should still give him atleast 10mins of game time.
*Sigh*
Oh… how things change in a day.
It was only game 1. It doesn’t matter how bad the Celtics plasyed in game 1 they are capable of turning it around and winning game 2. If the Celtics win game 2 they will have the home court advantage. The Celtics have been terrible in some gamess and played great the next. game on many occasions. It’s the first team to win 4 games not just the 1st game.