Practice Report: Delonte’s Back

Posted by Brian Robb on Oct 5, 2010 1003619 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2010%2F10%2F05%2Fpractice-report-delontes-back%2FPractice+Report%3A+Delonte%27s+Back2010-10-05+19%3A11%3A19Brian+Robbhttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D10036

The C’s just wrapped up their final practice before the start of the preseason with some positive news as Delonte West returned to action today, showing no signs of the back spasms that kept him out of action on Monday.

We’ll have a full practice report forthcoming with comments from Doc Rivers, Kevin Garnett, Delonte West and Shaquille O’Neal. For now though, I’d figure it would be intriguing to give you guys some running commentary on the team’s final scrimmage that was open to the media between the top two units, since let’s face it, no one has really been able to see these guys yet in action together.

We’ll get our first chance at it tomorrow night, but for now, here’s one man view on how these guys are stacking up head to head one week into camp:

First Unit- Rondo, Allen, Pierce, KG, Shaq (Doc Coaching)
Second Unit- Robinson, West, Daniels/Wafer, Baby, Erden (Frank Coaching)

First thing that stuck out to me, was the rotation between Marquis Daniels and Von Wafer at the small forward spot. The playing time between the two was split about 60/40 in Daniels favor during the action I witnessed.

I’ve been curious to see whether Doc would be willing to play the undersized Wafer (6’5”) at the 3 if needed, and this kind of rotation seemed to prove that theory.

The bad news about both Daniels and Wafer is neither brought much to the table on the offensive end. Daniels outside jumper looked as flat as ever, though he did make a pretty in-between floater, which has proven to be his bread and butter during the early part of last year.

Meanwhile Wafer didn’t have many looks or success from the outside, missing a couple of deep bombs, while also doing little else to impress. Unsurprisingly, he was on the court for the close end of game situations, when the second team needed shooters out there.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the second unit though in this scrimmage. The backcourt of Nate and Delonte really looked terrific together, with each guy taking turns handling the ball and distributing the rock. D. West has gotten a lot of love in print lately, but for this team to grab him off the discount rack might have been the biggest coup of all their newcomers this offseason.

His abilities were on full display during this scrimmage, scrapping his way to the hoop, finding the open man on the dribble drive and being an overall pest on defense. This team has really missed someone with the ability to penetrate on the second unit without hesitation the past couple years and they shouldn’t be underestimated here.

* When the C’s top unit are on their game, they move the ball flawlessly. The addition of a big man like Shaq/Jermaine inside with good hands should do wonders for this team’s ability to finish inside, since they will pay a lot more by leaving a big man alone on the weakside than they did with Perk in there. Shaq was the beneficiary of one of these dishes in the scrimmage.

* First unit offense wasn’t great in the half court, it was actually the open court breakouts where the guys did a lot of damage, scoring three fast break layups from Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo collectively.

* KG looked incredibly active in the post and really is moving around as well as everyone has been reporting. Still early obviously, but undoubtedly a good sign.

* Semi Erden of all people had a solid left handed finish over Shaq down low, and held his own against the big man on the defensive end. Doc continues to speculate Erden will be needed to contribute at some point this year, maybe more than we think.

* Final score 21-18 starters, with the first unit recovering from an 18-17 deficit with a quick inbounds pass to Shaq down low, which forced Erden to foul. The shaky free throw shooter knocked down the two “pressure” packed free throws, as the defense clamped down on the bench for the final two possessions. All in all, a good showing from both sides.

Much more to come later this afternoon with quotes from the usual suspects prior to tomorrow’s first game.