Boston's Fab Four

[Real Deal]

Rank Boston's "Fab Four" in order of importance, for next season's run, and give reasons why you ranked them the way you did.

 

Rondo, Pierce, Ray Ray and Garnett are your Fab Four (but you know this).

[*Swish*]

1. Rondo: The younger player. We already saw him as a leader for this team. Yeah ok he has no jump shot but could definitely lead them vocally, pass the ball like he always does, play defense like he always does but also drive to the basket more often

 

2. Paul Pierce: He's still very important for that team especially offensively where he could pretty much score anything with his step back jumper.

 

3: Kevin Garnett: Hopefully, no injuries will stop him this year. The guy is very important for the Boston Celtics because he will always bring his A Game showing passion and Celtic Pride. Still a very good defender and I love his mid range jumper.

 

4: Ray Allen: Best three point shooter out there but he will be after the three players I already stated because he doesn't run the offense that much. He's more of a catch and shooter BUT could also make the mid range and drive to the rim.

[Real Deal]

I'm going to go in a different direction with this, probably much different than everyone else on OTR.

 

1) Rajon Rondo

He runs the offense and is an exceptional defensive player. He's also a very good rebounder for his position, and if he could knock down jumpers, he'd be arguably the best PG in the NBA.

 

2) Kevin Garnett

Now that Perkins is in OKC, Jermaine isn't in his prime, and Shaq's 500 pounds isn't in the paint, Boston really doesn't have anyone playing defense up front, aside from KG. While he's declining (evident by the numbers and just by watching him), he's still the defensive anchor, and without him, Boston gets torched in the paint.

 

3) Ray Allen

Hard to say he's more valuable than Pierce right now, but I have to. He's the only one that can truly spread the floor for the Celtics, out to 23 feet, consistently. Plus, if Jeff Green returns, he's able to play the three, and that covers up what would be missing without Pierce (no, Green is not Pierce, but read the next explanation).

 

4) Paul Pierce

Yeah, he's a better player than Ray Ray, but here's what I'm thinking: Boston has a shooter, they have a playmaker, and they have a post player (Garnett isn't a traditional, back-to-the-basket post, but he can still post up). They have defensive players in Green, Rondo and Garnett. Losing Ray Allen seems like it could hurt them just a bit more than losing Pierce. Make no mistake...the Celtics aren't going to be as good losing any of these guys, but I would think they have the pieces to cover what's missing if they lost Pierce, instead of Ray Allen.

[AboveLegit]

Problem with that list RD is that Pierce can do everything Ray does. Obviously he's not on the level of Ray in terms of spot up shooting, but he can still get it done. The biggest advantage he has over Ray is the fact that he can match up to the top wing players in the league, which is huge.

 

Green CAN be a good defensive player, but he's not there yet. He has the build and athleticism to be a great wing defender, but he just didn't show it last year. When he was aggressive on the court (believe it or not he did show it a few times with Boston), he was very effective on the perimeter. He drove to the basket, got out on the fast break, and used his length to his advantage in the paint with that baby hook he has in his arsenal. The problem is, there were far too many times where he'd just disappear and do nothing on offense.

 

Pierce is by far the most versatile scorer on the Celtics, and he draws fouls better than anyone on the roster. I'd go as far as saying he's just as important as Ray in the clutch. Obviously if there's less than 2 seconds on the clock, you're inclined to go with Ray, but say under 10 seconds, I'm giving the ball to Paul. He can create his own shot, and has the passing ability to create for others.

 

That being said, I've said this a lot in the past year, Rondo is the most important player in Boston. He drives the offense, when he's aggressive and is getting into the lane, he makes life hell for opposing defenses due to his elite passing ability. He's a top 5 passer in the league, and the best defender at his position.

 

After that, I'll go with KG for all the reasons you mentioned.

 

Then I'll go with Pierce, followed by Ray.

[Real Deal]

If Green wasn't in Boston, and if the Celtics had a legitimate two-guard to replace Ray, I'd change my mind...but all of that factors in as well.

 

And I wouldn't say Pierce can spread the floor as much as Ray. He doesn't spend all of his time 20+ feet from the rim.

 

Getting to the line? Pierce isn't the same guy he was a decade ago. Is he even getting five free throws a night now? Boston has had success without all of the free throws, probably bottom 10th in the NBA in attempts last year (I know they were bottom five at one point of the season).

 

I'd much rather lose Pierce than Ray. If that means putting the ball in Rondo's hands much more, I'm all for that...and that's part of why I'd do it as well.

[AboveLegit]

If Green wasn't in Boston, and if the Celtics had a legitimate two-guard to replace Ray, I'd change my mind...but all of that factors in as well.

 

And I wouldn't say Pierce can spread the floor as much as Ray. He doesn't spend all of his time 20+ feet from the rim.

 

Getting to the line? Pierce isn't the same guy he was a decade ago. Is he even getting five free throws a night now? Boston has had success without all of the free throws, probably bottom 10th in the NBA in attempts last year (I know they were bottom five at one point of the season).

 

I'd much rather lose Pierce than Ray. If that means putting the ball in Rondo's hands much more, I'm all for that...and that's part of why I'd do it as well.

Ray has proven that he cannot create for himself as much as he used to, while Pierce still has his patented step back shot. And let's not act as if Green is a polished player, he's still pretty raw, so I'm not sure why that would alter your opinion.

 

Just two years ago Pierce had a career high in 3PT FG% and FG% (which he happened to exceed this past year). He's still a great scorer, and is capable of doing more than Ray at this point in their careers.

 

Bottom line is in the playoffs, Boston clearly didn't have enough weapons on offense to create for themselves. Putting the ball in Rondo's hands even more would only make them worse. I'd much rather lose a spot up shooter than a versatile scorer.

[Real Deal]

Nobody said Green was a polished player. That doesn't change the fact that he's a better starter than Avery Bradley or E'Twaun Moore.

 

The Boston offense wasn't a problem during the season. They won nearly 60 games with an offense ranked in the bottom half of the NBA. It was their defense (a top three) that did it for them. They also put up 90's in four of the five games vs. the Heat, who were a top five defense in the league (let's be honest, they weren't train-wrecked like the Lakers were in 2004, when we were held under 87 in every game but one...but that was Detroit, so yeah). That's just what you expect from two defensively-talented teams.

 

If I'm not mistaken, Boston's offense was average in 2008, also. Surely not a top five...I'd bet anything on that.

 

Also, if we're going to bring up the playoffs, we might as well talk about what Pierce didn't do. He got his ass kicked in three of those five games vs. Miami, and I don't remember him shooting a high percentage in any of them, nor did he defend anyone well enough to matter. In fact, Ray Allen had the better series.

 

I doubt Boston does a damn thing without Pierce, or without Allen...but, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree. I'd rather start Green than Bradley, or have to move Pierce down to the two-guard position (or try Green there), and losing Pierce means they lose out on things the other three can make up for (not completely, but comfortably), while losing Allen means you empty a roster spot entirely, and you lose the deep ball...and that's five a night, better than 44% shooting from there.

[AboveLegit]

If we're really talking about the playoffs, let's also mention that Pierce was being guarded a lot by LeBron as well as covering Bron on defense, and he still put up decent performances. He had back to back 27 point games, and did some facilitating too with Rondo hurt.

 

Ray on the other hand was covered a lot by Mario Chalmers, and didn't exactly have many ground breaking performances. So it's really a wash.

 

The offense took a HUGE hit after the Perkins trade because it took those incoming players time to adjust to the new team (I don't think they ever fully grasped the offense). While Perkins is borderline inept on that end of the floor, his presence alone was a valuable asset to the team. Everyone knew their roles and spots, and they were able to run every play in Doc's playbook. Now Ainge brings in a jump shooting big (not sure I can even call him that, he's worthless), and Doc is forced to make adjustments to how his team is run. Losing Perkins also hurt Allen's productivity, because Perk was the main guy setting screens to get him open looks. It's no coincidence Ray fell into that huge slump after the trade deadline.

[Nitro]

I'd rank them...

 

1) Rajon Rondo. Ultimately, none of the Big 3 can be relied on as "do everything" offensive players anymore. In their primes, Pierce, KG and Allen could all dominate in iso situations, off-ball, score in different areas of the floor, and could also do a great job of setting up teammates (with Pierce and KG being able to have an entire offense ran through them). Now, those players can't, at least on a consistent basis. Rondo puts them all in perfect positions to be the most efficient offense in the league, while being dominant in open-court situations, and a terrific defender and rebounder for his position.

 

*TIE* 2/3) Paul Pierce. Fact of the matter is he's the only consistent iso scorer on the team, and he's still one of the elite iso scorers in the entire league when he's relied on to do so. Off-ball, he's become a very efficient 3pt shooter, and as seen in the Knick series he can get unconscious from out there. He's still one of the better defenders at SF in the league, still a very good rebounder, and his passing is good enough that you can run an offense completely through him for large portions of important games. Lastly, even though Ray is the best clutch shooter on the team, Pierce is still their best clutch scorer, and their #1 option in those situations (unless they need a 3).

 

*TIE* 2/3) Kevin Garnett. Still one of the very elite defensive players in the league, the best rebounder on the team, still is a capable 15PPG scorer, still a tremendous passer, and is the heart and soul of the Celtics. Unfortunately, out of the entire Big 3, he's had the sharpest decline, and on many nights his knees are just dead, and his rebounding and scoring ability take a huge hit. On the nights where he still has spring in his step, you can make a case for him being the most important player on the team. Those games are just too far and inbetween nowadays.

 

4) Ray Allen. Still extremely important, but IMO a distant 4th. Arguably the best 3pt shooter in the league, he definitely helps space the floor brilliantly for the Celtics, but ultimately he's less of a focal points and less well-rounded than Pierce offensively and defensively, and he doesn't make the same kind of impact offensively that KG does defensively/emotionally. I feel they'd have a much smoother time replacing him with Delonte West than replacing Pierce with Green or KG with Big Baby.