Ok alot of recent trade talk on this blog has centered around making minor trades involving trading just  the end of the bench players on our roster with expiring contracts (like Scal, TA, Giddens, House ) and some talk has centered around making more blockbuster trades involving just trading Ray Allen.

But how about a trade that is not minor or a blockbuster trade, but somewhere in between involving trading Big Baby and one of the end of the bench players?

So far Baby has struggled this year to get his game back after his injury, but  even when he was fully healthy and played his best for the C's (like last year into the playoffs) Baby  was still not a pro typical power forward since he is kinda short and  lacks length at the position ( he is listed at 6'9" but he is 6'8 at best) has a short arm wing span and lacks jumping ability.

Even when on his game Baby is not  a great rebounder, low post scorer (gets alot of his shots blocked) is not a great low post defender or shot blocker again due to his lack of length and jumping ability.

I would prefer to have a back up power forward with with more length and athletic ability who can rebound, defend and score in the low post better than Baby and would be open to Danny trading Baby in order to acquire such a player.

One such trade example would be the Celtics trading Big Baby and Tony Allen to the Bulls for Tyrus Thomas.

The Bulls would get a young promising power forward in Baby and a valuable expiring contact in TA so may be interested in such a trade.

The C's would get in Thomas a young, long athletic power forward (who also can defend small forwards that we need help with) who can rebound, block shots, defend and score in the low post much better than Baby can.

He would be a player that can help us this year and is a young player to help us in future years and when we have to rebuild

Such a long, athletic big man coming off the bench is something I think the C's could use very much.

Does anyone else think we should upgrade the backup power forward position by trading Baby ?

Happy new year everyone....

Ok I have never been  a big  Tony Allen fan and have from the beginning of the season been wishing for Danny to trade him and his valuable expiring $2.5 million contract in exchange to obtain  a bigger, longer small forward defender that I think the  C's really need to come off  the bench to help cover the big, long, strong,quick athletic small forwards that give Pierce and Daniels trouble.

I always thought Allens contract which has alot of value to teams since it is  a expiring contract and worth about 2.5 million could be used by Danny in a trade to acquire a more talented, bigger, longer player in return for Allen.

Now I always had a problem with Allen's offensive game since he was always indecisive, erratic and out of control, but since his return he seems (at least so far) to have cleaned up his offensive act and has been very smooth on the offensive end of the court.

Now I never had a problem with Allen's  defensive game because he always played tough, steady tenacious defense, though I wished he  was longer and stronger so he could guard the longer and stronger small forwards that as I mentioned give the C's trouble.

I always liked the fact he was a athletic player and brought young legs and energy to the court and which  the C's are in dire need of currently.

The question now however is, if Allen continues his good play, should Ainge trade him by the trade deadline?

Now on one hand  as mentioned with Allens  valuable expiring contract and his good play of late, Ainge should be able to trade him to some team in exchange for a bigger, longer small forward defender, which I think we really need especially heading into the playoffs since its one of our biggest weakness's.

Though  Allen is a great defender he is just to short and small to guard long, strong small forwards.

Now on the other hand (I can not believe I am saying this) would the C's be better off just keeping Allen and not trading him ?

If Allen keeps up his solid play, since he knows the team game plans, has chemistry with the players and coaches, maybe it would be better just to keep him a Celtic as he would be a nice contributor off the bench for the rest of the season and heading into the playoffs?

I am going back and forth on what we should do with Allen, but am leaning a bit still toward trading him since I think we really need to remedy before the playoffs what I think is our biggest  weak spot which is the need for a  long, strong small forward defender who can guard, long, strong, quick small forwards which gives us currently alot of problems defending.

But if Allen keeps up his good, solid play maybe I may very well change my mind and lean toward keeping him instead of trading him.

Anyone else have mixed feelings like I have on what the C's should do with Allen?

I am really interested in seeing Walker get some minutes this year, so we can see what type of player he finally is.

I think the kid has alot of talent and really want to see him get a chance this year to show it on the court.

I think the Celtics really need a young small  forward who can guard big, athletic, strong small forwards like Lebron (when Pierce goes to the bench or gets in foul trouble)  and think Walker can do the job since he is a young, strong, athletic small forward.

I also like his offense game of driving strong to the hoop which is what the C's need more of instead of shooting all those outside shots (like they did when they were in their slump a couple of weeks ago).

Does any body know if he his full healthy from his knee injury, how he is playing during in the minor league  and when the C's plan on calling putting him on the roster?

Ok we all know the Celtics defense has at times against  younger, athletic, quicker, smaller lineups has been very poor.

Well what about the C's putting the following young, quick, athletic, small lineup  on the floor (which we have not seen yet this year) to help us defend against these opposing young, quick, athletic, small lineups.

Rondo at  point.

Hudson at shooting guard.

Perk at center.

Garnett at  power forward (if healthy )

Daniels or Walker at  small forward.

I think it  would be a great tenacious defensive lineup (again assuming Garnett is healthy)  which would be able to defend opposing young, athletic, quick lineups very well, especially on the perimeter, which has been a big problem for the team lately especially for Pierce and Allen.

It  would also be a lineup that could still score, since most of the players (except maybe for Walker) have decent offensive games and still rebound with Perk, Garnet, Rondo and Daniels on the floor.

Again  we have not seen this line up yet this year by Doc, but I think it would be just what the Doctor ordered and would be a energetic and dynamite team on defense which would be very interesting to watch.

I say lets use this lineup and fight fire with fire, what do the rest of you think?

I am puzzled why Doc continues to play the big 3 at the end of games during crunch time in games in which they  are struggling, which has happened at times over the past few years and especially during recent games.

Is their a clause in his contract that states he must play the big 3 at the end of games and in crunch time even if they are struggling ?

Take for instance last nights game:

Shelden Williams was playing great and was providing the team with a spark  with his solid physical play, hustle and energy.

He was on a role especially in the 3rd quarter when he rejected his opponent and then hustled down the court for a nice slam dunk.

Moments later though Doc pulled  Williams from the game in place of Garnett and it was like a balloon of energy was deflated because the game started to do down hill then and the C's evidently lost the game.

Another example:

In the 4th period Ray Allen just went ice cold and  was bricking his outside shots badly, but Doc continued to keep him in the game and went to him time after time even though Allen was struggling badly with his shot.

You could see Ray just did not have it in the 4th so why did Doc continue to keep him on the floor?

Doc could of shook things up and put Daniels in the game who could of got us drives too the hoop and  better shot options or even could of went with Hudson who is a good scorer to give us more of a offensive punch.

Another example is Pierce, he was also struggling in the 4th with his bad knee, not being able to defend his opponent and  was a non factor offensively.

Why did  Doc not bench him for say Daniels, Scalabrine or even Walker who could all provided some offensive punch and solid defense?

I just do not get why Doc continues to play the big 3 in crunch time when they are struggling, when we have bench players that are capable of coming in for them and giving us a spark and a lift when we need it the most.

When the big 3 are on the floor and things start going down hill  in crunch like in last nights game its puzzling why Doc continue to just stand pat with them and not go to the bench.

He has no problem pulling bench players out of the game for starters when they struggle so should do the same if the starters struggle.

After all what was the purpose of building a bench this summer if we do not use it when the big 3 are struggling, like they were last night?.

I think Doc for the good of the team has to stop fearing he will hurt the feelings or show disrespect to the big 3 and bench them in crunch time when they are struggling or if other bench players are playing better than them.

Any one else agree with me?

Ok we will probably have the following players on the active roster to make up our bench;

House

Daniels

Rasheed

Baby

Scalabrine

They will be the first 5 players coming off our bench.

Williams

Hudson

Will be the 11th and 12th men coming off our bench.

I think this bench is the best in  the NBA since it is very deep and very talented.

Do you agree?

If not , who do you think has a better one?

I guess its a good sign Garnett is not wearing any knee pads or supports on his knees, especially on the one he injured since I assume its a sign the injury was not that severe and has fully healed.

With that said though, I still would feel better if Garnett would protect those 2 vital body parts (his knees that is ) with some form of support and padding.

Former Celtic greats Bill Walton, Kevin Mchale and Robert Parish  wore knee padding support to help protect thier knees from the stress of NBA  games and from accidental physical trauma, especially after some of them had knee surgery performed.

Here are links to pictures showing the knee pad supports that those 3 players wore:

Walton:    http://www.insidesocal.com/tomhoffarth/33-11121-F.jpg

Mchale:   http://hoopedia.nba.com/images/f/fb/Mchale1.jpg

Parish:    http://www.fansedge.com/Images/Product/33-30/33-30465-F.jpg

I think wearing the knee pads was a smart move for all those players since the pads helped reduce wear and tear on their knees during games, helped reduce the chance of them twisting a knee etc. and helped reduce the chance of them suffering a knee injury in the case of a accidental collision with another player.

It is for these same reasons I think it would be a very smart move for Garnett to wear some type of knee pad supports.

Maybe Garnett does not wear any knee pad supports because he thinks that they would negatively effect his jumping ability or maybe not look cosmetically good on him.

I am not saying Garnett should wear big bulky knee supports like Tony Allen and Leon Powe wore in the past , I am simply talking about those mini knee pad supports that Bill Walton wore and alot of current NBA players wear to protect their knees.

I believe just as wearing ankle supports ( taping, spandex supports etc.) helps reduce ankle injuries, wearing knee supports and pads also help reduce knee injuries.

I am not sure why Garnett is not wearing any type of knee pad support, but would personally feel alot better if his knees were protected with some form of padding and support  just for more insurance to help reduce the risk of injury to them.

What do the rest of you think? 

I keep asking this question and think Danny will maybe showcase them a bit early in the season and will then pull the trigger near the trade deadline when he can possibly get a better deal for both Tony Allen's and Scal's expiring contracts.

I hope Danny can trade Allen for a bigger, stronger,  defending back up small forward.

Even though we have Daniels I think having a another bigger stronger back up small forward on the bench would come in handy in the playoffs especially when we have to face Lebron.

I hope we can trade Scal for a legit 7 foot back up rebounding, defensive center.

With Perks past shoulder problems, Garnetts knee and Rasheeds age we could use the extra insurance on the bench in case any of them get hurt during the season.

Even though Williams & Baby  can do some spot duty at center, they are not legit centers, are undersized to play the position  and if any of the other front line players go down that would leave us with no legit center on the bench and in big trouble.

Also having another legit 7 footer who can rebound, defend and use his six fouls will come in handy especially in the playoffs when we have to face big centers like Shaq and Howard etc.

Well that's what I think Danny's plans are for Scal and T.Allen and what I hope he can get in return for them.

Whats do the rest of you all out in Celtics nation think?

I think that unit of height and might would be devastating against taller, lengthy  clubs like Orlando, Cleveland and LA especially when we want to slow things down and play a 1/2 court power game.

Playing Perk at center, Garnett or Rasheed at the power & small forward position, Pierce at shooting guard and Daniels at the point would create a powerfull, defensive & rebounding monster machine.

It would not just be a tall, strong line up but a VERY, VERY  physically tough one from players 1-5.

I think many teams would have fits trying to score and defend down low on that unit and trying to drive to the hoop against it.

Can you imagine Shaq, Howard, (and poor soft Odom & soft Gasol)  trying to score or defend against that scary power front line?

Can you imagine Lebron and Kobe trying to overpower the strong & lengthy guard combo of Pierce and Daniels and attempting to drive to the basket against the monster, hulk like front line of Perk, Garnett and Sheed?

That unit as tall & strong as it would be, would also still be a quick line up, which would still be able to stay with players during defensive rotations and switches.

That unit also would not be to shabby on offense either with Garnett, Rasheed, Pierce and Daniels on the floor, which is frightening.

I think basketball is a game of height and might and believe just like we did when we were were kids picking teams on play & school grounds, that teams with the tallest and strongest players usually are the most effective team on the court .

I think this is the case also in the NBA which is why this tall and strong Celtics lineup I think can be very effective when they are all on the court at the same time.

Any body have any thoughts on using this tall, physical power line up during the season, against whom Doc should use it against and how great a line up you think it can be?

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