Re: Player evaluations - SGs

["John Lyell" <johnlyell@hotmail.com>]

If Pierce moves to the 3 spot I see Carr starting at the 2.  Griffin had a
great half year last year but I don't think he has shown he has any range to
play the 2 guard. he fits well as a 3 off the bench. Also unfortunately
McCarty a 6'10" guy with as much athletic ballhandling capability as any
many that big just can't seem to bring it,and definitely is a not a 4, but I
am not sure he is a real 3 either.  One of those tweaners.  Although he
hustles, he is often out of position giving up easy scores.  He probably
made half the 3's he made all last season in game 1 when he made 5 or 6.
Hopefully Cheaney can bring something he didn't last year.  Brown, Pack and
Carr should provide some backcourt depth if they are all here.  I don't give
up Pack for an unproven Herren unless I get something else in return.






----- Original Message -----
From: "Alexander Wang" <awang@MIT.EDU>
To: <celtics@igtc.com>
Sent: Sunday, September 17, 2000 11:32 AM
Subject: Player evaluations - SGs


> The SF and SG positions are in many ways interchangable in the Pitino
> system. Pierce is currently listed on the Celtics roster at celtics.com as
> a F so I'll go with that, though he'll spend time at both spots according
> to Pitino.
>
> The shooting guard position does not have a clear starter at this point.
> Based on production and minutes last year (and assuming Pierce as the
> starter at SF), Adrian Griffin would be the probable choice. Griffin
> started out the season strong and was an integral part of many Celtics
> wins, doing all the little things - grabbing and stealing rebounds, making
> key defensive plays, creating on offense with passing, and even hitting
> some key shots. After winning co-Rookie of the Month, he faded later in
the
> season with fatigue and injury problems. He averaged 6.7 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.5
> apg, and 1.6 spg in 26.8 mpg. His shooting tailed off after a strong
start,
> to 44.7% from two-point range and 28.1% from 3-pt range.
> A key question for the Celtics is, are we going to get the Rookie of the
> Month Griffin or the end of the season Griffin. Hopes are that his resting
> this summer for the first time in years, and his ankle surgery, will bring
> back the original player. His rebounding in the first half of the season
> (from the SF position) resulted in the Celtics outrebounding their
> opponents even without Fortson. We may need that from him this season.
> What we need from Griffin, if he is a starter, is the same type of play he
> had early in the season, though he probably won't play over 30+ minutes
> like he did back then. An interesting breakdown is Griffin's starting
> stats: 8.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.9 spg in 31.9 mpg, shooting 47.5% from
> 2-pt range and 29.4% from 3-pt range, and this is after fading badly. In
> the best case, he could come back even better after a year of NBA
> experience. In his chat he says he's been working on his outside shot. I
> think the starting position is still his at least for the first part of
the
> season, and I'm hoping for 10 ppg (to keep the defense honest), 5-7 rpg
> depending on position, 3 apg in probably fewer minutes. If he recovers his
> quickness after the ankle surgery, he'll still probably defend the
toughest
> SF/SG on the other team.
>
> Chris Carr probably moves in as the primary backup at shooting guard,
> though he supposedly plays some SF also. He fits in with the "back to the
> press" movement as a top athlete and brings more of a change of pace and
> style from Griffin than Cheaney would. Last year he averaged 9.3 ppg by
> shooting 41.5% from 2-pt range and 31.7% from 3-pt range playing on the
> worst offensive team in the league, the Bulls. Not exactly fantastic
> credentials but their style of play may not have fit him well.
> Most likely what Carr will give us is a scoring mentality off the bench at
> the 2 spot. Pitino always mentions him in the context of "what if Pierce
> goes down?" so he is insurance in terms of scoring mentality, if not
> ability, in an athletic package that fits in with the uptempo style. My
> hope is that the coaches can do something about that shooting percentage
> and that he can make things happen on the press with his athleticism.
He'll
> probably compete for the "top scorer off the bench" job that Barros has
> filled for the past couple years, without the problems that we got playing
> Barros at either SG or PG last year, but also without Barros' shooting
> ability.
>
> Who would have thought even a few years ago that Calbert Cheaney's main
> role would be as a defensive stopper? On offense, he continued the
downward
> spiral that he's been on since his second year in the league. He averaged
> 4.0 ppg in 19.5 minutes and shot a shockingly low 21 free throws, hitting
> only 9. He basically never drove to the basket and frequently passed up
> open perimeter shots also, making him a liability on offense. It amazes me
> because I remember him from his Indiana days when he was an assassin with
> his jumper. I can't believe the same guy is shooting 42.9% on free throws.
> His defense was an asset however, as he was the lone perimeter guy who
> would concentrate on shutting down his own man rather than gamble for
> steals. He started more games late in the season as Griffin was fading.
> Still, decent man-to-man defense is probably not enough to compensate for
> this level of timidity on the floor, and it's not surprising to see his
> name in the Pack/Herren trade rumor.
> The only thing I can hope for from Cheaney is that he undergoes some sort
> of Nick Anderson revival (c. 1996-1998) though Nick Anderson never quite
> sunk this low. Nick went through this confidence loss where he started
shot
> about 40% from the line for a season and a half; he stopped trying to get
> to the line and his shooting fell drastically. He came out of it due to
> religious self-discovery I believe, and started hitting free throws,
> scoring well again, and throwing in improbable game-winning three
pointers.
> I think it's too much to hope for with Cheaney. But if he snaps out of it
> somehow and just regains a little bit of confidence and aggressiveness,
> he'll be a contributor in the rotation. If he regains anywhere near his
> ability in college and in his first pro years, he'd easily be a starter.
> Those are big ifs, though, and I'm not confident he'll be on the opening
> day roster. The signing of Carr and the comments about the lack of scoring
> from the position when Pierce goes down indicates that Pitino doesn't
> anticipate Cheaney recovering his scoring touch.
>
>