Who's The Celtics MVP?
As the (frustrating) regular season winds down and the Celtics try to get ready for the playoffs next week, I thought it might be fun to rank the Celtics' 2009-10 roster, and figure out which Celtic, above all others, is the most indispensable. We're going to do this American Idol style, and vote off the weakest members and the least valuable of the Green first. Where does your favorite Celtic rank? Ok, let's get going. How do the reality shows do this again? Oh right, we're going to vote off the weakest link of the tribe in the house by who lost the most weight they were pulling over the season... or something. I basically asked myself: "If I wasn't a douche who asked himself hypothetical questions, If I HAD to get rid of one player from the C's, who would I cut from the roster first?" Here's how the players rank against every other player to lace up 'em up for the Shamrock this season.
18. Marcus Landry. I still haven't seen this guy on the floor in green yet (He's played 3 whole minutes!). He came over as salary filler in the Nate Robinson trade, and he's been bouncing back & forth with the NBDL's Red Claws ever since. He's had no impact whatsoever.
17. Lester Hudson. Oh Lester. We hardly knew ye. A supposedly dead-eye shooter drafted in the 2nd round, he was cut after 16 games and later signed by the Grizzlies. He showed a little flash, but Doc can't be bothered to develop rookies, so he had no chance of sticking. I do remember being pleasantly surprised by him, though.
16. Brian Scalabrine. Yes, he's this low. He's worthless. I patiently waited 4 1/2 excruciatingly long years for this year's trading deadline to roll around, as I was CERTAIN the only reason the C's were hanging onto this waste of a roster spot was so they could package his not-insignificant contract into a trade, in order to get something (ANYTHING!) positive out of him. BUT NOOOOOOOOOO. He's still here, jacking up threes he never makes, stealing minutes that would've been better spent on young guys, and making all the casual fans happy to root for somebody who looks like the mascot. UGH. If Ainge re-signs him, I'll flip out. His plus/minus for the season? -45. His PER is the lowest it's ever been. He's terrible. Yet Doc's thrown him out there in 51 games this season, for over 440+ total minutes. That's more than 10+ full NBA games' worth of minutes. I would've loved to have seen all of those minutes been split up among Shelden Williams, Big Baby, and Bill Walker instead. Wouldn't you?
15. J.R. Giddens. Traded to the Knicks along with Eddie House & Walker, he got his first NBA start in a Celtics uniform early on in the season and performed admirably with the minutes he was given. Again, another young guy buried on the bench who never got a decent shot. I have nightmares he's going to put it all together and turn into something.
14. Tony Allen. Um, he's awful. -39 plus/minus. He's played 900 minutes of turnover-heavy ugly-ass ball so far this season. I have heartburn every time he touches the ball. The only reason he's this high is because he's been here all year and he's not Scal.
13. Eddie House. I love me some Eddie, but his shot wasn't falling early this year, and his inability to bring the ball up with confidence was always an issue. He used to make up with it with his clutch 4th quarter daggers and the way he spread the floor, but once that started to go, he lacked a real purpose. The "big" part the C's gave up for KryptoNate, he at least contributed in that regard and help bring some much-needed 2nd unit scoring & athleticism back to Boston.
12. Nate Robinson. A disappointing slot for him here. Yes, he's only been here a short while, and we knew he wasn't going to really thrive in Doc's system, but the returns have been a little less than satisfying. He still looks lost out there at times, and considering he was the "big acquisition" made at the deadline to help right the ship, he's left a lot to be desired. I think the addition of Michael Finley helped him greatly, because it took the "Hey look! NEW CELTIC!!!" spotlight off of him. I doubt he's here next year, but the fact that I really don't care whether he is or not is NOT a good sign.
11. Rasheed Wallace. Yup. I'm not going to be as harsh as Bill Simmons was, but great googly moogly, what a terrible free agent pick-up. We have two more WHOLE SEASONS to watch him chuck up threes and never play in the post, where he could dominate if he wanted to. It's infuriating. He dazzles you with his footwork and feathery touch one play, and then takes a whole quarter off where he doesn't sprint once. If he does as he says and "turns it on" for the playoffs, I'll move him up this list, but as of right now, he's one of the worst moves Ainge has made.
10. Marquis Daniels. Yeah, I wasn't really as excited as everyone else was when he was signed in the offseason, as I had doubts about a guy who couldn't stand out on an atrocious Pacers team last year, so his ineffectiveness this year hasn't been as unexpected as it seems to be with everybody else. He's a bench guy, nothing more. He's not going to set the world on fire, and it was wrong to expect him to save the C's from their struggles once he came back from the thumb injury. Remember when the team was going through that really rough patch when he was out and we were looking for any excuse to explain why we weren't dominating the league like everyone expected? Everyone pointed at Q being out, and convinced themselves that "Hey! That must be it! Once he comes back, we'll be fine!" Yeah, that might have been unfair to Marquis, as the C's problems are a lot deeper than that, and the weight of those expectations might still be getting him down.
9. Bill Walker. You know how I said I'd probably have nightmares about Giddens? I'm having full-blown, wet-the-bed night terrors about Billy Walker as we speak. I absolutely love the way he plays. He has a nose for the ball, can jump out of the gym, and played smart for a guy who didn't see a lot of minutes. He is athletic, somewhat long for what he is, and would KICK ASS running the floor with Nate Robinson, Big Baby, Shelden, & Finley on the floor as a speedy-up tempo second unit. I have no idea why Ainge gave him up as filler in the Nate trade. It killed me. Now he's putting up some pretty sick numbers (11.1 PPG, 51% from the field!) with the Knicks. Doc gave him less than 30 minutes of playing time this season, or 1/30th of the time he's given to Tony Allen so far. That's freakin' criminal.
8. Glen Davis. Even if the nonsense that went down on the eve of the season opener didn't happen, Baby hasn't really capitalized and taken the next step after his strong playoff performance last year. He's actually regressed a little. He's still spastic and out of position at times, and the fact that he's still pudgy and plodding at this stage of his career is a little unsettling. Is he going to get any better than he is right now? If not, is he worth keeping around long-term? His team-worst plus minus score of -69 (heh.) says no.
7. Michael Finley. Yes, he's only been here for what feels like a week, but he's provided something this team has needed all season long: Hope. He's hungry for a ring, he gives the team the "shoot the lights out" sub that scares the bejeezus out of opposing teams, and frees up everybody else. As I stated above, he's taken the pressure of Robinson as the new guy in town, and he's been a solid veteran presence. He pretty much won the game for Boston up in Toronto last night, as he scored 11 points in the 4th quarter. Let's face it, with Ray Allen's diminishing skills, Finley might be the best shooter on the team right now.
6. Shelden Williams. Another player who is inexplicably buried on the bench, despite showing early on that he's the best banger not named Perkins this team has. Yeah, I said it. He's the first guy off my bench to spell KG. He's shown he's got the rebounding chops, he hustle, and the brains to play inside. Doc continues to let him be a spectator when all the stats point to letting him play a bigger role. I'm just as upset about his lack of playing time as I am about Walker being traded.
5. Ray Allen. I begged this team to deal him at the deadline, and I maintain that was a mistake that's going to hurt them for a long time. Now the Celtics are caught in between a rock and a hard place, as they either have to overpay to resign him or let him walk to possibly sign with another contender, where he could pair up with LeBron and end up killing them. The C's controlled his destiny, and would've limited the damage while also getting something back in return, but that's all out the window now. His shot is leaving him, and honestly, that's all he had left. The entire offense is built around screens he can't get clear of anymore. Not good.
4. Kevin Garnett. Weird to see him here, huh? I thought so, too. Well, until I looked at his stats. They're down across the board from last year. He's obviously dragging that leg around on the floor, and can't get up and down like he used to. He doesn't scare anyone anymore. He still barks and snarls like he always has, but he's that junkyard dog that's stepped on one too many broken bottles over the years patrolling the dump, and you can just tell you could beat him to the fence if you absolutely had to. He always was one of the best two players on the floor at all times, in any game. Now, you could say he's not even one of the best three players on his own team.
3. Kendrick Perkins. And I almost put him at #2! Perk is a beast, we all know that. He's the only reason they aren't the league's worst defensive team. His rebounding on the defensive side has been key, and nobody wants to mix it up with him down low. He could stand to get a little better at grabbing the offensive rebounds for sure, and I'm scared he's picked up some awful habits from watching Sheed, but he's the linchpin of this team. We wouldn't be going to the playoffs without him.
2. Paul Pierce. The only reason I didn't flip-flop him with Perk is because he's the Captain. I want to see him finish his Hall of Fame career in green. He's been through thick and thin with this team, and he continues to give 100% every night. He's the heart & soul of this team, and he is what makes it go. It's not just the intangibles; while his skills are fading too, he can still dominate the game when he needs to. There's no question he's one of the top 10 Celtics ever to wear the uniform. Without his leadership and effort, this team would be looking at a lottery pick.
1. Rajon Rondo. "As Rondo goes, so go the Celtics." How many times have you heard that this year? If he has an off night, the Celtics have NO SHOT of winning. The man has grown to be exactly that: THE MAN. He's going to be a perennial All-Star from here on in. He does things with a basketball on a nightly basis that make you giddy to be a fan. The fact we get to watch this guy play in the green and white through his prime is going to be OUTSTANDING. The rate at which he's learning how to play the game is amazing. I wouldn't trade him for any other point guard in the league. I mean it. Derrick Rose? No. Chris Paul? Nope. Deron Williams? No thanks. I'll stick with Rondo. I'm going to go out and say it: He could eventually be considered the best Celtic of All-Time. He's THAT GOOD. The potential is there, trust me. If he puts it all together with a solid jumper, he's going to give Russell and Bird a run for his money. He's carried this team on his back all year, and could carry the franchise for the decade.
That's why he's my pick for Team MVP.
Disagree? Leave your comments below.
Big Head Braden doesn't work for the Sports Hub, but for Karlson & McKenzie on 100.7 WZLX. (Yeah, he thinks it's weird, too.) You can read his other tepid and not-necessarily-Celtics-related musings over at coltmonday.com.
