We Eye-Em Goode: Part One
Monday, July 30, 2007
In possibly a new regular feature, several of We Rite Goode's ace riters figured, what the hell, let's convocate and, like any good fans, chat about the week's sports news for a bit.
Jimmy Chitwood: I have to warn you, I haven't been on IM in about 3 years
Crucifictorious: yeah, me neither--mine was outdated
MrJayTibbs: and I’m a slow typer
Yes, we were clearly off to a strong start.
Garnett's move to Boston
Crucifictorious: We have to talk about this, given that it's breaking news. Kevin Garnett is reportedly headed to Boston for a number of younger players.
Crucifictorious: Let's put aside, for now, if this is a good move or which side makes out better, and just think about the lineup of Ray Allen-Paul Pierce-KG. JimmyC, in five years, how many Eastern Conference titles will the Celtics have?
Jimmy Chitwood: Realistically, I'll say 2
Jimmy Chitwood: Other than LeBron's Cavs, is there anyone else who will consistently be competitive?
Jimmy Chitwood: Chicago still is flawed
Jimmy Chitwood: Miami will be a poor man's Cavs as Shaq ages (a one man team)
Jimmy Chitwood: the West got Oden and Durant...the East is still looking weak for the foreseeable future
Jimmy Chitwood: but still, crap happens, so can't count on more than 2
Crucifictorious: MrJ, do you buy that? And how many NBA titles?
MrJayTibbs: I don't think that they have a realistic chance at any NBA titles
MrJayTibbs: but the Eastern Conference is definitely winnable
MrJayTibbs: I don't think that 5 years from now that lineup will even be intact
Jimmy Chitwood: Did Paul Pierce sell his soul to the devil? After years of playing with Antoine Walker and then no one, he gets Ray Allen and KG in the same offseason?
MrJayTibbs: In the short term, obviously thats a talented team, and the fact that the mediocre Cavs won the east with their team this year shows that the Celtics can win
MrJayTibbs: It's too bad that Allan Ray is gone
Jimmy Chitwood: Oh, he is?
Crucifictorious: He got a european deal
MrJayTibbs: As of a few days ago
Jimmy Chitwood: oh crap
MrJayTibbs: I was looking forward to Ray Allen playing with him
Jimmy Chitwood: Especially with Tommy Heinsohn broadcasting!
No depth to speak of
Crucifictorious: But back to the new big three. Who's going to surround them?
MrJayTibbs: Kendrick Perkins?
Jimmy Chitwood: Rondo at the point, probably
MrJayTibbs: The team traded all of their depth, except for Rondo
Crucifictorious: You can't consider Rondo depth, if he's starting
MrJayTibbs: Well I’m not saying he's good
Jimmy Chitwood: man, they need some guards
Crucifictorious: Well, that's true--they're hollowed out save Rondo, Perk, maybe a Gomes-like Glen Davis...and not so much else
MrJayTibbs: Gabe Pruitt?
Crucifictorious: Forget Paul Pierce--maybe Pruitt made a deal with the devil
MrJayTibbs: He was considered a good bargain pick for the 2nd, regardless of whether you buy into Hollinger
Jimmy Chitwood: Actually, it wouldn't surprise me if Pruitt's ok--Ainge has actually done pretty well with 2nd round picks
Jimmy Chitwood: and I think Big baby will contribute
MrJayTibbs: I do like those 2nd round picks
Crucifictorious: Ainge is a decent talent evaluator. Gerald Green is definitely the best nine-fingered player in the history of the NBA.
Shifting balance of power?
MrJayTibbs: Another question is that I think this makes the Eastern conference worse in the long run for obvious reasons, but does it also make it even worse now?
MrJayTibbs: Al Jefferson could be an All Star very soon
MrJayTibbs: Not to mention the rest of the talent going West
Jimmy Chitwood: Besides Jefferson, every player in that deal is pretty replaceable
Crucifictorious: For right now, no. Jefferson isn't an AS yet, but Garnett and Allen are. You have to watch the stars, and they're headed to the East.
MrJayTibbs: But what about Allen's health?
Superstars align
MrJayTibbs: I think that the lineup will work better than most lineups of multiple superstars though
MrJayTibbs: Specifically thinking about the Nuggets and how that did not work out
MrJayTibbs: I feel like a team can function better with a couple of shooters as opposed to guys like Iverson who need the ball for a possession to create something
MrJayTibbs: Garnett is content to defer, I wouldnt be surprised to see him playing a lot of point-forward
Crucifictorious: Yeah, I buy it. But for me, it's like when an aging Barkley, Olajuwon, and Drexler (later and esp. Pippen) played together in Houston--and they had a shooter or two (Matt Maloney, Kirk Bullard).
Crucifictorious: They were too old to really do anything--their bodies kept getting in the way. Garnett's been in the league 12 years--that's a lot of tread--and we all know Allen's health problems.
Of course, the Garnett deal was just the tip of the iceberg; the remainder of the conversation will grace the site over the next day or so. Assuming our pedantic analysis doesn't drive you to wrip your fingernails off, feel free to come back--or tell us how wrong we are.
Update: So we read FanHouse religiously--in the lapsed Catholic, meat during Lent sense of the word--but of course, saw that they had beaten us to the punch with a Garnett roundtable of their own. And it's much better written, argued, and even has famous pseudonyms like Bethlehem Shoals. D'oh. In WRG's humble defense, we'd been planning tonight's conversation for days--and it's not like we're the only ones in America talking about Garnett right now. Still, if you want real analysts cracking wise and being smart, you might as well check FanHouse.
However, if you want multi-hued commenters weighing in on such crucial topics like A-Rod's lips and Bob Costas's gonads...stick with us!
Labels: Al Jefferson, Danny Ainge, Gerald Green, Kevin Garnett, We eye-em goode
posted by Crucifictorious @ 21:43,
