# As the CENTER goes.....



## Rick2583 (Mar 17, 2014)

This is more of a question then anything else. I have discovered over span of 50+ years of being a fan that as the Center goes so goes the Celtics. From Russell during the 60s to Cowens into the 70s & then Parish through the 80s.

As we got into the 90s the big 3 got old & the powers that be (front office) forgot to prepare for it. Bird in his last two seasons missed 60 games & at the time the 1992-93 season rolled around Bird was gone. Parish was 39 & McHale at 35 entered his last season. The only bright spot going forward was Reggie Lewis & his 21 PPG. But during the off season Lewis died of a heart attack.

1993-1994 was the start of 8 straight losing seasons. And along the way never getting that big man to close up the middle. The years that followed there were names like Battie, Blout & DeClercq pretending to be Centers.

Then we got him, Big Al Jefferson. Unfortunately we had to give him up to become a power house again. The new era of a big 3. We still didn't have that center but with Pierce, Garnett & Allen it was okay.

Which leads me to the question, short of getting Jefferson back (which I'd love) but is never going to happen, who do you guys think will be the next big thing? I liked this kid from Kansas Embriid but his back woes concern me. So IF he's still available when our pick comes around would you take him? If not...then who?


----------



## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

Well, I have no idea where Boston is picking. If it's outside the top 6 then I'd want them to have Willie Cauley-Stein near the top of the list since he reminds me a lot of young Tyson Chandler (before his back injuries).


----------



## Rick2583 (Mar 17, 2014)

E.H. Munro said:


> Well, I have no idea where Boston is picking. If it's outside the top 6 then I'd want them to have Willie Cauley-Stein near the top of the list since he reminds me a lot of young Tyson Chandler (before his back injuries).


 I've got to be honest Munro, I've seen very little of his game but his numbers & I emphasize numbers aren't anything to write home about. 7 PPG & only 6 RPG in 25 COLLEGE minutes. His defensive #s look impressive but, Am I missing something?


BTW: What's your feel on Embriid, would you take him if still available?


----------



## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

Rick2583 said:


> I've got to be honest Munro, I've seen very little of his game but his numbers & I emphasize numbers aren't anything to write home about. 7 PPG & only 6 RPG in 25 COLLEGE minutes. His defensive #s look impressive but, Am I missing something?


Yes. One, there are only so many rebounds to go around, especially at the college level. So his rebounding numbers on that squad aren't going to be great because they have their very own Kevin Love/David Lee type player that looks to pad his rebounding numbers. What WCS does is play defense. Despite his size he has unreal lateral quickness, to the extent that he smothers guards on pick & roll switches. 

He has the size to be an effective post defender, especially as he fills out, with the quickness of pre-back injury Dwight Howard. He's definitely a long term prospect, but he's the sort of player you can build a defense around. Once Smart and Randle are off the board I'm not seeing anyone that I'd rather have. I love Vonleh as a 9-12 pick. Not 6-8 though.



Rick2583 said:


> BTW: What's your feel on Embriid, would you take him if still available?


Not sure. I don't see any way he slips out of the top 3, so the only way I can see for Boston to end up with him is to win the lottery. But in that case, if Orlando or Philly were iced out, I might swap Embiid and the other #1 for their two lottery picks.


----------



## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

You don't need a superstar center, but unless you have a Jordan/Lebron-type otherworldly perimeter player you've got to at least have a high-level defensive anchor. It's a bit tough to remember it now, but before Perkins blew out his knee he had about a three-year run as one of the best backstops in the entire league. I'll take a top-notch defender that struggles to score over an offensive machine that doesn't defend (looking squarely at you, Boogie) any day. I think he sticks around in Charlotte long-term, but Jefferson's made himself much more interesting this year by defending well enough in Steve Clifford's scheme to keep Charlotte near the top of the league on that end.


----------



## Rick2583 (Mar 17, 2014)

Bogg said:


> You don't need a superstar center, but unless you have a Jordan/Lebron-type otherworldly perimeter player you've got to at least have a high-level defensive anchor. It's a bit tough to remember it now, but before Perkins blew out his knee he had about a three-year run as one of the best backstops in the entire league. I'll take a top-notch defender that struggles to score over an offensive machine that doesn't defend (looking squarely at you, Boogie) any day. I think he sticks around in Charlotte long-term, but Jefferson's made himself much more interesting this year by defending well enough in Steve Clifford's scheme to keep Charlotte near the top of the league on that end.



I did like Perkins inside game but what bugged the shit out of me about him were his hands of stone. I mean giving him the ball down low he had all he could do just to handle it let score with it. I'm hoping we get AT LEAST a top 3 pick so we could grab Embriid with our first pick. Hey.......I can dream.


----------



## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

Rick2583 said:


> I did like Perkins inside game but what bugged the shit out of me about him were his hands of stone. I mean giving him the ball down low he had all he could do just to handle it let score with it. I'm hoping we get AT LEAST a top 3 pick so we could grab Embriid with our first pick. Hey.......I can dream.


I mean, if he was a mid-to-high teens scorer while playing defense the way he did he'd be Healthy Andrew Bogut and Boston would have been paying him a near-max contract at the time. It's the trade-off you make with non-star players. It's better than if he had been Bargnani.


----------



## Rick2583 (Mar 17, 2014)

Bogg said:


> I mean, if he was a mid-to-high teens scorer while playing defense the way he did he'd be Healthy Andrew Bogut and Boston would have been paying him a near-max contract at the time. It's the trade-off you make with non-star players. It's better than if he had been Bargnani.




This is true.


----------



## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/extras/celtics_blog/2014/12/celtics_facing_a_kelly_olynyk_conundrum.html



> Forget about trading Rajon Rondo, or how ready Marcus Smart is for the NBA, or whether Jared Sullinger should be spending so much time hanging out at the three-point line.
> 
> The biggest issue for the Celtics moving forward is getting a legit big man who can defend the post, protect the rim, score around the basket and play 33-38 minutes per night.
> 
> ...


Nearly a year later, same story, although Zeller's looking pretty good relative to his expectations. They still need a starting center, and Sullinger's recent shooting streak has him in control of the power forward position. For what it's worth, I think it's been apparent for a while that one of Sullinger or Olynyk will eventually have to go, but Olynyk's trade value taking a hit is a problem for Boston. The good news is that the draft and free agent market this year should have a solid crop of centers, so hopefully Ainge can pull something out of a hat this summer.


----------



## E.H. Munro (Jun 22, 2004)

I think it's clear to everyone but Boston fans that neither Sullinger nor Olynyk are NBA starter level players due to their horrific D. They're both fine as bigs off the bench, though.


----------



## Bogg (May 4, 2009)

E.H. Munro said:


> I think it's clear to everyone but Boston fans that neither Sullinger nor Olynyk are NBA starter level players due to their horrific D. They're both fine as bigs off the bench, though.


I'm not so sure that one of them can't figure things out enough to be a starter with the right backstop behind them, particularly Sullinger if his newly-displayed three-point shot is for real. If Brandon Bass can be a starter on a team that nearly makes the Finals, I wouldn't be so quick to write off Jared.


----------

