It is September 10th, some players are still on vacation, some have reported early to polish their craft or work on chemistry with teammates, others are still at the beach but the writing must begin again as I am losing my mind not talking, writing or debating about ball.
The one positive about taking a long ass vacation from the Coach's Take is that there is a lot of TAKE to catch you all up on and a lot of adjustments the Coach will be making, the way only the coach can. It has been a wild summer of basketball camps, moving from the ESTATE to the GATE, weddings (I'll need separate posts for those) and of course everyday Coachness.
So as we get closer and closer to training camp I'll be bringing you back up to date with the Coach, the league, the Celts with the addition of some interesting twists.
First things first, since many of you forgot since the finals were so damn bad, the Lakers are the current NBA Champions. The COACH is guaranteeing right now 3 weeks before training camp that the LAKERS will not be repeating as Champions. Plain and simple.
Glad we got that out of the way, please pass a chilled Shelly, thank you very much.
So in an off-season that saw the Lakers land Ron Artest and figure out how to bring back Lamar Odom, the Spurs add Richard Jefferson, the Cavs adding Shaquille O’Neal, the Magic replacing Hedo with VC as well as adding front court depth in the form of Brandon Bass and of course the Celtics adding Rasheed Wallace, Marquis Daniels and finding a way to keep Big Baby in the crib for two more years these teams are going to give us plenty to talk about very soon. But why not now? I think the RJ and Shaq moves have been underrated across the board. Richard Jefferson is a very good basketball player whose skill set and athletic ability have been missing from the Spurs for quite some time. His ability to slash, defend and finish at the rim give them an explosive dynamic next to one of the best big 3's in the league.
The Coach as a Celtic fan is a bit concerned with Shaq teaming with LeBron and I will tell you why, LeBron can rest from time to time on offense. The King has never had the chance to team with a true post presence in Cleveland, now he has Shaq, who as we saw last season can still bring it, especially as a number two or three option on the offensive end. His ability to draw double teams, pass out of the post and get teams into the bonus situation will pay off big time for the Cavs.
Sheed to the Celtics is a beautiful thing. He fills multiple voids for the Celtics as their big man off the bench as his ability to defend, rebound and stretch the defense with is perimeter shooting along with his basketball IQ will be a great addition to a team that will be foaming at the mouth to get back to the finals. Also, can you imagine what the hell will be going on during the pre-game huddles both home and away with Sheed, KG and Scal in there?!?! I am not even gonna think about the post game parties, off the hook. While Marquis Daniels is not a marquee name his versatility and length offensively will give the Celtics needed depth at the wing position being Pierce and Allen. Nice job Mr. Ainge.
Speaking of Mr. Ainge, Coach had the opportunity to assist with an exposure workout for players trying to get contracts overseas and the NBDL in Baltimore two weeks ago, on hand were Austin Ainge who is the head coach of the Maine Blue Claws of the NBDL and Dee Brown, who is the coach of the Springfield Pride. Both are real good guys as Coach had the chance to talk Celtics past and present with both of them. Worth the train ride down and back for sure. Nothing like Penn Station in Baltimore at 11pm on a Thursday night...a tad shady.
Next on the Coach's Take:
AI to Memphis
Ranking Minnesota's 2009 Rubio Draft Disaster
and Labor Day on the Jersey Shore
Go get it!!!
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