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My issue is as I stated previously, if Damon plays then who sits. Damon wants to leave Memphis because he isn't getting any playing time. If Damon plays 20-25 minutes then who sits.

The 2nd unit has been House, TA, Posey, Big Baby & others. If Damon is the backup PG then either House, Posey or TA sit. Otherwise you have a lineup that looks like this:

PG Damon
SG House
SF TA
PF Posey
C Big Baby

The question is do you want to mess with the chemistry of a 33-6 team?

The thing is, we didn't sign Posey to play backup PF, he should be playing backup SF. I believe we need another backup big.

Stoudamire/House
TA
Posey
Webber
Big Babby

Honestly I'm becoming more and more of a GP fan as our additional pg. Sam I Am is probably out of the question reality wise and if all we want is someone to bring the ball up and be more of a real pg compared to House I think he fits the bill better. You can play him with House and not have the smallest back court ever. You could even put GP on the shooting guard defensively if you wanted. He's friends with KG, has played with Paul, and has played for Doc. He's also accepted lesser roles, with championship experience, successfully in the past. That one season aside, he still has more playoff experience.

In regards to playing time of all these guys it seems to me most games we have House out there more minutes than we'd ideally like. Not that he isn't playing well, but what I mean is there are minutes each game where he is primary ball-handler and isn't that catch and shoot guy. If he isn't that guy he shouldn't be out there. This keeps him fresher for the minutes where he is that guy, and allows us to play someone more suited for the minutes when we need a primary ball-handler and floor general. We all look at our hypothetical break down of minutes and think wow 12 mpg is hardly even worth it to add the guy, but the reality is that is about what Tony Allen and Big Baby play (when not asked to step in and be a starter for injuries) and no one is saying they aren't playing a big role off the bench.

With the big three in, House fits perfectly. But if we need a ball handler Damon is perfect.

I think Danny is waiting until Damon could legally be discussed and then decide who he likes better as a fit on the team after interviewing both he and GP. IMO, as a player, GP is the better fit.

John Locke wrote:With the big three in, House fits perfectly. But if we need a ball handler Damon is perfect.

He fits perfectly on the team, but not as a backup ballhandler. I think you gotta change that to "with the big three, a healthy Rondo, and not having to bring it up court against playoff pressure defense from the likes of Detroit and others, House fits perfectly".

The thing that Damon does that gives him an edge over either GP or Cassel is he pushes the ball. That is so lacking when Rondo comes out. While House and Damon are smaller they have wheels and create a tempo on that second unit. You have to get out on them and that will open things up underneath for Posey, Davis and one of the 3 stars.

The more I think of Sam the less I think that he is a fit in Boston. Obviously a trade is one thing but if he was released he is going straight to Denver to play for Karl and start. The Nugs even have an expiring contract in Najera they can package with a #1 pick. Karl isn't going to freak when Sam doesn't play all world defense as nobody on his team does.

GP would be here already if he was an option. He doesn't push the ball, Ainge likes what he has in Allen and House more than what Payton can do at this point.

shackles10 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-



He fits perfectly on the team, but not as a backup ballhandler. I think you gotta change that to "with the big three, a healthy Rondo, and not having to bring it up court against playoff pressure defense from the likes of Detroit and others, House fits perfectly".

Yeah, I think that House is going to have legitimate problems handling defensive pressure in the playoffs and against two of our bigger road blocks on the way to Banner #17, Detroit and San Antonio. For almost every other opponent we could probably get by with House and TA as the backups, but I'm not super confident they could get the job done adequately against teams that give real pressure in the backcourt. Overall I think that Damon is a bit underrated. He was a high draft pick who played on some pretty successful Trailblazer teams. He's get real talent as a PG and he'll push the tempo and capitalize on easy opportunities. If he's available Danny should scoop him up.

Stoudamire is quicker than GP, younger, and a better shooter. Combine House and Damon in the back court and that is a pretty good shooting bench. Stoudemire and House can score. hat way, Damon can stay in the game if Rondo does one of his disappearing acts.

GP is a purely a 3rd PG right now. Stoudemire, if Rondo is hurt or ineffective, can mesh well with the starting 4.

I would prefer Casell, but Mighty Mouse is still good if all the Celts to do is give up money for him.