The Celtics Should Be Talking to Erick Dampier

There's been an interesting discussion over at Celtics Hub regarding whether the Celtics should release Von Wafer (who has done nothing so far and is unlikey to do anything moving forward) and sign another big. The pros for such a move are summed up here; the cons are here.

I have no idea if the team has reached out to Erick Dampier, nor do I know if Dampier is even remotely interested in joining the team as an insurance policy. And make no mistake, that's all Dampier would be -- an insurance policy. The offseason signings of Jermaine O'Neal and Shaquille O'Neal were supposed to make center a position of strength for the Celtics, especially when Kendrick Perkins returns from ACL surgery, which presumably will be some time in February. If any two of those three guys are healthy, whatever big the Celtics may add is superfluous and won't see the floor much.

But Shaq has already missed six of the team's first ten games, and Jermaine is having some problems with his knees and may miss the next few weeks. It's irrational to think that the O'Neals' nagging injuries will just disappear as the season goes on. Plus, even when Perk gets back, it's not like he'll be his old self right away.

Dampier, the 14-year veteran who was cut by the Bobcats after going to Charlotte from Dallas in the Tyson Chandler trade, is the option that makes the most sense.

One option that has been suggested is that Boston bring back Stephane Lasme, the journeyman who came oh-so-close to making the team out of training camp. But at 6-8, Lasme isn't big enough to play center. While big minutes for Kevin Garnett (35 mpg) and Glen Davis (31 mpg) are an ancillary concern about the lack of center depth, Davis also isn't big enough to play center. Signing Lasme would thus only cut into Davis' minutes, and Davis is both young enough to handle his increased workload and effective enough that his being on the court a lot is not a major problem. With Lasme, KG would still have to play big minutes, and would still have to play out of position at center.

Adding a guy like Magnum Rolle isn't an attractive option because he's a rookie and lacks the experience to be a major contributor, even if Doc trusts him with substantial playing time, which he won't. The other D-League possibility being bandied about, Tiny Gallon, is both too small to play center (like Lasme) and too raw to be a contributor (like Rolle). The Celtics already have a young big man on their roster, Semih Erden. While Erden hasn't been spectacular, he's shown that he's capable enough to play an emergency role, and he has the size to play center. It's unreasonable to expect that Rolle or Lasme or Gallon would be even as effective as Erden has been in the early going.

I don't think rookie Luke Harangody, already on the Celtics roster, is the answer, either. He suffers from the same inexperience and size issues that the young guys listed above have. While he was something of a rebounding machine in college, he's shown a preference for playing the wing -- though perhaps that's in part because it looked like he might need to be able to play small forward in order to get minutes with the team.

To be sure, Dampier has his limitations. He's close to a non-factor offensively and turns the ball over a lot for a player with those limitations. But he's a decent defender, and has NBA size and experience. If the Celtics are going to cut Wafer (their last non-guaranteed contract) and thus hamper their roster flexibility, then Dampier is the only guy who makes sense.

And time is of the essence. Dampier's situation is kind of curious; he was rumored to be signing with the Rockets, but didn't, and it's unclear to me why he hasn't hooked up with Miami, where he'd be an obvious improvement over Joel Anthony. As the Heat continue to struggle on the interior, I imagine they'll make another, stronger push for Dampier, and I don't expect that Dampier will be on the market too much longer.

As far as roster flexibility goes, while it's true that Danny and Doc would be hamstrung by cutting Wafer and giving Dampier a guaranteed contract, I'm not sure for what the team would need that roster flexibility, other than another big. Delonte West's return gives the Celtics three solid backup wing players (West, Marquis Daniels, and Nate Robinson), and rookie Avery Bradley, if forced into duty due to injury, would probably be at least as effective as the young project bigs mentioned earlier. And I haven't heard of any veteran centers that are likely to become available via trade later in the season -- at least not any that could be had for Wafer's modest contract.

A bigger concern for me, if the Celtics signed Dampier, would be what happens if the O'Neals and Perkins do stay (read: get) healthy late into the season. Then they'd have a situation where they'd have four veteran centers and not nearly enough minutes to go around. For that reason, as mentioned above, I'm not sure Dampier is interested in signing with Boston. But it's a conversation worth having. It appears that center is a position that needs to be addressed, and the time for addressing it is now.

Preseason: Boston 107, New Jersey 92

[recap] [box score] [highlights from Red's Army]

I haven't had time to read the recaps from all the Celtics blogs, but it looks like a fairly solid all-around performance, as the Cs got contributions from just about everyone who suited up. That closes the preseason slate, and the Celtics' next game counts: the season opener next Tuesday against Miami.

Recaps: Celtics Blog; Celtics Town

Other Celtics links:

• Looks like Von Wafer's the 15th man for now. Stephane Lasme and Mario West have been cut. Apparently, Lasme's headed to Maine to play with the D-League Red Claws.
• More good news about Kevin Garnett's improved knee.

Preseason: Boston 97, New York 84

[recap] [box score] [highlights from Red's Army]

I'm sick of writing about games I can't watch, so just a few brief bullets:

• All the chatter after this one is about Kevin Garnett: 20 points on 9-for-11 from the field in just 20 minutes (though I should note that Amare' Stoudemire didn't play for the Knicks).
• A night after talking about being more aggressive offensively, Rajon Rondo scored two points on three shot attempts and didn't get to the line. Yet he led the team in rebounding (with eight) and committed just one turnover. He also had nine assists, including this beauty to Semih Erden. (If you watch that clip long enough, Tommy Heinsohn exclaims during the replay that Rondo has invented a new "gender" of passing. I'm assuming he meant "genre.")
• I'm close to declaring the battle for the 15th roster spot over. Von Wafer played another good game, and while Stephane Lasme made all three of his shots and also grabbed four rebounds, he committed five turnovers. As I said yesterday, Wafer basically just needed to show Doc he wasn't going to throw up on himself every time out to get a job. These last two games, he's done that.
• Nagging injuries kept the following players out: Marquis Daniels (sore shoulder); Jermaine O'Neal (hand bruise); and Delonte West (back spasms).
• Rookie Avery Bradley's ankle, the one that was surgically repaired over the summer, hasn't healed the way the team would like, and I wouldn't be surprised to see him on the shelf for a while. It's a shame he missed Summer League and most of the preseason, but he wasn't going to be a contributor this year anyway and his long-term health is important.

Here are a couple other recaps, if you want to read people who watched the game: Celtics Blog and Red's Army. There's some more detail about KG's night in there.

Preseason: Boston 117, Toronto 112

[recap] [box score] [highlights from Red's Army]

From what I understand, Boston had this one in the bag through three quarters before our bench (basically the third-string plus Nate Robinson) gave up most of a 28-point lead to many of Toronto's starters plus, incredibly, Marcus Banks.

The best nugget from the box score is 12-of-15 from the free throw line from Rajon Rondo. I take nothing from the 15 attempts, even though he says he's looking to get to the line more; it's preseason, it's the defensively-challenged Raptors, his career-high is 16 attempts, and he's only reached double-digits in attempts 14 times in his career. The 12 makes raise eyebrows, though. I'm not holding my breath, but if Rondo could become just a decent free throw shooter, it'd be huge for this team.

For what it's worth, Rondo's a 69 percent free throw shooter when he takes ten or more free throws in a game in his career (he hits at 61.6 percent in other games). I don't know if this is common, and, either way, what the explanation is: confidence, rhythm, statistically insignificant sample size are all possibilities. Just something I noticed when I was looking up Rondo's free throw stats.

Now, a few bullets:

• Marquis Daniels has apparently been working on his three-point range, which would be huge for a second unit that already has Nate Robinson and Delonte West as long-distance shooters. The box score shows 2-for-2 from range for Daniels last night, but one of them was a 45-footer just before the halftime horn. That's probably not the shot he's been working on.
• There's some talk that KG went up with two hands and finished an alley-oop from Rondo (see around 25 seconds into that link, although the footage before it is worth watching for a vicious jam from Toronto's DeMar DeRozan). Probably because the Rondo-to-KG alley-oop was kind of a signature play prior to Garnett's knee injury, it's something of a measuring stick for Celtics fans re: Garnett's health, and so this is an encouraging sign. Talk as camp broke was that Garnett was back to pre-injury form, but we haven't seen too much of that yet.
• Shaq and Delonte sat out as they continue to rest nagging injuries, and Pierce missed this one with a stomach bug. Doc Rivers told Stephane Lasme, a Gabon native, to stay home due to some sort of potential issue with his visa. That's kind of a rough thing for a guy who's fighting to make an NBA roster.
• It's especially harsh because his competition, Von Wafer, finally had a good game, or at least a good shooting night (he did have three turnovers and was a -15 on the game). Given Lasme's limited skill set, the team's frontcourt depth, and the need for a backup small forward, there is probably nothing Lasme can do to win the job if Wafer plays merely reasonably well. He hadn't done even that -- until last night, with Lasme sitting at home.

Preseason: Philadelphia 103, Boston 92

[recap] [box score]

Bullets gleaned from the box score and recaps around the Web:

• Pierce, KG, Ray, and Rondo all sat this game out to rest, and Shaq and Delonte were out to rest some nagging injuries. Even so, the Cs hung in until the fourth quarter, despite the fact that Philly played their starters most of the game.
• Jermaine O'Neal had a poor shooting night (1-of-6) but grabbed 12 rebounds in 19 minutes. I still think he's gotta run with the first team while Perk is out.
• First run for rookie Avery Bradley. An inauspicious start offensively (two points on 1-of-6 shooting and three turnovers), but reportedly a good showing defensively against Sixers starting point guard Jrue Holiday. Good to see the kid get his feet wet.
• Doc seems to be giving Von Wafer every opportunity to win a job. Wafer got the start and played 39 minutes, but his stat line isn't impressive, and neither are the reviews from Celtics bloggers who were able to watch the game. Stephane Lasme, on the other hand, seems to have made the most of his 28 minutes. He didn't put up gaudy numbers, either, but is being praised for his strong defense on Andre Iguodala.
• Mario West seems to be the odd man out of the battle for the last spot, playing just seven minutes. Oddly, I randomly came upon a two-year-old link earlier today, which indicates that this shouldn't be a surprise.
• Luke Harangody had 11 points, including eight in a row in the second quarter. He also went 2-of-2 from deep, his three-point shot being a surprise development from Summer League.

Recaps from other bloggers: Celtics Town, Celtics Hub

Preseason: Boston 91, Toronto 87

[recap] [box score] [highlights at Red's Army]

This one wasn't televised here in Los Angeles (shocking), so just a bullet or two based on what I can glean from what I've read.

• Jermaine O'Neal made his Celtics debut on Sunday, recording three rebounds and two blocked shots in about seven-and-a-half minutes. He did not attempt a shot. With Doc resting Shaq on Tuesday, JON should get some reps with the first team.
• It's only preseason, and it's only Toronto, but I can't help but point out that our bench closed this one out against what is more or less the Raptors' first team. The Celtics were up three heading into the fourth quarter, and didn't play a single starter for the final 12 minutes. Toronto, on the other hand, brought in Andrea Bargnani, DeMar DeRozan, and Joey Dorsey with 6:20 remaining and the score 79-78, Boston. That trio finished the game alongside Jarrett Jack and Leandro Barbosa, who came in later for Jose Calderon and Sonny Weems, respectively. Our second unit is pretty good, folks.
• Continuing the 15th man watch: Mario West got the DNP-CD, Von Wafer did nothing notable in 4:12 of playing time, and Stephane Lasme's only real contribution in 9:35 was this jam over Bargnani.
• More on the 15th man: Jay King over at Celtics Town proposes cutting Luke Harangody to make room for Lasme in addition to Wafer or West. As King himself acknowledges, it's highly unlikely for financial reasons (Harangody's salary is guaranteed). That aside, I don't really agree with the idea. Sure, Harangody's been unimpressive in camp and in preseason and his Summer League performance may have been meaningless, but he's inexperienced. The other guys aren't exactly hardened vets, but Wafer and West have played full NBA seasons, and Lasme's kicked around in a few training camps. I haven't seen anything that suggests that those three are more likely to improve than Harangody is. Moreover, Doc has shown time and again that he's not going to play guys he doesn't trust. I recognize that Wafer and West "fill a need" and they and Lasme may be more ready to contribute now than Harangody is, but the likelihood that any of them play meaningful minutes is so small that it would be foolish to make room for them by cutting a rookie who has shown some potential, however short-lived that potential was.

Celtics Blog has some more bullets, if you're interested.

Burn for Semih Erden (In The First Preseason Game)

Preseason Game 1: Celtics 93, Sixers 65 [recap|box score]

I don't normally link to game recaps from other Celtics fan blogs, since I figure people who come here generally want my thoughts and know where to get others'. However, I can't watch the preseason games, whereas I think bloggers in Boston can. So if you're interested in the details of this meaningless game, check out these posts from Celtics Hub, Celtics Town, Red's Army, and Celtics Blog. Also, Celtics Life snagged some highlights from NBA.com.

Some of those posts focus on Semih Erden, as does this one, and I'm going to, too, because the one thing that struck me, looking at the box score before I read anything, was that the Turkish newcomer played nearly 24 minutes. That's an awful lot, and it got me thinking about the possible reasons why:

• Necessity. With Kendrick Perkins out until at least February and Jermaine O'Neal sitting due to a sore hamstring, Doc Rivers was a bit shorthanded last night. Given the mileage on and injury history of Kevin Garnett and Shaquille O'Neal, it makes sense to give Erden extended run.
• Evaluation. Erden's been overseas since Boston drafted him, so Doc hasn't had a lot of time with him. Watching him with the Turkish national team is one thing, and working with him in practice is another, but the best way to see what he's got is to get him in a game situation. But if that was Doc's objective, why not play some of the other unknown quantities fighting for roster spots, namely Von Wafer and Mario West, more than 12 and seven minutes, respectively?
• Precaution. The general consensus is that there isn't room for Erden in the rotation this year, and that he'll spend most of the season in Maine with the D-League Red Claws. And it's true, if JON, Shaq, KG, and Big Baby are healthy, there's no room for Erden in the rotation -- particularly when Perk gets back. But that group is old and injury prone, and if Erden is ready to contribute, he could be an insurance policy. Knowing whether he can play could also come in handy if we decide to make a personnel move at the trade deadline, the way we have the last two years; if he's ready, we could address an area other than the post.

My hunch is that it's the first reason, but the third on intrigues me.

A few other quick thoughts on the guys competing to make the roster. It appears that Wafer played the entire final quarter, scoring no points on a very un-Waferlike zero shots, amassing two turnovers as his only stats. The guy he's apparently competing with for the final roster spot, Mario West, played the final seven minutes. It appears from the box score that West, similarly, had no impact on the game. But Stephane Lasme, who entered the game with West, had 12 points and four boards in his playing time, going 6-for-7 from the free throw line. Like the recently cut Tony Gaffney, Lasme -- mostly a shotblocker and defender -- is a UMass product. I haven't heard any rumbling that Lasme has a shot at the roster this season, but if he keeps this up, he'll stay on Boston's radar, for sure.

Second preseason game is tonight against the Nets, and is being broadcast on NBATV, for those of you who get that channel. Tip's at 7 Eastern.