Decision Time, Part 2: The Floor Generals
By Dylan
After a trio of players (Marcus Banks, Dan Dickau, Orien Greene) failed to impress last year at the point guard position, Danny Ainge went into the offseason once again looking at an uncertain future at the position. With the draft day addition of Sebastian Telfair and the de facto drafting of Rajon Rando, Ainge has found two exciting young players to battle Delonte West for billing as point guard of the future. Each of the three brings something different to the table not only on the court but flexibility should a promising trade offer arise. Over the course of the preview, a deeper look will be made into what each brings to the table.
Along with Shaun Livingston, Sebastian Telfair was the first point guard to go directly from high school. While Livingston has started to make a name for himself with the LA Clippers, Telfair is looking at Boston as a fresh start. That’s because after two rough years in Portland, the one time Louisville commit is dogged by many of the same questions that hounded him coming out of high school. These questions regarding the former New York high school legend centered on his shot and his lack of size. It is these issues that have lowered the ceiling on Telfair’s potential in some eyes, while others think that playing in Boston’s wide open style, Telfair will thrive. Most likely, the truth probably lies somewhere in between.
Either way you look at Telfair the fact remains with the new rules changes in the NBA, the value of a good to great point guard has gone through the roof. Even though Telfair has had two less than stellar seasons, Boston still had to give up the seventh pick (albeit in a weak draft) to acquire the talented point guard. Judging from this exchange, it is clear Telfair still has plenty of value around the league. However, this will be a big year for Telfair. If he can prove he can take the reins of a team and lead the Celtics while stepping up his defense, Telfair will set himself up for a pretty pay day.
As Celtic fans have found out from Chauncey Billups, bringing along a point guard takes time. However, in today’s NBA, very few teams have shown the patience that is necessary in developing a point guard. That is why in entering his third year, the mercurial Telfair will be under the gun to perform. After an above average summer league, the pieces are in place for Telfair for break out. If Doc will let Telfair play to his strengths, the former Trail Blazer could become the Celtic point guard of the future. However, judging from how poorly Rivers handled Marcus Banks it will come as little surprise to this observer if Telfair gets frustrated by the ever meddling Rivers. The only thing for certain is there will be some bumps in the road for Telfair in the beginning.
On the flip side of Telfair, coming out of the 2004 draft, Delonte West was the classic shooting guard trapped in a point guard’s body. Despite a solid junior year at St. Joseph’s, West slide till the 24th pick because of his lack of a true position. Now after two solid but injury plagued seasons, West has established himself as a solid rotation player in the NBA, but despite this he is at the crossroads of his career. With the additions of Telfair and Rondo at the one and West’s inability to his use right hand, young Delonte will be in an uphill battle for minutes at the point guard spot.
A lot of Delonte’s problems are self inflicted. As mentioned earlier, in his first two years, West has developed no semblance of a right hand. This has been killer in his development as a point guard, because he often has troubling getting in the lane and creating easing scoring opportunities for his teammates. Plus in his two years here, West has been battling nagging injuries that have hampered his continual development. While his light frame has played a role in this problem, it has also caused defensive problems for West as he has had trouble keeping bigger, stronger point guards in front of him. Not all is bad with West as he is one of the best shooters on the team. Also, he is a surprisingly good shot blocker for his size.
Taking that all into consideration, it is likely that West will be coming off the bench in a role of instant offense. West’s early preseason comments have indicated he is more than willing to do this. Ultimately, this seems like the ideal spot for West. He will be able to hide the weaker parts of his games against team’s second units, while excelling against inferior opponents. For some older Celtics fans, his play in this position projects in my eyes to be a better version of Jerry Sichting. This will not only position West for a nice payday come the off-season, but make him highly attractive to a contending team looking for a solid role player who can knock down an outside shot.
Last and certainly not least is the Celtic who has raised the most eyebrows this pre season-Rajon Rondo. The scouting report on Rondo was he was a very athletic pure point guard who had problems with his outside shot. There were many observers that felt the Kentucky product was being held back by his college coach Tubby Smith. Whatever the case, many felt Rondo’s skills would translate much better to the pro game. While the shooting issue will continue to come up for Rondo, one thing that will not is his defensive ability. The Kentucky products quickness, anticipation and long arms will cause opposing point guards nightmares all season. After some stirring play in the early preseason games, it appears Rondo will be in Celtic green for years to come.
With all three prospects still developing, the point guard battle will be an interesting subplot to the Celtics season. Before the preseason, it appeared Telfair would be the starter, West would be coming off the bench in a combo guard role and Rondo would be seeing some spot minutes. Now in light of the glowing play by Rondo, look for the rookie to take the reins as the calendar turns to 2007. This scenario will likely put Telfair on the trading block (along with a few other Celtics), while West will continue to see minutes off the bench. After three years of failed experiments, it appears Ainge might have finally solved one key position for the Celtics future. And for a franchise that has struggled for 15 years to find a consistent semblance of point guard play, it is a welcome sign.
