Rasheed Wallace is one of the last major free agent names to make a commitment, and if the reports turn out to be true (thanks to Hedo Turkoglu, you can never be too sure), he\’ll be suiting up to start the 2009 season as a member of the Celtics.
Our own Matt Steinmetz thinks that makes Boston the favorite to take home the title next year. But to me, that seems — to put it as politely as possible — a bit overly-optimistic.
Not only do the Celtics have a long way to go with their roster just to catch up to teams like the Cavaliers and the Lakers, but I would argue that replacing Kendrick Perkins in the starting lineup with Wallace actually makes Boston worse, not better. And it definitely doesn\’t put them any closer to winning a championship.
We know what Sheed brings to the table; his output has been fairly consistent over the last three seasons. If Wallace plays in the neighborhood of 32 minutes per night, he\’s going to give you around 12 points and seven rebounds per game, while shooting 42 percent from the field, and a little over 35 percent from three-point land.
As the Celtics\’ starting center last season, Perkins averaged just under 30 minutes per game, and averaged 8.5 points and 8.1 rebounds. He also shot almost 58 percent from the field. Perkins also took 242 fewer shots than Wallace did last season.
You see what I\’m getting at?
Sheed has always been a guy who likes to get his shots. And if the flow of the game isn\’t going his way, no problem: he\’ll just pull up for an ill-advised three-pointer while trailing on the break, or in the half-court set with 21 seconds left on the shot clock. On a Celtics team with plenty of guys who can score, they don\’t need to add a player who isn\’t that great of a one-on-one defender (whether due to age or lack of interest, we\’ll certainly find out soon enough) and who thinks he should be a focal point of the offense.
As far as the other top teams\’ acquisitions, there are far fewer questions with them than there are with Wallace to the Celtics.
Ron Artest is a wild card to be sure, but despite what many pundits around the league have been saying, he is a DEFINITE upgrade over Trevor Ariza for the Lakers — at least in the short term.
Sure, it would have been nice to lock up the 24-year old Ariza to a five-year deal, ensuring the Lakers a young player on the rise to balance some of the age on their roster. But let\’s be honest: the Lakers are only going to be title contenders as long as Kobe Bryant is around, and he\’s 30.
Yes, Artest is older, and he isn\’t as athletic as Ariza. But he\’s tougher, a better scorer, and able to defend a wider variety of players than Ariza can. And if defenses leave Artest the way they did Ariza, I\’m sure he\’ll knock down the same wide open looks from three-point land, and at a similarly ridiculous percentage, too.
As far as Artest\’s combustibility factor, do you really think it\’s less than that of Rasheed Wallace? Please. Artest\’s most memorable out-of-control moments last year (one in the regular season and one during the playoffs) both came specifically against Bryant and the Lakers.
Wallace led the league in technical fouls with 19. Artest had four, which means he didn\’t even finish in the top 50.
(By the way, Kendrick Perkins was sixth with 12 technical fouls, and Kevin Garnett had seven in just 57 games. Adding Wallace to the mix? Have fun with that, Celtics fans.)