Reply With Quote
Meh. Good for Fin. Still would rather have our young guys get his playing time.
By Chris Forsberg
ESPNBoston.com
BOSTON -- When the Boston Celtics went shopping for a free agent to push them over the top in the 2009-10 season, they coveted a veteran with championship experience who could space the floor and hit big perimeter shots.
So -bent on delivering such a talent, Celtics brass boarded a private jet to Detroit during the offseason, hoping to lure Rasheed Wallace to Boston. The Celtics went so far as to overpay for his services, offering a three-year contract to assure he'd end up in green.
And while the 35-year-old Wallace hasn't nearly lived up to expectations, the same prototype showed up on the Celtics' doorstep earlier this month when Michael Finley arrived in town after receiving a buyout from the San Antonio Spurs.
Arriving with none of the expectations assigned to Wallace, Finley has already exceeded Boston's highest hopes by providing instant offense off the bench, even as he dives into the playbook.
Finley erupted for a season-high 15 points in less than 14 minutes Monday night, connecting on 6-of-7 shots, including a trio of 3-pointers, to help the Celtics thrash the visiting Pistons 119-93 at TD Garden.
In four games with Boston, the 15th-year veteran, from the same 1995 draft class as Wallace, is averaging 8.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists in 14 minutes per game. That's on par with what Wallace is giving the Celtics at 9.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists over 23.1 minutes per game.
And it's costing the team more than $5 million less this season.
Fortunately for Boston, as polar opposites as the players are off the court -- Finley a sage veteran who said he'd be willing to impart wisdom to any players looking for it, while Wallace is the brash jokester who offers everyone a piece of his mind, from teammates to officials -- they've actually formed a formidable pairing on the floor.
While Wallace had another unremarkable -- yet surprisingly efficient -- evening by connecting on 3-of-4 shots for 8 points against his old team Monday, his biggest contribution has been creating shots for Finley.
"I've seen it in college when he was at Wisconsin, and you know, for the few teams he played with here in the league, I know what type of player Fin is," said Wallace. "That's one thing I told him when he first came here, when we're out there in that second unit, I'm going to swing you the ball, just basic basketball."
Said Celtics coach Doc Rivers: "I think Rasheed is doing a phenomenal job setting picks to get Mike open. For two guys that have not been together very long, Rasheed's realized what Michael can do and is using that body to get him open."
For his part, Finley says he's still learning the Boston playbook, particularly the team's help-defense scheme, given its stark contrast to the D employed by the Spurs.
"I'm still trying to find my way in," said Finley. "Like I've always said, this team was a good one before I got here. I just want to come in and help them be a better team, if that's possible. If I'm hurting this team, my ego can let me step away. I think I can help this team get to its ultimate goal [of winning an NBA le]. That's why I came here."
Finley is exactly the type of player Boston coveted this offseason. And, given Wallace's struggles to be effective, he might be exactly what they needed to make a true championship push.
just when the season couldn't get any worse for Spurs
Meh. Good for Fin. Still would rather have our young guys get his playing time.
i'm expecting oberto to get a triple double tonight
I didn't doubt Fin's ability to make shots and go on the occasional hot streak. His shooting percentages were pretty solid last year and it wasn't until he came back from injury that they really seemed to drop off badly.
It's the deficiencies in the rest of his game that made him frustrating to watch, especially when his minutes were cutting into the time of younger players who seemed to have more to offer.
fool's gold.
we were at the point where Finley's bad days were much more common than his good ones. however, only the biggest finley haters would deny that there were still some good days here and there.
For his part, Finley says he's still learning the Boston playbook, particularly the team's help-defense scheme, given its stark contrast to the D employed by the Spurs.
"I'm still trying to find my way in," said Finley. "Like I've always said, this team was a good one before I got here. I just want to come in and help them be a better team, if that's possible. If I'm hurting this team, my ego can let me step away. I think I can help this team get to its ultimate goal [of winning an NBA le]. That's why I came here."
Finley is exactly the type of player Boston coveted this offseason. And, given Wallace's struggles to be effective, he might be exactly what they needed to make a true championship push.
And now Finley will go on a shooting slump of 1-16 for 5 games. Nothing new to see here folks, move along.
Exactly, let's see how many instant offense, FG 50%+ games Michael has before Celts go fishin.
"as he dives into the playbook."
Doc has a playbook?
funny, very funny
But how many points did he allow when the guy he was guarding blew past him?
LMAO at 15 points being an "explosion." Finley blows, his defense is ing disgraceful, and he will proceed to go 2-23 from the field over the next 8 games.
By the time Finley hit his first shot, Boston was up by 12. He scored almost all of his buckets in 4th quarter garbage minutes.
didnt watch the game but if this is true than the article blows.....
I can't believe you're blowing your chode over 15 points in garbage time.
Plus, this "season just got worse" BS is becoming a cliche...I mean, the chances are that this team would be even worse if he was still here, and despite how many points he scores, he'll always give up just as much on the defensive end of the floor.
He is not a potentially important piece we traded like Scola, or a piece we could of had at the deadline. Understand? It was NOT a mistake letting Finley go.
Michael Finley sucks now and is no longer our problem. This season got better as soon as he left.
Last edited by TimDunkem; 03-16-2010 at 11:48 AM.
If Finely were still here, Malik would be riding the pine or still in Austin.
Fin could go 6-7 for on any given night.
The problem is, he'd usually follow that up with a few of those 1-7 or 2-8 outings.
Spilled milk.
Watching him defend is like watching a guy in cement shoes. Even players that aren't exactly known to be "fleet-of-foot" have demonstrated the ability to blow past this Finley on a regular basis.
This.
And this.
This too....but most importantly...
lol Finley
I think he's had more threads dedicated to him since he's been gone than he ever did as a Spur.
He hit 3-4 jumpers in the 2nd quarter and was 3-3 in the beginning of the 4th. He was out of the game by the 8 minute mark so it wasn't all done in garbage minutes. He's a streak shooter and right now he's on a high but we'll see how long that lasts.
I don't buy this. Finley is only a shooter.. Hairston and hill bring a better package. He could average 15 a game for them and I wouldn't give a damn. Spurs are better without him. I wonder how many players drove right past his ass to an easy score in those 14 minutes he was on the court.
It won't last he'll have his regular 0-? next game.
LOL i have to make this gif
The Celtics started the 4th quarter up 19. The entire quarter was garbage minutes.
Premature ejaculation by ESPN. It's only 1 good game by Finley, time will tell.
Finley playing the role of towel boy.LOL i have to make this gif
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
