CELTICS GREEN BLOG by and for boston celtics fans: The System Matters

by FLCeltsFan 10:45 PM

We have seen many instances of this over the years. Robert Parish was considered a troublemaker in Golden State they felt that he would never be a good center and couldn't wait to trade him so that they could draft Joe Barry Carroll, and yet became a Hall of Fame player in Boston. Dennis Johnson was considerd a troublemaker who couldn't run a team and became the glue that held the team together in Boston. Jermaine O'Neal was seen as a bust in Portland and became a dominant player in Indiana. Darko was a non-entity in Detroit only to become a player in Orlando. Steve Nash languished in Phoenix before breaking out in Dallas. And on and on.

There are instances all over the league. A player seems washed up, a troublemaker, a mistake, etc. only to become an All Star on the team they are traded to. Chauncey Billips was a player seen by Rick Pitino as not developing quickly enough. But yet he went to Detroit and developed very quickly. The same can be said of Jermaine O'Neal after he went to Indiana.

In most cases, the difference is in the system or the coaching. Some come from a system that doesn't fit their playing style. Or the coach and the player don't get along and so the player is not given playing time or is given a reputation as a malcontent. Or, sometimes it is just the player maturing and breaking out that coincides with the trade.

Sometimes, it is the player and not the system that is the problem. I had hoped that Telfair was one of those players who would blossom when given a fresh chance with a new team, but it didn't work out that way. Telfair may still break out and find a system where he can shine, but it didn't happen in Boston. Rondo came out of a system that didn't play to his strengths at Kentucky. Because of that, he had some adjustments to make when he came to the NBA. He has the skills and the talent to become a very good PG in the NBA, in spite of not thriving in the Kentucky system. He impressed last season when he finally moved into the starting position and I am sure he is going to impress even more this season.

There are also many cases where a coach is fired and the team does a turn around because the coach was not getting through to the players or the coach's system didn't fit his players. This is why we see so many coaching changes in the league. As there are trades and personnel changes on teams many times the coach's system no longer fits the the new players and a change has to be made. After spending a fortune to bring in highly paid players, it is usually the coach who goes and not the players. The Celtics have made wholesale changes on the team this season and it will be a consideration as to whether all these players can fit into Doc's system.

We have 9 new players coming together along with the 6 remaining from last season and all will have to acclimate themselves with Doc's system. Whether or not they can fit into this system may determine how far this team goes. Also, each of the three stars are coming from a team where they were the go-to guy and where they had to shoulder the majority of the load on the team. Can they change their games to fit together in a system where they have to share the ball and incorporate their teammates?

Doc's system tends to keep the bigs out on the arc too long in my opinion and hopefully KG can get used to this system or, maybe Doc will change his system now that he has an experienced team and a dominant inside player. Certainly it takes a different coaching mindset to coach veteran all stars as opposed to young players directly from high school. Hopefully Doc can be the coach to take advantage of all of our new players' abilities and hopefully he can make his system play to their strengths. If not, we may see a coaching chance in the not too distant future.

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