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RETRIEVING CONTENT...PLEASE WAIT
Brian Scalabrine is good for the team
Monday, August 10, 2009
by Unknown 6:18 PM
For the most part, a lot of Celtics fans think Brian Scalabrine is a joke, and would care less if he's with the team or not.
But there are also a growing number of fans who are warming up to Scalabrine, and are beginning to see what Ainge saw in Scal 4 years ago when he brought him over from the Nets.
Scalabrine is like women's perfume--a slight hint of it is nice, but too much of it ruins the whole thing. When used right and in moderation, Scalabrine is an effective player--he's mobile enough to cover big SF's (like Rashard Lewis and Hedo Turkuglu), but also sturdy enough to handle smaller sized PF's.
And with his ability to knock down three's, and his desire to hustle for loose balls, he's the type of guy who can add positive results when he's on the court.
But he has to be played in just the right amount. You see, give him too little minutes, and you won't see his effectiveness. Give him too much time and his short comings will be noticeable. So there's a fine line that Doc needs to be aware of.
Thinking back to the second round of last year's playoffs, there were moments when Scalabrine would impress me as he guarded Rashard Lewis. Lewis has an obvious height and length advantage over Scalabrine, but Rashard doesn't have great lateral movement. He's got good speed going forward, but he isn't effective going side to side.
Scalabrine realized this, so he would conciously body up against Lewis when he had the ball--he tried to force Lewis to put the ball on the ground and try to beat him with his dribble penetration. But Scal's sturdy body prevented Rashard from turning the corner, and many times, Lewis would resort to a fadeaway instead.
In that series, I prefered Scal going up against Lewis, rather than Baby or Pierce (again, in moderation) cause he seemed to neutralize Rashard pretty well.
In certain matchups, Scalabrine can have his shining moments, and I hope we'll see him get his opportunities to show the world that he is a nice compliment off the bench.
And as much as possible, unless a good deal comes up, I'd rather have Brian Scalabrine on our bench, waiting for his moment to contribute. ![]() [ Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]
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