http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/this-just-in/21188506/lebron-defensively-bradley-one-best

http://www.weei.com/sports/boston/basketball/celtics/paul-flannery/2012/04/01/should-avery-bradley-stay-starting-lineup

we all love ray ray but through no fault of his own, his starting days with the celts should be over barring injury to AB. look at what opponents like bron are saying. he calls him one of the best defenders overall and the BEST floor to floor defender in the league... period! doc says AB is the BEST on the ball defender he has ever seen.. period! DOOLING says he's the BEST perimeter defender in the league.. period! d-wade says AB reminds him of himself esp on that block and told AB that on the court.

we are talking super high praise here by guys not known for just blowing smoke. van gundy blows smoke but knows his stuff, and called AB the best at cutting without the ball in the league multiple times during the game. the getting some mad respect around the league and is play even better game after game, his trajectory is now soaring. he's beating folks off the dribble consistently, something this team needs for only he and rr can really do it at will. the kid is now making his shots, and has a very simple cut to the hoop offense that rondo clearly flourishes in. have you seen this team's record with AB in there? 4-0 in their last 4 and 11-4 overall with him as the starter. this is AVSANITY!

when was the last extended scoring drought THIS team has had esp to start and end games? used to be we would have these extended lulls with ray out there, problem with a jump shooter esp when on a jump shooting team. imagine if we can put austin rivers as well. as it stands, ray is far better with the second unit than anyone in the big 4. he can get his numbers up and make that unit elite in a hurry. ray, peaches, steimsma and dooling (with some JJ sightings) could be a dominant unit. no need for doc to play a starter with that unit all the time with ray out there.

with AB's game and athleticism, that seldom happens. he gets a lot of easy points and gets fouled very often and can make his free throws. when was the last time you saw AB's shot blocked? ray gets it shoved back in his grill at least twice per game and he's seldom going inside. when was the last block you saw by ray? AB seems to get a memorable one every game(ask d-wade). win or lose, we should be going down and to war with AB just to give him the experience. i want him out there 30 minutes per game. dooling is the casulaty when ray returns. yes, ray ray should CLOSE out most close games.. he's earned that.. but not to START. the kid sends an instant message to other teams.. get ready for hellll!

wow who woulda thought the attention 'hore would be the one to start the poll about the question the real fans with intelligence here came up with answers to a week ago?

Avery starts, Ray solidifies the bench, Doc's real genius as a coach will come into question if he doesn't find the proper blend between them

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Rame, he's coming around ... Stiemsma with the starters along with AB makes them so young and athletic our opponents lose their competitive advantage ... Doc would be blind not to see that and I think that's why he swapped Stiemsma with KG. KG with Ray and Pietrus will turn the 2nd team into one to be reckoned with.

In Response to Re: AVERY or RAY to start?:
wow! you seriously will play kg with the SECOND UNIT? that could be dicey. reason it works with raY is because of the huge edge in defense AB has. at the start of a game, you make your mark by getting in the grill of the other team, not really by scoring or trading baskets. kg is still an elite defender and bass has impressed me in that area as well (ask bosh spice). steims with the second unit is perfect. he's an elite defender but not INTENSE (you want intensity at the onset). you also want one guy to star.

kg with ray will split the hierarchy and give you 2 chiefs. again, the team excels when ray stays out there with said second unit (with AB on the bench). dooling and ray have great chemistry. peaches gives us another 3-point threat with ray on that unit. greg can hit the open shot. it really spreads the floor. thats y you want to throw in a guy like JJ with that freakish athleticism and driving prowess of his. i bet we won't be outrebounded as we are often in games. talking a 10-deep rotation with ray, peaches and steims at the core (in playoffs rondo and AB can take point minutes from dooling).. y not?

Rondo - Dooling
AB - Ray
Pierce - Pav
KG/Bass - Bass/Pietrus
Stiemsma - KG

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In Response to Re: AVERY or RAY to start?:


is there any talk of what 5's might be "bought out" this year and looking to move to "contenders" or is ryan hollins all we get to work with?

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Doc will start Ray because Rays value is being set up for his jumper... which means he starts with the PP, KG & Rondo... cause they been together for several years.  Ray off the bench may limit his ability to get free in 1/2 court. 

Rays value is getting off his jumper.. If that is diminished, Rys value drops bigtime

On the bright side, 4 months ago who whould've thought that this would even be a debate?

I am a big Ray Allen fan.  But Celtics only played against one good team while Allen was out.

guess doc heard some of us and trusted his eyes. ray should close but ab is a superstar starter right now folks. when he's on you, a long off balanced 3 is the best u can pray for. i liked doc benching ray in crunch time for the superior d of ab. says a lot about doc and what kind of coach he really is. all of u who ever slammed doc can bite me! doc did the right thing.

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Great work, doc.

You did the total right thing only 24 hours after doing the total wrong thing.

Made your critics look like a total fools.

Pud

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Ridiculous indeed!!!

So why did doc do the 180???

Pud

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Does anyone know when or if Pietrus will be back?  The Celtics could really use him. 

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Why would doc need cherries to deal with a non-issue like who starts then?

Shouldn't he be standing firmly on your principle that.... minutes are minutes?

Pud

Pretty obvious by the poll who everyone thinks should start.  I also don't think its so much about what Ray isn't doing as it is what AB is doing.  He is growing and Ray shouldn't be holding him back.  It does matter to guys who starts and who doesn't, even Ray said he want to start.  I would imagine that AB wants to as well.  Time to move on and hopefully Ray becomes the Manu for us.

I think Ray will probably be back in the starting lineup soon. I think you pull him out first and put in Bradley. Then When KG goes out you bring in  Stiemsma you can bring back Ray with second unit when Pierce goes out. Then depending on who's playing better AB or Ray finish out the half and end of the game.

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according to doc, HE didn't make the decision, RAY did- in Doc's own words, Ray approached him and said he wanted to come off the bench.

i thought the coach was supposed to lead the players and not vice versa?

the ray as 6th man project is really a long long time in coming....  glad it's here, but being realistic, it's likely too late.

it's not as easy as saying "that's that" but you have to actually work on the timing of the subs and the rotations, something doc has been.... poor at. 

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info from last night: he hasn't been practicing, wearing sunglasses all the time- that's what they said- sounds like issues with headaches if shades 24/7.  they did say that they don't know when he's going to be back.  i wouldn't hold your breath on it.

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Sometimes doc leads... sometime he follows. It really depends on the circumstances. Usually he listens to his favorite players to keep them happy and contented... and lets them decide.

But then again, get on docs bad side by being a PITA  and he might coach you right out of town.

Any names come to mind???

Pud

Its up to bradley, i think he might have been feeling the pressure a little bit...he just needs to get more confortable with the starting role..I mean you just took a HOFs spot, and not because of injuries...
This kid is going to be a solid  starter for years to come,  maybe an all star game here and there..
.Danny knows his stuff....I knew this kid had talent, and with his D,  i thought he might be a decent backup, i had no idea he would be scary  good..better than Tony Allen....

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