In his recap of Boston's Game 3 loss in Cleveland LaRocque from ROOMOFZEN linked to Bob Ryan's article on the disappearance of Eddie House with the arrival of Sam Cassell, particularly once the playoffs started. Well this led to an e-mail exchange with LaRocque about Boston's point guards. I'll lead off with his e-mail and then jump to my response:

LaRocque from ROOMOFZEN: "So, I want to write something expressing the way I feel about our current point guard situation, but I can't.  I am too flip-floppy on Cassell.  Here is the way that I see things and I'm wondering if you agree. 

Cassell arrived saying that he was totally happy to be a role player and fit in with the offense.  Now, I really believe that he meant that.  But, I just don't think he has it in him.  The guy will always be a shoot-first point guard.  He's always been the guy that's known for taking big shots.  I think there is a place for him on this team.  In game 1, for example, when the offense was totally out of sync.  But, I don't like what I see happening.  First, it seems like Cassell is gradually taking more and more minutes away from Rondo.  Granted, Rondo went through a rough patch in game 2 and the first half of game 3.  But, he got things going in the second half of game 3.  When Rondo is in, we play the style that got us to this point.  We move the ball, he drives and dishes, we seem to flow a lot better.  But, the more Cassell plays, the more I see the team being reduced to a more predictable and stagnant offense. 

 

I guess what I mean is that I don't mind Cassell as a player.  I understand his style.  But, to me he should be spelling Rondo and being brought in for certain situations.  I feel like right now he's imposing his will a little bit on Doc and the team.  The results are more Cassell, less Rondo, and the Celtics abandoning the style that got them here. Keep in mind I'm feeling a little paranoid given the stakes of tonight's game."

Green Bandwagon: Everybody talks about what Eddie House doesn't do well. But what about the stuff he's good at? One of the biggest complaints was that he can't get the ball up against pressure and get into the offense. Well Cassell walks it up, wastes a ton of time and then let's it rip. Is that better? I think House firing jumpers, chest bumping everyone, swearing often and just being House worked well for a long time. Maybe House isn't a great defender. But is Cassell? The crazy thing is that Cassell is so hit or miss that we could be singing his praises in about 4 hours. And at this point it doesn't make a ton of sense to go to House. There's a reason he's played for 8 teams and couldn't get big minutes on a depleted 2006 Suns team come playoff time. The bigger issue is that Rajon Rondo is a mess right now. He needs to get back on track and kick start an offense that was downright bad in Game 3. I'll leave you with some KG to get fired up for this one: