Friday, March 5th, 2010 at 9:00 am  |  74 responses

Can Michael Finley Help the Celtics?

by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

There’s a line of thinking within the NBA’s various front-offices, that leads GMs to believe that no matter how washed up a once-great player may appear to be, there’s always a chance he can hit a big shot or two for you in the postseason.

And that small glimmer of hope is what keeps a lot of the older guys in the League, and on teams that believe they’re contending for titles. It’s part of the reason Rasheed Wallace is wearing Celtic green and white, and it’s definitely the reason Michael Finley is now a teammate of his.

Danny Ainge has been quick to deflate any sort of pressure on the new guy, especially once the Playoffs roll around. However, Finley’s new coach seems rather hopeful.

From ESPN:

“I certainly don’t consider Mike Finley to be someone that’s going to make the difference in us winning the championship,” Ainge said, adding that he doesn’t want to put that kind of pressure on the veteran. “That’s why I keep the pressure on our starters.”

“I don’t think a veteran ever hurts,” Doc Rivers told the Boston Globe earlier this week when rumors first began to swirl about the Celtics’ potential interest in Finley. “I think it always helps your team to have one, if it’s the right one. Every team has some holes. Shooting is one thing we can’t have enough of as far as I’m concerned. You look at some of these other teams, their shooting is ridiculous.”

Finley — who saw his minutes get slashed nearly in half this season with the Spurs — is currently shooting a woeful 38% from the field, so I’m not sure what kind of marksmanship his coach can truly expect from him.

What do you guys think: can Michael Finley make a positive contribution to the C’s (especially in the Playoffs), or is this simply his last lap around the NBA?

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  • letsmotor

    @ The Seed: the Lakers were interested in Finley too, you know. guess they were also interested in making a “disperation move.”

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  • BostonBaller

    Great point letsmotor. In some games Finley will be in at the end and will knock down a shot or two but more importantly he will hit free throws and that can be contagious. The old jokes are a bit old and to say Ray is washed up is to show a limited Ball IQ at best. He still hits J’s, FT’s and goes to the rack hard PLUS he plays decent D on great players. (No one can defend kobe, lbj or wade straight up.) as far as the cats owning the Cavs, again low IQ. I love it when people say that they were a one and done championship team…how many teams actually repeat? Again, low IQ speaking. What’s this I read about Doc not being a good coach? I’m not saying he is Phil Jackson but Jackson has only coached teams with MEGA stars on it so is he not a good coach? You guessed it, a low IQ wrote that.

  • http://slamonline BossTerry

    Mike finley. Jason Williams. and Jon Bender walk into a bar…..

  • http://slamonline BossTerry

    and join Stackhouse at his booth… shortly P.J. Brown comes around and says ‘ what’ll it be fellas?’

  • drewz

    its seems now that the celtics are turning into the new age retirement home. instead of moving to florida old people go play for the celtics. i think an AARP card is no a requirement for that roster

  • drewz

    *now

  • http://www.twitter.com/BBK50 BBK

    Ohh, yeah, Finley can really help the c’s down the strech because if Ray gets into foul trouble or if he isn’t hot, Finley is the only guy than can knock down dem clutch 3′s

  • letsmotor

    maybe all the critics are right. i mean, it’s always young teams that win championships right? and it’s not like sam cassell and pj brown, who were both a couple years older than finley, were big X factors for the ’08 Celtics.

  • Teddy-the-Bear

    LOL @ Tariq.

  • Matt Gill

    Game 5 of the Championship series and the Celts are about to wrap it up, Nate is out Doggin lbj or whoever and on the bench swinging the towels like in days of yore, Rayray, Findawg and KG compare their PEs, harking back to when J still played and his shoes were worth wearing, KG was wearing what ever he liked cos he could, Rayray played for some club in Seattle(?) and noone had ever heard of Peak athletics……..
    Go Celts, I am old, I love this game,I drank too much coffee……..

  • ab_40

    if he can build a championship and can take sheed, kg, pierce, allen and himself to the states they were in in 04 he’s a great aquisition

  • Hazy_Purple

    if you really think the celtics can’t compete and they’re just starting to make desperation moves, you’re either a cavs, magic, or lakers fan who’s seeing what they want to see, or, you just don’t know a thing about basketball. i’m not saying he’s going to have a huge effect, but there’s absolutely no way a savvy, experienced veteran known for his leadership qualities can hurt. make all the age jokes you want–which seem to be getting dumber and dumber (see ab_40–build a champsionship?! hilarious!!)–the celtics just got wiser.

  • Hazy_Purple

    championship*. sorry.

  • http://nationalhighway.blogspot.com jaywalker

    This just shows the desperation…I think C’s are doing just fine, they just need to stay healthy and then fight it out in the playoffs…C’s bench wasnt exposed in 2008 when they had healthy players but things are different now..and its starting to show up…But they dont need to hit the Panic button just yet…Dont add more age to the roster C’s…

  • tavoris

    if he can give them 10 minutes a nite at the 3, then this will be a good pick up. Neither Tony Allen or Marquis Daniels have been able to spell Paul Pierce all season.

  • buppie

    Fin will be an asset on ANY team he plays with.

  • Jon

    I love watermelon juice.

  • http://www.twitter.com/sesa_opas Sesa

    Just get K.G. to get healthy. The floor spacing isn’t there when K.G. is not playing 100%

  • Hangtime Hec

    The Celtics are done. That retirement home that people call a basketball team cant even beat the wizards without working up a sweat. The mighty have fallen, or better yet, how the young become old and brittle.

  • BostonBaller

    Ray Allen is still a helluva player….washed up? Check your bball IQ. Lazer Ray

  • therighttoremainsalient

    Where’s Tony Allen at?!

  • The Philosopher

    Finley could be a spot up shooter, drive the lane when no one is there. I hope they didn’t get him for defense.

  • bnice

    His stats are already better than 75% of the players on the celtics roster since he joined the team. And you guys say he can’t play? Lol

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