It's Official - We Don't Need Sam Cassell

DARIUS MILES CAN DO MORE THAN JUST STEAL THE SAT'S, PEOPLE!!!

Darius Miles is on the cutting block. He's the only Celtic without a guaranteed contract and there are 16 dudes vying for 15 spots. Granted, his preseason performance has been pretty underwhelming. The Celtics have also said that they don't want to have him on the team if he is just going to be the 15th man. Brian Scalabrine has a stranglehold on that position. You'd have more luck trying to steal his bag of pork rinds than his spot on the bench.

Still, I maintain that the Celtics should part ways not with Miles, but with Sam Cassell. I like the idea of Cassell as an assistant coach, but what role does he serve on the Celtics this year? Eddie House is more than capable of handling the point, Gabe Pruitt has looked good in the preseason, Rondo can put in more minutes, and Cassell is old, crazy, and erratic. Nobody that watched the Celtics with any regularity last season was excited when Sam Cassell entered the game. Granted, he had some good performances, but not good enough to relegate Eddie House (randomly) to the bench. Without Cassell, the Celtics could run House, Tony Allen, or Smilin' Gabe at the backup point. You don't need four backup point guards. Miles serves more eclectic purposes and is actually capable of playing within the team's offensive scheme. Cassell, on the other hand, calls the same play every time down the floor- dribble into traffic and then jack an awful fadeaway.

But that's not to say that Cassell can't serve a useful purpose! I loved his fire on the bench, and he did appear to coach his teammates well. He's well liked and the refs love him. It's just that he doesn't serve nearly enough of a purpose on the floor other than his intangibles. Meanwhile, Miles could potentially serve several roles for the team coming off the bench. (Full disclosure: We all love Miles because he's hilarious, as well.) He could rebound, he could score a bit, he could be a "4" in a small uptempo lineup- there are many ways in which he could be utilized. Why not stick him at the end of the bench, just in case? I'm sure Gabe could jack up a turnaround 3 with 18 seconds left on the shotclock in a close playoff game if Doc wanted him to, but I don't think he could force Elton Brand out on the perimeter to put him in foul trouble.

So, in conclusion and in summary, the Celtics have a perfect solution right in front of them. Make Cassell a coach, give Miles a guaranteed contract and reap all of the benefits with none of the risks. Also, given his experience in "The Perfect Score," I believe his game plan-stealing skills have been underutilized... although stealing Jim O'Brien's game plan of "JUST SHOOT THREES" might not be worth the effort.Source URL: http://ledger-heath.blogspot.com/2008/10/it-official-we-don-need-sam-cassell.html
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