Celtics Draft Big Men in the First Round

We can clearly see Ainge’s strategy for the draft this year: go big or go home.  With their 21^st and 22^nd picks, the Celtics selected Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger and Syracuse’s Fab Melo, respectively.  These picks were risky and I think the Celtics would have preferred to draft a Royce White type forward, but he went at No. 16 to the Rockets. Here’s a quick breakdown of the new Celtic’s big guys.

Pick No. 21:  Jared Sullinger

The 20-year-old 6’-9” power forward weighs in at nearly 270 pounds with a wingspan of 7’-1”.  Many thought if he had entered the draft last year he would’ve gone very early in the first round.  However, he decided to take a second year at OSU and suffered a back injury, which sunk his draft value.  If Sully can stay healthy, he has the potential to be one of the best low-post players coming out of this year’s draft.  Despite his injuries, last year he nearly averaged a double double, with 17.5 points per game as well as 9.2 rebounds per game.  Oh yeah, he also averaged more than one block per game too.  The Celtics feel, for whatever reason, that the possible reward far outweighs the risk with Sullinger.  Hopefully, if he stays healthy, he can provide the Celtics with points in the paint as well as solid defense.

Sully

Pick No. 22:  Fab Melo

I’m not going to sugarcoat this; I think this was a stupid pick by the Celtics.  I hope they prove me wrong. The 7’-0”, 255 pound Brazilian center is a great defensive asset for the Celtics.  Averaging 7.8 points, 3 blocks and 6 rebounds a game last year; Melo was one of the leaders for Cuse last season.  However, and you all might remember this, he was not allowed to play in the NCAA tournament because of academic issues.  While I can respect that Melo is a great defensive player and athlete, I would feel more comfortable knowing that the Celtics are drafting someone with a high basketball IQ.  Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Rajon Rondo are all players with incredibly high basketball IQs.  I have a scary feeling that Melo might dumb them down and make some costly mistakes next year.  Despite this, according to Synergy Sports Data, Melo was ranked in the 98^th percentile for post defense.  His overall defense was ranked in the 89^th percentile, and on average Melo allowed a meager 0.593 points per play.

Fab Melo

So we have an injury-prone player and a not so smart player.  Was this a successful draft for the Celtics?  Meh, they certainly bulked up their roster, and how much can you really do with the 21^st and 22^nd picks?  I’m also extremely curious as to what the floor might look like next year with Bass, Garnett and/or one of these big guys on the floor.  I’m not exactly a basketball strategy expert, but what do you think coach Doc Rivers and GM Danny Ainge are planning here?

Don't act like you can't hear us with your stupid grin

PS - Who else LOVED the boos raining down on David Stern yesterday? He sucks, and everyone knows it.