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Celtics Player Previews: The Bench Forwards

The Celtics took a big loss this summer when they were unable to re-sign forward James Posey for a new contract before he took off for the New Orleans Hornets. In his place, Danny Ainge signed and drafted a couple players that may help fill his void. They help make up the forwards that will line the bench for the Celtics to start the season.

Key Departures: James Posey
Key Arrivals: Darius Miles, Bill Walker
The Cast: Darius Miles, Glen Davis, Leon Powe, Bill Walker, Brian Scalabrine

James Posey will surely be missed, but the Celtics did well in grabbing Bill Walker on draft night and are taking a chance with Darius Miles, who has not played in the NBA for the past two seasons.

Glen “Big Baby” Davis is looking to improve on his exciting rookie campaign that saw him be the aggressive big guy under the net. He has been practicing and working out all summer in the Celtics’ practice facilities and will still be a very strong physical presence under the net this season. He will probably still be full of hilarious dives and falls, but he should be a much more serious player this coming season.

Leon Powe has filled in many times at back-up center, along with Davis, but he is technically listed as a forward so here he is found. Powe is another physical presence under the basket due to his ability to dunk the ball very effectively. That’s all well and good, but Powe needs to develop more of mid range shot in order to become an effective multi-faceted player. Overall, I see Powe still being as effective as before as he should see even more minutes in 2008-09.

Miles and Walker are the newcomers to the team and both have been impressive in camp and in the few preseason games thus far. Miles will be great if he can get back to the level of playing he was at two seasons ago. A strong combination of Miles, Walker, and Tony Allen will really fill the hole left by Posey and maybe even then some.

Finally, there is the token white guy in Brian Scalabrine. I have doubts as to whether or not Scal will make the team this year. In the first preseason game out in Amherst, MA, Scal did virtually nothing and caused some bad turnovers that helped lead to the Celtics’ eventual loss. With so much other talent coming to the team, it’s really unclear if they need Scal or not. I personally do not think they do, but that is up to Doc and Danny Ainge to decide.

I will take a look at the bench centers in the next addition of these previews and finish up with the starting five before the regular season opener.

Tags: Bill Walker, Brian Scalabrine, Celtics, Darius Miles, Glen Big Baby Davis, James Posey, Leon Powe, Tony Allen