Bill Russell gives his opinion on the roster improvements of the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers this summer .....
Bill Russell is one of the greatest basketball players ever to play in the NBA, and has 11 NBA championships to prove it. He was in the Boston Celtics team of the 60’s that dominated the league for almost a decade. Being a part
of a championship team for such a long time, Russell knows a thing or two about building teams and what it takes to put a championship contender on the floor.
Hence, with so many changes in the roster of so many different teams ahead of the next NBA season, Russell is the right person to ask which of them have a true shot at winning the crown next year.
NBA.com caught up with him recently to talk about just that.
Russell was asked how he felt about the current Boston Celtics team and the roster changes they made over the summer. The Celtics added Jason Terry and Courtney Lee, while Jeff Green and Avery Bradley will be playing a greater
role in the squad next season. On the other hand, Greens lost Ray Allen to the Miami Heat in the summer.
Russell feels that whom so ever joins the Celtics, the fact remains that getting a good player is not enough. The player needs to understand the team philosophy and he should be able to fit into the team with the kind of game he
plays.
“You don’t know how they will play together. Getting a better player doesn’t necessarily make you a better team. That may sound kind of weird. Red Auerbach and the Celtics, we used to talk about that all the time. The question
you have to ask yourself, ‘How does his style fit with what you are going to put him with and will it make you a better team?’,” said Russell.
When asked about the new look Los Angeles Lakers and their addition in Dwight Howard and Steve Nash over the summer, Russell had the same thing to say.
“Now, playing in L.A., with a different group and a different emphasis, how will they use his skills in order to win? With the addition of Steve Nash as well, the Lakers can be very, very good,” said Russell of Howard joining the
Lakers.
Russell has emphasized what many analysts have been saying all along with respect particularly to the Lakers. Getting star players is just the first step. Those players actually have to play as a unit on the floor and be in agreement
with the team direction.
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