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Entries from October 2009

Celtics are 3-0: it’s been all tricks and treats so far (Halloween edition).

October 31, 2009 · 3 Comments

¡ Rondo !

It’s been all tricks AND treats for the Celtics for the first three games.

TREAT
Rondo’s command. Rondo has been in control of all three games against Cleveland, Charlotte, and now Chicago. I’ve stressed over and over again that one the most important aspects to becoming a top 3 point guard in the league rests in his ability to learn how to control the pace of games– when should Rondo push the ball to hit or create an easy bucket in transition and when does he need to slow it down and set up the offense. So far in the first three games, Rondo’s had full command over the pace.
As the guys over at CelticsHub.com pointed out this morning, Rondo has 37 assists to just 5 turnovers. While it’s still early, Rondo is averaging just a touch over 7 assists per turnover. 2 years ago, Rondo started the season with almost as many turnovers as assists and now, he’s an assist/turnover ratio machine.
We’ve known over the last few seasons that this kid can rebound, but I see him more aggressive and feisty than ever before on the offensive glass. There have been multiple possessions where he’s had more than two consecutive offensive boards. Thank goodness for his anticipation, hops, quickness, and freakishly large hands.
By the way, if you’re keeping track of whether Rondo is a top 3 point guard… he’s taken down Mo Williams, Raymond Felton, and Derrick Rose. We’ll keep track at Loscy of these match-ups throughout the season (see sidebar to the right).

TRICK
KG being KG. Does he have that ALL THAT explosiveness and burst of speed back that we are accustomed to? No, not yet. As I wrote about the other day, it doesn’t matter. KG will find his way back into basketball shape and be able to run up and down the court better and be quicker on lateral slides/transitions. But for now, he’s doing everything we need him to do. We need him to jump out of the gym. Many nay-sayers believed KG would be done because of the mysterious knee injury (including a certain Sports Guy) when he told the media countless times that his knee is fine. KG has told all of you to shut up about his knee, and I highly advise you do so unless you want him to bite out your kidneys.

TREAT

Pierce 2.0, refresssssshed.

Dear Cleveland, Charlotte, and Chicago:
Thank you for obliging to my demands that you frequently leave Pierce wide open on the wings. Thank you for letting him launch threes without a single defender in his face. Pierce has been an impressive 10-17 (59%) from behind the arc and a terrific 18-34 (53%) from the floor. He’s also tacked on 14-15 from the stripe (94%). The slimmed down version of Pierce (“Pierce 2.0”) is a lean-mean shot dropping machine. Thank you Coach Brown, Brown, and Del Negro for not forcing any of your players to guard Pierce and allowing him to showcase why he’s one of the most prolific scorers in Celtic history.

TREAT
Last night against the Bulls, EVERY SINGLE Celtic player that logged time in the game finished with a positive +/- rating. Let me say that again: anytime any of the Celtic players were on the floor last night, the Celtics were consistently outscoring the Bulls (and able to make stops) Hey junkies: when’s the last game where every player on a team had a positive +/- rating?

What a positive sign (sorry, had to do it).

TRICK

Ray Ray doing what he does.

Yes Ray is 34 years old. Yes all of the “experts” are talking about how we will likely see a slow down in production because of age. I know it’s only game 3, but Ray looks as efficient as ever. AS EVER. Has anyone moved off the ball as well, quickly, cleverly, and efficiently as Ray Allen? Maybe Reggie Miller. That’s the only person I’ll let you put in his company. Props to Ray, as well, for passing my all-time favorite player in NBA history (John Stockton) on the all-time scoring list.

TRICK & TREAT
Rondo’s ally-oop to KG in transition last night. BOOMING. This was both a trick (KG’s knee is fine) and treat (glad to see one of my favorite plays from last year resurrected).

TREAT
The team’s defense is getting tighter and tighter. The Celtic core players were bragging about Quisy and Sheed’s high basketball IQ in the off-season, and now we have some pretty reliable living proof. Quisy and Sheed know the defensive schemes pretty well so far. I’ve been really impressed with Shelden Williams and Eddie House’s D, too. The landlord is slowly carving out a niche for himself on this team and crashing the boards with controlled recklessness. I love it, Shelden.

(other) TREATS
George Hill (Spurs) is nasty. I want to see him in green.
Gilbert Arenas has returned to form.
Shawn Marion might have found a home in Dallas.

Rondo’s 16 assists via Red’s Army:

Welcome back, NBA. I’ve missed you.

Categories: Game Recap · In the News · Player Profile
Tagged: Boston Celtics, Bulls, Celtics, Celtics Love, Doc Rivers, Eddie House, George Hill, Gilbert Arenas, Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Larry Brown, Lester Hudson, Marquis Daniels, Mavericks, Mike Brown, NBA Analysis, Non Celtics Games, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Rasheed Wallace, Ray Allen, Red's Army, Shawn Marion, Shelden Williams, Spurs, Vinny Del Negro, Wizards

We reloaded: the new look, feel, taste, and swagger of the Celtics.

October 29, 2009 · 10 Comments

In the words of the prolific and substantive Busta Rhymes:

“What y’all wanna do? Don’t we always comin through, me and my crew
Lemme hear ya say “FIRE IT UP”! (FIRE IT UP!) Say “FIRE IT UP”! (FIRE IT UP!)”

The last two nights, our crew in green has certainly come through.
And even more than that? I’ll speak on behalf of the entire Celtics’ fan-base on this one: we are all freakin’ fired up.

After just two games, I can tell you that I have a great feeling about this team.
After just two games, I can tell you that this team is going to be successful.
After just two games, I can tell you that we can separate ourselves from the rest of the pack.
After just two games, I can tell you that we have so many good things to look forward to.
After just two games, I can tell you a lot.

Rajon.

Yeah that's Mo Doucheiams watching in the background.

If you are familiar with these parts, you know that I cannot say enough good things about Rondo. He’s been aggressive out of the gates: Rondo has been attacking, attacking, and attacking. We know he’s put on some muscle, but his speed, quickness, and agility seem to be at yet another unimaginable level. His killer crossover just turned into a mightily killer crossover on amphetamines. It almost seems like Rondo is trying to learn his way around this new gear. While he’s had some turnovers, we’ll see them fade away as he gets more games under his legs. His court vision? Sharp as a razor. He’s had some great looks, especially to Pierce on the wing and KG on the move toward the hoop. I like what I see: the more aggressive Rondo is, the more efficient and effective our offense runs.

Pierce.
Pierce has visibly slimmed down. He’s lost some bulk in his upper body and he is moving better than I’ve seen him move on the court in the last few years. I saw this first hand in the pre-season game against the Knicks when Pierce had that reverse dunk on a breakaway. His first step looks quick. Against the Cavs on Tuesday, Pierce twice (read: twice!), jab-stepped and faked out Lebron to take the ball to the hoop. On both occasions, the crappy Cleveland defense collapsed on him to send him to the line. Pierce is running the floor so well but he’s still big enough that he doesn’t lose the size advantage he’s always had on smaller forwards. Just when you thought match-up problems against Pierce couldn’t get worse for other teams…

Pierce 2.0

KG.

If you're curious, he banked that shot right over Shaq. Dance big man, dance.

Welcome back, Binky. While you’ve noticeably lost so much explosiveness, it’ll either come back as you get back into shape or it won’t. If this is all of the power you will have in your legs, that will be fine. You’ve marked your return to quarterbacking our defense and helping to spread the floor with your shots from the elbows and baseline. Honestly. Welcome back.

Perk.
Perk’s starting to pull the trigger on that 10 foot jumper on the baseline and I’m liking it. Every single year, Perk has added another dimension to his game. This year, a 10 foot jumper? Yeah I’m on board for that. And the stalwart defense? Yup. Still there.

Quisy.

QUISY!

The best pick up of the off-season? Likely. He’s tied for that nomination with a teammate. Quisy looks like he’s been in this system for the last few seasons. For a guy that is helping to run the offense and asked to D up on Lebron, he’s been pretty impressive. I love how Quisy fits into the offense. I love that he pulled the trigger on the baseline for three after Cleveland kept egging him on. I love that he can put the ball on the floor and create his own shot in the paint. Most of all… I love that he can handle the ball and no one can take it away from him. Quisy has the kind of ball handling/control that looks like it is easy to take away, but it’s far from that.

Sheed.
The other guy that is tied up for the nomination for best pick up of the off-season. Sheed’s defensive abilities usually get lost amidst his on the court antics, but plenty of us have noticed what he’s doing. He’s made all of the right rotations off screens. He can guard the opposing big man on his own. Sheed has made the timely fouls when necessary. On offense, he spaces the floor as well as any other big man. Love it.

Eddie House.
I’ve noticed a significant change in the way House is playing. He’s actually commanding on the court like a point guard. He’s much more vocal and seems to be assuming a good leadership role for that second unit. After all, Eddie is the vet of that second unit. I think it is helping to make him more effective but also helping that second unit to gel. I really like this, but am looking forward to seeing him drop threes like bombs sooner than later. He had a slow start last year on his way to a record setting percentage from behind the arc, so I’m going to be patient.

Have you seen the new Celtics promotion for tickets? Check it out:

One of their tag-lines this year is that the Celtics have RELOADED. We have reloaded, and it’s not just the added ammunition of Quisy and Sheed. KG is new. Pierce is new. Ray is new. Rondo is new. Perk is new. This entire team has a new look, feel, taste, and swagger.

Last of all, the team as a whole looks like they are having one heck of a time playing basketball. The team looks like they want to play together so they can chalk up a W together. They look like they’re having fun: every single one of them. For the older vets like Pierce/Ray/KG/Sheed, the smile is genuine because they know Father Time is knocking on their door.

And for the record: I’m having just as much fun watching as they are playing.

2 down. 80 to go.

2-0.

Categories: Game Recap · In the News · Player Profile
Tagged: Boston Celtics, Cavaliers, Celtics, Celtics Love, Doc Rivers, Eddie House, Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Lebron James, Marquis Daniels, NBA Analysis, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Rasheed Wallace, Ray Allen, Shaquille O'Neal

Loscy would like to thank…

October 25, 2009 · 4 Comments

I need to take a minute and thank some folks in the Celtics blogging community that have helped Loscy grow to being where it is today. As someone that was happy to have just 30 readers per post back in March of 2009, I’m now encroaching on the 1,000 mark for genuine readers per new article. It wouldn’t have happened without the help of…

FLCeltsFan
FLCeltsFan of Loy’s Place somehow found my blog this past spring and started linking my articles on the famous Daily Links found at CelticsBlog.com. Since this was the place I found all of my daily readings, I was excited and grateful to see my posts join the other prestigious and lucky Celtics blogs on the list. Since then, FLCeltsFan has been a great support system and was a voice of reason to help draw me back to Loscy (after my brief stint as a lead writer for a Celtics blog on a big blog network). FLCeltsFan’s gets 1/2 of the biggest thanks from Loscy.
http://celticsgreen.blogspot.com
@FLCeltsFan

Red’s Army
Red’s Army deserves the other half of the biggest thanks. Red’s runs one of the two biggest Celtics blogs on the world wide web of internets. Red’s linked up The Rondo ‘Tude back in June and that day I saw the largest volume of genuine readers… ever. Since then, Red’s has linked up a bunch of articles from Loscy and help direct some of its readers over to this blog. Red’s Army and CelticsBlog set the standard for Celtics news and analysis, so it’s been great to get some help from them.
http://www.redsarmy.com
@redsarmy

Celtics Stuff Live
Justin and Jon run the BEST Celtics podcast in the universe. Tune in every Sunday night for their regular live show and for live post-game podcasts. I’ve been an avid listener ever since Return The Rafters came out, and finally started emailing them questions. I emailed an excerpt from A Little Sad and it was read on the podcast following Game 4 of the ORL series in the playoffs. As I was listening to Justin and Jon talk about my article while driving home, I nearly drove off the damn road. Since then, I’ve sent in plenty of questions via Twitter and their site and they’ve been kind enough to not only read the questions, but also give brief plugs for Loscy.
http://celticsstufflive.com
@CSL_Justin
@CSL_Duke

KWAPT
KWAPT (I’ll let you guess what the acronym stands for, but here’s a hint: K=Kobe and T=thong) has been my new Twitter buddy. I first ran into his craziness at Red’s Army and soon on Twitter. He’s also been a great technological sidekick, introducing me to TwitterFeed and TweetDeck. Love them both. Looking forward to ripping on Kobe some more as the season gets underway.
http://jameyburke.blogspot.com
@KWAPT

–

As the season is about to get underway, I wanted to kick it off right by thanking FLCeltsFan, Red’s Army, Celtics Stuff Live, and KWAPT for helping Loscy get some press and for sending some quality readers my way.

Cheers to #18.

Categories: In the News
Tagged: Celtics Love, Celtics Stuff Live, FLCeltsFan, Kobe-Hater, KWAPT, Loy's Place, Non Celtics Games, Red's Army

How Shaq will ruin Lebron/Cavs and why it doesn’t matter for the Celtics.

October 24, 2009 · 10 Comments

Rondo was fast last year, but now he's ludicrous speed fast and lightening quick.

I’m back from the dead. Not literally, but close enough.
Sorry about the non-posts for the last three weeks.

I’ve been wrestling with what to write about in my next post. Here is what I knew I was going to stay away from:

No KG knee talk (he might find out and rip my liver and kidneys out with his teeth).
No Rondo extension talk (I’ve already made my plea in 5 for $55m)
No back-up point guard in question talk (ugh).
No Rasheed v. Perk in the closing 6 minutes talk (what?).
No Pierce re-working his contract talk (hmmm).
No Tony Allen talk (as tempting as it is…).
No minutes talk (been there, done that).
No Lester Hudson v. JR Giddens for the last roster spot talk (whoops).

None of it. No. I was going to stay away from those topics. But by telling what I thought I was going to write, did I somehow talk about them?
Those were all pre-season talks and pre-season is done. I am moving on, and because you are reading this, you are too moving on.

Sickening. Thinking of their pre-game routines make me vomit in my mouth. Damn you look fat, Shaq.

Looking ahead, the Celts visit Cleveland for their season opener. On Tuesday, we’ll see a likely preview of the Eastern Conference Finals. For those of you who think by stating this that I’m jinxing it, GET REAL! I accept no blame if this matchup doesn’t come to fruition. Like my words mean anything. But of course, I’ll take all of the credit if it happens (called it). We all know this is what we want to see and we all know it is what we want.

I saw Cleveland play against San Antonio and Dallas thanks to Justin TV. I know it’s preseason. I know I know I know it’s preseason… but the Cavs were so sloppy. There were so many chemistry issues that I can see eventually getting worked out, but that isn’t even the biggest of their problems. The issues became clearer when we matched up with them this past week.

Before I talk about the Cavs and Celts pre-season game, just let me make a proclamation: I am beginning to hate Lebron James as much as I hate Kobe. Last year, it felt great to root for Lebron to have that sickening season. Lebron’s 2009 season was the type of year, statistically and empirically, that was going to instantly catapult him past Kobe as the league’s premier player– in statistics, statue, and image. Every bit of the NBA was going to start shifting its marketing limelight toward King James. Then he couldn’t bring his team out of the East. Then he cried about it. Then he’s been threatening to run away from the very city that has gone all in for him. He’s threatening to abandon a city that needs him more than anything else. And worst of all? Lebron’s beginning to whine excessively and really say all of the wrong things. The days of haphazardly rooting for Lebron because it meant Kobe was getting less attention are over. Hey world: I’m throwing my love toward the KiD that I’ve been dreaming to play in green for the last couple of seasons: Kevin Durant.

Kazaam! Get it?

Back to Lebron.
I lied, actually. Worst than all of that: Lebron thought bringing in Shaq was going to really help him win a title. If we are realistic, we know that there is no way management (read: Danny Ferry) would have brought Shaq in without Lebron’s seal of approval. So Lebron… get ready to sleep in the bed that you’ve made.

Shaq is going to single-handedly ruin the Cavs.

During their last pre-season game:

When Shaq received the ball on the post and he started to make his moves, the entire Cavs team stood around watching him. Including Lebron. Look, I hate Shaq, but if he causes the most dynamic basketball player in the league to idle while on the floor then I am all in for that. It was shocking to see the team look like they were taking advantage of the best seats in the house. Expect Mike Brown to fix this? Hmmm…
The Cavs can’t space the floor at all with Shaq in. Their bigs have no range, meaning defenders aren’t going to bite their bluff when they float around the 15-18’ range. Varejao and Shaq have no mid-range J. The Cavs big have a bigger issue: Shaq and Varejao clog up the middle. Not allowing to space the floor means less room for Lebron to work his magic. There used to be a big man that in Cleveland that could help space out the floor by the name of Zydrroiuoieuiouaioudiosnnss Iglaosaauuuauaslkskskaas, but big Z has been relegated to the bench in favor of the fatty Shaq.
The Cavs are not a passing team. I’m actually trying to think, besides Lebron, was this team that good at moving the ball last year? My unfavorable memory wants to say no? Big Z was a decent passing big man, but again, big guy is on the bench. The Cavs have further exposed what they lacked last year: an in-and-out presence from the post to the perimeter. As this team develops their chemistry, I can see the passing improving… but it’s not going to be anything drastically different than what they have right now. The players inherently and genetically are not made to pass. Anthony Parker gives them some good flexibility on the wing, but besides him and Lebron, what do the Cavs have?

What else irked me the other night?

Douche.

Mo Williams getting in Shelden William’s face after he got tossed to the ground. Hey Mo: what do you expect when you are six feet nothing and you’re up against a true big? I’ve said this over and over again and tweeted it last night, too: Mo is just the little guy that runs his mouth because he hangs around the tough bully. Remove the bully and what do you have? A little pip-squeak that chokes in big games and can’t play defense. And he can’t pass. Choke on that, Mo.
Shaq receiving his official license to do whatever he likes on both ends of the floor. Apparently the new traveling rules were designed with Shaq in mind: take as many steps from here to Pap New Guinea. It’s fine… the refs might charge you a fee for for your second bag that you’d like to check, but the traveling is free of charge. On the defensive end, there were at least 3 occasions where Shaq put a forearm into the back of a Celtic big (mainly Perk) in order to get a rebound. You know what they say: “When you get old and fat and slow just cheat your way to convince others you’re worth $20 million”. As a result of his inability to box people out of the paint, he’ll just push and get away with it. What?

Kazaam! Get it again?

The Cavs are throwing a lot of stock into their new star player.
Silly things to notice:

This week’s cover of SI? Shaq and Lebron. Take a look at Shaq’s body language: holding Lebron back and pointing at his audience as to step forward and steal the limelight. What a donkey.
Shaq looks fat. Simple as that. All of his “off-season” training to be “Lebron’s bodyguard” for “Lebron’s team” didn’t so much work. He is heavier and he is slower. His body is going to breakdown and we will see it happen.
When has Shaq ever accepted a backseat role to anyone? D-Wade in Miami? Nope. Amare in Phoenix? Nope. Now Lebron? No way. He wants the ball and he wants to look good. This marriage is doomed.
Cleveland celebrates its 40th year as a franchise. Coincidently the Roman numerals for 40? XL… as in Extra Large. As in Shaq. Ok. That may be a stretch, but you get where I’m going.

There is too much attention for Shaq and for all of the wrong reasons. This one will play out like a soap opera, which will make real contending teams like LA, San Antonio, and Boston chuckle while Lebron ponders where he can move to next and make bank.

Why does this not matter at all?
The chemistry on the Celtics is far better than anything we’ve seen in pre-season. Tommy said it. Gorman said. Sean Grandy said it. Cedric said it. You’ve said. I’ve said it. This team wants to win. They’re playing smart, unselfish ball and they’re executing well. The shots aren’t necessarily falling and the team’s defensive rotations could be more efficient, but everything will be tight in a matter of weeks when the team have more games underneath them. As long as the team stays… let’s not even say it.

This is going to be one of the most competitive seasons in the NBA in years. You have five teams that have said “we want to win NOW” and all have a realistic chance of at least reaching the Finals (LA, SA in the West; BOS, CLV, ORL in the East). You have sleeper teams that could creep up in the rankings (Washington and maybe even OKC if everyone has breakout seasons). You have teams that we expect a lot out of that may not be able to deliver (Chicago, Denver, Dallas). And then you have everyone else.

Can we start today?

Categories: Game Recap · In the News · Player Profile
Tagged: 2010 preseason, Boston Celtics, Bulls, Cavaliers, Celtics Love, JR Giddens, Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Kobe-Hater, Lakers, Lebron James, Lester Hudson, Magic, Mike Brown, NBA Analysis, Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Rasheed Wallace, Shaquille O'Neal, Spurs, Thunder, Wizards

The Math of Minutes for Rondo, Ray, Pierce, KG, Perk & Co.

October 4, 2009 · 6 Comments

A thing of beauty.

Ok. Let us hack away at probable minutes for the starters and reserves to see if we can make some sense out of this. We’ll also assume that this is how the first couple of months SHOULD shape up if all goes according to plan (read: no one gets hurt). The importance of Doc playing regulator with the minutes is beyond explanation: we have aging legs that need to be kept in check during the regular season in order to ensure rest for the long haul of the playoffs.

Every minute that a bench player is on the floor is an additional minute of rest for our veteran starters. Not only do we give the reserves a chance to develop more and build fluid cohesion in their play, but we prevent the fatal compression of minutes by our starters in the middle of games. Additional minutes saved now will reward us with allowable minutes for the postseason.

This could get confusing, but I’m pretty sure this is the best way of looking at where minutes can go:

48 shared minutes at point guard
48 shared minutes at off guard
48 shared minutes at small forward
96 shared minutes at the 4/5 spots (easier to combine these positions)

At the point guard position:

Rondo gets 40 of the 48 minutes (Rondo is ready for this kind of mileage)
TA/Scal gets 8 of the 48 minutes (TA/Scal won’t play PG, but they’ll get the 8 leftover minutes and be on the floor)

At the shooting guard position:

Ray gets 34 of the 48 minutes (Would Ray’s minutes increase IF he is healthy and the front office has no intentions of re-signing him?)
Eddie gets 14 of the 48 minutes (Eddie could see more minutes if he takes some of the PG reserve minutes)

The new additions.

At the small forward position:

Pierce gets 32 of the 48 minutes (would love to even see him at 30 minutes per game and thus giving Quisy an additional 2 minutes)
Quisy gets 16 of the 48 minutes (even though Quisy will be playing the 3 spot, we know he’ll be handling the ball)

At the 4/5 positions:

Perk gets 32 of the 96 minutes (this could be more than he’ll really get; I could see his PT being in the 30 minute range, which would afford a couple of extra minutes for Sheed and Baby)
KG gets 26 of the 96 minutes (26 seems reasonable: just more than half the game; but if games are out of reach or a blowout, and it’s clear what the outcome will be, I’d love to see his time reduced earlier on)
Sheed gets 19 of the 96 minutes (would love to see him get more minutes, but where do the minutes come from?)
Baby gets 19 of the 96 minutes (would love to see him also get more minutes, but again, where do the minutes come from?)

I don’t see JR/Billy seeing many minutes unless we have players in foul trouble or there are injuries.
Lester and Shelden shouldn’t see much of anything unless there are injuries (they won’t make the active 12-man roster if everyone is healthy).

Ok. Crazy things to think about. We have the flexibility to put a freakishly awesome mix of starters and reserves on the floor. Let’s think about line up potentials:

Consistent starters:

Rondo, Ray, Pierce, KG, Perk

Consistent 2nd unit:

Quisy (playing 3, handling the ball), TA/Scal, 3ddi3, Baby, Sheed

Mix of starters and reserves (middle of the 2nd quarter, end of the 3rd quarter, start of the 4th quarter, etc.):

Rondo, Ray, Quisy, Baby, Perk
Quisy, Ray, Pierce, KG, Sheed
Rondo, Pierce, Quisy, KG, Sheed
Quisy, 3ddi3, Pierce, Baby, Sheed
Rondo, Pierce, KG, Sheed, Perk

Oh my god. My head is spinning. Is yours?

What are we seeing here? An UNBELIEVABLE mix of units on the floor at any given time. I am crying for Doc to mix up playeres in games to make matchup nightmares for opposing teams. We have the possibility to make other teams weep in their uniforms in the middle of the floor after coming out of a huddle. The five guys on the floor can go from speedy athletic (Rondo, Ray, Quisy, KG, Sheed), to powerhouse strong (Quisy, Ray, Pierce, Sheed, Perk), to a hybrid of each (Rondo, Quisy, Pierce, KG, Sheed).

The minutes matter. The minutes matter. The minutes matter. I’ll say it again: the minutes freakin’ matter! With these many lineup possibilities, we can prevent over-use and allow guys to rest. I’m envisioning a free-flowing bench that gets comfortable playing with any mix of starters on the floor. Am I crazy in thinking this? Hopefully not.

1… 2… 3… Ubuntu.