How far would C's have gone if they didn't make the KG trade?

[Redz]

It really would have depended on the kind of effort they put forth on a nightly basis.  The fans have supported some god awful teams who played their butts off. 

[guava_wrench]

i say it'd be tough for us to even make the playoffs. 

No KG means no House/Posey/PJ Brown or Cassell...

It also means no defense...

and it means we lose every game where Paul and Ray were slumping.

  Without KG we wouldn't have been a top defensive team, but we still would have been a better than average defensive team.

Why would we be better than average on defense? Posey would be in NJ, no KG and no Brown!

Perk, TA, and Rondo could have made big defensive contributions, but PP would still be focusing on preserving energy for offense since defensive efforts would often be wasted due to the horrible rotations we saw when Al was still in town. The horrible rotations would also keep Rondo from being as successful as he was gambling on steals.

  In 2006-2007 we were 16th in defense, and that was with Perk hobbled and West, Gomes and Gerald Green playing big minutes. This year Perk was healthy and we got a lot more minutes from Paul, Perk and Rajon. Jefferson and Perkins has always been a good defensive combo.

But we also traded Delonte for Ray Allen. That seems like it could have been a setback for the defense.

Is there compelling evidence that just because the players stay together they will necessarily improve in their defensive ranking as a team?