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5 days ago

Painful Reminders (Part I): The Celtics Drafted JaJuan Johnson Instead of Jimmy Butler

On June 23rd, 2011, Brian Robb and I stood around a high top bar table in Tommy Doyle’s in Kendall Square.  Before us lay one of the biggest mounds of buffalo chicken wings I had ever endeavor to make disappear.  These 25 cent flappers- one of the few indulgences afforded to the participants of our [...]

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6 days ago

Chris Wilcox: 2012-13 Final Grade

There are a number of contextually-appropriate ways to craft this post. One would be to forgo words entirely, and represent Chris Wilcox’s entire season with a series of videos. That would involve one part of this: For every eight parts of this: Note the headline on that second clip. Someone was so amused/enraged by Wilcox’s [...]

12
7 days ago

Rajon Rondo’s 2012-13 Final Grade

Here’s a sweeping general statement involving super specific statistics that may or may not mean anything: In the 1423 minutes Rajon Rondo played this season, the Boston Celtics were outscored by 1.3 points per 100 possessions. When he sat (including all contests after he tore his ACL), Boston was better than their opponents by 1.8 [...]

92
8 days ago

Avery Bradley Elected to NBA All-Defense Second Team

Avery Bradley has been a standout defender for the past couple seasons…in the regular season anyway. Now he has a trophy to prove it. The NBA announced this afternoon that the third-year guard has been elected by coaches around the league to the second-team all-NBA defensive team for the first time in his career. Bradley [...]

13
11 days ago

Paul Pierce’s Contract: Dispelling The Myths and Stating The Facts

The first domino to fall this offseason is Paul Pierce’s contract. Until Danny Ainge figures out what he’s doing there, little else matters. As we wait for this decision, we also must face the rest of the offseason, which means it is also rumor season. With that time of year, comes plenty of information floating [...]

42
11 days ago

Final Grade: Avery Bradley (C+)

In his third year in the league, in which promising players often make brash leaps from benchwarmer to starter, from starter to star, Avery Bradley took a big step back. But his regression might be deceptive. When he returned to the Celtics’ lineup on January the 2nd after two in-season months recovering from offseason shoulder [...]

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5 Questions About The C’s

Our friend, Jeff Clark over at Celtics Blog gets some blogger community together and organizes a great preview for the every team in the league, where 5 questions are answered. The fun kicks off today as CelticsHub’s own Brendan Jackson tackles a few questions regarding this team and we will be taking a look around the rest of the league in the weeks to come.

Team Name: Boston Celtics
Last Year’s Record: 50-32
Key Losses: Rasheed Wallace, Tony Allen
Key Additions: Jermaine O’Neal, Shaquille O’Neal, Delonte West, Von Wafer

1. What Significant Moves were made during the off-season?
When Kendrick Perkins went down with a gruesome knee injury in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, a collective uncertainty started to grow among Celtics fans.  Not only would the Celtics starting center miss much of the 2010-2011 season, but their back-up center had decided to retire.  The frontcourt looked thin and the Celtics title hopes looked grim.  Then Danny Ainge seemed to pull off the impossible.  With only the mid-level exception and the veteran minimum to work with, Ainge secured two former All Stars in Jermaine O’Neal and Shaquille O’Neal to bolster their frontcourt and to protect the psyche of the team’s fans.

The Celtics peppered the rest of the roster with some familiar faces and some potential steals.  Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Nate, Robinson, and Marquis Daniels all returned for at least one more title run and Delonte West, Von Wafer, Luke Harangody, and Avery Bradley joined via free agency and the Draft.

2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?

The Celtics biggest strength is their depth- or should I say potential depth.  As currently constructed, any predicted success or strength of this Celtics team will be accompanied by the caveat “if healthy.”  The majority of the Celtics stars as well as the team’s key offseason additions are on the wrong side of 30 with extensive injury histories.  That said, this team is built for June and if the Celtics can boast a healthy lineup for the playoffs it’s hard to see any team outside of California or Florida beating them.

3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?

While age and health will always be the Celtics’ greatest concern, this perceived weakness pales in comparison to the Celtics’ depth at the wing position.  The Celtics lost their primary backup small forward and defensive specialist when Tony Allen signed with the Memphis Grizzlies.  Surprisingly, Danny Ainge did not replace him but instead opted to give two roster spots to backup shooting guards (Von Wafer and Delonte West) and one to a center (Semih Erden) who probably will not see any court time this season.  Unless someone is cut or a deal is struck, the Celtics seem ready to go into this season with Marquis Daniels as their backup small forward and defensive stopper.  A prospect sure to draw mixed reviews.

4. What are the goals for this team?

Nothing has changed from last year, which means anything less than a championship is a failed season.  The Celtics came within a four point swing of hoisting the franchise’s 18th banner and you would be hardpressed to find a satisfied member of this Celtics team.  A championship becomes all the more important as the proverbial window closes even further on this team.  Some players (Shaquille O’Neal, Jermaine O’Neal, Delonte West) also took significant paycuts to join this team and prevent history from repeating itself.

5.  Will Kevin Garnett regain any of the athleticism he exhibited prior to his knee injury?

This has to be in the hearts and minds of Celtics fans as they look towards the 2011-2012 campaign.  One of the biggest differences in Garnett’s play last year as oppose to his first year in Boston was his ability to accept alley-oops from Rajon Rondo and finish at a near perfect percentage.  Post knee injury, fans have seen Ganett go from throwing down anything within three feet of the rim to tentative finger rolls and attempted putbacks.  If Garnett can regain any of the athleticism that made him a superstar in this league, the Celtics will be a VERY dangerous team this season.

Prediction: 55-27

Other Previews: SBN BostonRed’s ArmyCeltics LifeCeltics 24/7Gino’s JungleCeltics Town

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