Blazersedge 2008-09 Season Preview: The Boston Celtics

by Dave on Sep 26, 2008 10:32 PM PDT

We’re going to honor the champs by giving them their own slot in the preview this weekend.

BOSTON CELTICS

Record: 66-16, 1^st Atlantic Division, 1st in Eastern Conference, NBA Champions

Statistical Comparisons

Notable:

2nd in opponent scoring (90.3 ppg)

4th in field goal %

1st in opponent field goal %

5th in three-point %

5th in steals

1st in ppg differential (+10.3 ppg)

4th in opponent turnovers

Others:

11th in the league in scoring (100.5 ppg)

9^th in free throw attempts per game

8^th in free throw percentage

9th in assists

25th in blocks

25^th (tie) in turnovers

Low-Average offensive rebounding team

Good defensive rebounding team

Movement

Significant Additions: Patrick O’Bryant, J.R. Giddens (R)

Significant Subtractions: James Posey

Roster

Coach: Doc Rivers

Key Players

PG: Rajon Rondo, Gabe Pruitt

SG: Ray Allen, Eddie House, Tony Allen

SF: Paul Pierce, Bill Walker

PF: Kevin Garnett, Leon Powe, Brian Scalabrine

C: Kendrick Perkins, Glen Davis, Patrick O’Bryant

Comments

Looking at the Celtics’ manhandling of the L*kers in the NBA Finals it’s easy to say, “Of course they were destined to win it all.” This is revisionist history. It’s easy to forget Boston’s early-round struggles with the Atlanta Hawks. It’s easy to forget that before the Finals series much of the country was asking whether the L*kers would win in five or six games. Boston shut them up, and that was no accident. The key to any title win is talent. But heart, determination, passion, and sacrifice separate the talented teams from one another. Boston showed all of those qualities last year. Their victory wasn’t a foregone conclusion. They had to mesh three star players. They coaxed extra production out of their role players. As a team they made each other look very, very good…maybe as good as they could look. And therein lies the issue. Was last year the norm for Boston or the pinnacle? If winning one title is a monumental effort--physically, emotionally, mentally, relationally--winning two in a row is darn near superhuman. It’s hard to re-create that passion, desire, and unity even when the talent is the same.

The Celtics lost one player over the summer. James Posey was a veteran defender who could score enough to keep defenses honest. He was one of those high-achieving role players every title team needs. They didn’t replace him. But the heart of the team is obviously the Garnett, Pierce, Allen triangle. Having won 66 last season they can afford to drop a couple because of the esoteric ramifications of a missing sixth man. Heck, they could probably drop a dozen more and still be the scariest team in the East matchup-wise come playoff time. This is going to be the challenge for the rest of the conference…not so much figuring out how to capture the #1 seed, but figuring out how to win four of seven no matter what Boston’s seed is. Some will point to the decline of Ray Allen as a ray of hope, but Allen doesn’t have to be First Team All-NBA to help this squad. As long as he can hit a three and score 18 his job is done. His decreased production was partially due to decreased minutes, which should lengthen his career rather than heralding the end of it. Besides, Boston won primarily on the strength of its defense. That was never Allen’s forte anyway. Posey’s departure could affect the defensive end somewhat but it’s hard to imagine the whole team falling apart. Short of injury or locker-room brawls it’s hard to imagine this team doing much of anything besides winning. They were so dominant last season (that +10 point differential means they averaged a double digit win per night, about 3 points more than their next nearest competitor) they’d have to fall off of a cliff to be considered out of it.

So what do we have? A veteran team, maybe not quite as hungry, maybe not quite as apt defensively, but still packed with power and having shown no signs of falling apart yet. Someday soon the league will be able to dance over the Celtics’ grave, but it won’t be this year. They probably won’t win 65+ again but if they’re not in the Finals, they’ll be close.

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

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Comments

How will Portland match up

with Boston? My head says “Dave, you nailed it clean and square,” but my gut says something will go wrong for the Celtics this season.

"One must assume responsibility for being in a weird world: we are in a weird world ... Touch the world sparingly." Carlos Castenada (Journey to Ixtlan)

by Caveowl on Sep 26, 2008 10:52 PM PDT reply actions

Excellent, Dave

The first thing I did when I opened this page was Ctrl + F + “Brian”

My heart was warmed to see that Scallywag made the report.

"I think that the team that wins game five will win the series. Unless we lose game five."
Who else? Charles Barkley

by prezofdeath on Sep 26, 2008 11:55 PM PDT reply actions

curious?

why didn’t our thorn make it?

"the Knicks are an ongoing experiment in sporting altruism, with the motto "We suck, so you don't have to." This is the designing principle. Stop overcomplicating things."
-jawaan oldham

by faith on Sep 27, 2008 12:11 AM PDT reply actions

That would also have been my question, since he figures to be the Posey replacement

In reality, Tony Allen (defense), Leon Powe (a very efficient guy, better PER than Pierce) and Glen Davis probably all should be more important bench players. Giddens and Walker might make some highlight films, but hard to see yet how much they will be able to contribute to actually winning games. O’Bryant is just a warm body replacing Scot Pollard who barely played last year.

Another key subtraction Dave didn’t mention: P.J. Brown. The guy really lit it up in the playoffs, and won them the critical game against Cleveland. Replacing him and Posey will be tough.

St. Bayno's 120 Haiku Prospects: Nicolas Batum in the paint—prairie grass, blown by wind. Jerryd Bayless—leaps over a kite string, and keeps going.

by Norsktroll on Sep 27, 2008 5:03 AM PDT reply actions

Spot on about Brown

That guy was in the game several times at critical moments…he gave the team a lot of stability….

    Speaking of stability….Their big 3 aren’t the most stable people…If you look at Garnett’s and Pierce’s antics after they won the championship, you would have to conclude they were not heading to Walt Disney World to sign autographs for kids…..(referring to Garnett’s interview on national TV when all he could do is hang his head and swear)….Hes a great player, but I lost all respect for him as a person….I had no idea he was such a jerk…..
     And Pierce as well, ( the sound engineer had his hands full keeping all the smut out of his mouth in check)….Two disgusting people for sure.
    Ray Allen had his unstable moments, but had good reason, and was much more professional

    Well, that was the last picture of them I had, so, I hope they fall on their faces this season (not likely) They went “all in” when Ainge got Garnett and Allen and it got them a championship…But they are still (All in) and age will get to them soon…..

Doc Rivers is a classy guy and deserves to have a good team ….i was rooting for them all year because of him

by 67 on Sep 27, 2008 9:52 AM PDT up reply actions

You nailed it on the head

I could never stand Garnett or Pierce. They are not classy players. Pierce is a whiney baby and Garnett is a psychotic jerk. And JamesOn thinks Rudy is slackjawed? Look at Allen. So to me, I have never liked this bought team, even though their talent exceeded all other teams last year. I really don’t think they will be the powerhouse they were last year, not in the slightest. They will make the playoffs for sure, but hopefully this season, the Sixers get the job done.

When asked about his thoughts during the Olympic games about playing against Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard, Rudy responded "My first thought was respect. My second thought was to kick their ass".

Man I love him.

by twiggs on Sep 27, 2008 12:56 PM PDT up reply actions

Celtics in the finals again

s/ You’ve forgotten that their Big 3 have had another year to learn how to play the game. \s

"Personally, I'd rather give an elephant a prostate exam on Chili Day." --Dave on rooting for the Lakers or Celtics

by MiledAnimal on Sep 27, 2008 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions

Sign Mutombo!

St. Bayno's 120 Haiku Prospects: Nicolas Batum in the paint—prairie grass, blown by wind. Jerryd Bayless—leaps over a kite string, and keeps going.

by Norsktroll on Sep 27, 2008 2:35 PM PDT up reply actions

I wish I could find a link to it

on espn. But I remember one of their guys saying that he didn’t think Brown was “gone” so much as “sitting out” the first half of the season to make sure he had enough energy to get through the post season (due to his veteran-ness). The thought seemed to be that brown would be back if a when needed by them.
Now, whether or not they have an exclusive relationship…

by Montavilla Steve on Sep 27, 2008 10:03 AM PDT up reply actions

Sans P.J. Brown, ...

the Boston Celtics’ reserve frontcourt of Glen Davis and Leon Powe will be exceptionally undersized and overmatched defensively. While signing young pivotman Patrick O’Bryant to a minimum-level deal sagaciously has the future in mind, he still can’t be counted on for extended minutes this season. As you mentioned in your post, he’s basically filling the spot that Scot Pollard’s retirement has left open on the bench.

Rather than select an athletic, albeit raw swingman like J.R. Giddens with the 30th pick, Danny Ainge should’ve drafted defensive specialist Joey Dorsey to finish off the first round. While Dorsey isn’t a tall, face-to-the-basket mid-range shooter who hangs around the high-post like P.J. Brown, he’d’ve still adequately replaced the savvy veteran’s defensive fortitude whenever subbing in for Kevin Garnett.

by AK1984 on Sep 27, 2008 11:23 AM PDT up reply actions

Darius Miles

Are we pretending that Darius Miles does not exist? That seems kind of silly, but I could live with that. Wait, am I not supposed to mention his name? Will that cause him to appear? Also, Bill Walker is not listed as an addition but is listed in the SF depth chart.

by zach2046 on Sep 27, 2008 8:21 AM PDT reply actions

I am not sure what kind of contract Miles has

but I don’t think it’s guaranteed yet. Given that I wouldn’t write about him any more than I’d write about how Steven Hill, Luke Jackson, or Jamaal Tatum affect Portland’s chances. Nor would I list them as being on Portland’s roster. It would be a major pain to have to list every player a team signed to a training camp contract…not to mention confusing the issue in a brief preview format like this. When they’re on the opening night roster (and in Darius’ case when they’ve served the 10-game suspension and then come back and shown they can play effectively) then I’ll include them.

—Dave

by Dave on Sep 28, 2008 10:26 PM PDT up reply actions

In other words,

Darius’ contract offer matters to US because of our history with him and because of the potential cap implications. It might matter in terms of NBA precedent too. But compared side-by-side with the entire pool of NBA players, Darius still doesn’t matter that much. These previews are written from the latter perspective, not the former.

—Dave

by Dave on Sep 28, 2008 10:27 PM PDT up reply actions

I guess I'm on the same page

They still should be good, I just don’t think they’ll be as hungry as they were last year.

Blazers Edge has an alarmist vision

by tominhawaii on Sep 27, 2008 8:25 AM PDT reply actions

Garnett won't let that happen

Pierce and Allen will totally buy-in to what Garnett spouts, and the rest of the team will fall in line. Motivation won’t be an issue for the Celtics this year.

Motivation aside, they’ll make the finals again for one reason: they’re head and shoulders above the rest of the East.

Need another reason? Having just won a title, their confidence is sky-high.

"Personally, I'd rather give an elephant a prostate exam on Chili Day." --Dave on rooting for the Lakers or Celtics

by MiledAnimal on Sep 27, 2008 9:21 AM PDT up reply actions

Yeah

But has Garnett slept yet? They’ll still be good, just not as focused. I have a feeling they’ll try to “Spurs” it and start out slow.

Blazers Edge has an alarmist vision

by tominhawaii on Sep 27, 2008 9:28 AM PDT up reply actions

Is that why I have such a hard time getting out of bed each day?

I’m Spurs-ing it?

"Personally, I'd rather give an elephant a prostate exam on Chili Day." --Dave on rooting for the Lakers or Celtics

by MiledAnimal on Sep 27, 2008 11:22 AM PDT up reply actions

Ya, they're full of beans

"You're really making me feel good about myself, little man," says Oden as he starts dancing after scoring a goal. "You better come harder than that."

by BlueBooYay on Sep 27, 2008 1:10 PM PDT up reply actions

Are beans really a musical fruit?

And just because everyone else is doing it, I’m going to say it about the Celtics; it is about time some of those guys got injured, because they are old. With all those old guys breaking down, they’re bound to lose some more games.

Blazers Edge has an alarmist vision

by tominhawaii on Sep 27, 2008 6:49 PM PDT up reply actions

Boston will not repeat.

I'm a little confused by your tactics

by oderiferous emanations 74 on Sep 27, 2008 10:00 AM PDT reply actions

Will be good. Don't hold your breath on repeating.

The Celtics will still be a team to beat. Still a good team. Obviously you must take the champs very seriously. It is always tough to repeat, and another 66 win season probably won’t be repeated either. I can’t see them repeating as champs, and I think the loss of Posey will hurt them more than many might think. Good pick up for New Orleans though.

by CanadianBlazerfan on Sep 27, 2008 3:51 PM PDT reply actions

The Celtics will be in the finals again.

If they can keep it together, barring injury to any of the big three. There still is not enough talent in the East to knock them out in earlier rounds. I would hate to see them repeat, but if it is against LA again I will root for them; but only if LA makes it. Man it hurts to imagine LA making it again.

by lethaldose on Sep 27, 2008 10:41 PM PDT reply actions

This years predictions vs. last years

For whatever you are predicting for the Celtics, how does that compare to what you thought of them last year? My thoughts were: These guys won’t be able to play together, you can’t just buy a team like this, somebody will get hurt, they can’t be as good as they are on paper. I also thought the Lakers would wipe the floor with them in the finals.

So, with the same group of guys and a champtionship under their belt, my gut this year says they can’t play together, somebody will get hurt, they can’t keep up this competitive edge…blah blah blah.

I better just predict a repeat now and be done with it. Remember when George Costanza went with the opposite of every impulse he had? Yeah, something like that.

superfluous

by lukeyhere on Sep 28, 2008 7:17 AM PDT reply actions

I thought that playing together

would be their big issue. I wasn’t completely pessimistic about it, but I wasn’t on board with the “automatic championship” crowd. They showed they can play together. I wasn’t one of those predicting a L*kers Finals cakewalk.

—Dave

by Dave on Sep 28, 2008 10:20 PM PDT up reply actions