The one that got away. I am, of course, referring to the Celtics and their pursuit of the 2010 NBA championship and not the 1957 WWII film that I was unaware of until some very recent Googling. The Celtics successfully rope-a-doped the Eastern Conference last year and were one quarter away from a second NBA title in three years. But the problems that plagued the Celtics during the regular season crept into Game Seven and denied them a ring. They could not keep their foul rate under control, struggled on the glass against a taller Lakers team and went cold from the outside as the offense stagnated. Faced with a rapidly aging core of players and the expiring contracts of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Coach Doc Rivers, the Celtics seriously considered blowing up the team and rebuilding around Rajon Rondo. Instead, Rivers returned as coach and brought Pierce’s Bubblicious Beard with him (Jesus Shuttlesworth, too). To augment a front court that couldn’t match up with Pau Gasol in the Finals, GM Danny Ainge added 600 pounds of O’Neal. It’s uncertain how many pounds Shaq will contribute to that total but my best guess is 437. Although Shaq’s weight might be one problem for the Celtics, the more important number is 39, as in the years that Shaq will have lived on our fine planet Earth this March 6th. Since Boston’s championship window was already rapidly closing, the Celtics chose to swing for the fences and go bigger, slower and older. Hopefully no one threw out their back in the process. I hear that’s a problem for the geriatric.
The Ghost of Seasons Present
If I learned one thing from the 2010 playoffs, it was that the Celtics cannot be counted out until proven otherwise. It’s been just four months since the conclusion of the NBA Finals. I’m ready to count the Celtics out. What can I say, I'm a slow learner. This has more to do with the rest of the Eastern Conference, specifically Miami, than any change in Boston’s ability. It’s not 2002 anymore, a year that saw Pierce, Allen, Garnett and the O’Neals combine to score 117 points per game. That quintet would likely be able to overcome the Legion of Doom even with a 16-year old Rajon Rondo manning the point guard position. Instead, the Celtics pin their hopes on Rondo, the only key Celtic player at his peak. He can pass. He can rebound. He can defend. He can control a game without scoring. He can Rondo you. He can compress his body into a ball and is one of the leading experts on the science of time travel. But he cannot shoot. Rondo’s already poor outside shooting actually regressed last season. His field goal percentage on shots outside of 15 feet dropped more than 10% from 2009 to an abysmal 27%. His jump shot is the Cindy Crawford mole on his otherwise impeccable game.
Considering the percentages, Rondo is at his best when he completely ignores his jump shot and focuses on attacking the basket and/or distributing the basketball. But the Celtics need his scoring now, too. They need that jump shot. Boston will be an experienced, well-coached team that continues to excel on the defensive end. But where will the points come from? The Celtics were ranked right alongside the Knicks teams of the 1990s and the Pistons and Nets of the early 2000s as the worst offenses to reach the NBA Finals in the last 20 years. Where will the improvement come from? Ray Allen will continue to be effective as a shooter but undoubtedly slipped last season, most noticeably in the Finals while nearly setting a record for most consecutive shots missed. Kevin Garnett has become a jump shooter and most of his points now come off of assists. Paul Pierce can no longer carry the scoring load and be a facilitator. The Celtics function best with an assertive Rondo. It’s hard to always be assertive if you’re shooting 5-19 from the foul line during the NBA Finals. It’s hard to consistently impact the game when your defender is able to play five feet back, clog up the paint and go under every ball screen. The LoD will have an advantage over each of the Big Three should they meet the Celtics in the playoffs. That means Rondo can no longer float in and out of games. He can’t settle for being an all-star. He needs to push Chris Paul, Deron Williams and Steve Nash out of the way and become the best point guard in the league. And for that, he needs a jump shot. Good luck with that.
“Every rose has its’ thorn. Yeah it does.” Poison in "Every Rose Has Its' Thorn"
The Ghost of Seasons Yet To Come
The only players under contract for the 2012-2013 season are Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo and Avery Bradley. This group of Celtics has a two year window in which to win another NBA championship. Danny Ainge has done a wonderful job of staying competitive while maintaining flexibility for the summer of 2012 (Chris Kaman anybody? No? How about Nene? Nothing? Hmm.). Rondo will only make $55 million over the next five years and represents one of the best bargains for any team across the league. I'm not sure what future incarnations of the Celtics will look like but they are in good hands going forward. Huge, enormous, all-encompassing, Grindylow-like hands.
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