2011-12 Boston Celtics Team Outlook
Though the Celtics finished with the 3rd best record in the East at 56-26 last season, they stumbled going into the postseason as they finished their year with a 10-11 slide over their last 21 games. They impressively won their first round match-up against the Knicks in a sweep, but were horribly out matched by the Heat in the second round. The season seemed to run away from them when they traded away Kendrick Perkins for Jeff Green of the Oklahoma City Thunder at the trade cut-off point. The trade devastated the players and coaches as they were never in a position to recover chemistry wise.
While Paul Pierce, Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are still the main players in Boston, this squad will feature a different supporting cast. They dealt away Glen Davis to Orlando Magic, let go of Krstic and Delonte West and lost Shaquile O’Neal to retirement.
They signed Chris Wilcox from Detroit in free agency, got Brandon Bass and Keyon Dooling from the Glen Davis trade and picked 2 intriguing prospects in JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore. It is thought however that the two prospects may take a while before either sees serious playing time.
Bass and Wilcox will be 2 important pickups for Boston as they actually need some help inside. 35 year old Kevin Garnett and 33 year old Jermaine O’Neal are obviously out of their prime and they simply can not handle a lot of minutes any longer. Both Garnett and O’Neal missed serious playing time last season and their health will be important if they’d like to compete in the Eastern Conference. Bass had his best year as a pro last season after putting up 11.2 and 5.6 boards in 51 starts for the Magic last season. Wilcox put up just 7.4 points and 4.8 boards with Detroit last season, but with the winning atmosphere and chance presented in Boston, he should do better this season.
All of their veterans on this team are getting up there in age. Star players Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are now 36 and 34 respectively. Though they’re still playing at a comparatively high level, the clock is running out on these 2 future Hall of Famers.
Green’s contract was rescinded after a heart illness forced him to have surgery and that leaves Boston down another solid rotation player. The key to the Celtics getting back to the Finals will rest on the laurels of their star point guard Rajon Rondo. Without him on this team, Boston will not even be in consideration to win it all. Rondo averaged 10.6 points and 11.2 assists and is one of the team’s best defenders. His court vision is also critical in making things easy for his colleagues offensively.
Vet guard Keyon Dooling does not figure to see a ton of playing time behind Allen, but the Celtics are going to want him to contribute with the savage schedule in this shortened season. Avery Bradley is a player though, that will make the best leap in the rotation this year. Ainge claimed that Bradley can become a key piece to the team in his sophomore season.
Pick – 1st Eastern Meeting Atlantic Division – While they have obviously declined from its dominance lately, Boston is still one of the finest teams in the Eastern Conference. They can still remain an elite defensive squad which will allow them to hold off the improving Knicks and Sixers in the Atlantic. This squad is more than capable of putting together one last run at another title but for that to happen all of their vets need to remain healthy and Rondo must continue to show great improvement.
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