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Boston Celtics

No Answers in This Group

Less than one week away from training camp, the Celtics are the NBA’s unofficial mystery men.  This is a team that has far more questions than it does answers. They might as well change their team symbol from the shamrock to the question mark, because absolutely nobody has any idea what to expect of them.  Less than one week away from training camp, the Celtics are the NBA’s unofficial mystery men.  This is a team that has far more questions than it does answers. They might as well change their team symbol from the shamrock to the question mark, because absolutely nobody has any idea what to expect of them.  

Don’t believe me? Check out the early season previews you can find.  No one can pinpoint just where the Celtics will be this season. Division champs? Cellar dwellers? Half court offense? A run-and-gun style? A well-oiled machine capable of dictating match-ups with their opponents? A discombobulated group of players struggling to find any semblance of chemistry? Any of these are possibilities. Wager on this team at your own risk.

Start with the projected starting lineup: At point guard you have future Hall of Fame member, Gary Payton. That is, if Payton ever decides to show up. I’m willing to overlook that because I’ve received every indication that he will be here at some point before the season. Even so, will the “Glove” return or even come close to his dominant form from his days in Seattle or will he continue to be ineffective on offense and deplorable on the defensive end? Will he mope all the way to the February trade deadline? And while we’re in the backcourt, how will Paul Pierce react to his third coach in a year? Will he listen to Doc Rivers’ instructions, try not to do too much and reclaim his superstar status? Will he become frustrated and eventually follow the models of Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady, Baron Davis and Peja Stojakovic and demand a trade?

Move to small forward and you’ll find that there’s no shortage of queries regarding Ricky Davis.  Can the talented player finally buy into a coach’s system?  Is Davis interested in or even capable of playing a lick of defense? Will he bring down the chemistry of the entire team and force Executive Director of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge to start sniffing out a deal? At power forward, you have to wonder about the health of Raef LaFrentz’s surgically repaired right knee.  Can the cornerstone of the trade that sent Antoine Walker to Dallas even play 60 games this season? Can he play 40? At center, you have to ask whether Mark Blount’s career will continue its upward trajectory, or if his breakout season had more than a little to do with the big man being in a contract year.  

But the fun doesn’t stop there. Boston’s bench, something the team’s brain trust considers a great strength of this group, is just as indistinguishable as the starters. For one thing, the Celtics will be putting a great deal of pressure on three rookies, Al Jefferson, Tony Allen and Delonte West, to break into the regular rotation.  As impressively as all the rookies performed in summer league action (and make no mistake, all three were exceptional), it is always dangerous to count on first-year players to put a team over the top.  Speaking of young players, it will be interesting to watch the effect that almost being included in the Patyon trade will have on PG Marcus Banks.  It could serve as a wakeup call for the speedy youngster and make him realize that he must take his job seriously and work every night (a la Manny), or the aborted trade could infuriate him and end up alienating him from his teammates (a la Nomar). Finally, no one knows whether Kendrick Perkins is ready to help this team or whether Tom Gugliotta is able to play anymore, even if he is healthy.

Of course we would be remiss if we did not get back to Rivers, the new head honcho on the sidelines.  After getting a less than talented team to overachieve in his first year coaching in Orlando, Doc steered Tracy McGrady and the Magic to the postseason in three straight seasons, something that should sound nice to fans of the green and white.  Unfortunately, all of those playoff berths came in the weak Eastern Conference and the Magic maxed out with 44 wins in 2001-02.  At the start of last season, he guided T-Mac and friends (ok, that probably isn’t the best way to describe that squad) to a 1-11 record before he was booted out of Orlando.  While there’s been quite a bit of enthusiasm that’s accompanied Rivers to this storied franchise, his last season in Orlando could prove to be more indicative of his coaching prowess than his first.  

Just so we’re clear, none of this is intended as a criticism of what Ainge has done with the Celtics. Frankly, I don’t know how I could criticize a team that I can’t characterize one way or the other. They may be the surprise team in the East or they could be a joke, but as of this minute, I really have no idea which one they are, and anyone who tells you they do is either lying or should get a job with Dionne Warwick on the Psychic Friends Network.  To this point, all we can say for sure is that the Celtics are still a work in progress and, while they may be in a better position than they were a couple years ago, no matter what, they will not be competing for a championship.  But hey, who cares if (on paper, at least) the Celtics have no identity? That, as they say, is why they play the games.

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