Boston Celtics 07-08

Renaissance Men
Boston Celtics 2007-08
2006 record: 24-58

The Boston Celtics are coming! With their 2K version of the Big Three that was previously known as LarryKevinRobert, the trio of PaulKevinRay is out to end a 21-year title drought.

People have asked if one ball will be enough to go around with three All-Stars in Kevin Garnett, newly acquired shooting guard Ray Allen, and incumbent captain Paul Pierce. The answer will be a resounding yes. Individually, they have the numbers to back up their newly minted contracts but what will immortalize them and validate their careers is a championship ring. The three are hungry for a title and they’ve come to the right place – championship-starved Boston. The once proud franchise has seen its fortunes plummet since Len Bias decided to that he’d rather snort coke than raise a glass of champagne to celebrate his good fortune. Said captain Pierce on the excitement the trades have generated, “I feel like a rookie again.”

The last time a line-up of this magnitude was put together was when Gary Payton and Karl Malone joined Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant in the Lake Show. But the one thing that Lakers team had more than its collection of All-Stars (add to the four former mid-season classic vet Horace Grant who earned a trip in 1994 as a member of the Chicago Bulls) was a bevy of issues. Something thankfully these Celtics don’t have. Yet.

Now that they acquired Garnett rather expensively, what they surely need now is a bench to back up any title aspirations.

Frontcourt
We all know what the Big Ticket can do -- he has averaged more than 20 points and 10 rebounds for each of the last nine seasons and is among five players in NBA history with at least 19,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 4,000 assists (the others are Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, and Charles Barkley). He also is an outstanding defensive player and an excellent passer.

And we all know what Michael Olowakandi cannot do. As of press time, he’s a free agent and one of the NBA’s All-Time busts. Kendrick Perkins and Scott Pollard aren’t answers either with the latter having seen his best days gone by as a member of the Sacramento Kings. If they re-sign Olowakandi then he should benefit from the double teams that the Big Three will attract. James Posey adds a double dose of defensive intensity to this line-up to go with Garnett but any scoring will be gravy for this team.

Brian Scalabrine must be missing Jason Kidd over at New Jersey. He got his open looks because Kidd found ways to involve everyone. With Rajon Rando sure to pass mostly to the PaulKevinRay and Eddie House looking to gun it every time out, Scalabrine will have to find ways of turning garbage into gold. It will also be interesting to see what rookies Brandon Wallace and Glen Davis as well as soph Leon Powe bring to the table.

This team has is some good rebounders in Garnett and Pierce, but one can hardly expect them to do all the work lest they have nothing left for a sure-fire post-season berth. That’s all we’ll give this team, but anything farther will depend on Danny Ainge’s ability to strengthen the team during the course of the season. Since he threw everything alongside the kitchen sink to bring some star power to the Celtics might as well break the bank wherever possible.

Backcourt
Now that most of the team’s future is in Minnesota where a budding Celtics franchise is in the works, Coach Glenn “Doc” Rivers is glad that he has one young holdover in Rajon Rondo who has plenty of upside. The fourth-year coach is hoping that the Big Three’s dominance of ball possession and their number of shots doesn’t curtail his young guard’s development. And if Rondo can find himself a jump shot, opposing defenses won’t be able to key in on his teammates. Named to the All-Rookie Second Team, the sophomore out of the University of Kentucky showed he can also play defense and rebound. In fact, he was one of league leaders in steals. Rondo will get the rock where it needs to go, but how will back-ups Tony Allen and rookie Jackie Manuel hold up? Moreover, how will Rondo do with extended minutes?

Eddie House can be a great scorer and he provided that for New Jersey last season but he has to remember he’s not the top gun on this club that suddenly has greater offensive options. He’ll be spelling Allen and will probably see a little more playing time if only to keep the former fresh for a post-regular season run.

Outlook
Aside from finding players who will complement PaulKevinRay, a huge part of Rivers’ job will be finding them significant touches to make a meaningful contribution. Rivers may be a previous recipient of the Red Auerbach Award when he was with Orlando, but when his team floundered a year later he suddenly found himself cast adrift. Were it not for the signing of Allen and Garnett, Rivers (along with Ainge) might be on the chopping block as well. Now that he has the players, no one can say anything about not having the material because the Bulls won with their Big Three and role players who went about their jobs excellently.

This team has star power but is woefully thin in its bench depth. An injury or two here might season and the good vibes unravel quickly. If they can add a player like Brevin Knight (a more polished Rondo) or someone who can provide solid backcourt leadership and can hit the outside shot like Sarunas Jasikevicius then that would be a huge help.