With the NBA season a little over a week away, I figured I'd throw my two cents in on how I see things playing out. These projections were created using Wins Produced (WP) from the Wages of Wins Journal and The NBA Geek. To gauge how rookies and incoming international players, I used the amazing projections of Arturo Galletti. If you haven't read any of that stuff, you should. I march on with the steady Boston Celtics. Enjoy.
TOP NINE PRODUCTION (numbers listed are WP)
| PG Rajon Rondo | 8.6 |
| SG Courtney Lee | 3.7 |
| SF Paul Pierce | 6.5 |
| PF Brandon Bass | 2.9 |
| C Kevin Garnett | 6.5 |
| G Jason Terry | 4.1 |
| G Avery Bradley | 2 |
| F Jeff Green^ | 1.6 |
| F/C Jared Sullinger* | 2.6 |
^2010-11 WP
*Projected
Pushing Miami to seven games convinced Danny Ainge to bring the band back together again for one more run, minus Ray Allen, of course. One has to wonder if subtracting Ray-Ray will ignite the C's to play like a team on fire after hearing how much they all evidently hate him. Courtney Lee will take Allen's spot alongside freak talent Rajon Rondo in the starting backcourt, while Jason Terry will look to replace Allen's late-game shooting off the bench.
Terry and Lee are part of a comprehensive influx of support both young and old talent. Recent signing Leandro Barbosa falls more on the old side of that ledger, and should provide a different dynamic off the bench than the Celtics have had in the KG era. Jeff Green, while technically not new, will make his full-season debut, and Doc Rivers is hoping he can provide a counter to LeBron in the postseason (spoiler: Green cannot).
Fab Melo and Kris Joseph were brought in from Syracuse to likely bust hard in Beantown, while fellow rookie Jared Sullinger could be the steal of the draft. If Sullinger's bulky back holds up, he could provide the low-post scoring presence the other Boston bigs cannot. Paul Pierce will be his reliable, sometimes dominant self for at least one more year, while KG will get to see if playing center truly is the fountain of youth it appeared to be late last season. The Celtics may find themselves looking up at New York in the standings, but come playoff time, I'll take them against any team that doesn't start Shane Battier at power forward.
I think you are underestimating this team; I like them more than last season actually. For what the Celtics need, I like Courtney Lee more than Ray Allen, and Jason Terry will actually give this bench a jolt of offense (which they had absolutely none of last year). As long as KG and Rondo can maintain solid health this is the class of the Atlantic in my opinion, and the second-best team in the East.
ReplyDeleteCome playoff time, I'm fully with you that the Celtics are (a distant) #2 to Miami. I just don't see them putting needless wear-and-tear on KG and Pierce when 50 wins will probably get you a top 3 seed in this year's East. 46 wins may be a little low, but anything beyond 52 is reaching. That said, I definitely would not be shocked to see the Celts atop the Atlantic yet again.
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