The Road Ahead: The Celtics Road to Recovery Part 1

The fact that Doc's quest for perfection from his guards probably means he'd kill his own son in the lockerroom doesn't deter me at all from salivating over this picture.

ED NOTE: This is part one of Seany-Mo's two part Celtics draft preview (part two later today). These opinions in no way represent CW's vast basketball knowledge. I'll have a retort to these cockamamie breakdowns later this week. 


Despite having our hearts ripped from our chests in yet another Game 7 meltdown, this past season just served to reinforce how much I love the Celtics. They could have packed it in about 50 times during the year for a number of valid reasons, but they kept on battling to the very last second. Kevin Garnett somehow found the Fountain of Youth and was putting up 20+ and 10+ with regularity while playing almost 40 minutes a night during the post season. Most encouraging, the team had started to come together at the right time despite a number of key players going down at some point this season with injury, which would make you think chemistry on the court would suffer (I don’t consider Jermaine O’ Neal one of these people. He is a malignant degenerative disease feasting upon the Celtics cap space.) I focus on the road to recovery because as gutsy and resilient as the Celtics stretch run was this past season, this team needs to focus on rebuilding for the future sooner rather than later. With the free agent pool drying up due to in season extensions (Kevin Love) and Dwight Howard keeping everyone hostage at the trade deadline, it seems apparent to me that the most immediate way to make this team better is to nail the draft this coming June. Usually being in this draft position (21, 22) it would be difficult to find an impact NBA player, but due to the lockout, this draft is extremely loaded and full of talent that can help this squad immediately. Additionally, these prospects are selected on what I perceive as a NEED for the Celtics, as well as how well they complement Rajon Rondo, as he is the cornerstone we should be building around. Here’s who I’d like in green next year at both picks ranked from “unless every other GM is whacked out on black tar heroin, it won’t happen even though I’d love it” to “Danny, If you have any affection for us at all as fans, STAY AWAY!”


At # 21…

PIPE DREAM

Austin Rivers, SG, Duke- Yes, this is partly because I think the dynamic of having Austin Rivers being coached by his dad would be really friggin’ cool. But on a more practical level, the Celtics, pure and simple, need people who can put the ball in the basket without being completely dependent on someone else. Rivers is a TREMENDOUS athlete at age 19 and has a nose for the basket. The dual threat of slashing to the bucket and having the ability to knock down threes makes me salivate at the prospect of seeing Rivers and Rondo run the break for years to come. Sadly, I believe Austin will be gone long before the Celtics pick comes along. Additionally, the emergence of Avery Bradley would make the acquisition of Rivers somewhat redundant. Still, it’s fun to think about.

HEY, IT COULD HAPPEN…RIGHT?


John Henson, PF/C, UNC- Yes, I understand he looks like Jujuan Johnson 2.0 with his impressive length yet wiry build, but let it be known Henson is a much more complete defensive player than Johnson at this point. Not to mention he comes from an absolute NBA player mill in North Carolina, where he has greatly benefitted under Roy Williams tutelage. Look no further than the progress he made in just one year from his freshman to sophomore season; More than doubled his points per game average and rebounds per game, as well as raising a good 1.6 blocks per game to a sterling 3.2 blocks per game. He may not possess the best offensive game quite yet, as he strictly relies on a left handed hook shot and his mid range shooting is still a major work in progress, but his nose for the ball both on the glass and in altering opponents shots makes him a tantalizing prospect for addressing the Celtics length, rebounding, and shot blocking issues. I’d look for Henson to initially step in as an interior defender who could contribute offensively by cutting off of back screens and looking for alley oops from Rondo while continuing to round out the rest of his game. Sadly, even with his less than impressive combine workout (in the bottom 5 in bench bress reps and vertical leap,) he will still likely be snatched up before we can picture him swatting shots into the first row at TD Garden.


BLEND OF LIKELY AND SENSIBLE


Arnett Moultrie PF/C, Mississippi State- A big man who excels at creating his offense off of cuts and back screens would be a perfect complement to Rajon Rondo on the fast break or even in the half court, which is exactly what Moultrie brings to the table. Not to mention the guy rebounds like an absolute boss on both the offensive, (5.3 offensive rebounds per game, pace adjusted for 40 minutes) and defensive glass (8.2 defensive rebounds per game, pace adjusted for 40 minutes.) which is impressive given some of the big men he was competing against in the SEC, like Anthony Davis, Festus Azeli, and Bradley Beal. While the lack of shot blocking ability is concerning for a guy who is listed as 6’11, consensus seems to be this is more so due more to lack of effort rather than talent. The defense malaise is a questions mark, but with given his rebound prowess, the Celtics should jump at this guy should he be available.


THIS IS MY NIGHTMARE


-Royce White, F, Iowa State- Given Danny’s propensity to select extremely athletic players that have significant questions marks (Gerald Green and J.R Giddens come to mind) this is a high risk/high reward pick that makes me extremely nervous. Don’t get me wrong, White has proven that he can score with the best of them, putting up impressive numbers against both Kansas and Baylor when they played this year (I believe he had an 18 point 10 rebound game when matched up with Thomas Robinson, but I could be making that up and am too lazy to check/my boss is prowling the hallways.) Despite this, the guy has been labeled as having significant character issues in addition to having a phobia of flying/ anxiety disorder. Given the amount of travel involved in an NBA season and the intensity of Rajon Rondo, I just don’t see White fitting in well with the Celtics. Kevin Garnett’s fiery passion alone may cause White to check himself into an asylum day one of training camp. Not to mention he’s a “tweener” forward who can’t naturally play either small or power forward, which we already have in Jeff Green, as well as a criminal accused of theft in the past. Pass on this guy.

Celtics vs. Heat, Game 7 Review: It Was a Damned Good Run

You know what? It's ok. Yes, I'm disappointed, and yes, watching these guys come off the court, their faces full with the painful realization that this might all be over was emotional to see. But it's ok. 

I'm not mad, I'm not upset, I don't feel like I got cheated as a fan. I don't have that coulda, woulda, shoulda feeling. I can't ever remember feeling like this after one of our teams suffered a major loss. There's always the standard routine of avoiding thinking/talking/watching/reading sports for a solid week or two after and then slowly dipping back in to the sports world, like the first time you get in a pool, testing it with your toes, then your foot, then up to your knees....I haven't done that this time. I've done quite the opposite. 

I've dived head first straight in. I didn't hesitate in watching Sportscenter the next day, didn't hesitate in reading the local sports sections or listening to the talk radio shows. In fact, I've actively sought out every column, highlight, bit of information I could find on these Celtics...Like I'm hoarding an era's worth of highlights and memories as fast as I can. 

I don't want to forget this team. I want to remember as much as I can about them, even in defeat. 

Despite the brutal game 6 loss, and the clincher in game 7 when they just didn't have enough, I want to remember these guys. I'm still proud of these guys. There was never a feeling that they quit, never a feeling that they didn't give a shit, never a feeling that the fans may have wanted this more than the players. That last one might be the most important. 

As fans, fair or unfair, we often project our wants, our hopes, or desires onto complete strangers and when they disappoint, we read their body language, read their effort, and decide if they gave everything that we'd give.  I don't have to do that here. I know they wanted it, and if I didn't know, I saw it on their faces when they came off the court Saturday. This meant everything to them. 

This was like your last game as 12 year old in little league. It's your first prolonged team experience as a kid, you'd played with all the other 12 year olds for three seasons, you'd gotten to know the 11 year olds, you're more or less comfortable with each other. You know who your team can depend on, and who you cant, you knew each others habits...You just knew each other, unlike other sports up until that point it wasn't a one and done, re-draft next year thing. And suddenly, it ends one summer. Off to the big fields with the bigger kids, new teammates, new coaches, new era. 

As a fan watching on the outside that's what this looked like to me. As pure a team in every sense as there ever has been, watching the seconds run down, realizing that for the first time in 5 years, they have no idea what's to come next...But strangely, that's what makes it ok for me.

It's not time, as a fan, to sit back and armchair coach, figure out how it could have gone down differently, and find someone to point blame at. It's time to appreciate what we just witnessed, what we just had, and what, I hope, is back next year. One of those rare sports teams that leaves an indelible memory with you, a team I fully believe I'll be judging all future Celtics teams against. A team I'll miss if that really was their last time together, but a team I'm immensely proud of for giving everything they had. 

Here's to the 2012 Boston Celtics. It was a damned good run.

Celtics vs. Heat Game 5 Wrap Up: Good Job, Good Effort

Sums it up, right?  

You guys all watched the game, there's not to much to talk about here. One team had a game plan, one team showed up looking like they were looking for some run on an open court at Basketball City. Albeit a very talented open court, but open court all the same. 

The usual story lines, knocking Lebron or D-Wade for a subpar effort weren't there last night, both played some excellent basketball for stretches and both had solid over all games. Problem was, they went back to the alternating possessions style of basketball that just isn't going to work against a smart defensive team. The benefit of having two of the top five or so players in the world is all but negated if they're going to take turns playing iso-ball while the other one stands in a corner or on the weakside block. Doesn't take much to guard a stationary target, you know?

And that goes right to the coaching. I don't think I'm as hard on Coach Olestra as others, but I think, at this point, it's warranted. Doc has coached circles around him this series. Where Doc has a beautiful set play out of a timeout, Olestra has a pick for Dwayne or Lebron and a bunch of free styling. Where Doc has defensive plans to slow and confuse the Heat, Olestra has watched Boston dump the ball deep to KG for three and a half straight games now, and done nothing about it. (Don't even ask, what is he supposed to do? It's easy. You front. You front KG and you pressure the ball. Miami is doing the exact opposite. They are not fronting and they are sagging off Rondo. A recipe for disaster when you're giving up size inside). 

Just look at the Celtics defensive schemes in the 3rd and 4th quarter. At one point they were seamlessly changing from zone to man-to-man every other minute. I don't care how talented an offensive player you are, that is going to disrupt your flow, and it did. First time the Celts won a third quarter this series as far as I can remember. 

And where was Lebron? The guy didn't have a single shot from 7:30 left in the 4th until 10 seconds left. That's inexcusable...and I'm talking again about Coach Olestra here. Call a goddamn timeout and run a set piece for Lebron. You know he's reluctant in close games late, it's your job to get him involved. You have literally the best player on earth on your roster and you can't find a way for him to get an easy bucket out of a timeout? For real? And you're an NBA coach you say? I don't buy it. 

The Heat lost last night for the same, but opposite reasons the Celtics won. Coaching, effort, and urgency. 

Game 6 Thursday, bring it home boys.

WOOPS

Celtics Lose Game 2, Blame the Play Calling

Video of the Dunk...The Most Degrading Highlight of All Time

That's right, blame the play calling.  Doc's handling of the team has beennnn...suspect, to say the least as of late, and last night was really no different. 

Now, let me say this by prefacing that I understand the C's aren't the deepest team in the league, we're playing Ryan Hollins and Greg Stiemsma regular minutes, so it's understood that our bench is in shambles...that said, Doc has used it HORRIBLY these past three games. 

Make no mistake, the Celts had been lucky, very lucky, to win the previous two games. Doc is experimenting with lineups for 4, 5, 6 minutes at a time, that I only saw play together in garbage time. Take for instance Keyon Dooling...This team has an all-world point guard in Rondo, and a very suitable backup in Avery Bradley, yet inexplicably Keyon "Wouldn't Know an Assist if it Hit him in the Face" Dooling is running the for 5 or so minutes a night, mostly in the 4th quarter. It's inexcusable...and that'd be bad enough if that was the only egregious substituion, but it's not.   You know who Keyon's running mates are? Ryan Hollins, Mickael Pietrus, Marquis Daniels, and one of Pierce or Ray Allen...or as I like to call it, 4 guys that are lucky not to be in the D-League, plus an all-star. 

Now, that's a problem that Doc directly affects and should take all the blame for, but wasn't the real problem last night...the real problem last night was game plan and execution. Bottom line is there are players that are performing right now, and there are players that aren't, and that needs to be recognized by the team, and it needs to be the head coach to lays it all out for them. 

Paul Pierce has negative lift on his shots right now. They're not flat, they're hardly reaching the front rim. I love that he's out there trying, and frankly he's still better than Sasha Pavlovic and Mickael Pietrus, but still, he can't be the focal point in the early, middle, or late stages of the game.  Brandon Bass is a black hole in the truest sense of the word. The ball goes to him, and it immediately goes back to the other team. He doesn't pass, he doesn't hit shots, and his defense has been non-existant. Frankly, it might be time to bench him. He's shooting a horrendous 40% for the playoffs, which would be bad enough on it's own, till you consider that last night, he took 15 shots. KG, who's been the teams best scorer, took 12...and only had 4 coming into the 4th quarter. That's a crime against good basketball.

If I'm Doc right now, I'm pulling Rondo into a Rondo only meeting today and showing him highlights of Pierce and Bass tossing up brick after brick with subliminal messages flashing "Give KG the Rock." It needs to be drilled into the team right now that KG needs 5-6 shots per quarter for this team to win. Ray has more or less been Ray, Rondo has been his usual brilliant self, but with the lack of any production from Pierce and Bass, the only reason they've won at all in the last week has been KG's ridiculous playoff performance thus far, that needs to continue. We saw it again in the 4th quarter, he can dominate the game when he's the focal point, and that's exactly what this team needs going forward. 

That's on you Doc. Make the team see it, make Rondo see it, make someone take Brandon Bass hostage before Wednesdays game, and most of all, make Pierce accept it.