Elegy for the Boston Celtics

After watching the Lakers-Celtics nailbiter this past Sunday, I started to write about the Lakers’ dominance and the near inevitability of a championship repeat this season. Unfortunately, I wrote too slowly, they lost to Memphis and I had to reevaluate the real quality of the Lakers’ latest wins. Of their last 10, the Lakers have won 7 games. Five of those wins have been against sub-0.500 teams, four against sub-0.400. All three losses have been to (probably) playoff-bound teams. Take away the Celtics game (because Boston gave it away), and the Lakers have only 1 win against a quality team in the last two weeks. All of that is to say that I can’t guarantee we’ll even see the Lakers in the Finals this year.

I am pretty sure, though, that Boston won’t get far in the postseason if it doesn’t make significant changes. For one, they need to acknowledge that Kevin Garnett with one good knee is not the same defensive stalwart we saw in the 07-08 season. They could even take a page out of Pop’s Playbook and sit him when the C’s have back-to-back games. Not only would this help him rest for big games, it would allow Perkins and Big Baby Uno Uno to mature and develop talent that will be central to the Celtics long after Garnett’s knee gives out for the last time. Second, Boston needs a way to get Ray Ray back on track; maybe he’s been shaving his head at 4:23 instead of 4:15 but he’s not the same clutch shooter we’ve seen for the last two years. Finally, the Celtics must establish a role for Rondo where he fits best. On Sunday, he led Boston in scoring and shot a respectable 9-16, but the Celtics will continue to post sub-90-point games as long as Rondo is the scoring leader. Instead, Rondo must become an undisputed leader on the floor, and in some respects he has. Averaging 1.5 assists per game more than last season, he is becoming a highly effective game manager. However, as long as Pierce, Allen and Garnett are the “Big Three,” Rondo will be playing fourth fiddle to them in many ways. All of these facts have driven me to one inescapable conclusion; the Celtics’ older leaders must basically be reduced to role-players in order for them to have a reasonable chance of success this season. I’m not sure what hurts more; saying that the All-Stars need to step back or knowing that there’s no way it will happen this season. If there is a silver lining to this, it’s only that Boston may come to this conclusion in the offseason (especially given Allen and Garnett’s expiring contracts). Until then, consider this my lament of what could have been for the Celtics.