The Celtics were one of the few teams in sports who have done what they
had promised before the season started: the championship. The challenge
of putting three great players together on the same team and with the
pressure of winning immediately never seemed to be easy, but Garnett,
Pierce and Allen left their ego's at home and focused on team work.
The team finished with a regular season record of 66-16 and they
started the season in an unbelievable way by going 29-2 in their first
31 games. In the Playoffs, they struggled against the Hawks and the
Cavs, but they cameback to their best level and they defeated the
Lakers in the NBA finals in a very easy way. The key of all this
success was the winning dynamic the team had during the whole season,
otherwise it wouldn't be possible for Boston to have a 9-2 record
without Garnett (the two defeats were by 1 and 3 points) or to have a
8-1 record without Ray Allen. Also in the last part of the regular
season, when the minutes of the starters were reduced, Boston continued
winning, due to an impressive winning dynamic.
For the first time in 7 seasons, Paul Pierce averaged less than 20
ppg (19.6 ppg) on a season. It is expected that Pierce has a similar
performance this season, helping the team in every area: defense,
offense and leadership. Also Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen decreased
their numbers, in comparison to their previous seasons, with Garnett
averaging less than 20 ppg and 10 rpg for the first time since the
1997-1998 season and Allen averaging less than 20 ppg for the first
time since the 1998-1999 season! These two players are now coming from
another season on the league and the expectations on them continue to
be huge. However, we can't forget Garnett is 32 years old and Ray Allen
is 33. As if it wasn't enough for Boston to be the team that everybody
wants to beat this season, the competition on their division will be
much bigger this season. Last season they won the Atlantic division by
having more 25 wins than Toronto (2nd on division) and 43 more wins
than the Knicks (5th).
The offseason didn't bring many news to Boston and the only real
change was James Posey leaving to the Hornets. Posey had a very
important role in the Playoffs and during the season. Even though he
has "just" averaged 7.4 ppg and 4.4 rpg, the truth is that he was a
good offensive threat and GM Danny Ainge wasn't able to find a
replacement for Posey. Darius Miles signed a contract with the Celtics,
but he was later waived and it's fair to ask until what point the
departure of Posey this season will be important for Boston.
P.J. Brown has finally retired with a championship ring and he will
leave Garnett alone in the frontcourt with the talented youngsters Glen
Davis and Leon Powe, who had very good rookie seasons last year.
Without Brown, these two players will have a more important role on the
Celtics this season, in order to give some rest to Garnett and Perkins.
Rajon Rondo took advantage of the confidence and the opportunity of
being able of playing with the Big Three and he was impressive. Many
analysts predicted that he would struggle in leading the team in the
Playoffs, due to his lack of experience, but that didn't happen and
Rondo managed to keep Sam Cassell sited on the bench more time than
everything was expecting him to be. The role of Cassell this season
will be to help the team more outside the field than inside, as his
physical shape isn't the same from a couple of seasons ago and Eddie
House will be the main backup of Rondo this season. Tony Allen will
have the role that Posey had last season, as the 6th man of the team
and with his physical problems solved, Allen will be capable of doing
that role well.
Boston comes to this season once again as the main favorite to win
the Eastern conference and the expectations very high once again. The
team has shown last season that they can handle the role of being the
favorites, not giving any chances to their opponents during the regular
season. The competition on the Atlantic division is stronger than ever
and even though, the Big Three will be one year older than they were
last season, nothing should prevent the Celtics from being once again
in position to win for another NBA championship.
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