True, the Celtics aging stars are a year older. Also true is that 10 of the 19 players who appeared in at least one game for the C's last year are gone. And finally, it is sad but true that Kendrick Perkins may miss half (or more) of the upcoming season. But the combination of the revolving free-agency door, as well as the desperate need for size has fueled Danny Ainge to reconstruct a new team for the 2010-2011 season. Thus far, six new players will be on the season-opening roster, not including last year's mid-season addition of Nate Robinson. In with the old, out with the new now defines this Celtics team.
What was the Celtics most pressing need?
At times throughout the season, as well as in the Finals, the Celtics did not have the depth in the paint to rebound competitively. The Lakers exploited the C's lack of size, especially when Sheed got in foul trouble, when Perk was ailing, and Garnett sucking wind. Size is exactly what Ainge brought in. The ten disbanded players from last year averaged 6-6 in size, and a measly 1.55 rebounds per game. The incoming recruits? Led by 7-1 Shaq and 6-11 Jermaine O'Neal, the six imports average 6-8 in height. With the addition of the 6-11 Celtics 2008 draft pick Semih Erden, who spent last year winning a championship in Turkey, the team now has five players 6-10 and over. Even 6-8 PF Luke Harangody will be an intimidating addition, as he averaged 9.4 RPG over his dominant college career. Compare this to last years three and you can already imagine the difference in the rebounding category. The loss of Perkins should be more then overcome by a rotating center combination of the O'Neals. Last year's bigs and wings that were MEANT to support in the rebounding category did exactly the opposite. Sheed hated rebounding, Scalabrine was incapable, and Shelden Williams was horrible. Ainge definitely was successful in achieving the goal of importing size to the Celtics bench.
What about guard depth?
An outstanding problem held over from the days of Sam Cassell-Stephon Marbury-Eddie House-Gabe Pruitt-Tony Allen, Ainge needed to address the lack of quality guard depth behind Rondo and Ray. He will give Marquis Daniels another shot, and the mid-season addition of Nate added a scoring presence off the bench. Ainge then signed former Rocket Von Wafer, who dazzled in a starting role with Houston two seasons ago, and played well in the Euroleague last year for the famed Olympiacos. Finally, he added a stud in 19-year old Avery Bradley via the draft from the Texas Longhorns. ESPN rated Bradley the #1 high school player in the country in 2009, and although the inept Rick Barnes was unable to help Bradley reach his potential, hopefully Doc can lead the youngster to a successful NBA career. All in all, Ainge may not have fully accomplished the objective of strengthening the back-court, but there certainly is potential.
How will losing Perkins hurt the team?
The big men in the NBA that killed the Celtics on the boards last year were Dwight Howard, Andrew Bogut, David Lee, Pau Gasol, and Brook Lopez. For the most part, Perkins kept other centers in check in the scoring category, but the C's were out-rebounded quite a few times. It is safe to say that Chris Bosh will benefit underneath as part of the Miami trio, and Carlos Boozer will be tough underneath for a deep Bulls squad. Before Perkins is back, the Celtics will face Miami Orlando, and Chicago three times, Atlanta and LA twice, and Milwaukee once. Also, they face two early games against Durant and Oklahoma City, they travel to Dallas in early November, and face tough Western Conference opponents like Portland, New Orleans, Denver, and San Antonio in December. But luckily for the C's, some of Jermaine O'Neals best games last year were against the likes of Howard, Bogut, Nowitzki, and Horford. His best game was a loss at Chicago, but they were missing Joakim Noah at the time. Shaq was relatively quiet against Eastern Conference bigs, but continued his dominance in the paint against the likes of Portland, Memphis, Houston, and Phoenix. How the loss of Perkins affects the C's will come down to exploiting matchups. The O'Neals both have opponents they tend to either dominate or falter against, and Doc will have to go with the better of the two on any given night. But Boston certainly has a grueling schedule over the first two months, and will have to continue with their trend of starting hot in order to keep up with Miami, Orlando, Atlanta, and Chicago.
With the waiving of Sheed, who gets the final roster spot?
Although Doc said the possibility of Scalabrine coming back is always on the table, I believe he meant Scal could return in more of an assistant role. Harangody was drafted to take his place. Unless the cash-strapped team can find a way to swing a deal for Rudy Fernandez, they will most likely sign a guard for the league minimum to provide more depth. Rumors have swirled around the likes of Larry Hughes, Brad Miller, Eddie House, Delonte West, Matt Barnes, Josh Howard, and even Kwame Brown. But all have been squashed by either signing elsewhere, or the desire for more money. In the end, the C's will probably make a mid-season move to acquire more guard depth, and settle with Tony Gaffney or a cheap Hughes-type as the final man on the squad.
The offseason isn't over yet, but as NBA rosters are being finalized, it looks as though the Celtics quietly had one of the best offseasons. They have solidified themselves as a 2010-2011 contender, and certainly will lock up one of the top four spots in the Eastern Conference as they make another push towards banner 18.
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