BOSTON CELTICS (66-16) – NBA CHAMPIONS
Celtics fans are hoping KG will give some kind of crazy interview like this again in June.
The Boston Celtics completed the biggest turnaround in NBA history, increasing their won total by 42 games, with a world championship, easily beating the Los Angeles Lakers in 6 games. But I guess that’s what happens when you trade a bunch of young talent for Kevin Garnett, perhaps the best power forward in the league and Ray Allen, the best shooter in the league. Combined with Paul Pierce, the “Three Amigos” terrorized the league for 66 wins. The defending champions will look to repeat their success last year and win the Larry O’Brien trophy again.
The Truth at his best.
Face of the Franchise: Paul Pierce. With all due respect to KG and RayRay, this honor goes to Pierce. The Truth gave up his numbers for the betterment of the team but he had some big-time games in the playoffs. Who could forget that duel between Pierce and LeBron James in that epic game 7 in the conference semifinals with each player going for over 40? Pierce hit big shot after big shot throughout the playoffs but it was his defense that impressed me the most. Always matched up against the other team’s top perimeter threat, Pierce brought his A game and for the most part, shut him down. I never thought of Pierce as a stopper, but without his defense, I don’t think the Celtics would’ve won the title.
Send Him Away: Nobody. They have the same starting lineup and they’ll be contenders even without James Posey.
He says his game wasn’t built for college. We’ll see how he does in the pros.
Impact Newcomer: Bill Walker. Tough call here as they only added a few young players but I’ll go with Walker because he’ll be looked at to help replace Posey. He has a ton of potential and athleticism to boot but watching him play at Kansas State (including a couple times in person), he disappeared far too often for someone with his tools. The former high school teammate of OJ Mayo was the #2 small forward prospect coming out of high school according to Scout.com but it just didn’t seem like he deserved it. With that said, he definitely showed he can be a great player and was a steal at #47. He has a mercurial personality but I’m sure KG, Pierce, and Allen will keep him in check.
X-Factor: Rajon Rondo. Rondo did a lot better last year than anyone expected. Again, he didn’t have mind-blowing numbers but he WAS the starter for a championship team. He shot 49% from the field last year but only 42% on jumpers, according to 82games.com. His fg% dropped to 41% in the playoffs as teams left him open more and dared him to take that jump shot. If he is able to hit that consistently, the Celtics will win the title again.
Forecast: Playoffs – 1st seed. The Celtics will win 60 games again and the city of Boston will look to them as its only hope for a championship this year. With their big three, they are a safe bet to do so and I do expect them to cruise through the regular season, easily winning 60 games again. But they’ll run into King James in the Eastern Conference Finals, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who gave Boston its toughest series in the playoffs, will end their season.
