2/2/10: In Search of Celtic Pride
During Monday night’s Celtics radio broadcast, Cedric Maxwell turned his mic off and implored Rasheed Wallace to “take it to the basket!” You know it’s bad when a Celtic broadcaster NOT named Tommy Heinsohn takes off the headset and barks instructions at the players on the floor.
Despite their 99–88 win last night over the lowly Wizards, there’s still something wrong with this team. Actually, there are a lot of things wrong with this team. Doc Rivers tells us the sky isn’t falling, but if the Celtics don’t watch out, they might wind up like Henny Penny (and I don’t mean Hardaway).
Last summer, when the C’s signed Wallace and Marquis Daniels to join a healthy Kevin Garnett and a squad that gave last year’s Eastern Conference champs (the Magic) all they could handle, pundits said this lineup was as talented as the ’96 Bulls who went 72–10.
They were right. Paul Pierce and Rajon Rondo are deserving All-Stars. Kendrick Perkins has improved. Garnett, Ray Allen and Wallace are former All-Stars (KG made it this year thanks to the fans but has been banged up a lot). Even Tony Allen is playing surprisingly well off the bench following his umpteenth knee operation.
But that’s where the praise ends. At the three month mark of the 2010 season, the team still looks talented on paper, but is either hurt, old, or not playing up to expectations.
Daniels has been out for a while following thumb surgery and will continue to sit until March. Watching Garnett drag that leg around reminds me of watching those early-90's Celtics, when I first realized that my heroes (Bird, Parish and McHale) were getting old and just couldn’t do it every night anymore. He was surprisingly spry on Monday night, but you have to wonder after an inconsistent first half if he’ll be ready to bring it for the playoffs.
Then there’s Glen Davis. The Big Linus. What happened to this guy? He averaged 16 and six in last year’s playoffs and looked like a human bowling ball out there. After a dumb incident earlier in the season, he has struggled to play consistently in his return and his most notable moments have come when he’s opened his mouth (to unfavorable results).
And then there’s Wallace. ‘Sheed needs to stop playing like a poor man’s Channing Frye and play more like he did Monday night (14 points, five rebounds — perfect from the free throw line on six attempts, which means he was drawing fouls inside). Seriously, more than half of his shot attempts have come from beyond the arc this season, which wouldn’t be so bad if he could actually hit threes. The man is 6'11" and is clanging away at 30% from downtown. You know what that means? Get your butt in the post, rebound, and play defense the way you did in Detroit. It’s maddening to think the Celtics signed this guy to a multi-year contract.
But that’s the way it is. The organization’s present and near future hinges on the performance of its veterans. Trade Ray Allen? Ray Allen, folks, is your meal ticket. Whenever he hits a shooting slump, people want to trade him. But he’ll be one of the major factors if the Celtics go anywhere this year.
What can they get in a trade for Ray Allen that would help the team in 2010? If they want to win (and they need to do that this year, not next, when everybody’s another year older), they will keep Jesus Shuttlesworth on this roster.
If I were Doc Rivers, I would forget about home court advantage in the playoffs. Sit the “Big Three” when they need it from now until April. Play the bench guys; get the young guns like Big Baby feeling confident in their games. There’s no need to go all-out against the Clippers in mid-March.
Even if the Celtics go into the playoffs as a fifth or sixth seed, I’d take a fresh, healthy, confident Celtics squad against anything else the East presently has to offer. Something to consider, perhaps?
This post was originally published to Fire It Up Radio on Blogger, February 2, 2010.
