Celtics 2013-14: Preparing For The Future, Practicing For The Present

 

 "It's been a long time...I shouldn't of left you..."
-- Rakim, I Know You Got Soul

 

With THAT said, what more can be said about the Celtics struggles in these larval stages of the 2013-14 NBA season?

I'm reading/hearing a lot from folks about how upset they are about the losses that are starting to pile up with this team. Now, granted, most of these people are not hardcore fans because, if they were, they'd know that our C's are in the midst of a rebuild and wins really aren't the point this season.

Still, for all you Negative Nellies and Debbie Downers out there...as was stated in the previous post, it's all about the development of young players, the polishing of assets and hunkering down for the future where glory awaits.

Watching Jeff Green, Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk, Vitor Faverani, Jordan Crawford, MarShon Brooks and the rest improve and make strides together as a team is actually kind of exciting...just read this great article by MassLive's Jay King if you don't believe me.

These guys will learn how to close out games...their hard work will extend over 48 minutes and we'll get our first win of the Brad Stevens Era. In fact, I think we stand a good shot of getting it against Utah.

In the meantime, let's just sit back and enjoy watching these guys find themselves and before you know it, they'll start putting together a couple of wins.

Here and there.

On occasion.

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Who Got Next?

Boston Celtics vs. Utah Jazz
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
7:30 PM ET
TD Garden, Boston, MA

It's Zero Hour In The NBA: Do You Know Where Your Celtics Are?

 

 “…No Matter Where You Go, There You Are.”

-- Buckaroo Banzai

 

So, where exactly is it that our beloved Boston Celtics find themselves as General Manager Danny Ainge ushers in season #1 of “The Causeway Construction Project?”

Short recap: Coach Doc Rivers? Gone. Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry? Gone, gone, gone.  Era of Ubuntu and Championship aspirations? Gone.  Anything better than a weak puncher’s chance of even making the Playoffs? Gone.

The sole surviving member of the five who famously “never lost a playoff series together?” Gone – at least until December, but I’m hedging on Rajon Rondo returning at or after the All-Star break, if you must know.

After witnessing the tail end of the “New Big Three” era during last year’s Playoff series against the Knicks as the Celtics were dispatched in the first round, prompting their Championship window to slam shut so hard that the glass shattered, Ainge made the unpopular but inevitable and intelligent decision to take a keg to the team and blow things to kingdom come.
 

With the trade that sent 15-year veteran, All-Star and Celtic original Pierce – along with the iconic Garnett and Terry – down to the Brooklyn Nets, Ainge signaled the beginning of a reconstruction project that will take, at minimum, three years to begin bearing fruit.    

Returning as the only holdovers from last year are Rondo, Avery Bradley, Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, Jared Sullinger, Courtney Lee, and Jordan Crawford who join draft pick Kelly Olynyk, rookie Phil Pressey, free agent signee center from Brazil Vitor Faverani, and the members of other end of the Brooklyn Nets trade Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace, Marshon Brooks and Keith Bogans. Not necessarily what you would call a “Championship Driven” lot, right?  

The team is now comprised of more
youth than age (only two players – Wallace and Bogans – have ten or more years in the League) and new coach Brad Stevens has approximately zero experience in the pro ranks, so any hopes by Greenheadz for a winning season or even an 8th Playoff seed should be of the faintest variety. This is not a team built to win, nor should it be. In possession of six first-round draft picks over the next five years, the goal of Danny and Co. should be to assess current talent for cultivating in either a new Championship core or trade value, develop a winning culture (even though actual winning may prove to be elusive at first), and make savvy moves that improve the team and add to that “Championship core.”

So, to answer the opening question, “where do the Celtics find themselves?” Talent-wise, this team will actually be able to compete with anyone on a strictly night-to-night basis. What it won’t be able to do is sustain any kind of consistency to speak of from night-to-night and certainly not enough make, let alone win, the Playoffs. Record–wise? I always shy away from this kind of prediction, mainly because there is no way to project things like the return of Rondo and other injuries to key players. But, if I were a gambling man, I’d place their wins in the high 20’s. Kind of an upper-middle of the bottom tier of the NBA.  I hesitate to use the label “mediocre” because for me, it implies a sustained level of lackluster play over more than one season. No, the Celtics will be a scrappy, never-say-die running basketball team that can take the New York's, Houston's, Golden State's and even (on occasion) the Oklahoma Cities and Miami's by surprise for a game.

What should we look for in this team? Commitment, measurable improvement and the building of bonds that are forged in the leaner times between players with character. For me, watching the development of Kelly “The K.O. Kid” Olynyk, Brooks, Pressey, Faverani and even Sullinger and Green, as well as the steady return to form of a healthy Rondo should provide me with enough entertainment to deal with the losses.  Wallace and Humphries have proven to be proud competitors as well as veteran leaders alongside Bogans, so any reports about tanking should be met with a portion of skepticism. Unless, of course, any two or all of these players happen to be shipped out of town by the trade deadline in February.

A suggestion that I would like to make to Greenheadz everywhere, if I might be so bold and yet humble: Just sit back and watch this young team without any expectations or frustration. Enjoy every learning moment for the players as much as you will their inevitable moments of success – however fleeting. You are now on the ground floor of a project that will ultimately lead to our #18th and maybe even #19th and #20th banner.
 
While the road may be bumpy and fraught with wrong turns and steep curves, when they finally arrive at their planned destination, you’ll be thrilled that you decided to come along for the ride.

Game #1…Hoo Rahhh!

Preseason Games 3 & 4: The Good, The Bad And The Gino

Watching last night's game against the New York Knicks, there were just two things missing that prevented me from total enjoyment: Gino being called out of mothballs to dance on the Jumbotron and the childlike jubilation with which one former Celtic used to watch him do it.

Actually, there was one other thing missing...any remotely linked semblance to relevancy that this win has on the upcoming season.

Now, don't get me wrong...I am the greenest of GreenHeadz that you'll ever find and I've been told that, as far as my belief in and support for the Celtics goes, my balloon never lands. But, when the Knicks go-to high scorer is Ike Diogu -- a man not yet guaranteed to be on the roster come November -- and the only efforts in this game given by the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Ray Felton, Tyson Chandler, Ron Artest and Kenyon Martin were as high-priced cheerleaders, you know that your 30-point win is going to have to come with a major asterisk.

Still, there were encouraging things to be seen, like watching The KO Kid, Kelly Olynyk, hang a well-rounded game on the New Yorkers and seeing MarShon Brooks come alive. Jordan Crawford continues to play under control, Avery Bradley is making his shots consistently and Jared Sullinger's back looks to be in great shape.

On the downside, Courtney Lee is still turning over milk cartons trying to find his jumper and Jeff Green has yet to find the magic can of spinach that he was eating from towards the end of last season and into the Playoffs, but, hey...it's the preseason and most realists out there know that the real reason to watch the games this year is to see the newbies develop and admire the team's scrappy play, even in under the threat of a looming Lottery.

Of course, this team -- especially when Rajon Rondo returns (December? February?) -- is going to be competitive on most nights and may even surprise a few top-tier teams from game to game. But, I can't help but think that the game that was played the night before against the Philadelphia 76ers is more in line with what we're going to see as the season begins in earnest -- a close game in the middle stages between the 2nd and 3rd quarters with the requisite furious comeback, only to fall in the 4th as the better team locks in and drives it home.

Still...looking at some of the young talent that's been scratching and clawing for the Green and White, it won't be too long before Gino regains full employment and anything becomes possible again.

Preseason Game 3
Boston Celtics vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Box Score
Tale of the Tape

Preseason Game 4
Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks
Box Score
Tale of the Tape
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Who Got Next?
Boston Celtics vs. Brooklyn Nets
(Yeah, THAT team)
Tuesday, October 15th, 2013
7:30 PM

Celtics Begin "Little One" Era As Preseason Kicks Off

That’s right, folks…the Boyz in green are back in town and ready to get down – preseason style, of course! While many (most?) of Boston’s sports-loving faithful are busy simultaneously watching the Red Sox mount their assault on the postseason and march toward another inevitable World Series showdown, lamenting the Patriots loss to the Cincinatti Tigers Bengals or are cheering the boys in black and gold as the Bruins start the season trying to recapture their winning form from last year’s disappointing trip to the Stanley Cup Finals, the Celtics have been busy preparing to start their first season in fifteen years without The Truth to set them free.
 
Recap: Pierce, KG and Doc are gone. Deal with it.

So, as we all dust off our old Antoine Walker jerseys and pretend we were Jeff Green fans from the git, here are just a few of the questions floating around the ether that we’ll begin to gain some resolution on.

So, in a tip of the cap to the chaos that will inevitably reign for at least the first couple of months of the C’s 2013-14 season, I replace that time-honored tradition that time-honored traditionalists like to post before their favorite teams head into battle – “What To Watch For” – with the more appropriate “What’s NOT To Watch For?!?”

As the Celtics start the preseason tonight at 7:30 PM against the much improved (but, really, who’s NOT improved this year besides the Celtics?) Toronto Raptors, here are some of the endless questions that we may begin to see the first grains of resolution for:  

·         What will the Celtics be like in a post-aPaulycliptic world?

 

·         Who is this Brad Stevens fellow, and does he speak Ubuntu?

 

·         Is Jared Sullinger fully healed from his back surgery, and should we even care following his recent domestic violence arrest?

 

·         Is Kelly “The KO Kid” Olynyk for real?

 

·         Will Brandon Bass make us forget Kevin Garnett (sorry…just had to check and see if you were paying attention)

 

·         Can Courtney Lee make us forget about E’twaun Moore, JaJuan Johnson and Sean Williams? (okay, that was just unfair…)

 

·         Is “El Hombre Indestructible” Vitor Faverani really indestructible?

 

·         Can Jeff Green continue to “act like an @$$hole and lead the Celtics?

 

·         Will Kris Humphries be more than just a pretty face with an ugly reality show stint?

 ·        Will Jordan Crawford settle down or will he forever be a castmember of "Guards Gone Wild?"

 

·         Do we FINALLY have a true backup point guard in Phil Pressey?

 

·         Can Gerald Wallace find the fountain of youth and “Crash” the Celtics’ lineup, or is he just playing out the string until the trade deadline lets him off the hook?

 

·         Can Avery Bradley silence the critics by making defenses pay with the jumpshot, dish and dribble while continuing to ensure that his opponents don’t return the favor?

 

·        Can Marshon Brooks realize some of the great potential he showcased as a Nets rookie?

·         Will Rondo be back before the All-Star break? And will the so-called “experts" ever stop monotonously suggesting that he must be traded?

·         What the Hell happened to Donny Marshall?

·         Will new broadcaster Danny Ainge say anything bad about the General Manager and get himself suspended?

 

·         How long will it be before Keith Bogans tires of the rebuild and chokes someone out Leandro Barbosa-style?

These and other breathless questions await…the journey of discovery begins tonight! Tune in to Comcast Sportsnet tonight at 7:30! Why am I yelling?!!? It's pre-season!!!