NBA Power Rankings: 2014-15 Eastern Conference Forecast
By Shane Young
13. Boston Celtics — 26-56
Danny Ainge better have something up his sleeve this season.
Wait, technically — and hysterically — he doesn’t need to have anything planned. Brooklyn did half of his job when they took two old, senile veterans off their hands and awarded them with 400 draft picks in the next handful of seasons.
It’s not quite 400, but it was enough for Ainge to pull the trigger, figuring he could master the reconstructing process without actually calling it by it’s official name. You know, that term Sam Hinkie made famous in Philadelphia.
Ask Rajon Rondo about “rebuilding.” He doesn’t want to acknowledge it, thus Boston won’t as a culture, neither. Brad Stevens fully understands the need for it, but he’s not Brett Brown. He admires victories, and has a burning hatred for standing in the loser’s locker room. It’s been that way since Butler, having to give uplifting speeches after consecutive losses in National Title games.
Just take it for what it truly is — Boston has been forced to go through more of these down, depressing years than their rivals in Hollywood have. At least, that’s how it’s worked for the last decade. While the Lakers (second in All-Time championships at 16) have had their share of down seasons, they’ve always bounced back rather quickly, and perhaps that was due to Phil Jackson. If it hadn’t been for the magical Boston Three Party, which introduced a whole new level of free agency goals, the hardships Paul Pierce would’ve had to go through are tough to imagine.
As the Celtics stand now, it’s borderline impossible to see Rondo serving a future role on the roster. It’s become loaded with backcourt chunks, all either extremely young, full of athleticism, or pure let-downs trying to prove something.
Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley are the first two choices you look for in regards to holding the team steady if Rondo is dealt. Bradley offers Brad Stevens the type of no-nonsense, 110 percent effort defense that will knock you out of your shoes. Smart, exiting his sophomore season in college, brings one of the strongest and well-rounded bodies to orchestrate an offense, or play off the ball.
Evan Turner fits the profile of a let-down that is seeking for another chance, as his reputation worsened in Indiana for half a season. I don’t know of a player more criticized in half a year more than Turner was when he didn’t know how to be effective in a new system.
Marcus Thornton is also now a part of the mix, and you can easily see how this is unfolding. Does that even include James Young, another rookie from this year’s draft? Smelling a strong trade in Boston this season wouldn’t be wrong of you.
Letting Rondo walk next summer for a grand total of nothing would be just as sour as losing the 2010 NBA Finals in the fourth quarter. Ainge won’t let it transpire that way, and a deal will be made by February’s deadline. For Rondo, who is on the same level as Ricky Rubio as it pertains to passing with perfection, you have to get the right price, the right kind of return.
For the sake of Boston and their fans that want an 18th banner sometime between now and 2025, a frontcourt asset is not only an option … it’s the answer.
Although they brought Tyler Zeller along this summer, he’s not the inside scorer or defensive anchor that’s making or breaking the season for Boston.
Stevens will have a decision to make regarding the starting lineup in his frontcourt, especially considering the Celtics fared better last year when they started two power forwards next to each other and played a bit smaller than their opponent.
Only 25 wins came their way, but the starting lineup of Bradley, Jordan Crawford, Jeff Green, Brandon Bass, and Jared Sullinger was — by far — the most successful they put on the court. The lineup won nine games, six more than their second-most successful lineup.
Integrating their newbies — all of which should be worth a fortune in two or three years — will take precedence over anything this year. Rondo wants to win, and the organization wants him to be happy in town. Both will soon find out that neither of those are possible next season.