Boston Celtics: How 2014-15 Can Show Progress
By Ben Woodward
The Boston Celtics are a long way from their last championship run, now seven years back in the basketball history books.
Fans of the Boston Celtics will tell you it still feels like last season. Kevin Garnett averaging 18.2 points and 13 rebounds per game in the Finals, including a 26-point domination in the deciding Game 6 where he broke down and sobbed in the post-game interview. As if the victory validated his entire existence as a human being.
As a C’s fan, if that doesn’t hit you right in the feels, you must have just hopped on the bandwagon that season. You must not have lived through the Rick Pitino years where Antoine Walker, Kenny Anderson and a 22-year-old Paul Pierce did all they could to piece together 30-35 wins.
So why am I bringing all this up? The last Dark Ages of the Boston Celtics, followed by their greatest success since Larry Bird hung up his Converse Weapon’s for good in 1992. Because the 2014-15 Boston Celtics are in that downswing once again. And just like in the late ’90s into the new millenium, the Boston Celtics will rebuild once again.
All teams go through it. In the Chicago Bulls’ post-Jordan era, the team won 13 games in the lockout year, followed by a 17-65 record in the 1999-2000 season led by Elton Brand and Ron Artest, both just 20 years old.
Karl Malone and John Stockton played their last games in Jazz uniforms, and what followed was a 26-win 2004-05 season led by Matt Harpring and Mehmet Okur. You get the point.
It’s a like clockwork for NBA teams, like the schedule of the tides. Players are drafted or brought in who make a tremendous impact on their team’s playoff/championship aspirations, and then they move on or retire. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett have moved on.
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Back to the present day. Brad Stevens is the coach of the Boston Celtics, not Doc Rivers. Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green and Jared Sullinger lead the young team in place of “The Big Three” from seven years ago.
So for this rebuilding team, what would constitute a successful season? The 2014-15 Boston Celtics can find a few ways to chalk up some positivity while Danny Ainge and his son Austin build their roster to playoff standards once again.
One thing that should be mentioned when discussing goals for a young/rebuilding team is their ability to beat the bad teams, or the teams lacking their best players on any given night. On Opening Night, the Boston Celtics raised some eyebrows, beating the Brooklyn Nets 121-105.
Note: I am definitely not claiming the Nets are a bad team. With that being said, the Celtics beat them twice in preseason play, and for this most recent game the Nets were without all-star center Brook Lopez. That certainly knocks them down a few notches.
Recognizing this opportunity, the C’s managed double-digit scoring from eight different players, scored 62 points in the paint and shot just better than 55 percent from the floor.
The Celtics showed a major offensive burst, and took advantage of a team missing their anchor in the middle. Huge win to start the season, beating a team that made the playoffs just a few months ago.
Following the exhilarating opening night victory, the Green fell on the road to a Houston Rockets team that currently boasts a spotless 5-0 record. Two nights later, the C’s took their second loss of the season at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks (3-1).
Early in the season, it’s becoming clear that the Celtics will not be winning a ton of games against the best of the West, which is to be expected. But what can we expect with teams like the Philadelphia 76ers or the Detroit Pistons on the horizon?
Looking ahead on the schedule, the Celtics November games include contests against teams like the Indiana Pacers, currently without what seems like their entire starting lineup from last season.
They’ll also be playing the Oklahoma City Thunder (1-4), a team seemingly cursed after injuries claimed their two most valuable players in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, followed by the 0-4 Philadelphia 76ers who need no explanation for their dismal record.
With opponents like these that the Celtics young, low-expectation team match up well against, the C’s will have a fighting chance to win more games than Vegas has them pegged for (27). Especially when those opposing teams give them the opportunity, which is something Brad Stevens has shown he knows how to coach his team to do.
There are two types of fans that root for the Boston Celtics. You’re either a diehard Rajon Rondo fan and you think he’s the future of whatever the Celtics have planned.
Or, you read all the reports that he’s an awful teammate and how it’s nearly impossible to play on the same court.
You think the Celtics won’t land any big-name free agents with such a polarizing player leading the team, and the C’s need to fluff up his trade value with a few weeks or months of stellar play, so they can flip him for a guy that the team can really build around.
Whichever category you fall under, both mean the same thing — Rajon Rondo needs to play at a high level. He’s clearly the best player on the Boston Celtics at this point, and in my opinion he’s the best pass-first point guard in the league.
Not only does it lead to entertaining, successful games when he plays well, but it makes him a more valuable trade piece. Rather than being the cocky, oft-injured control freak, he can be shown off as a double-double machine that just wants to win.
I know there’s one thing on the minds of a good chunk of Celtics fans: tanking is the answer to their problems. My answer to that thought is simple. They put on their best effort at a tank job in 2013-14 and all it got them was Marcus Smart. Sure he looks like a kid who can probably be a starting NBA point guard.
But how many 25-win seasons can you endure where you come away with Marcus Smart-caliber guys in the draft?
I believe tanking only benefits the team that gets the top pick, and in some cases the second pick in the draft, and ONLY if the draft contains players like Blake Griffin, Anthony Davis and John Wall.
I also believe player development, building a cache of draft picks and free agency can sometimes be better routes to building a franchise. You saw it in 2008 with a Boston Celtics team that won a championship after a few nice trades.
One way or another, the Boston Celtics will rebuild and rise back to the top. They are a premiere NBA franchise with excellent ownership and front office leadership. Until that day comes, whether it’s next summer or three years from now, they need to focus on developing what they have.
Let the young guys go win some games and get a taste for victory. If they show they’re serious about the plans that Danny Ainge has in mind, the free agents might just pick up that phone call.