Stop me if you’ve heard this before: The Boston Celtics lack a rim protector.
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That was the go-to analysis last season about the Celtics as they approached their first nationally televised game of the season in late April. Didn’t the Celtics know they weren’t supposed to be relevant at that point in the season?
Of course, that analysis disregards the fact that Brad Stevens’ defense improved all season long. In the first full month of the 2014-15 season the Celtics defensive rating was 107.9, good for 26th best in the NBA according to NBA.com.
That was rectified quickly. By Christmas they had cut that number to 103.1, good for 13th in the NBA. That leveled off until the All-Star break, at which point their defensive rating was 103.2 for the season to that point.
After the All-Star break, the version of this Celtics roster that had the most success, the Celtics were actually closer to an elite defensive team than you would think. From Feb. 16 to the end of the season, the Celtics’ defensive rating was an impressive 100.3, placing them eighth in the NBA over that time according to NBA.com.
That 100.3 number stretched over the entire season would have landed the Celtics sixth in the NBA, just below the Wizards and just above the Rockets. All of that without a rim protector.
Earlier this week, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com reported “the door hasn’t been totally slammed shut” on JaVale McGee with the Celtics. After McGee was traded to the Sixers at the deadline this February and bought out, he flirted with signing with Boston for the rest of the season.
Surely the Celtics could have used someone with his length and athleticism in the rotation. According to Blakely,
"The sticking point previously was the Celtics’ desire to have a team option following the 2015-16 season while McGee’s camp instead wanted a player option."
Hardwood Houdini
That was all well and good in February. But in a month is the NBA draft, in which the Celtics have two first-round picks and two second-round picks (not to mention their hoard of future picks).
Shortly after that is free agency. This season, the Celtics have money to spend. There will be plenty of options at the center position as available free agents, some more realistic than others, such as DeAndre Jordan, Marc Gasol, the twins (Brook Lopez and Robin Lopez), Greg Monroe, Omer Asik, Tyson Chandler, and Kosta Koufos.
And Roy Hibbert and Al Jefferson both have player options they could choose not to use.
If, after all is said and done, the Celtics are still searching for the mythical “rim protection” and are settling for the JaVale McGee experiment, then let’s just call this offseason a failure for Danny Ainge.
*fist pump* RT @SteveBHoop: JaVale McGee will NOT be coming to the Celtics. The sides couldn't reach agreement on a contract.
— I Always Keep A Can Of Tuna On Me (@SnottieDrippen) March 5, 2015
One thing that might trouble Celtics fans this summer is that we’re probably not as close the finished product as we like to believe after making the playoffs and playing so well down the stretch.
That’s certainly true, and something Ainge is well aware of. But if the Celtics get nothing else out of this offseason, if they don’t get the superstar they are hoping for, they need to get a better option as rim protector than JaVale McGee.
Next: 3 Reasons Why The Blazers Should Sign DeAndre Jordan
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