| Celtics To Make Parallel Pushes For A Playoff Berth And A Roster Lock Authored by A. Robin McKenna - March 17, 2006 - 2:59 pm
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Seventeen games remain. Philly, in the eighth seed, could plummet if Allen Iverson’s ankle sprain keeps him out or ineffective, pitting the Celtics’ Paul Pierce-led Youth Movement versus the Baby Bulls in a tit-for-tat climb for the eighth seed. After going 1-3 in their last four straight against teams over .500, the Celtics schedule eases up some slightly, with eight out of their seventeen remaining opponents over even for the season, and only five against stiff competition (2 vs CLE, 2 vs NJ, 1 vs MIA). The budding Celtics, who’ve won a decent eight out of their last thirteen, have twelve winnable games in front of them.
This means two things in rapid succession:
1) The Celtics still have an outside shot at making the playoffs.
2) They will draw one of two conference juggernauts, the Heat or the Pistons.
So the question some in Boston are asking is: why bother pushing? Why not lose some close ones and get Danny’s competent hands on his first lotto pick?
While ‘true fans’ watching the Celtics’ effort night in and night out might dismiss such thoughts as jaded pragmatism, whether the Celtics make a valid playoff push or not could mean more than a first round defeat, it could determine their future personnel.
Here’s what’s at stake. If the Celtics do make a push, getting themselves into the playoffs and stealing a game or two from the favorites, they’ve made their case to be left intact as a squad. However if the Celtics fade away, Pierce’s belief in the potential of his supporting cast lags, and they take collective disappointment into the off season, you can expect one final shake-up.
The Celtics are now healthy, their young bigs and their makeshift point guard are back on the court, their star is shining brighter than ever, and their coach has them moving the ball well and buying into his defensive concept. The Celtics excuses have diminished considerably. Time sees team’s improvement, no doubt, and it is ideal to have everyone’s roles firmly in tact, granted, but parallel to the playoff push is one to prove that they don’t need another major piece to be potentially great.
Do the Celtics still need to be seeking a trade for their difference maker, their Rasheed Wallace?
Last night, the Celtics executed masterfully in the first half and went up 25 against the Heat, then let Wade, Shaq and the fans behind them convince them that they didn’t deserve to win. Pierce (34 pts) and Szczerbiak (30 pts) did what they could to stem the tide, but the Celtics bigs, Perkins, Jefferson, and Lafrentz were a collective nonentity and combined for 11 points and only 10 boards between the three of them.
Here’s what Pierce said after the game: “A team like Miami, who when the going gets tough, they get into your face, they make you try and do things that you don't want to do. That's what veteran teams are able to do. You have to understand that.”
Now Pierce has been patient, but how can management risk another year of Pierce’s prime without getting him some more veteran help if the Celtics can’t prove quickly that they’ve got seven or eight dependable guys that will stand up to the Miami’s, the Detroit’s, and the near-future Indiana’s of their conference?
Right now it seems that they’ve got four guys with intact winning wills: Paul Pierce, Wally Szczerbiack, Delonte West, and Ryan Gomes, the tallest of which is 6’7’’. Despite Lafrentz’s recent inspired play, he thrives against mid-lower level competition and would at best be a sixth or seventh man in a big game situation.
It is time for Perk and Big Al to take a stand against the East’s best frontcourts or risk the forcing of Danny’s hand in the offseason, a move that could send one of them away or diminish their minutes in favor of a seasoned veteran. The Boston Celtics in the Pierce era don’t have the luxury of being even a middling to good playoff team for much longer. We’ve already been there, done that, and recently (with employee #8). The push for the attractive idea of personnel continuity must not start any later than tonight against the Magic, and come the Celtic’s home finale against the Heat, Ainge will know what he has to do.
arobin12green@yahoo.com |
