| Celtics Starting Spots Up For Grabs Authored by Jason M. Williams - September 12, 2006 - 6:53 am
The Boston Celtics failed to make the playoffs last year for the first time since the 2000-01 season. Since Danny Ainge inherited the team as General Manager following seasons which saw the Celts reach the Eastern Conference Finals and Semifinals, they have been a bust. Last year began with such high hopes for a repeat division title in a weak Atlantic division. However, the team underachieved and Ainge dealt Ricky Davis, Mark Blount, and Marcus Banks to the Timberwolves for Wally Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi and Dwayne Jones. The deal did nothing to alleviate the poor play and strapped the team with Wally’s remaining 3 year $36M contract.
Following the dismal remainder of the 2005-06 season, he engineered another desperation move, dealing the seventh overall pick in the draft along with Dan Dickau and Raef LaFrentz to Portland for Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff and a future second round pick. To make things more complicated at the point guard position, Ainge later acquired Kentucky PG Rajon Rondo from the Suns by accepting the salary dump of Brian Grant. This left the team with an abundance of point guards and injury-plagued players while dealing away a potential blue chip NBA star.
Ainge has turned over half of his roster since the onset of last season, and all he has done is kept head coach Doc Rivers awake all night, trying to figure out which 12 guys are going to make his squad, and more importantly, which five guys will start. Let’s analyze the Celtics by each position, and determine who will be starting at the beginning and end of the season.
Point Guard
Possible options: Sebastian Telfair, Delonte West, Rajon Rondo, Tony Allen, Allan Ray.
Who will start: Initially Sebastian Telfair will be the Boston starter. Due to the fact that the Trailblazers were able to turn the seventh overall pick obtained primarily for Telfair into Brandon Roy, Ainge will look incredibly foolish exchanging a potential future star and Rookie of the Year candidate for a guy coming off the bench in the season’s opener. Despite the fact Delonte West has blossomed into an incredible team-oriented PG, Telfair has the flash and the exciting game play Ainge brought to Boston to display.
Biggest Threat: Delonte West because he has done nothing but come into Boston with little expectations and thrived on being cerebral ball player with gritty instincts. His leadership abilities have blossomed and by season’s end, he will regain his starting spot from Telfair. Rondo is a candidate for the 12th man of this roster. However, he could be a very valuable asset as trade bait, perhaps if Ainge continues to pursue Allen Iverson.
Danger Zone: Tony Allen and Allan Ray have no chance of playing point for this squad. With two overwhelmingly capable point guards in Telfair and West, along with an exciting youthful prospect in Rondo, the Celts will have no room at the one-guard position for Allen or Ray.
Shooting Guard
Possible options: Wally Sczcerbiak, Tony Allen, Allan Ray.
Who will start: Wally Sczcerbiak because he is a dangerous mid-range assassin who can put 20 points on the board before Boston fans even realize The Big Dig is complete. There is no question the former all-star out of Miami (Ohio) will be the starting shooting guard for the Celtics this entire season.
Biggest Threat: Undrafted rookie Allan Ray was signed by the Celtics and has done nothing but impress the coaching staff. His emergence onto the scene will push Wally for minutes, but not for a starting position. The reason he was never drafted despite being a key member of a national title contending Villanova team was his lack of size at the two-guard position, where he stands at 6-2, 190 lbs. However, his strong outside shot and ability to create and get to the foul line give him an edge on Tony Allen for making the roster.
Danger Zone: Tony Allen, not because of his inabilities, but because Allan Ray gives them a better shooter at the position and another threat to get to the line. Tony Allen will also be considered as trade bait for Danny Ainge because he is a very tough and flashy athlete, but he’s not the scoring type the Celts will need with Telfair or West distributing the ball around the court.
Small Forward
Possible options: Paul Pierce, Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Brian Scalabrine.
Who will start: One of the most talented players in the Atlantic Division, Paul Pierce. He is the anchor of the franchise and in the middle of the prime of his career. He is also a leader on the floor who loves the ball in the clutch and wears his heart on his sleeve trying to win each and every contest.
Biggest Threat: Gerald Green is the only other threat for playing time at the small forward position for the Celts. However, this could be the most crucial year for the youngster taken in the first round out of high school last year. Gerald Green proved last year in his rookie season that he has the potential to be a great one-on-one player with his gifted elevation, solid ball handling skills, and off-the-charts athletic ability. However, unless Rivers can teach him to be a professional basketball player, he will remain a freak off the bench who is good for a few Sports Center dunks and not much else. That is why this could be a make-or-break season for whether Green makes it big in the NBA.
Danger Zone: If Green steps in and takes his game to another level, that could only mean bad news for Ryan Gomes and Brian Scalabrine. Gomes is a well rounded player who will get a fair share of minutes at the three and four positions, but not enough to have a significant impact. Brian Scalabrine was the signing last summer that made most fans scratch their heads, and say “um…we gave who a five year, $15M deal?” Ainge originally defended his decision by saying Scalabrine did not fill up the stat sheets, but gave the team the little things necessary to win. However, we all knew that Ainge was just reminiscing on Scalabrine’s freak playoff three-point outbursts from the days the Nets and Celtics and Nets and Pistons feuded in the playoffs. Either way, there are petition websites that yearn for Scalabrine to be relegated to the bench. Rivers can’t be benching a potential phenom in favor of a lanky red-headed Jekyll-and-Hyde three-point threat. My bet is that Scalabrine assumes his role as token first white guy to high-five everyone coming off the court at every time out in street clothes.
Power Forward
Possible options: Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Brian Grant, Leon Powe.
Who will start: Al Jefferson will begin the season as the starter because of his incredibly overachieving rookie season of two years ago. However, unless he can hone the skills he displayed as he helped lead the Celtics to the 2004-05 Atlantic Division crown, he will finish the season on the bench or in another uniform.
Biggest Threat: Leon “the Show” Powe is my sleeper pick for the Celtics. He is strictly a low-post player with great toughness and ferocity. He led the Pac-10 in rebounds and scoring last year for the California Bears and was named a 2nd Team All-American. The Celtics obtained him from the Nuggets after he was selected as the 49th pick, and could turn into a low-post force that will push Al Jefferson for playing time. He is a bit undersized for the position at 6-8, but has the toughness and thickness to pound with anyone on the low block.
Danger Zone: Brian Grant and Ryan Gomes are both in danger of not seeing the court at the power forward position much this season if my sleeper pick plays out. Brian Grant is only on this team because the Suns dumped his contract along with Rondo in order to re-sign Leandrinho Barbosa and eventually Boris Diaw. Ryan Gomes will also get minutes at the small forward position, but once “the Show” steps onto the scene in Boston with his rugged low-post presence, the Celts will have little need for him at the four position.
Center
Possible options: Kendrick Perkins, Theo Ratliff, Dwayne Jones, Kevin Pittsnogle.
Who will start: Theo Ratliff, if healthy, will excite the fans of Beantown with his ability to alter a game from inside of the paint. His shot-blocking presence alone makes him a valuable commodity in the Atlantic division and will remind fans of an extremely poor-man’s Bill Russell. (Yes, you can send me vicious hate emails now.) However, note the extreme poorness in the comparison, but in all seriousness, when healthy and active, Ratliff is one of the best game-altering shot blockers in the league who is also capable of double-digit scoring. You do the math.
Biggest Threat: Kendrick Perkins is the future center of the Celtics, but at age 22 in the first month of the season is still not ready to become the everyday center for this historic franchise. The arrival of Ratliff only helps Perkins in his development and will give the massive enforcer out of Ozen High School in Texas a good challenge in practice to build upon his offensive game.
Danger Zone: Dwayne Jones and Kevin Pittsnogle’s only chance of seeing the floor this season are if Ratliff or Perkins goes down with an injury. Don’t expect either to make the roster.
Depth Chart
PG – Telfair, West, Rondo
SG – Szczerbiak, Ray
SF – Pierce, Green, Gomes
PF – Jefferson, Powe
C – Ratliff, Perkins
Jason M. Williams can be reached for comments at jaywilli05@gmail.com. |
