Garbage Time

Pre-season games in any sport are just glorified practice sessions. Horrible to watch, but sometimes you might catch a glimpse of something that interests you. So far this pre-season, I've watched bits of the Celtics pre-season games and got pretty bored by half time. But a few things have stuck out that I like, and one thing in particular that doesn't look too great.

I Like...

1. Rajon Rondo - From the limited minutes I've watched of the pre-season so far, Rondo looks like he's continuing from where he left off at the end of the playoffs. Not that he's dropping 44 points and averaging a triple double or anything, but his confidence in his jumper and free throws seems to be at the same level it was towards the tail end of last year's post-season. A confident shooting Rondo is a major problem for the rest of the league. As far as I'm concerned, a Rondo that has a consistent jump shot can be classed in the top 5 best players in the league and certainly as the best Point Guard in the league. I think as it stands he already is the best point guard but people who know more than me rate Chris Paul higher on the basis of his consistent shooting. And I guess Deron Williams gets a mention too although I'm not much of an admirer of his play compared with Rondo. I'm predicting Rondo to be in the MVP discussions this season so long as his shooting keeps being on point. If Rondo can become a primary scorer as well as the league leader in assists, there won't be any stopping him.

2. Jared Sullinger - He's like a rebounding machine. Like a tank in the post. Grabbing anything that comes within 10 square feet of his giant hands. Yeah. He seems like the steal of the draft. For now.. I've read all the arguments on some Celtics blogs about starting Sully in the regular season but I don't see it happening for now. Bass and KG worked too well together in the 2nd half last season to abandon it already. Sure, if Sully kills it from the get go, we could talk. But not yet. 

3. Jeff Green - I've enjoyed seeing Green play again. And I LOVE that, even though it's just pre-season, he went pretty hard against the Knicks on Saturday...

Yeah. Awesome. Take that New York. 

I don't like...

1. The lack of any kind of back up Point Guard - The Celtics have a pretty stellar 4 man guard rotation. Infact, I'd say they have the best 4 guard rotation at their disposal than any other team at the moment. The only problem is, Avery Bradley is out for the start of the season, and really, even if he was fit, neither he, Lee and JET are good options as a back up ball handler. Terry would be the best option of the 3, or at least he seems so when I'm trying to solve this dilemma in NBA 2K13. But having him as the primary ball handler takes away from his main which is to score the ball and be open for the ball handler to set up. 

As Doc said in the Boston Globe, Terry's main job is scoring and having him handle the ball a lot takes away a big weapon for Boston when Rondo is off the floor. With Dionte Christmas and Jamar Smith getting cut last night, I reckon the team are going to look at getting in a veteran PG to fill in some garbage time and give Rondo a rest. From the list of remaining free agents on Hoops World, there aren't really many names to get too excited about. Leandro Barbosa is certainly the best guard remaining, but his salary is a no go for Boston. I think from that list, T.J Ford could be the best option. Really, anyone who isn't Mike Bibby, Baron Davis or Gilbert Arenas would be better than nothing. Even Derek Fisher. Maybe.

2013 is all about 18

In the summer, the Celtics were one unreal LeBron James performance away from the NBA finals. With no bench, and injuries to key players, taking the eventual champion Heat to 7 games was a pretty amazing feat. No one else managed that. The 2012 playoffs will always have a "what if" asterisk next to it for the Celtics. Without Avery Bradley, they were without their secret weapon in shutting down Wade. Paul Pierce was playing on 1 leg and Ray Allen was missing his ankles.

Since then, the Celtics have had a fantastic off season revamping their roster with bench depth and cover at positions they were lacking in last season. Ray Allen might be gone, but he's been replaced by not 1 but 2 excellent guards. In the draft, the Celtics might have picked up the steal of the 1st round in Jared Sullinger. Assuming his dodgy back holds up that is. Elsewhere, Jeff Green is coming back after his heart problem and Wilcox and Darko are filling out the front court.

There's an argument to be had that the Celtics might have the deepest overall roster in the NBA this season. They might not have as strong a starting 5 as the Lakers or the Heat, but their bench depth could be what makes the difference in another push for their 18th championship.

So, I'm pretty excited for this coming season. Literally counting down the days to the Heat game on the 30th October. I'm even taking the 31st off work so the 5 hour time difference won't get the better of me. I'm hoping for big things. The following is a list of things I'm expecting from Boston this season.

1. Bench scoring

Last season, the Celtics had a starting 5 and a bunch of guys cheering them on from the sidelines. This season, they have a legitimate 6th man in Jason Terry and even more fire power from Jeff Green, Jared Sullinger, Chris Wilcox and possibly one of Kris Joseph, Dionte Christmas or Jamar Smith. Also to this list you can add either Courtney Lee or Avery Bradley once Bradley gets back from injury. For what it's worth, I expect Bradley to take over as starter once he's fully fit. But Lee has an amazing opportunity to steal Avery's spot in the starting 5. When compared to last season's bench, it's impossible not to get pretty excited about this team's chances. Last year, the main scoring threats off the bench were Mickael Pietrus and...well.. scoring wise that was probably about it. And when Pietrus is your biggest scoring threat off the bench, you know you've got some problems. This year the C's well have a strong 10 man rotation with the end of the bench fluff of Darko and Jason Collins making up the numbers. I can't wait.

2. Rondo is a superstar

The NBArank list was just finished over on ESPN. The Celtics ranked up like this. I must say, I expected Rondo to be a top 10 player this year. I'm convinced that he is now the best point guard in the league. At the very least he should be ahead of serial underachiever Deron Williams and Russell 'what's an assist?' Westbrook. Rondo plays the point like it should be played. Making plays for the rest of his teammates first and shooting second. Rondo was incredible in the playoffs this year and I think his monster game in game 2 was a sign of things to come this season.

3. Rebounds, rebounds, rebounds

Other than the bench depth, a main weakness of the Celtics last season was there inability to rebound the ball. This should improve greatly this year with the addition of Sullinger and also the return of Chris Wilcox. I also expect Collins and Darko to contribute fairly well on crashing the glass. Well, it's probably best not to expect anything of Darko so that any contribution is a pleasant surprise. So yeah. Rebounds will improve. Darko might get a few.

4. ECF rematch. Different outcome.

With Rose down for the bulk of the season, I don't think anyone can really see past another Celtics - Heat eastern conference finals. While the Heat are probably still seen as favourites in this matchup, I think what I've been arguing for the whole of this post will be what makes the difference this year in the Celtics favour. Last year, Boston played the Heat with effectively a 6 or 7 man rotation, with a few of those players running on flat tires with dodgy suspension. This year the Celtics are deep and the Celtics will win. So long as health is kind to them.