The Celtics started out strongly in the fourth season of the Garnett, Pierce and Allen era, as they battled for redemption after last season’s defeat to the Lakers in the NBA Finals.
A string of injuries and departures, however, derailed their season, leading to the Lebron-Wade-Bosh triumvirate taking their own revenge and knocking the Celtics out of the playoffs.
I look back over the season to find out where the Celtics season was lost.
It began with the departure of Tony Allen in the off-season, a move which went largely unnoticed but proved to be a significant loss as the season wore on. Whether the decision was to let him go or he left of his own accord, is a matter of conjecture.
Allen was never a model of consistency in his time off the bench for the Celtics, his errant jumpers and costly turnovers often offsetting his great defensive play. But after working his way into the starting lineup for the Grizzlies, things clicked for Allen, his offensive play improved and he made it into the Second All-NBA Defensive team.
The Celtics though thought they had a decent solution as a back-up perimeter player in Marquis Daniels. He settled into the rotation in his second season with the Celtics, providing solid perimeter defense and inside scoring. But when he went down for the season with a spinal chord injury however, the Celtics were back to square one.
Daniels’ injury played some part in the subsequent trade of Perkins for Green, as Green was seen as a solution to back-up Pierce. And while Green was solid in the Heat series as a back-up, his defense was patchy, and the cost of losing their starting center in Perkins was just too high.
Ah, yes the Perkins trade. A controversial move, from which the team would never quite recover. While Jermaine O’Neal came in and filled the Centre position in the playoffs admirably, it just wasn’t enough, and some will wonder whether Ainge blew it by trading away Perkins.
The Celtics had clearly traded away Perkins, expecting that they would have the 39-year-old Shaq ready for the playoffs. At the start of the season, Shaq’s size and skill around the basket, had opened things up for Rondo and given Celtics the inside scoring they needed.
When Shaq left the court only five minutes into his return game against the Pistons, I had that sickening feeling that the Celtics season, which had started so promisingly was now slipping away.
When Shaq played more than 21 minutes this season, the Celtics were 20-4. In the playoffs, Shaq hobbled his way to 11 minutes total.
And finally, when things were already gloomy, a takedown by Wade led to a nasty dislocated elbow for Rondo, and things became even gloomier. While Rondo valiantly battled on, the seriousness of the injury prevented him from being anywhere near his best.
Suddenly, the Celtics greatest weapon against the Heat, had been turned into a non-factor, if not a liability. In Games 4 and 5, Rondo averaged only 2rpg, 4apg, and 0.5spg, a massive drop-off from the 4.4rpg, 11.2apg and 2.3spg, he’d averaged during the regular season.
The Celtics missed his activity on the boards, his hustle steals and everything else that a healthy Rondo brings to the table.
On the upside, amazingly, the Celtics with a one-armed point guard, a hole in the Center, and a complete lack of a bench, came within a couple of shots of winning Games 4 and 5 against the Heat.
The positives for Celtics fans are that Allen, Pierce and Garnett stayed healthy and showed few signs of aging. All three are signed up for next year and Doc Rivers is expected back as well.
The big questions for next season are whether this team can address some of its holes with another (healthy) big man and a back-up wing defender.
They could do with some mercy from the injury Gods, too.
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