NLL Insider - Team by Team: Boston Celtics

by vt, updated on Wednesday, September 17 2008, 03:34 pm EST

Boston Celtics Review

2007-2008
Finish: 45-37
What went well
The Celtics are an NLL success story that can warm even the hardest basketball fan. While there are some who believe that the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor in the NLL, the Celtics made the playoffs for the first time in four years. Part of it is the normal cycle of teams ascending and descending, but a lot can be attributed to the steady hand of GM Amago45. Even though the team is far from great, he has helped turn a perennial cellar-dweller into a playoff caliber team.

GM Amago45 kept the basic blueprint of the team going into this season. He did trade for point guard Randy Foye, but besides the minimal additions of free agents Michael Doleac and Ronnie Price and draft pick Jason Smith, the team remained the same. Despite injuries to starting center Eddy Curry, the Celtics played close .500 ball and hovered around the 8th and final seed in the Eastern Conference all season. It was a tight race until the end as the Sixers, Bucks, Bobcats and Celtics all battled for the final slots. Tenacity proved to make the difference and the Celtics catapulted into the playoffs.

What didn't
Before the first round sweeping they received from the Nets, the Celtics made one of the most ill-advised trades of the season. They sent John Salmons, a versatile player having a career year, to the Miami Heat for Jamaal Tinsley, notorious for a big contract and multiple injuries. Salmons went on to average 14.5 points for the Heat while Tinsley played in only 4 Boston games before bagging the season. Salmons can also play the position in which the Celtics are weakest: point guard.

With this hole in the starting five (as well as the missing Curry), the entire season vanished after 4 games against the big, bad Nets. Foye put up a fight, but one wonders if Salmons could have done a better job containing Jason Kidd. The Celtics just weren’t good enough and the magic season ended with a whimper.

The Stars

Danny Granger, F -
Granger had the breakout year everyone knew was coming. He scored 14.5 points per game and shot a lot of three-pointers (249). The team sees Granger as a future All-Star who has the ability to dominate on both ends of the court. Granger agrees. "My goal is to be like Kobe (Bryant) because he scores and he locks people down on defense," Granger said. "That's my ultimate goal. I've never really created with my dribble. I need to become the isolation player where coach can come to me and I get a bucket for the team." Look for the Celts to mold their future around this guy.

The Goats

Eddy Curry- C
Curry had his worst NLL season yet in 2007-08. He played in the fewest games in his career, appearing only in 58 games. He did score more than last season, but his defensive numbers were down. He had arthroscopic surgery this summer, but the Celts expect him to be ready for camp. With Andrea Bargnani emerging, it will be interesting to see if Boston keeps Curry and his fat contract around for another season.

Jamaal Tinsley - G
The folks in Miami rejoiced when they heard the Celtics would take this problem off their hands for Salmons. What a steal for the Heat! It is almost inevitable that he will not be playing with Boston next season. But what will happen? No one will trade for him and a buyout seems unlikely. Three years remain on his contract. It is highly possible he will be sitting on the IR or the waiver wire during those three years, with the Celtics footing the bill.

The Celtics enter the offseason with a fairly strong starting five under contract. Though Foye may not be the answer at the point and Curry’s health remains an issue, it’s still a solid group of players. The bench, however, needs some work. The team has about $11 million to spend on free agents. Keith Bogans is a good backup and if they re-sign Bruce Bowen, they have a solid small forward. But things are shaky beyond that. Anthony Johnson will probably bolt and Jason Smith is likely out for the season with knee surgery. A good move may be move Curry to another team for depth. He could be turned into two or three decent players. Another option is waiving Raja Bell and ridding yourself of his ridiculous contract. Or standing pat and hoping to get the right pieces via free agency could work too.

In the draft, Boston selected Jason Thompson with the 17th pick. He is big and talented. Unfortunately, the MAAC isn’t a good place to really judge skill, but Thompson could become a big part of the organization of the scouting reports are correct. The Celtics also picked Nathan Jawai in the second round. He probably won’t do much next year and his chances of making the team are small.

NLL Insider - Team by Team: Boston Celtics

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