The Celtic regular season begins October 27, 2009 against the same team they opened last year’s regular season.  The only difference is that they are not the defending champs.  Paul Pierce stewed over the fact that they did not have an opportunity to defend their crown due to injury. 

Last year was widely viewed as a disappointment by the team and their rabid fans.  I beg to differ, four years ago the wearing the green was seen as kryptonite to other NBA players.  Everyone marked them as an automatic win on the calendar.

Fast forward to 2009 and they have won a championship in two years and are favored to be in the running come June again.

There is no question as to what the ‘big three’ can do; but it isn’t about them anyway.  Yes we all agree that they are the central figures, however central figures are not always the key.  For the Celtics, it is the second unit and the remaining starters.

Rajon Rondo must show he can be a complete leader.  The blogger-sphere wants to shout   “you’ve just been Rondoed” as he fakes a defender, dishes or steals the ball.  But most of all they pray to the basketball gods that he improves his free throw percentage.

Kendrick Perkins improved offensive efficiency and noticeable weight loss can only help his lateral movement.

They have satisfied their need for ‘Sheed’ and their new ‘honky-tonk’ man Marquis Daniels. Daniels’ jagged, ragged moves keep defenders guessing, and Wallace brings championship experience to the bench.

Boston has not won in Cleveland since the Jeri Welsh era, now that is saying something.  This current incarnation of the green has suffered beat down after beat down in the ‘mistake by the lake’.  Cleveland’s antics after one of those meetings have added fuel to this rivalry. It has become the only glaring weakness in what can arguably be considered a stellar performance by Boston so far.

The final preseason game saw them finally win in Columbus, Ohio not the Quicken Loans Arena.  Nevertheless, it was a win in Ohio in the minds of the Celtics.  They will have to repeat the performance on opening night.

It was evident that the Cavaliers wanted to keep the Celtics winless in Ohio, by playing LeBron through the third quarter.  The Celtics got the win sans contribution from Garnett and Ray Allen who were healthy DNP’s, coach’s decision. 

Ouch! That had to hurt Cleveland’s pride a little bit.

This is a perfect opportunity for Pierce and company to steal a win.  Cleveland has not found their “g” their ‘flow’ with the new additions to the team. 

These changes may be a blessing for LeBron, because now it takes some of the offensive load off of his shoulders.  They still have continuity issues when he leaves the game. The Cavaliers have not found the key to LeBron’s star power.  Shaq will still be a presence, but you cannot realistically expect him to be the key that drives the rest of the team.

The Cavaliers are still concerned but they know in the back of their minds that they may have to concede this first game to Boston.  The Celtics meanwhile can also say the same thing, the difference being that the changes give their starters more rest.  

Cleveland has already begun to formulate excuses, saying that after all it will only be the first game, and the season is long.

Doc Rivers and Danny Ainge have long term championship plans for this renewed vibrancy of the Celtic legacy.  It involves a method that is the underlying theme for all 17 banners.  Doc calls it ‘ubuntu’, a doctrine that invokes the power of “won”.  One game, one opponent, and the ‘won” that counts in June for banner 18.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 5:00 am and is filed under Most Recommended, News Headlines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.