It is now eight games into the NBA season and some preseason favorites are stumbling out of the gates.  The Jazz, Spurs and New Orleans in the west look like teams who are bored with each other, the season or they are having chemistry issues.  Portland is going through the growing pains of a young team that has had playoff success, they will find their way.

Cleveland‘s import, “The Big Witness Protection” is saying all the right things, but his presence has disturbed the defensive continuity of a team who has problems scoring.  The Cavaliers are looking up in the standings at Milwaukee, a team who has also added new members and were a lottery team last year.  Delonte’ West’s problems has probably destroyed their chances of going deep into the playoffs unless they make a significant trade. Is that the sound of moving vans rolling up to the “King’s” estate?

There are four teams left, (Orlando Magic is the only legitimate contender among them) who have not had a division game yet.  The coach Stan Van Dundy is already playing the disrespect card, they are tied with Miami in their division with have a 5-1 record.

It is still early in the season and it is reasonable to consider that the elite teams will be there when it is all said and done.

The Boston Celtics have played the most games than any other team.  They have played eight games in 12 nights.  As a result, they have the best record with a 7-1 mark the lone loss coming from Phoenix, a team that has the word run, stamped in their NBA DNA.

They did all this with a less than stellar performances from Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen who continues the hot and cold shooting Boston fans have grown to love. 

The surprise play of Shelden “the landlord” Williams has eased the untimely injury loss of Glen Davis.  Boston has a luxury few teams have; they have a lot of interchangeable parts.  Rajon Rondo has not let the big contract affect his play; he leads the NBA in steals and is second in assists.

The one concern that the Celtics feel is low on their priority list is a back-up for Rajon Rondo.  The game on Saturday shows that it is a critical need.  Marquis Daniels was out due to personal reasons, and the second unit lost its fluidity on offense. 

Perhaps the addition of Tyrone Lue to the coaching staff is that insurance policy just in case Rondo suffers a major injury.  Lue has championship experience and knows how to play with big personalities. He might be part of the rotation by the trade deadline; another option may be to ease Lester Hudson into the rotation.

The NBA is buzzing with news about how the Celtics are operating at a higher level than any other team in the league.  Yet Doc Rivers still sees room for improvement, he said as much last year when they won 19 in a row.  He knows his team and the last three games are confirmation of Doc’s views on his team’s development. 

Listen to Doc talk about the Boston Celtics results after first eight games: http://player.theplatform.com/ps/player/pds/A3yY9H6uY9?pid=EGGSJsIf6GDDAHn4iqDKzUw4XX9IMfp5

Doc knows teams will make adjustments to the defensive and offensive schemes the Celtics use; therefore it is important that the counterattacks become second nature to the team.  That has not happened yet.

The next game for them won’t be until Wednesday against the Jazz and Boston’s coaching staff is looking forward to making the necessary adjustments in order to continue the rebranding of the team’s defensive philosophy.

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