Returning To Form

The Boston Celtics are emerging. A playoff quality win tonight in Dallas tells me they're getting ready for another push to the finals.

Two weeks ago it looked like the C's were headed to a nursery home, never mind the postseason. A major reason for the reemergence is Paul Pierce. The Captain is averaging 23.4 PPG in his last 5 games and he's stretching the floor for Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins down low.

Pierce playing well is going to do some damage but for any hope at the title Kevin Garnett is going to need to step it up. It's pretty clear that his knee is still greatly hindering his athleticism but he still needs to knock down that 15 foot jumper that he has made his name off of. His defensive production hasn't dropped too much but he has been basically useless offensively. That needs to change.

Here's why the Celtics were so successful in the past. They would be in a moderately close game (6-8 point lead) and then they would go on a massive 15-2 run and blow it open. With shooters Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, defenses couldn't rotate fast enough to cover both.

The most important thing however is the defensive tenacity. Tonight the Celtics played with the effort they showed in the 07-08 championship season. In tonight's win against the Mavericks KG had 5 steals, that type of defense is what it takes to win a title.

Right now it looks as if the Celts are going to be running into the Heat in the first round and my only concern is that the Heat will not be taken seriously. For the last two years the Celtics have been in two unnecessarily long 7 game series', first against the Atlanta Hawks and then in the following year against the Chicago Bulls. The key is not to let the worse team believe they can play with you. Once you give a team hope amazing upsets can happen. The Celtics need to jump on the Heat (or Bobcats) early and then keep their foot on their throat. Never let the team gain confidence. Once a team gets something going amazing things happen, shots start falling, and all of a sudden they get their hands in the passing lanes. Before you know you're locked in a dogfight for your playoff lives.

Hopefully the Celtics have learned from their past mistakes. If they have not, they are doomed for another first round gauntlet.

As they regain their health and their championship swagger I see the Celtics making a very strong push for the big stage in June. The pieces are in place, now all they need is the desire. I don't know if the Celtics still have it in them, but I sure can't wait to find out.

Time to Blow Up the Big 3?

Heading into the All-Star break the Celtics sit in the fourth seed with a 32-18 record. This was a team that I thought was good enough to win a championship, I obviously miscalculated. At this juncture it's pretty clear that the Big 3 is aging, very quickly. Ray Allen's three point percentage is 33%, that's horrible considering he shot 40% just last season. Kevin Garnett still brings that fire and intensity which is amazing to watch, but he's no longer dependable for a double double every night. Paul Pierce is the one who really hasn't dropped off that much, he's still producing solid numbers night in and night out.

Breaking them up makes sense, as it stands, this team is good enough to be a very dangerous team in the East. But they're not good enough to seriously contend for a title. Back in the early 90's the Celtics held onto the original Big 3 (Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish) for a few years too long. The result was having to go through an entire decade without a competitive team. That's what is going to happen again if they keep this nucleus together too long.

Despite their age and declining level of play many teams would be interested in both Garnett and Allen. They should try to package them to get a superb young talent to play alongside Rajon Rondo for years to come. The first name that jumps to mind is Kevin Durant but I don't think the Thunder would trade him for anyone. The next name that pops up is Brandon Roy, now that's a real possibility.

It all depends on how the rest of the league views Kevin Garnett. They could still view him as a force in the league, or they could see him as a superstar reaching the end of his career.

If a blockbuster is out of the question, then at the very least they need to trade Ray Allen. His mammoth of a contract expires at the end of this season, and considering his recent play I have a hard time seeing the Celtics sign him back. It makes sense to get something back for him instead of losing him for nothing.

If I were in Danny Ainge's seat right now I would try to get my hands on O.J Mayo. I'm not sure how exactly they're going to be able to do that but him and Rondo would be a fantastic duo who could play together for years and years. Maybe they could try to do something like this:

Grizzlies get: Ray Allen, Randy Foye

Celtics get: O.J. Mayo, Mike Miller

Wizards get: Zach Randolph

Here's why this makes sense. The Grizzlies get rid of Zach Randolph's big contract, while taking on Ray Allen's expiring contract. That means that 18.7 million dollars would be coming off the books after this season. That gives them sufficient funds to make a run at LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, or any other upcoming free agent.

It makes sense for the Celtics because they get a great young player in O.J. Mayo while also acquiring a sharpshooter in Mike Miller.

The Wizards would gain a formidable big man down low. There are many rumors right now concerning Brandon Haywood. If he were to be traded, this would be a major upgrade in Washington.

You may have noticed that I left Paul Pierce out of the trade consideration. Pierce stuck with the Celtics through miserable seasons, he deserves the respect to not be traded, and end his career in Boston. Loyalty is a big deal, Pierce is one of those guys who just simply can't be traded. He's like Tim Duncan in that way. The fans would absolutely flip if they saw one of the greatest Celtics ever in another jersey. Also, Pierce is still producing so trading him makes little sense right now.

There's no doubt that breaking up the Big 3 would cause the Celtics to be much less successful in the next 2 years. But what it really comes down to is this. Are the Celtics satisfied with just being a good team, with little championship hopes. Or are they willing to sacrifice the next year or two for a better chance to win multiple championships down the line.

The Celtics aren't done yet. They could still turn this season around. I just have a hard time seeing them beat the Cavs, Magic, or Hawks in a seven game series. For that reason breaking up the Big 3 makes a lot of sense.

The Ben Gordon Syndrome

After turning down a 4 year, 60 million dollar offer Hawks SG Joe Johnson plans to test the open market in summer 2010. This was a very poor decision considering the economy and all of the free agent competition that he will face.

Next summer has been hyped to be the most important free agent season in recent history. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer, David Lee, Ray Allen, and now Joe Johnson will all be on the market. The problem is, the NBA is expected to lower the salary cap once again to somewhere around 53.4 million. Taking into consideration that Wade, LeBron, and Bosh will all get astronomically expensive contracts there will not be much money left out there for everyone else. Ray Allen will probably get a small one year deal, and Boozer will most likely get something like a 4 year, 50 million dollar deal packed with incentives.

So what does this mean for Johnson? It means that he made a mistake. The same exact mistake that Ben Gordon made, no matter how well Johnson plays this year he's still not going to see more than the 60 million which he has already turned down. This is strictly because the money is just not there, he will be forced to accept a deal that he is probably too good for. If any team gives him more than 55 million I'll be stunned. This is called the Ben Gordon syndrome. Like Gordon, Johnson thinks he's better than he is and thinks he should be payed like a superstar.

There are plenty of teams that could use a Joe Johnson. The only problem is that they are all already flirting with the luxury tax which is an absolute killer. Under the luxury tax, for every dollar a team is over, they must pay a dollar to the league. This doesn't sound like much but when you're talking about the 10-15 million dollar range the train of thought of an owner changes drastically.