BOSTON CELTICS 2007-2008 SEASON ANALYSIS
The Boston Celtics are the Cinderella story of the NBA in 2008. Despite the fact that they had one of the best veteran stars in the business on their team, Paul Pierce, last season the Celts were in a rebuilding mode. Their roster was filled from top to bottom with promising young players; unfortunately, youth generally can only do one thing in the NBA -- lose. Sure enough, they managed to win a dismal total of 24 games. Then something amazing happened. Boston decided enough is enough and decided to go for the championship NOW. Danny Ainge called up the Sonics, worked his magic, and he landed lights-out shooter, Ray Allen, in exchange for the rights to rookie Jeff Green, point guard Delonte West, and shooter Wally World (Wally Szczerbiak). Now for his next trick, Ainge snatched MVP Candidate, Kevin Garnett, from the Timberwolves in return for Al Jefferson (an elite young big man with unreal potential), Ryan Gomes, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair, Theo Ratliff, and two future first-round picks. To top it off, Mr. Ainge has inked talented NBA veteran free agents to fill in as role players (Sam Cassel, Eddie House, P.J. Brown, and Scot Pollard). The three-headed monster of Allen, Pierce, and Garnett has led Boston to the top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference (they won an amazing 66 games). What a difference one year can make!
BOSTON CELTICS -- TOP 3 PLAYERS
1. Kevin Garnett — 18.8 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 3.4 apg, 1.4 spg, 1.2 bpg, 53.9% (FG%), 80.1% (FT%), 32.8 mpg
Kevin Garnett = Tim Duncan with ATTITUDE. He is a gifted leaper with soft hands for a big man, and KG thrives in multiple areas: he can score down low, hit the mid-range jumper, pound the glass, find the open man when doubleteamed, block shots, and steal the ball off of a lazy entry pass with the best of them.
2. Paul Pierce – 19.6 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.3 spg, .4 bpg, 84.3% (FT%), 39.2% (3p%), 46.4% (FG%), 35.9 mpg
Paul Pierce used to be THE MAN in Boston. Now he is a member of “The Three Musketeers”, but he is still kicking butt and taking names. “The Truth” is a cerebral player who loves to take advantage of his defenders by pinpointing their weaknesses and repeatedly exploiting them.
3. Ray Allen – 17.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.1 apg, 39.8% (3p%), 90.7% (FT%), .9 spg, 35.9 mpg
Ray Allen is a consummate professional who is willing to do whatever it takes to win basketball games. This usually entails playing lock-down defense and splashing in three-pointers all night long .
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