SQ14 #50 Unwatchable, I Think Not!

What excites me about this Celtics team is how much better they might be in April than they will be coming out of the gate at the end of October.  They have several second and third year players which most pundits say provide the greatest season to season improvement.  They have two talented rookies who will have a season under their belt in April--and a college football coach once said that the best thing about freshmen is that they turn into sophomores.  They have players returning from injury, new guys hoping to reverse a career slide, and, of course, the veteran holdovers that hope to parlay a decent contribution into one more contract, albeit with another team.  There are plots, subplots, asides and afterthoughts, and amidst all this an improving team, growing individually as well as together.

Rondo should shed the aftereffects of his knee surgery.  Avery Bradley should build on his considerable improvement last year.  Avery should also benefit from more contributors on offense and the arrival of Smart to share the fierce on defense. 

If hitting the bottom awakens Evan Turner to the absolute necessity for concentrating on defense and blending on offense, then he could provide a real spur for improvement at small forward.  Pushing for more of Green’s minutes may light a fire under the too-cool one, and threatening to bench Wallace altogether should bring out anything he has left in the tank.

Thornton is the other player who arrives with his career in free fall.  He was the price of acquiring Zeller and a first round pick, but he has shot well in the past.  If it dawned on him that playing defense and meshing with the motion offense were critical to maintaining a career, then he could be a boon to backup shooting guard.  If not, then I have no problem with the rookies taking the minutes Bradley is resting on the bench.  In fact Smart may keep the other Marcus off the court anyway.  James Young, who knows, the coaches say he is working hard; Young says he is aware of the importance of defense.  The question is not just whether he can provide quality minutes backing up the shooting guard, but whether playing long minutes in the D-league would be a better investment, both for James’ development and for the Celtics future.

Zeller and Faverani provide two legitimate centers for the first time in, well, forever.  They provide the opportunity for Sullinger and Olynyk to concentrate on power forward where each has far better numbers than when forced to fill in at center.  Kelly and Sully should also push each other this year rather than being the only large healthy bodies to man the front line.

Not a single thing discussed here fails to provide a reasonable expectation that April flowers might be far more pleasant to view than the pumpkin patch in November.  Whether it results in a playoff spot, or just an improved record, is really a secondary issue; the real story of this season will be about the change.  And that should be fun to watch.

Only 14 more days until training camp.[Discuss on CG Forums!]