SQ2016-4 Celtics' Magic Year 3 B.E.

There was a predictable, well, in hindsight, shift in the sources of the Celtics' magic this past season (Hmmm, does a season run from game 1 to the last game? Would that be the last game of the regular season, or of the playoffs? Would that be the last game of the team's playoffs, or the NBA finals? To me the Celtics' season will always run from the end of their last game, regular or playoff, through their last game of the following year. I would add that there is a grey area in late season signings, usually from the D-league but it could be from, say, China where our contender for this year's draft's “Who? What just happened? Did you make that up? OMG, I can't wait to hear Tommy Heinsohn try to pronounce that!” award will ball for the Shanghai Sharks from November to mid-February. Although I would probably prefer Yabusele join the Red Claws for some seasoning in the “near-Celtics” system before starting his rookie clock next summer.) This no longer qualifies as a short introductory paragraph, and only the first sentence was on topic. Perhaps you now understand one of my more pervasive impediments to writing these columns—too often the flurry of thoughts drift, and eventually they aren't even tangential, they are skew.

I hope you weren't too put off by that meandering diversion; now back to your regularly scheduled programming. The source of the magic was, is, and will be for the foreseeable future, the general manager and the coach. The shift is the contribution from the growth and maturation, of both the team and individual players. The first year Ainge cleaned house and created assets, often from essentially nothing. Stevens polished flawed assets (and often liabilities) into usable parts that could be exchanged for slightly better assets (often picks). The second year was more of the same, with surprises emerging as useful players emerged from the churning of the roster. There's probably a farmer's butter/whey analogy somewhere there; but I think I favor a tag-team Rumplestiltskin comparison. Danny and Brad are, each in their own way, spinning gold from straw.

In the third, and most recent, season of Brad Era, the Celtics' brain trust was endangered by their own success. We always fickle fans thought, this team has improved so rapidly that another huge leap in progress was not only reasonable, it was expected. Never mind that no whales had been landed, no top 5 draft picks cashed in, no big names added. Yet Ainge added an interesting free agent in Amir Johnson (finally getting his man a decade after missing him in the draft due to the promise to Orien Greene). Johnson, although undersized as a deterrent in the paint, filled a need and while not a marque name, had done the dirty unsung work that is essential even if not gaudy. The two starters and fan favorites (Isaiah and Jae) that had emerged from obscurity, and Danny's wheeling and dealing, during the preceding season , continued their progress. Ainge/Steven's best known reclamation project, Evan Turner, continued to surprise, still ball-centric but under better control and expending energy at both ends of the floor. The team made the playoffs but once again fell in the first round, albeit in a much closer series and with Avery Bradley sidelined.

This past season also brought some failures, frustrations, and disappointments. David Lee's game never quite fit, although Ainge did enhance his reputation among players and agents around the league by releasing Lee mid-season for David to seek greener pastures. Jared Sullinger said all the right things but continued to do all the same things that had limited his progress and career. Olynyk continued to recover from injury just in time to work his game back into shape before the next injury.  Ditto for Smart whose progress was impeded by hobbling injuries.  Zeller seemed to make little progress and remained on the bench for much of the season.

The continued growth of Thomas and Crowder, the addition of Johnson to man the middle, and the continued strength of 10-11 man rotation made the season's magic a combination of management excellence and player growth. Year 3 BE was an odd blend of unrealistic expectations, overachieving individuals and a team that continued to be greater than the sum of its parts. Ainge remained both patient and opportunistic, Stevens continued to bring out the best in his team, both individually and as a group, and the fans stopped wishing for lottery balls (at least from their own pick) and started carping about their guys in green not doing more (apparently overachieving does little to abate greed).

Still, the elements are in place, Boston seems a place to seek out for players, the culture is strong and positive, malcontents are dealt with quickly, individuals are placed in positions to best succeed, and those not eager to get with the program are shown the door (either quietly or abruptly). So where do we go from here, what's next? 'Til next time.

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