Thompson: Issues Loom

i have not read the article. i think the key issues are injuries and depth. already i am worried about posey and his back – not a good sign. they got started late with the kg signing which lost them some pickup options. kg will shape the team, the role players will do fine and they are not too old. young guys get hurt too.

as celtic fans we’re conditioned to expect the worst since that’s the way it’s been for the last 20 years.We’ll be ok as long as we don’t have key injuries. losing posey hurts but hopefully he bounces back- no pun intended. Mu number one concern is the lack of bench talent. posey and house are great and Davis shows promise but after that the rest of the bench stinks. Veal is horrible and tony allen, while athletically gifted, is a dunce. Pollard is a zero so far. Danny will need to decide if he makes another move this year or waits until nexy year for a free agent. I don’t think we have enough depth to win a title this year but if we get in the playoffs and the big 3 are healthy anyting could happen. Heck, maybe Reggie will decide to jump in . he could be the difference maker in a playoff series

While filled with enthusiasm, I think it is good to be cautious. June is a long way away (that’s right, June — isn’t the goal another banner?), and there is plenty that can go wrong between now and then. I don’t think Ian is a doubter, I think he is just being cautious…

It is funny how many writers seem to be looking for the chink in the Celtic’s Armor instead of just embracing that this is going to be a good team. One of his points was, “hey, they are good now but what happens when they are worn down from the season?” I see that just the opposite, who is going to be more worn down, Nash, LaBron, Shaq, Dirk or Pierce, Garnett, Allen? I feel our guys will be the freshest of the bunch because each of them can spread the load more than the other stars. SA seems to be one team though that know how to pace Duncan and he always seems to be at his best when they need him.

These are the real questions:

1. Can the media reinvent themselves to find a different story line than the question marks about chemistry? Ian wrote this article before last night’s game, but the signs were already there that this team is well on the way in that department. If they are playing so unselfishly now, I don’t see how all of the sudden, because of the wear and tear of the season, they will start abandoning ship, if anything, this is going to get better and better.

2. Will the role players play their roles even better as the season goes along? I think the answer to this is unquestionably, yes. Give me a break about not being deep, the starters needing to play nearly 40 minutes a night. This is practically the blueprint for all the best teams. Many have ranted the last few years about the need for a rotation, now we have one, most teams play only 8-9 guys consistently, and their best 5 play most of the minutes, there is nothing different in this situation, Posey and House are as good as any first 2 guys off the bench. The fact they don’t have great talent 9-12 is irrelevant. Look around the league, those guys hardly ever play.

3. Is the misleading line about our 3 stars being north of 30 getting old? It already has. Even before Pierce turned 30 this October, I read many places this summer, including articles on this blog, that mentioned ‘no team has won with 3 stars OVER 30’. Pierce was 29 when this discussion started, is now barely 30, but it fits the template better to say ‘3 stars OVER 30’ so the media just runs with it. Pierce just turned 30, Garnett is 31 and Allen just turned 32, hardly the dinosaurs they make them out to be. And it is very old already hearing about, ‘if they go down with injury’… As has been pointed out by many, this is also true of every team that is competing for the title. Take Duncan, Ginobli or Parker away from the Spurs, Dirk, Josh Howard or Terry from the Mavs, Nash, Marion or Stoudamire from the Suns, they will all have problems. Funny how you don’t hear much about this story line specifically in Phoenix where Nash is 34 and has a history of back problems.

It is too early to say all of these points have been proven wrong, but I am looking forward to that as this season unfolds. I guess it makes for a better ‘story’ to rehash all the same things we heard in July when we acquired Garnett, but to Celts fans this stuff is getting aggravating.