Is the Window Still Open?

Here's my mish-mash of thoughts on the upcoming season starting with a couple of facts.

1. When the new big 3 were assembled the majority of fans thought the window to win a championship was two possibly three years.

2. The Celts are entering the 5th season since the trade.

3. Paul Pierce is the youngest of the Big 3 at 34 years old.

4. Danny Ainge callously ripped the heart of the Celtics out with the Kendrick Perkins trade and slammed the window shut on PP,KG & Ray winning a second championship together.

Ok, so maybe number 4 isn't a fact but it's close to it. I remember a play late in the Heat series last year when Ray Allen seemingly had a fast break lay up. Dwyane Wade closed in on him in a split second and symbolically crushed the Celts chances at a championship all in one devastating blocked shot. I remember thinking to myself "well, it was a good run".

As it stands the Celts are another 2nd round loss team. They don't have the offensive fire power to get by a ferocious defensive team in Chicago and don't have the horses to get by Miami. There haven't been any major upgrades outside of PP,KG,Ray and Rondo. JO has only played more than 60 games once in the past five seasons and the abbreviated season is bound to break him. Jeff Green who was to play a major role in the rotation is out for the season.

Here are the Celtics as they currently stand:

KG: Always the intense defensive beast but won't be an offensive force. He can pick his spots to use his turnaround J although no longer a guy you can dump the ball to and hasn't been for years.

Ray: Has to run off picks to score. At this point in his career expect a 20 point game one night and a 3 for 11 the next.

PP: The Celtics lone player who can still get his own shot off the dribble but nothing like he once could. Plus at this age, it's inevitable he'll wear down trying to cover Lebron while expected be the primary scorer in a potential playoff match up against the Heat.

Rondo: A uniquely talented player with a glaring weakness when his defender drops back into free safety mode.

JO: Just hoping to get 30 games out of him this season. Can't be counted on.

Marquis, Bass, Wilcox, Dooling: All nice players as a 7th or 8th man in a rotation. None are the first man off the bench on a championship team(especially one with starters as old as Boston). None have ever been or will be the leader of a 2nd unit.

Avery: Undersized defensive stopper at best.

E'Twaun, JJ: Invisible men, Doc doesn't play rookies. Hopefully they practice well and push the old guys.

So what are the Celtics to do? Roll the dice and hope the window has a 5th year on a 3 year lease? It's time to confront reality and realize dramatic change is necessary. KG and Ray are both in the last year of their contracts. Rondo has a very affordable contract for a young, top-notch point guard. At least one of these three contracts has to be attractive to a team with a top player mired in a rebuilding process.

I hate it, I really do but this Celtics team isn't winning a title. Danny has fumbled through poor trades and miscalculated attempted trades for the past year. It's time to dangle a piece out there and truly roll the dice. Surround the one untouchable PP with some new talent and make another run at it. Danny has already proven he'll rip the heart of the team out with the Perk trade. Now it's time to rip the head off Ubuntu and blow this thing up.