Are the Celtics a .500 team?

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Up to this point they are a .500 team and they look like one too. They lose most of their games against good teams and they split or do a little better against the Raptors of this world. PP looks slow and does not have the closing punch of years past. Rondo looks frustrated and seems to be playing at a different tempo than the rest of the team. Asking PP, O'Neil, KG and Ray to run up tempo is not working and a common sight is fast breaking Rondo reaching the top of the key with one other player. Their offensive rebounding does not exist and has not from the beginning of the season. They are not the Celtics of the past and must transition into whatever it is that might help them win this year.

The bench has some talent, but, Doc Rivers, has zero patience with the younger players, keeping their minutes low. The team is closing on the tipping point for the season. The Hawks look awful and may be dropping, but, the Knicks are on the way up. A 7th seed may be in the works. Is a 6th, 7th or 8th worth all of this? They have been painful to watch in the majority of their games this year as we move to the post big three era. IS this what Danny was predicting last year?

Yes, the Perkins trade was an indication of how Danny felt about the 2011 Celtics..."Cant' beat Miami or the Bulls...." Thus, we can assume that Danny feels the same way about the 2012 Celtics.

Are major changes coming? Perhaps, but, it seems like a long shot today. Expiring contracts may be the value needed to provide assets for the future and PP may be a solid sixth man for the future/younger Celtics. (Ainge has stated he likes Paul off the bench in the future...who wouldn't?).

Ainge has been shopping Rondo for two years now, can he get the value he wants?

The only circumstance that will create a trade for the Celtics this season is if the trade partner is under pressure. The Lakers are an example, the Blazers too need a PG. Danny needs to get that extra value for Rondo or whomever.

So to those Celtics fans who do not want Ainge to blow it up, fear not. Rondo and Paul Pierce are difficult value propositions as Ainge may need more than he can get in return. To those in the blow up camp, KG and Ray's expiring contracts may have more value as cap space next year than a trade deadline deal this March. Will Doc play the young guys? Will Danny tell him to? Does watching the starters get beat help the young guys get better? Watch the minutes over the next month to see.

Until then, the Celts are a .500 team.