FanPost

...What if the Celtics are actually good?

David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

I saw somewhere a writer say that Rondo was secretly hoping that this team could be the Phoenix Suns of this year and be sneakily good. This got me to thinking. What if the Celtics are good this year?

To be fair, there was a player (Sully I think) who thought last years' team was going to be good. He was wrong. It is the job of the players to convince themselves that they could be good. Of course they cannot be trusted to give impartial perspectives to the press. Otherwise we would say they had no heart or find some other negative.

But is it really that outlandish? It never works out that everything breaks right at the same time, so what if 3/5 scenarios go as well as they possibly could for the Celtics? Could they be the Suns of this year?

Let's list these 5 scenarios and then pick 3 of them:

  1. Rondo fully healed becomes the "old" Rondo again. Maybe even with a jumper.
  2. Avery Bradley takes the "next step" and is a top 10 SG.
  3. Sully or Olynyk takes the "next step" with a breakout year.
  4. With better defensive guards in front of him, Zeller turns into an above average center and serviceable rim protector.
  5. One of the other veterans turns in a really good year playing solidly off the bench or as a starter.

Note I did not include a breakout year from Jeff Green. I think we know what he is at this point (not that this is a horrible thing, I just don't fit into the camp of those waiting for a breakout from him). Note also I did not include an all star appearance from one of the rookies. I tried to keep these relatively realistic.

Now I'll pick what I view as the most likely of these and make them come true with my magic wand:

  1. I'll split the baby with Rondo, he doesn't make it back to where he was, but gets close and his better jumper makes up the difference. In short, he plays at an all star level but not all nba.
  2. Sully or Olynyk has a breakout year and becomes an above average starting PF.
  3. Bass or Thornton become an exceptional 6th man off the bench.

So a lineup of:

PG: All star Rondo

SG: Average Bradley (taking into account both ends of the floor)

SF: Average Green (ready... set... go Green haters, go)

PF: Above average Sully or Olynyk

C: Below average Zeller

with a bench of:

Above average Bass or Thornton

Average (whichever Bass or Thornton doesn't overachieve)

Average backup PG (between Pressey and Smart)

Average (whichever Sully or Olynyk doesn't break out)

Your 5th bench player is likely below average Faverani, Wallace or Evan Turner.

This could absolutely be the Phoenix Suns of this year. There are a lot of weird similarities like the best player being a PG, second best player also a guard and lots of interchangeable young pieces and players with one specific skill set. Jeff Green and Gerald Green remind me of each other with their tentative drives and corner 3's. Jeff is better while Gerald is more athletic in my humble opinion. While the Morris twins are not very similar in playing style to either of the Celtics' young PF's, but teams have young big guys with a little experience mixed in.

Keep in mind, the Suns last year would have been tied for 3rd in the East. That doesn't even take into account the extra wins from playing the East teams more. Of course, the Eastern Conference's talent has been spread out a bit with Cleveland, Miami and Chicago at the top and likely one of the next tier of Toronto, Washington, Charlotte or Atlanta poised to move up. Still, the conference is not good.

If I had to bet money on it, would I bet that the Celtics are a top 5 team in the East this year? Certainly not. I'm not sure how bad the Vegas odds are for them to make the playoffs at all this year (and I'm not a sports gambler) but I think they are more likely to make the playoffs than most think (provided they keep Rondo). I think if a few things broke well for them, the Celtics could be very good.

Commence the hatred in the comments.

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