Went over to Yahoo sports to look at the box score for the Phoenix game to see what Nash did. Nash was DNP. Article stated:

"...who played without starters Steve Nash and Grant Hill.Nash and Hill sat out to rest and avoid risking injury, Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry said before the game."

Normally players are held out to avoid risking injury prior to being traded, correct? Hmm...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2012021407

I have mentioned this before on other posts, and i'm sorry to sound repetitive. I am all for finding a dominant center, but have little faith in getting one. This post assumes that we keep Rondo for now (although still willing to trade). I also assume that either kG and RA will be gone or second unit guys next year.. I have also said many times that we need guys that can create offense with the dribble. If we could get a jumpstart on this process, I would start with Denver. Much like Pekovic in Minny, I think Mosgov is going to be a really good center, that is 7"1 and can run and shoot. He could be available because of Nene and Koufus just signing. Then wilson chandler will be back from China--- leaving them with some great (and big) guards and small forwards. If we could get one of the following (afflalo, brewer, chandler) with Mosgov for Bass,Bradley or Moore, and JO expiring, (+ 2nd rd pick?) it would be potentially great now and in the future. Then throw #1 pick or Rondo or combination of such for other pieces (center)---- or just sign some via FA. (Green,Ilaysova, etc). This may leave out pietrus, but the extra length and athleticism would be tempting. Again, these are small moves that assume we can't make a huge splash (you know which one...)

my take is a little like all of yours. He is a one of a kind talent. He has the skills to be a very unique player that can put up numbers that will compete against the all time celtics numbers. His assist totals are already over 3,000. For comparison

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Doc's system is a complicated one that a player has to be a real team player to get into it. The offense and defense keeps on moving. If C's gets new player again in this midseason (especially that this is a shortened one), plays will be broken up again. Remember Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic last year? Yes, as much as we wanted to believe that they are a big plus to the team, they do not know the system. hence, they looked like a lost kids on the floor. C's are a suffering early in the season because the new players were having a hard time to learn it and now fans would like them to be traded? Come on, any trade that C's will do this time will be a backstep. I say, C's keep this team and stop with trade rumors! Any seed in the playoff will do.... C's had shown this in the past. GO BANNER #18!

it works on espn trader. Jermaine o niel and his contract as well as dooling for blatche. The wizards dont need blatche and wud like the expiring contract as well as a back up and mentor to wall. Cs get a proper big man who with better influence around him wud thrive. Hes the same height as O'Neal. and only last year was averaging 8 rebs a game 16 pts and a blk. hes also only around 25/26 - Thoughts?

Promoted FanPost

We’ve seen it be true many times before -- seeding and home court advantage are nice in the playoffs, but the most important thing is to be rested and healthy. We saw how true this was in 2010 when the Celtics made it to the NBA Finals as a 4 seed, beating two teams who held the HCA on their path. Then in the Finals, one could argue that it came down to Lakers having game 7 at home, but I (and many) think the injury to Perkins was the more significant difference maker in that game.

The Celtics are by no means a favorite to win the championship this season, but certainly have a "puncher’s chance" if the stars align. The last lockout season had an 8th seed New York Knicks make it to the NBA Finals, so weirder things have happened. There are a few things that are either necessary for the Celtics to win a championship (like Rondo playing at the top of his game consistently) or could greatly improve our chances of winning a championship. One thing that will greatly improve our chances of winning a championship could be grabbing the 6th seed in the East.

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As we look ahead to next year and beyond, celtic fans appear to be resigned to one of two options

Option A: Build around Rondo

Option B: If we can get value for Rondo, trade him

I'll start with option B:

I completely agree. If Danny can get value for a player he should make the trade. However, every general manager is always thinking the same thing. It's like we are saying, hey Danny, if someone is offering you $1.20 for $1.00, make the deal. Well what GM (besides Chris Wallace) is going to offer $1.20 for $1.00? None. I trust Danny to make a good deal when it presents itself, but I don't think any such deal is on the table. So I'm operating under the assumption that Option B is not on the table.

Now option A:

I love Rondo (Repeat: LOVE), but I don't think he can be the best player on a championship team. His strengths and flaws have been well documented on other posts so I wont get too much into them. But whether you think Rondo is a top 5 or top 10 point guard is irrelevant. For the sake of argument, let's just say Rondo is a top 3 point guard. Here are a list of some teams built around superstar point guards:

The Early 00's Nets with Jason Kidd

The Early 00's Sixers with AI (might be considered a 2 guard)

The mid-late 00's Suns with Nash

The late 90's/early 00's Sonics with Gary Payton

The mid-late 00's hornets with Chris Paul

These teams all have one thing in common: they never won a championship. Kidd carried the Nets to the finals but got dominated each time. AI got to the finals once with the sixers. Nash really only got close once when he had amare and joe johnson, and may have gotten robbed of a title with the spurs controversy. Gary Payton made one finals appearance with the Sonics but didn't win. Chris Paul never really had a lot of help around him in N'orleans but made one conference finals. The last 8 starting championship point guards have been old watered down Jason Kidd, Derek Fisher, Derek Fisher, Rondo, Tony Parker, old watered down Gary Payton, Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups. Thats a mix between bad (Fish) serviceable (old watered down guys) and very good (billups, parker) but none dominated the position at the time they won a title.

So even if you think Rondo is an elite elite point guard, its very very difficult to win a championship with a point guard as your marquee player. Option A is off the table.

So what does that leave the Celtics with? I present option C: keep Rondo and build around someone else.

The reason Rondo is so valuable to us is because he only makes 10-11 million dollars a year. At that money, he doesn't need to be the franchise cornerstone. Keeping him in green gives the C's room to sign 2 or 3 guys who make more money than him.

So going forward what does Danny do? I think two teams have modeled the future for him - the nuggets and the sixers.

Would you say the Nuggets are built around Ty Lawson? No. But he stirs the drink for them. He runs the break with Dinillo, Nene, and the rest of the athletes, and Denver has become one of the most competitive teams in the West, and set up for a bright future.

Would you say the sixers are built around Iguodala? No. But he's the glue guy that holds the team together and they are one of the most competitive teams in the East, and set up for a bright future.

Now, you might say that neither the nuggets nor the sixers are in a position to win the title, and i would agree. But, they have the young, valuable assets that they could trade for a superstar down the road. I think Ainge should try to build the next edition of the Celtics in the same fashion as the sixers and nuggets. It's the best way to stay competitive immediately. Like Jeff said earlier today, Rondo has never played with stallions, and I hope he gets a chance to in the future.

Hello, I now it's been a long time since I've posted anything, but anyways, lets get to the point. As you saw Sunday,

JaJuan Johnson was a monster. Well what does this mean? Well this means he can play in big games versus

good teams.

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PRIMER : Boston Celtics 2012-13 Agent Status and Game Stats To-Date

NAME	2011/12 SALARY [$ Mn]	Remaining Contract Yrs	Agnt Type	FG%	3P%	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PTS
Jermaine O'Neal	6.23		UFA	42%	0%	72%	1.6	5.1	6.7	1.1	1.8	0.4	12.0
Kevin Garnett	21.20		UFA	47%	30%	78%	2.5	8.7	11.2	3.8	1.4	1.3	19.6
Paul Pierce	15.33	2		43%	35%	82%	0.9	5.6	6.5	4.0	0.7	1.3	21.4
Ray Allen	10.00		UFA	45%	42%	90%	1.0	3.1	4.0	3.4	0.3	1.1	19.4
Rajon Rondo	10.00	3		44%	28%	64%	1.6	4.2	5.8	8.5	0.2	1.9	13.8
Chris Wilcox	3.00			53%	0%	64%	1.6	3.5	5.1	0.8	0.4	0.5	8.6
Brandon Bass	4.00	1		50%	0%	92%	1.7	2.2	3.9	0.4	0.4	0.5	7.7
Mickael Pietrus	1.22			45%	39%	70%	0.7	1.8	2.5	0.6	0.6	0.7	8.9
Marquis Daniels	1.22			43%	25%	72%	0.9	1.2	2.1	1.2	0.1	0.4	5.0
Avery Bradley	1.52	3		40%	6%	58%	0.3	0.8	1.1	0.8	0.1	0.4	2.7
Greg Stiemsma	0.76			50%	0%	70%	0.6	1.5	2.1	0.4	1.1	0.3	1.6
JaJuan Johnson	1.04	4		58%	0%	67%	0.4	0.6	1.0	0.2	0.2	0.1	3.1
Sasha Pavlovic	0.85			39%	34%	53%	0.5	1.4	1.9	0.9	0.1	0.6	5.6
E'Twaun Moore	0.47			36%	35%	100%	0.2	0.6	0.8	1.1	0.2	0.4	3.0
Keyon Dooling	2.16			46%	38%	81%	0.1	1.0	1.1	1.3	0.1	0.5	7.1

If the C's are planning to bolster its bench after the All-Star Weekend in preparation for its title bid this year, I believe Danny Ainge has a very narrow elbow room. Based on the salaries and agent statuses above, Danny doesn't have enough non-FA blue chip player left for a significant roster overhaul through one reasonable Sign-and-Trade deal with any team across the league, unless he is considering trading Rondo (@$10 M/yr) with another NBA team in exchange for a $4M PG and at least a $6M forward to add scoring punch into its line-up [definitely Pierce is out of the question].He definitely cannot leverage on the big purse, aging unrestricted free agent (UFA) stars (KG, Ray-Ray & JO). But let's go back to the team management's aim....Win a championship THIS YEAR...let's worry about the subsequent years, they will have a some of freed up salary space come 2012-13 - more or less a total of $15-$20M - on or below the $58 M salary cap due to the expiring contracts of veteran players (some $12M in total) excluding KG and Ray-Ray. But due to KG and Ray-Ray's love of the Celtics, it's still highly possible that they would still be wearing green jerseys and receive veteran's pay for at least a year or so and be content coming off the bench in order for the soon-to-be new guys to get the playing time and fit into Doc's system. So including KG and Ray-Ray's annual pay beyond 2012, the C's will still have some $10-15 M to spend and shop for the needed young, talented and aggressive pieces....Or better yet, exceed the salary cap again by more or less $20 M and acquire two $10 M/yr reliable superstars.

So based on the arguments above, what do the C's need to do at this juncture of the season in order to give itself a better chance of at least getting into the Finals? What position/s do they need to reinforce? Do they have to trade or stick to their current roster in order to do this?

Bottom line, I strongly believe they only have to address their weakest link - the SF/SG positions - which are at the same time their bread and butter through Paul and Ray-Ray. Weakest because, these two guys are prone to fatigue already. It is already be too much for them to play reliably and effectively for at least 40 minutes of the regulation time. Moreover, there isn't enough talent and toughness from their bench, which they can rely on whenever one of these two guys need to rest for at least 4 minutes per quarter due to fatigue or poor performance in the course of a game the game. More so if these two guys are tired or not performing at the same time. If you'd notice, and I'm sure you'll concur, almost all of their losses are all due to either Pierce or Ray-Ray, or both of them are not performing as expected or are rested.

Other than the above-mentioned positions, their current roster is solid with some considerations on the extended exposure and crucial playing time for the rotational or second stringers. They have enough reliable bodies, talent, versatility, toughness, experience and length at the C/PF positions with KG, Wilcox, Stiemsma, JaJuan and JO completing that rotation. Moreover, the potential of these C's/PF's would even be exploited once the SF's/SG's are able to consistently extend the defense all throughout the duration of every game - just like what the C's did in their 2007-2008 championship run and Dallas' championship run last year. With respect to the PG position, Rondo is now slowly performing again as the 4th member of the Big 4 with two reliable back-ups in Avery and Keyon off the bench. So it would suicide if you even consider trading him since there is no other available PG out there that, at the very least, comes close to possessing his playing IQ, talent and skills.

So how would they address this seem-to-be problem? Based on facts and stats stated in the table above, it is of my strong opinion that they need to offer Bass for a Sign-and-Trade deal since he is the only bankable player at their roster whose contributions I strongly believe would not matter when replaced, in fact, it would even help address the said lessened efficacy and potency of the SF/SG positions. My proposals are illustrated below:

NAME	2011/12 SALARY [$ Mn]	Remaining Contract Yrs	Agnt Type	FG%	3P%	FT%	OR	DR	REB	AST	BLK	STL	PTS
Brandon Bass	4.00	1		50%	0%	92%	1.7	2.2	3.9	0.4	0.4	0.5	7.7
E'Twaun Moore	0.47			36%	35%	100%	0.2	0.6	0.8	1.1	0.2	0.4	3.0

FOR

Omri Casspi (CLE)	1.34	2		43%	36%	67%	1.0	3.2	4.2	1.2	0.2	0.7	9.2
Alonzo Gee (CLE)	0.88		RFA	47%	40%	75%	1.1	2.2	3.3	0.9	0.3	0.9	7.2

OR

Dorell Wright (GSW)	3.80	1		36%	25%	100%	0.3	2.4	2.7	1.3	-	0.3	3.6
Nate Robinson (GSW)	1.07			37%	33%	82%	0.2	0.5	0.7	1.0	0.1	0.3	4.0

OR

DeMar DeRozan (TOR)	2.63	2		46%	21%	80%	0.9	2.6	3.5	1.3	0.3	0.8	13.3
Rasual Butler (TOR)	1.23			41%	42%	83%	0.1	1.4	1.5	0.3	0.2	0.1	4.4

OR

Vladimir Radmanovic (ATL)	1.35			44%	39%	74%	0.9	2.8	3.7	1.2	0.3	0.6	7.6
Tracy McGrady (ATL)	1.35			47%	58%	76%	0.2	2.7	2.9	2.3	0.3	0.3	6.8

Therefore, the revised roster/depth would be:

Position	Starting 5	Second 5	Reserves
C/PF	J.O.	Stiemsma	- - -
SF	Pierce	(Derozan/Casspi/Wright/Radmanovic/TMac)	Daniels/Pavlovic
SG	Allen	Pietrus	(Gee/Butler/Lee)
PG	Rondo	Avery	Dooling/(Robinson/Dragic)

So, what do you think?

First of all, I don't think that from an objective point of view this team has a serious chance of contending for a championship. They're not really even a dark horse.

Of course, I doubted them two years ago when they were heading into the playoffs coming off of losses to the Knicks (the freaking Knicks), the completely offensively inept Bucks, the crippled Shaun Livingston and Lapdance Tuesday Andray Blatche led Wizards...you get the idea. Things weren't looking too good.

And then they turned on the switch.

(the next couple of paragraphs are just ramblings of an overly sentimental fan so just skip to the * if you don't want to read my nonsense)

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