For those unfamiliar with the acronym, I loosely define this feature as Silly, Wild, "Astute" Guesses.
This will be my third year doing this, so it is always fun to look back at prior predictions (and as a result open myself up to ridicule and taunting).
SWAGs 2005 - 2006 | SWAGs 2006 - 2007
Some stuff I managed to somehow get right (like Gerald Green winning the dunk contest). In some cases I got the right result but was off slightly on timing (I thought the C’s would trade for KG in midseason instead of this offseason). In other cases, I was just dead wrong (trading Pierce, making the playoffs last year, etc.).
As a glutton for punishment, I’m back with more predictions that probably have about a 5 to 10 percent chance of happening.
1. Kevin Garnett will win the MVP. First of all, I’m not the only one thinking this. Secondly, he’s one of the top players in the game, he’s been unlocked from McHale’s dungeon, loaded up with two of the best sidekicks in the game, and given his first legit shot at a title in years. This man, who was already constantly intense, is going to give new meaning to the word. For years after this, when you look up the word "intense" there will be a picture of Kevin Garnet looking just like that famous screaming Muhammad Ali picture. Except instead of boxing gloves, he’ll be holding in his hand what is left of a shattered basketball rim and he’ll be standing over Tim Duncan curled up in the fetal position covered with glass from the backboard.
2. Doc Rivers will NOT be fired. In fact, he’s going to be coaching in the Eastern All Star Game. He will then covertly sign on to CelticsBlog.com under a username like DrGlenn25 and start a thread called "eat it all you haters! PWND!!!1" Of course then our moderators will ban him and he’ll deny ever having read this Celtics Bog thing. Years later he’ll have his own blog for TNT where he’ll talk about coaches needing to have patience with their GMs because you never know when you might hit the motherload.
3. Speaking of which, Danny Ainge will trade for a first round pick ...and offer Gerald Green for Robert Swift, purely out of habit. A lot of people will look at our roster and think "They can’t make any more moves. They are locked in now." Those people clearly don’t know Danny Ainge very well. I don’t know what his daily schedule looks like, but I’d imagine there’s a 2-3 hour window after lunch purely devoted to calling other GMs and asking "can I have him now?" (in the same tone of voice as the guy from the Verizon commercials). I’m convinced that this is why we got Garnett. McHale was just tired of Danny bugging him.
4. Defense will be the new name of the game. For all the hub-bub about the offensive weapons at the Celtics disposal, not nearly enough is being made of the defensive tools. Garnett, Perkins, Rondo, Posey, and Tony Allen will set the pace. Once the team establishes a rhythm in Tom Thibodeau’s defense, look out. I predict that the defense will get better and better as the year goes along. Which leads us to…
5. The Celtics will win their 17th Championship this year. There. I said it. Now, if I’m right, I’m golden and I can point to this moment and say "I knew it all along." If I’m wrong, well, lets just say it isn’t a stretch to call me a starry eyed fanboy ingesting Kool Aid mix straight from the pouch like Pixie Sticks (without the water added).
Besides, this team wasn’t assembled to pay their dues and work their way up to the title in a few years. The clock started ticking when the KG trade was made. KG and Ray Allen put in their dues elsewhere. Pierce and this team went through enough losing in this town. The time to win is now. Let’s worry about next year next year.
So those are my predictions and I'm sticking with them. So either I'll be right, or I'll be wrong and I can look back and laugh at myself again. Either way, you win. Enjoy.