Celtics Fry Up Some Grit In The ATL

"We all grit, all grit and balls man, that's what it is." -Kevin Garnett after the Celtics game 2 win in Atlanta sans Rajon Rondo

Kevin Garnett you hit the nail squarely on the head. The 2012 playoff Celtics are made up of exactly that: grit and balls. Last night’s game reinforced to me after a laying stink bomb in Game 1 vs. the Hawks that this latest version of the Celtics has one more run left in their aging legs. Now I’m not going to take for granted the fact that the Celtics gutted out this latest playoff win against an Atlanta Hawks bunch that is soft, overrated, and in general has no clue how to win big games.

If you’re like me then when you saw Rajon Rondo bump the official and subsequently get ejected near the end of Game 1 you were resigned to the fact that Game 2 wasn’t likely going to go the Celtics way. I figured it would take a huge game from Paul Pierce, KG, and a host of role players to steal home court advantage from the Hawks. Paul Pierce did exactly that racking up 36 points (13 in the first quarter to set the tempo and 13 points in the fourth quarter when the Celtics needed a leader) and, in my eyes, even more impressively 14 rebounds. KG didn’t really show up early but he was there late and finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Guys like Marquise Daniels, Keyon Dooling, and Sasha Pavlovic did a great job of picking up the slack with the Celtics, and the NBA’s, assists leader sitting out the game due to a suspension.

This year Rajon Rondo has probably been the Celtics most indispensible player after he averaged 11.9/11.7/4.8 and 1.79 steals a game and was a key cog in the Celtics ability to pick up the pace on occasion. We all know if he had it his way he’d be breaking out with Avery Bradley by his side every play but when you’re made up of older, slower players that can’t always be the case. In Game 1 against the Hawks Rondo again delivered by pouring in 20 points and dishing out 11 assists but for the most part the Celtics looked old, sluggish, and disinterested. With Rondo out for Game 2 the Celtics did what this team needs to do to win and that’s not rely on Rondo to create every single shot but grind out games with tough defense and put together strings of good offensive sets that result in easy baskets or open jumpers. The Celtics did a great job of getting back to basics. That’s what the Celtics did down the stretch of the regular season when they beat the Heat twice, once with a full supporting cast once without, and showed the league that they still have enough heart and guts to hang with anyone.

The Celtics found themselves down 11 in the 3^rd quarter last night but they didn’t blink and came back to steal the game away from a Hawks team that is too immature to win big games, and honestly I don’t know if the team as currently constituted even with a healthy Al Horford will ever have the mental toughness to make a deep playoff run. The Celtics are exactly the team that the Hawks wish they could become: smart, full of guile, and unafraid. I loved watching the Celtics show the Hawks last night that they aren’t quite down yet while sending a message to the Heat who had the night off. With the Magic sans Dwight Howard and the Bulls getting blown out by the 76ers without D Rose it looks like the Celtics may have a date with destiny in the form of the Miami Heat.

Game 2 was a microcosm of what the Celtics need to do if they plan on raising banner 18 in the Garden. They aren’t going to out talent the Heat or even the Bulls in the East but they can out guile and out balls them. I’m going to say that the Hawks series is going the Celtics way the bigger question is whether it’ll be in 5 or 6 games. I’m not going to waste your time and talk about the Hawks at all because they are a soft team without the balls to take a series when it’s handed to them on a silver platter. The Celtics were in position to be put down 0-2 and the Hawks couldn’t finish them off. Hawks time to blow it up and realize you can’t build a championship team around Josh Smith and Joe Johnson.

With the fear of being redundant I’m going to say it one more time: the Celtics outclassed the Hawks in Game 2 and with Rajon Rondo coming back for Game 3 and beyond the Celtics might have the opportunity to form a lethal combination of grit and talent. If Ray Allen can come back healthy sometime before the Celtics second round series I think the Celtics will have a legitimate shot at getting to the Eastern Conference Finals and beyond. Pierce showed he could still dominate a game when he needs to do, which is always a nice ace in the hole to have if you’re Doc Rivers. Game 3 is tomorrow night in Boston tune in boys and girls it should be fun. 

Have fun watching Paul Pierce Tebow after drilling a free throw late

Geoff Jablonski

Causeway Street Patriots Nation turns its lonely eyes to you

Quick question Red Sox and Patriots Nation what building houses the last two Boston sports champions simultaneously? Ding ding ding! Time’s up! Sorry Gillette but it’s not you with the Revolution and Patriots nor is it you Fenway Park with the Red Sox and the Liverpool whatevers but it’s you TD Garden!

The TD Garden suffered for years through a myriad of names ranging from the Fleet Center and multiple other random names including at one point when you could by the rights to name the stadium whatever you wanted for a day – fun fact. Finally (mercifully a better word?) though it’s two inhabitants, the Bruins and Celts, finally turned the corner from habitual first round exit and perpetual suckfest, respectively, and rewarded the Boston faithful with a Stanley Cup and an NBA championship. In the past 5 years the Bruins and Celtics are the only champions that the great region of New England has to boast about to those arrogant New York pricks. The Red Sox have come close in that 5 year window losing in game 7 of the ALCS to those loveable Tampa Bay Rays, I know I should hate them because they’re in the AL East but boy are they fun to watch and they just seem to do everything the right way, and the Patriots have made it to the biggest game on Earth twice as favorites only to be turned away by the fuckin’ Giants, sorry still a little bitter about Super Bowl XLII and XLVI, yet it’s only the Bruins and Celtics who have delivered the crowns upon which titletown USA was built: the Stanley Cup and NBA title. After watching the Red Sox win the 2010 offseason and subsequently drink there way to infamy during the 2011 baseball season and then turning their eyes and watching the Patriots go from a solid team who should win a playoff game or two to Super Bowl favorites only to be bested by Eli Manning it’s now time that Boston turns its sad eyes back to the Bruins and Celtics in hopes that they’ll quell that championship thirst.

The Red Sox turned out to be the ultimate paper champions when the shit hit the fan and the Patriots gave it a valiant effort but if you honestly thought that Vince Wilfork, Jerod Mayo and their band of misfits we’re going to stop Eli on that last drive after the Welker-Brady miscue then you’re a better fan than I can ever be. It was becoming more and more clear throughout that game that the defense was playing masterfully but the ball just wasn’t fumbling the Patriots way and midnight was bound to strike soon on the Cinderella defensive scheme, yet I digress. Back to the topic at hand which is the Celtics and mostly the Bruins carry on their shoulders the Boston fan bases hopes and dreams for being the sports elite and lately they’ve done a fine job of it. Time to take a glimpse at each team’s chances of restoring the peace in Beantown.

First up we have the Celtics who about a month ago didn’t appear anywhere near sniffing the second round of the playoffs let alone a shot at the title but recently they’ve started to gain some steam with no coincidence that they’re resurgence coincides with Paul Pierce getting healthy again and KG looking the best he has since the devastating knee injury of three years ago. Before KG blew out his knee against Utah 3 odd years ago the Celtics appeared poised to make it two rings in three years but since then they’ve still managed to make it to game 7 of the NBA finals against the vaunted Lakers before blowing a late lead in L.A. but last year they were bounced unceremoniously by the new Big Three in Miami.

The Celtics started the abbreviated 2011-12 year 0-3 and then 4-8 before ripping off 9 out of 10 with a 5 win streak currently in their midst. The shortened season tends to favor a team like the Celtics as long as they can get into the playoffs in the top 4 seeds. A shortened season favors older teams who are good enough to allow their old dogs a few games off here and there and still track down one of those top seeds. Home court has always been crucial for this latest version of the Celtics. The swap of big baby Glen Davis for Brandon Bass has looked like a stroke of genius on the part of GM Danny Ainge and another mind numbing mistake by Orlando GM Otis Smith. Bass has been a better offensive player and a better defender and rebounder than baby while playing alongside Garnett he’s done a great job of bringing out the firey defender in Garnett once again. When Garnett is defending like he has been lately while also pouring in between 15-20 points and grabbing roughly 10 rebounds the Celtics are on the right track. Ray Allen has been phenomenal all year and he’s the kind of guy who takes pride in staying in shape over the long haul. Pierce took the beginning of the year to get healthy and as long as he can stay in shape he’s a great offensive piece to center it all around. Rajon Rondo makes this offense tick and his health will be one of the keys to the Celtics making a run deep into the playoffs, just if he could shoot but oh well.

The true key in my mind will be whether or not Ainge is able to swing a deal for a body to defend the paint and chip in some offense because as good a player as he was in his hay day Jermaine O’Neal just can’t stay healthy enough to be a solid contributor over the long haul. Mikael Pietrus is a great wing defender and once he settles in he’ll be a huge piece coming off the bench down the stretch and the Celtics are all set backing up the guard spots with veteran Keyon Dooling and youngster Avery Bradley. Bradley has settled in nicely and is playing very good perimeter defense and taking care of the ball not much more you can ask for in a backup PG. The Celtics are a big body and possibly a wing scorer off the bench from giving the Heat, Bulls, Mavs, Lakers and anyone else one last run for their money. There is hope but don’t hang your hat on it rather I’d hitch my wagon to the latest Boston champion: the Boston Bruins.

As an abashed Bruins fan who watched and had my heart broken by the Spoked B my entire life watching them blow top seeds and get bumped out by the dreaded Canadiens habitually last years run to the Stanley Cup was absolutely orgasmic. For once the Bruins were the team who got ridiculously hot at exactly the right team and ran train on the rest of the league. The Bruins were the ones with the top goaltender, Timmy Thomas, who could stop mass quantities of rubber on command and lead his team to numerous 1-0 and 2-0 victories. The Bruins were also the ones with the annoying as shit guy in Brad Marchand and the gifted offensive talent who caught fire at just right the time in David Krejci. It was beautiful to watch the Bruins exile their past demons by coming back from a 2-0 hole against the Canadiens in round 1 and then sweeping the Flyers, who just the year before had sent the Bruins into the history books by rebounding from a 3-0 series deficit to advance, with beat down after beat down. They then leaned on 2-time, in 3 years might I add, Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas to carry them past the very gifted but goaltenderless Tampa Bay Lightning in 7 games. Finally in the Stanley Cup Finals the Bruins squared off their polar opposite in the savvy but weak President Trophy winning Vancouver Canucks and after losing the first two games in Vancouver rebounded to humiliate the Canucks and Roberto Luongo throughout the last 5 games by winning 4 and the Cup.

After a deep run in the playoffs and the retirement of the Bruins heart and soul Mark Recchi the Bruins understandably got off to a super slow start this year before rebounding in a big way. After the season’s first month and first ten games the Bruins were an abysmal 3-7 and looked brutal after losing a home and home to the Canadiens. I don’t know what Claude Julien did but he found a way to light a fire under his teams ass and watched them rip off 10 straight wins and points in 15 straight with their only non win point coming in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Western Conference leader Detroit Red Wings. That’s 29 out of a possible 30 points. Led by young sniper whiz kid Tyler Seguin and the league’s best goaltending tandem the Bruins found their stride and after dropping two in a row then won 7 more in a row. The Bruins have hit a little bit of a snag lately with some poor losses against some below par teams but have still been able to keep up the pace with the top team in the Eastern Conference: the New York Blueshirts.

Peter Chiarelli found a way to wrestle power and money away from the Jacobs family like no one has been able to before and he has rewarded the Hub of Hockey with one championship and a very real possibility of another one. The Bruins are loaded with young talent and depth up to wazoo not to mention the top goaltending tandem in hockey: Tuuka Rask and Tim Thomas. The Bruins already have a 20-goal scorer in Tyler Seguin and 4 other guys over 15 goals: Patrice Bergeron (15) Nathan Horton (17) Milan Lucic (19) Brad Marchand (19). With a reinvented power play (11^th in the league at 18.5%, thanks to Tyler Seguin channeling his inner Marc Savard and being able to control the halfwall), the usual amazing penalty killing (7^th in the NHL), a GAA of 2.2 (4^th), and a GFA of 3.4 (1^st) the Bruins are the envy of the NHL currently. On any given night Julien can move his ‘first line’ center David Krejci who has become more and more of a magician with the puck to the third line and bring defensive minded Chris Kelly up to the first line and still pull off a 4-1 win over the Southeast Conference leading Washington Capitals.

Defensively Julien’s system is better than ever and you can thank Big Z, Zdeno Chara, coupled with the emergence of Dennis Seidenberg, Johnny Boychuck, Andrew Ference and Adam McQuaid teamed up with his amazing backstops for keeping the Bruins near the top of the league in GAA. The Bruins have depth for days and 3 very solid lines that can score at will and a 4^th line that is amazing at beating and battering the other teams top lines. All of this goes without mentioning the best reason why the Bruins have a very good chance of piecing back together New England’s broken hearts by making a run deep in the playoffs: the play of the Seguin-Bergeron-Marchand line. The Bruins second line has become one of the top 3 or 4 lines in the league and has been producing points at an unreal rate. In 51 games Bergeron has 46 points to lead the Bruins Seguin is a close second with 44 points and Marchand is pulling up the rear with 38 points. This line can shut down another teams top line while also putting a few goals up on the board what more can you ask for? The Bruins have a shot to repeat and win a title that New England feels it deserves after having the Super Bowl pulled from the grasp for the 2^nd time in 5 years.

There you have it folks a few reasons why there is a legitimate shot that either the Bruins or Celtics will be able to deliver a championship in June 2012. If I was a betting man I wouldn’t hesitate to throw a few bones the way of the Bruins and maybe even grab the Celtics if the odds were right because if things break their way you never know what a few old dogs might be able to pull off. Until we cross paths again.

Geoff Jablonski

Chris Paul and the developing hostage situation in New Orleans

After today’s most recent Chris Paul to blank L.A. franchise deal was called off due to the NBA overstepping it’s boundaries again it’s become quite clear that in fact the NBA has no intention of Paul leaving N’Awlins and the Hornets any time soon.  The Chris Paul saga has heated up dramatically since the lockout ended on December 8, 2011 with Paul being linked to the Knicks, Clippers, and Lakers. Since the famous wedding toast of last summer when Chris Paul, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Carmelo Anthony decided they wanted to play together last summer rumors have been afloat that the three were going to meet up in New York and create a ‘Big 3’ to rival Miami’s trio of LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. Everyone and their mother knows that Paul isn’t long for New Orleans and he won’t sign an extension with them beyond this year fully expecting to opt out after this year for greener pastures.

The acquisition of Paul had been the last piece of the trio for the Knicks after signing Stoudemire to a 5 year/$99.7 million deal and then trading all their worthwhile assets to the Rich n’ Creamies for Anthony at last year’s trade deadline. The unification of the three seemed all but inevitable until this summer’s NBA lockout and the new CBA that made it near impossible for the Knicks to acquire Paul unless he signs for one fewer year and about $40 million less than he can with his hometown Hornets or whatever team acquires him and has the cap space to spoil him. The Knicks don’t have the cap space to laud Paul in riches unless he takes $40 million less and the Knicks only roster 3 players. That meant the Knickerbockers were out of the running and it was now down to the two L.A. franchises and the Golden State Warriors to via for Paul’s services.

The race appeared over before last weekend when the Lakers struck a three-team deal with the Houston Rockets and Hornets to land the PG of their dreams: Chris Paul. The Lakers were to receive Paul, the Rockets would get C Pau Gasol, and the Hornets would receive the bounty of scorer Kevin Martin, versatile F Luis Scola, 2010-2011 Sixth Man of the Year Lamar Odom, young PG Goran Dragic and a 2012 first round pick. That doesn’t sound like a bad haul at all to me especially for a player who everyone knows is going to skip town next year when he can opt out his current deal but then the NBA stepped in and things went from crazy to ridiculous. Since last year when the NBA bought the Hornets from George Shinn the NBA has been in control of the franchise. This wasn’t a problem towards the end of last year when the Hornets made a few deadline deals but everyone knows its not good for anyone when the other 29 owners collectively own one team. That means that everyone gets a say in the day-to-day matters of this one team. All 29 owners have equal say in any move the Hornets make, which the league attempted to reconcile with by saying that GM Dell Demps had full power to make any basketball related move he felt was in the best interest of the team. A.k.a. trade Chris Paul for valuable longterm assets.

The main problem that none of the three teams involved in the trade foresaw was that the NBA knows it is going to have a harder time selling the money pit Hornets to a new owner without a star player like Chris Paul. Think about it if you’re a billionaire and you want to own your very own NBA franchise do you want to buy one that is devoid of a superstar or one with a marketable asset for the next 10 years in Chris Paul? Easy, you take the team with Paul on it. The NBA knows this and David Stern knows this that’s why he stepped in and did the unthinkable when the three-team blockbuster reached his desk: he vetoed it. He claimed it was for basketball reasons and indirectly cited the fact that the point of the lockout was to allow small market teams to offer more money to their stars and keep them from jumping ship a la LeChoke yet Paul has made it quite clear he has NO INTENTION of staying in New Orleans. Dell Demps knows this, as does every other GM in the league that’s why it was amazing that he was able to acquire three veteran starters and a young up and coming PG for a guy everyone knows is fleeing town after 66 games. Demps did what small franchises are supposed to do just look at the Oakland Athletics and their constant 5-year cycle. Small market teams grow talent on the cheap and once it becomes too expensive they sell it off for a new batch of young and cheap talent. Demps did this to the best of his abilities and then Stern and the NBA overstepped its boundaries and vetoed the trade.

The NBA not only screwed over Paul by forcing him to play in a city he wants nothing to do with and the Hornets who were going to be getting valuable assets in return for a man on his way out the door but the Houston Rockets were major collateral damage. The Rockets have been acquiring assets and shedding cap space for the past 3 years with a plan in mind. Acquire frontline talent at the F and C positions that can replace the retired Yao Ming and team with a good young backcourt and give them a vision for the future. Their plan was finally going to come to fruition with the acquisition of Gasol that would then allow them to sign free agent Nene to a big contract giving them a formidable frontcourt.  To create that cap space the Rockets needed to clear Scola and Martin off their payroll now they have been left with no ability to sign Nene, no Gasol, and an awkward situation with two of their better players who know they were traded and then got forced back to Houston. The Rockets are going to receive no compensation or even the courtesy of a reach around from the NBA after their plans were foiled in the NBA’s attempt to hold Paul hostage in New Orleans in an attempt to convince him to sign their long-term. That’s the best way to get him to stay of course in the NBA’s eyes. Basically break his will and eventually he’ll say yes to the money and sit in unhappiness for years.

I am by no means a Lakers fan I’m a Celtics fan and I would’ve hated nothing more than to see Paul teamed up with Kobe in L.A. but I know what is right and what is wrong. When a deal is agreed on and the pieces are finalized that’s the end of the story. It’s up to each individual team how they conduct their business and this case should be no different even though the NBA owns the Hornets. The other owners had no right to be crybabies and whine about this trade thus forcing it to be vetoed especially Dan Gilbert. He’s been crying ever since the day LeBron left his franchise a mess and he clearly doesn’t see it fit for anyone else to be able to field a winner or do business the way they want. He’s continuing to cry over spilt milk and wants everybody to know it. Yet I digress now where were we? Right, we were at the point when Paul got traded to the Lakers and then it got rescinded thus leaving him in New Orleans and the Lakers with two huge bruised egos to mend. But who cares about the Lakers let’s move onto today’s debacle by the NBA where the Clippers and Hornets agreed on a trade that would’ve netted the Hornets 3 potentially star assets and a great expiring contract to dangle to other teams only to be shot down by the NBA.

In today’s deal the Clippers agreed to send former all-star C Chris Kaman and his expiring contract, Al-Farouq Aminu, Eric Bledsoe, and either young stud Eric Gordon or Minnesota’s unprotected 2012 first round pick that appears to be destined for the top 3 (there had been no official word yet on which piece it was). A deal consisting of the three players and Minnesota’s 1^st round pick sounds like a damn good coup to me but again the NBA screwed it up by insisting the Clippers include both Gordon and the 1^st round draft pick. That’s 5 players, 4 with tremendous upside including the 2012 draft pick, all for 1 player with potentially faulty knees. If I were the Clippers I would’ve backed out too because it’s become quite obvious that the NBA and it’s other owners are content on sticking it to the Hornets and George Shinn for leaving them with a debt ridden franchise. The NBA pretends to be protecting the future of the Hornets when really all they are doing is forcing them to hang onto a player who will leave them with nothing much like James and Bosh did to the Cavs and Raptors, respectively. If the NBA truly wants to help the Hornets and the rest of it’s teams it’ll let them deal Paul to the Clippers for the previously AGREED upon package and watch as Paul and budding superstar Blake Griffin take the NBA by storm this year. A team with those two players playing in a big time market like Los Angeles would mean years of money and interest for the NBA yet they continue to shoot themselves in the foot after losing their casual fans to the NBA lockout. A team with Paul and Griffin would excite the casual fan and even draw in the passerby’s.

It’s obvious to me that the NBA needs to step aside give GM Dell Demps the power and abilities it claims he has to swing a deal involving Paul no matter where that destination happens to be. If David Stern really wants to act in the best interests of the Hornets and the city of New Orleans he’ll allow Paul to leave while his value is highest and the Hornets can get the most bang for their buck. If they wait until the February trade deadline and Paul isn’t performing up to snuff due to his happiness then once again the Hornets will be getting screwed with the Clippers and Lakers offers off the table. Nice work NBA Commisioner’s Office you’ve done it again by overstepping your boundaries and trying to bend and contort the already written rules. If the NBA has an ounce of sense left they’ll allow Paul to be traded to the Clippers and reap the benefits of the L.A. market have two marquee franchises. Until we cross paths again.

Geoff Jablonski

How To Fix A Team in a Month

It took the whole summer and most of fall to figure this whole thing out, but ladies and gentlemen: The NBA lockout is OVER! Thank you Tim Tebow (and God I guess). We now won't be forced to watch an excessive amount of NHL highlights on ESPN the whole winter and I can go back to paying less attention to the Bruins (phew). As we all know, the lockout took forever, and it was announced that players can start signing on Dec. 9th and the season will begin on Christmas day. Not a bad Christmas present if I do say so myself. With that said, that leaves teams with roughly a month to do whatever they need to, to fill out their roster.

The Celtics have some moves to make. We all know the starting lineup is set: Rondo, Allen, Pierce, Garnett and O'Neal. After that the roster is thin. Avery Bradley will be returning for his sophomore campaign and hopes to crack the rotation this season. Rookies JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore will step in and do what they can if need be. That leaves the C's with 6 or 7 roster spots to fill beginning December 9th. The team is still paying money out to "The Big Aristotle" aka "Wilt Chamberneezy" aka "The Big Diesel" aka "The Shaqtus" aka "Shaq Fu" aka Shaquille O'Neal and Rasheed Wallace, so money for quality free agents is going to be hard to come by.

The best scenario for the team in my eyes would be to re-sign Jeff Green, Glen Davis and Delonte West first. Then dish out the remaining money to affordable veteran bench help. Who you ask? Allen Iverson comes to mind. I know the man is controversial and not liked by many, but I think since he is now willing to come off the bench for a team it wouldn't be the worst idea in the world. He could mesh with KG, Ray and Paul and hopefully buy into the team first mentality the Celtics are based around. Last night I asked Celtics insider and Comcast SportsNet correspondent A. Sherrod Blakely on twitter which FA he would put money on the Celtics signing and he replied with Kwame Brown (thanks for replying A. Sherrod!). I like this. He has been widely considered by many one of the biggest busts of all time because of where he was drafted, but Kwame has actually been a productive backup/borderline starter for his career. He provides size and strength down low which is something the Celtics are seriously lacking. Another name I like is Michael Redd, he's had an abundance of injuries over the years, but during his healthy days the man could rain buckets and was regarded as one of the best pure scorers in the league. Redd would be forced to sign at a cheap price because of his injuries and lack of playing time the last few years. If not Redd, I wouldn't mind seeing Marquis Daniels back in town, prior to his neck injuries and trade last season, Marquis was always a very solid and versatile backup for the Celts and it would fit in nicely again alternating between backing up the 1, 2 and 3 spots. With those three veteran signings, the Celtics roster would look something like this:

PG: Rajon Rondo, Delonte West, Avery Bradley

SG: Ray Allen, Michael Redd/Marquis Daniels, Allen Iverson, E'Twaun Moore

SF: Paul Pierce, Jeff Green

PF: Kevin Garnett, Glen Davis, JaJuan Johnson

C: Jermaine O'Neal, Kwame Brown

That wouldn't be too shabby a roster if you ask me. Solid balance of strong minded veterans and young athletic, willing to learn youth. Good depth at all positions with Delonte being able to switch between PG and SG, Iverson the same, Jeff Green is able to play SF and PF depending on the matchup, Baby can play PF and C and Jermaine can switch back and forth between C and PF.

I hope you are reading this Danny Ainge, because this is how the Celtics should be fixed up for this season. Those signings will tide us over til 2012 and hopefully bring us banner #18. As for the 2012 offseason, that one is going to be a little tougher and a lot more exciting. Dwight Howard maybe? He looks great in a Celtics uni.

*Mouth open and watering* *Daydreaming of oops from Rondo to Howard*

We can dream right?

Until next time,

ZHawk