By Brendan Tyman
The 2009-2010 Boston Celtics has the potential to be the greatest team in the Celtics’ franchise history.
In the modern era of the National Basketball Association, the best Celtics squad was the group in 1985-‘86. Their record was 67-15 and they won the NBA Championship over the Houston Rockets in six games. At the old Boston Garden, they finished 41-1, setting a record for the best home win/loss record in the history of the NBA.
This year’s unit could be even better. They give up fewer points than the team twenty-four years ago. The squad in ’85-’86 allowed 104.1 points per game. Last season, Boston ranked third in the league in points allowed with 93.4. This was without their defensive leader for the majority of the second half, Kevin Garnett, who had surgery to remove bone spurs in his knee during the offseason. On Feb. 19, in Utah, Garnett injured his knee and only played sparingly for four games before he was shut down the rest of the season.
In July, the Celtics signed 35 year old Rasheed Wallace. They also signed Marquis Daniels for the biannual exception ($1.9 million). Boston addressed their depth in the frontcourt by resigning Glen “Big Baby” Davis, who played well in the absence of Garnett.
Wallace and Daniels could start for most of the other teams in the league. Since Boston is so deep with the Big Three and Rajon Rondo, they will be coming off the bench. Wallace is a ferocious competitor who can play great post-up defense and can force interior defenders to come outside to cover his shooting ability. This will create lanes inside against the opposition and clearer looks at the basket.
Daniels is not a great shooter from the outside (20% 3pt attempt), but he can create his own shot and penetrate to the basket. Daniels is like a rich man’s Tony Allen. He has the ability to cover the guards, especially point guards. When Wallace is on the floor at the same time as the Big Three, the opposition will not be able to use double-teams on anyone. There will be many one-on-one matchups.
Rajon Rondo has improved his defense throughout the practices. He is staying in front of the opposition. Last season, he was not able to beat the pick and rolls. As the other squad’s point guard was getting by him, he would just reach hoping to cause a turnover. This would mostly lead to baskets for the other team or fouls called against Rondo.
The Big Three (Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen) are hungry for another championship. This could be their last shot as Rondo and Allen’s contracts expire in ’10.
Center Kendrick Perkins can guard Dwight Howard and Shaquille O’Neal, who are the main inside forces in the Eastern Conference, like he has in the past. With the shooters outside and Rondo producing havoc when he takes the ball inside, Perkins will have more opportunities to be open next to the basket. Eddie House can drop 20 points at any time coming off the bench and Daniels will help House on the defensive end.
Let us not forget this team’s version of the Big Three has already won a championship and if they had stayed healthy last season, they might have taken another title back to Boston.
While the ’85-’86 Celtics had great depth with Danny Ainge and Bill Walton complementing the Big Three (Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish), this year’s group has the possibility of winning 70-plus games. The only scenarios that could stop this team from raising the 18banner is age and injuries.
