2008 Woodie Awards
Celtics overhauled; Bulls, Cavs promising
Alex Rice
Issue date: 10/31/07 Section: Sports
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Kermit the Frog once sang "it's not easy being green."
He didn't need to tell the Boston Celtics that. In fact, few teams have exemplified the word futility better than the Celtics have in the past 15 years. The same franchise that once won 10 NBA titles in 12 seasons has produced just four winning seasons and a .434 winning percentage since 1992.
That's why general manager Danny Ainge and head coach Doc Rivers, tired of taking comfort in the words of a frog, completely overhauled their roster this off season. The Celtics return just four players from last year's squad, and the front office literally banked their future by trading prospects and draft picks for the Seattle Sonics' Ray Allen and the Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Garnett, one of the NBA's best players in the past 10 years. The trio of Garnett, Allen, and Paul Pierce, who had been the Celtics' only formidable superstar since Larry Bird and Kevin McHale retired, can rival any other in the league. The Three Stooges they are not.
After winning just 24 games last season, the Celtics should be expected to win at least twice that in 2007-08 and they have an outside shot at being the best team in the Eastern Conference. They also have a great chance at winning the Atlantic Division. Some would argue neither is much of an accomplishment. It's a lot better than being last in both, which is exactly where they finished last year.
However, it's likely the Celtics wouldn't fare as well in the more competitive Central Division, home to the perennially playoff-bound Detroit Pistons, the on-the-rise Chicago Bulls and last year's Eastern Conference champion, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
While the Pistons certainly aren't getting any younger, they're not ready for afternoon shuffleboard and checkers just yet. History has proven there is no substitute for experience, and the team that finished atop the Central last season still sports the ever-entertaining Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, "Rip" Hamilton and newcomer Rodney Stuckey.
He didn't need to tell the Boston Celtics that. In fact, few teams have exemplified the word futility better than the Celtics have in the past 15 years. The same franchise that once won 10 NBA titles in 12 seasons has produced just four winning seasons and a .434 winning percentage since 1992.
That's why general manager Danny Ainge and head coach Doc Rivers, tired of taking comfort in the words of a frog, completely overhauled their roster this off season. The Celtics return just four players from last year's squad, and the front office literally banked their future by trading prospects and draft picks for the Seattle Sonics' Ray Allen and the Minnesota Timberwolves' Kevin Garnett, one of the NBA's best players in the past 10 years. The trio of Garnett, Allen, and Paul Pierce, who had been the Celtics' only formidable superstar since Larry Bird and Kevin McHale retired, can rival any other in the league. The Three Stooges they are not.
After winning just 24 games last season, the Celtics should be expected to win at least twice that in 2007-08 and they have an outside shot at being the best team in the Eastern Conference. They also have a great chance at winning the Atlantic Division. Some would argue neither is much of an accomplishment. It's a lot better than being last in both, which is exactly where they finished last year.
However, it's likely the Celtics wouldn't fare as well in the more competitive Central Division, home to the perennially playoff-bound Detroit Pistons, the on-the-rise Chicago Bulls and last year's Eastern Conference champion, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
While the Pistons certainly aren't getting any younger, they're not ready for afternoon shuffleboard and checkers just yet. History has proven there is no substitute for experience, and the team that finished atop the Central last season still sports the ever-entertaining Rasheed Wallace, Chauncey Billups, "Rip" Hamilton and newcomer Rodney Stuckey.
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