End of an Era

Six years after it began, the second Big Three era in Boston has officially come to an end.

A few months from now Doc Rivers, the team's head coach for nine seasons, will be drawing up alley oops for Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, the greatest Celtics since Larry Bird and Kevin McHale, will be suiting up for the Brooklyn Nets. And Ray Allen, who broke Reggie Miller's career three-point record with the Celts, will be back with the Miami Heat helping them gun for their third straight NBA championship.

The thought of all that, of Pierce and KG not retiring with the Celtics, of Rivers coaching against them, of Allen helping LeBron James instead of hurting him, is hard for me to wrap my head around. It shouldn't, because this day was a long time coming. Danny Ainge said over and over that he wasn't going to repeat Red Auerbach's mistake of keeping McHale and Bird into their golden years instead of trading them when they still had value. Red's unwillingness to break up the original Big Three (along with the death of Len Bias and not getting Tim Duncan in the '97 draft) was a big reason why the team went 21 years between Finals appearances.

Ainge took that lesson to heart. There's no room for sentimentality in sports. When the time came, he'd do what needed to be done, no matter how much it hurt.

So now, with his stars approaching the twilight phases of their careers and the team in a state of transition, he pulled the trigger on a pair of blockbuster trades to reshape his roster and start preparing for life after Pierce, Garnett, and Allen.

Still, a small part of me didn't want to let them go. I wanted to see Pierce and Garnett play their last games wearing the Celtics green. I wanted Doc to guide them through the rebuilding process. I wanted a chance to say good-bye.

Now, all that's left of the Big Three is the memories, the fondest of which have been fading for quite some time.

There was the title year of 2008, when the Celtics were just as good as everyone thought they'd be. Boston's new super-team ran roughshod over the league, winning 66 regular season games and hoisting the franchise's 17th Finals trophy on the Parquet floor in June after thoroughly dismantling Kobe Bryant's Lakers. At the time it felt like we were witnessing the birth of the next Celtics dynasty, when in reality it was just the beginning of a prolonged hunt for that elusive 18th title.

Then came the much-anticipated title defense of 2009, as Boston looked to become the franchise's first repeat champions since Bill Russell's 1968-'69 teams. They probably would have done it, too, had they not lost Kevin Garnett to a season-ending knee injury in February, forcing them to lean heavily on Brian Scalabrine and Glen Davis during the playoffs.

That was followed by the crushing near-miss of 2010, when the Celtics went up 3-2 in their finals rematch with the Lakers, only to have Kendrick Perkins' knee explode in Game 6 and blow a 13 point third quarter lead in Game 7. In 2011 Perkins was traded to the Thunder for Jeff Green, dealing an emotional blow to a team that felt like it would have beaten the Lakers had Perkins remained healthy. Demoralized and depleted, they were bounced from the first round by Miami's juggernaut and seemed to be finished as serious championship contenders.

But in 2012, the Celtics made everyone believe again. Dismissed as too old and slow, they somehow willed themselves to within one win of the NBA Finals before the Heat snuffed out their hopes for one last shot at a title. The Celtics had no business getting that far, but they defied the odds and penned a heartwarming postseason story. Perhaps with the right moves, they'd be able to fight Father Time for another year and keep their championship window open just a bit longer.

We didn't know it at the time, but that was the beginning of the end. It started when Ray Allen--the greatest pure shooter of all time--defected to the Miami Heat for less money. He felt disrespected after Ainge tried to trade him (twice) and brought in Jason Terry. At the end of the day, money wasn't everything, especially for a man who'd earned nearly $200 million of it. Allen knew joining forces with James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh greatly improved his chances of winning another ring. Sure enough, Allen got the last laugh when he helped the Heat clinch another NBA title.

Back in Boston, Terry and Courtney Lee weren't the answer and the team's playoff hopes went up in smoke when Rajon Rondo shredded his ACL in late January. Ainge missed a prime opportunity to tear the team apart at the trading deadline, instead deciding to hold out and explore his options after the season. To their credit, the resilient C's fought on without Rondo, hanging tough with the New York Knicks for six games in the first round. However, it was obvious the once proud Celtics had deteriorated into a .500 team, good enough to make the playoffs but not nearly talented enough to compete for a championship. Drastic changes were required.

Rivers saw the writing on the wall and jumped ship. He made it clear that he didn't want to stay, essentially forcing his way out of town a la Dwight Howard and Carmelo Anthony. He turned his back on a front office that stuck with him during the rough times early in his tenure and recently made him the league's highest paid coach. In return, all the Celtics could fetch for him was an unprotected first round pick in 2015, not Eric Bledsoe and/or DeAndre Jordan as they originally hoped.

I hate the manner in which Rivers left Boston, bailing out with three years left on his contract, but if he couldn't commit to the rebuilding process then he wasn't the right man for the job. You don't want to be here? Fine. Go. Good riddance. Besides, I've always felt that he's better handling veterans than he is with fostering the growth of young players (not that there were many of those in recent years). The Celtics would benefit from a new voice on the bench, a patient coach willing to put the work in now and reap the rewards later.

That said, the Clippers are lucky to have Rivers, a spiritual leader who connected with his players and always seemed to squeeze the most out of them. He's also the best coach in the league when it came to drawing up plays out of time outs. Rivers represents a significant upgrade over Vinny Del Negro, whose incompetence has prevented the Clippers from reaching their full potential these past two years. With Rivers at the helm, LA looks like a serious championship contender.

So do the Nets, who now boast a starting five of Pierce, Garnett, Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, and Brook Lopez. Pierce and Garnett are old, but they can still play at a high level. The future Hall of Famers are much better than the men they'll replace: Kris Humphries and Gerald Wallace.

The Celtics, on the other hand, aren't going to raise that 18th championship banner anytime soon. Realistically, it'd be in their best interest to tank this season and land a top draft slot in next year's draft, which is shaping up to be one of the best in years. The last time they tried that they missed out on Kevin Durant and Greg Oden, but ended up trading for Allen and Garnett so everything worked out.

In the meantime, Boston is officially Rajon Rondo's team, which I suspect is how he always wanted it to be. They've been his team at various points in recent seasons, especially during the playoffs, but now they're really his team. He'll have to make the most out of a less than stellar supporting cast--Humphries, Wallace, Jared Sullinger, and Avery Bradley--but the onus is on him to elevate his game (read: scoring) and play like the superstar he's shown himself capable of being when he wants to be (aka national TV Rondo).

Boston fans can only hope he gets along better than the new coach than he did with Rivers. Otherwise, it won't be long before he gets pushed out the door, too.

Celtics lose Rondo, Beat Heat

The Celtics were Rondo's team, but now he won't be there to guide them 

The Boston Celtics won Sunday afternoon's game against the Miami Heat, but lost their star point guard for the rest of the year.

In what has already been a rollercoaster (read: frustrating) season for the Celtics, it was fitting that the team suffered a crushing loss while in the midst of securing its most exciting win of 2013.

Rajon Rondo sat out today's tilt on account of his hyperextended right knee, an injury he suffered during Boston's demoralizing double-overtime loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night. It didn't appear to be serious but his precautionary MRI revealed a torn ACL. Rondo will undergo surgery and is out indefinitely.

It goes without saying that losing Rondo is a devastating blow to the Celtics, especially on offense. Rondo is directly responsible for 17 made field goals per game (5.9 scored, 11.1 assisted), nearly half of his team's 36.7 field goals per game. That's a huge hole to fill, especially since Boston lacks a true backup point guard. Rondo's irreplaceable, but for the time being Doc Rivers will slide Avery Bradley (a shooting guard by trade) over to the point and use Courtney Lee at the two. Combo guard Jason Terry should also see an uptick in playing time, but all three must pick up the slack. Hopefully Danny Ainge can find a decent replacement on the trade market, but right now it doesn't look like there's much out there.

He can't afford to sit around and do nothing. It's hard to see Boston, 20-23 with Rondo and currently in the eighth seed, holding onto a playoff spot without their best player. The Philadelphia 76ers trail them by 2.5 games but expect Andrew Bynum to return before the All-Star Break. When healthy, he's one of the top centers in the game, the kind of impact player that can push Philly over the top and get them back to the postseason. Boston looks like a .500 team with each passing day and its schedule is only going to get harder. There's a rough road to hoe, and it doesn't look like Doc Rivers has the tools to meet the challenge.

But if today's game is any indication, the Celtics' season may not have gone up in smoke along with their point guard's. In a throwback display of pride and determination, Boston still managed to defeat the Heat 100-98 in a double-OT thriller. The win snapped a six game losing streak for the Celtics, who hadn't won an overtime game since December 12th.

After blowing a 27-point lead in Atlanta Friday night, Boston bounced back with a tenacious effort to kick off its four game homestand. The Green ground it out by getting back on D and digging in, preventing Miami from pushing the tempo and beating them with their athleticism. Celtics defenders filled the lanes, deflected passes and forced 20 turnovers. They couldn't stop LeBron James (who can?), but held red-hot Dwyane Wade to 6-of-20 shooting. They turned Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem, and Shane Battier into non-factors. They even held their own on the boards despite allowing James and Chris Bosh, who's averaged 6.1 rebounds per game since December 13th, to inhale 16 boards apiece.

Boston's bench play keyed the victory as well, for Celtics reserves outscored Miami's bench 39-23. Jason Terry struggled with his shot (1-for-7 from beyond the arc) but still contributed 13 points, while Jeff Green dropped 11 in a whopping 42 minutes of court time. Leandro Barbosa chipped in nine points. The Heat got 21 points from Ray Allen but a whole lot of nothing from Battier, Joel Anthony, Norris Cole and Rashard Lewis.

Speaking of Allen, Ray Ray made his much-anticipated return to the TD Garden after going Benedict Arnold on the Celtics last summer. Jesus Shuttlesworth teased the Garden crowd with a stellar performance that had to make Celtics fans wonder why Danny Ainge ever let him leave. The timeless sharpshooter logged more than 38 minutes off the bench and rained 21 points through the Garden nets, proving he still has plenty of gas left in the tank. His signature highlight was the corner three he buried to trim Boston's lead to one with 25 seconds remaining in regulation, the kind of clutch shot that endeared him to Celtics fans before he turned to the dark side.

The other members of Boston's new Big Three also played well. Paul Pierce gritted his way through 49 minutes to notch a triple-double with 17 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. Kevin Garnett enjoyed his tenth double-double of the season by amassing 24 points and 11 boards. Both needed to step up with Rondo out, and they certainly rose to the occasion. They must sustain that high level of play in the second half if Boston is going to secure a postseason berth.

The Celtics have a couple days off to catch their breath before they resume play again on Wednesday against the Sacramento Kings. Hopefully 48 minutes will be enough to decide that game, because if the Celtics play any more overtime games they're not going to make it to the All-Star Break, much less the playoffs.

Celtics Sputtering

After dropping six of their past eight games, the Boston Celtics stumble into tonight's tilt in Sacramento with a 14-15 record.

The last few games have been downright ugly. After enjoying a big win in Brooklyn on Christmas Day, the Celtics flew out to California for a three game set but apparently left their A Game behind on the East Coast. On Thursday they were blown out of the Staples Center by Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and the red-hot Los Angeles Clippers. Boston mustered just 77 points, its lowest scoring output of the season, while allowing the Clips to pile up 106. Last night's tilt against the Golden State Warriors didn't go much better. Minus Rajon Rondo and Leandro Barbosa, the shorthanded C's managed 83 points against Golden State's much improved defense and lost by 18.

Why is Boston off to another sluggish start? How come the Celts aren't just losing, but losing badly (in two-thirds of their losses they were outscored by at least ten points)?

Well, they're old, but you knew that already. The simple answer is a lack of rebounding, especially on the offensive end. Boston ranks second-to-last in the Association in offensive rebounding and total rebounding, and routinely gets crushed on the boards. It's telling that Kevin Garnett leads the team in blocks and rebounds with 0.8 swats and 6.9 rebounds per game. The starting five has ample size with KG and Brandon Bass, but the second unit is woefully undersized (especially with Chris Wilcox sideline by a sprained thumb) and gets eaten alive by bigger, stronger teams.

The defense is still good but has been undermined by this lack of size as well. Last year the Celtics had the stingiest defense in the league, one that allowed the second fewest points per game and boasted the best Defensive Rating. So far this season the defense is letting up eight more points per game and ranks near the middle of the pack. I haven't been impressed by the interior defense, but fully expect the perimeter D to improve once defensive stalwart Avery Bradley returns from shoulder surgery.

The offense has been underwhelming as well, despite great starts from Rondo and Paul Pierce. Newcomers Jason Terry and Courtney Lee were expected to fill the void left by Ray Allen but have been disappointments so far. Neither one looks comfortable in their new digs yet. The Jet's usage rate is way down, from 23.3 percent last year to 17.5 percent this season, and his field goal attempts have dropped by one-third. He needs to look for his shot more and not be afraid to pull the trigger. As for Lee, he's struggled with his outside shot, converting fewer three-point attempts than ever before. Doc Rivers gave him a lot of run last night--a whopping 40 minutes--and he responded with 18 points. Hopefully that performance inspires confidence in Lee and gets him back on track.

It's still too early to panic. Last year Boston got off to a similarly sluggish start--15 wins and 17 losses--before turning it around and going 24-10 to close out the season. I expect the Celtics will start to gel soon enough once the newcomers settle in. This year's squad has been plagued by inconsistency and underperformance early on, but it's only a matter of time before it turns the corner, gets on a roll and plays like the team that came within one win of a Finals appearance last spring.  Danny Ainge would be wise to trade for another big man to bolster the frontcourt, but I don't believe a major shake-up is necessary.

Tonight, in their final game of 2012, the Celtics finish up their West Coast swing with a favorable matchup against the Kings. Look for the Green to end the year on a high note.