Celtics: Why Should We Be Excited This Upcoming Season?

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Not that it's likely to happen, but let's assume the Celtics play at
their
optimal best this upcoming season. Where will they finish in the
conference?

- They're certainly not as good as New Jersey.  That's for sure.
Martin is playing for a Max. contract, Mourning flourishes under great
Big Man depth: He can be used properly, minutes conserved, so
he can last the season and playoffs. Planinic was an excellent draft
pick,
and they have the Divac-like Krstic to be used in a trade, should they
decide to upgrade.

- And Detroit makes two. Larry B is a freakin' coaching genius and
should have
the Piston sparring with the Nets for the top spot. It's hard to provide
a correct
figure of what Darko should contribute to the Pistons this season, but
I'm expecting
somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 - 14 points and 7 - 8 rebounds per
game with
some pis-poor performances intermingled with future phenom showcases.
And you know with Detroit's Big Man (Milicic - Wallace - Okur - Campbell

- Rebraca)  depth and Brown's  willingness,  if they have to make a
trade to
get them past  the Nets, they will.

- Indiana makes three. More talent than the Celtics, O'Neill has
simmered
down, Carlisle's teams over-achieve, Bird won't hesitate to improve
the club, and toss in Croshere being reborn, Artest being kept under
control,
and Bender blossoming under Bird. Things are looking up in trailer park
land.

So, the Celtics are shut out of the the first three spots in the
Conference.

Will the Celtics playing at their peak, end up fourth in the Conference?

Unlikely.

There's the little matter of Orlando, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Miami
and Chicago.

True, the Celtics would be favored over some of those teams, but all of
them?

Definitely not, and right now, Orlando seems a better candidate to
finish fourth
 in the conference.

I'm a strong proponent of putting your five best players on the court
and letting
the other team worry about your match-ups rather than vice-versa, and
that appears the way to go with the Magic, who were only two games
behind
the Celtics last season.  Howard, Gooden, McGrady (the best player in
the
conference), Gricek, and the underrated Lue or the
played-well-in-the-summer-league
Gaines seem a pretty good starting five to me.  I also think that Za-Za
or Zaur
Pachulia may surprise at center.

Which brings us to five.

Philly seems more of a lock here than the Celtics.

The coaching change is worrisome though, because you never know with a
rookie
coach, especially replacing a great one like Brown. But while the
coaching could
be weak, the talent is willing. Whatever you think of Robinson, he's
still good for
20 a game and a second scoring option, and with Iverson's maturity, the
best PG in
all the summer leagues: Salmons, the steady Snow and Thomas, and the
rejuvenated Coleman, Philly seems drift-proof for this season at least.

And that brings ua to Sixth.

And sixth could be the Celtics demarcation point.

But it won't be easy, as the Eastern Conference, for the first time in
many
years, seems to have truly improved. Sure Atlanta and Milwaukee are
worse,
and the Wizards and Toronto: who knows, but Cleveland, New York,  the
Celtics,
Miami, Detroit, the Bulls, New Jersey, Orlando, and Philly seem to have
gotten better.

So even with the Celtics performing at their optimum, the EC competition

this season seems to be greatly enhanced, and teams like Miami, the
Knicks,
and the Bulls will be striving hard to make the playoffs and challenging
the
Celtics.

The Knicks, for instance, could be a very intriguing team, if McDyess is
healthy.
Especially if Lampe blossoms quickly, and they can deal Thomas for a PG.

Lampe, McDyess, Van Horn, Houston, and a quality PG like Van Exel,
and the Knicks are hard-charging up the EC standings.

The Bulls meanwhile are simply too loaded with  talent and depth to keep
missing
the playoffs. Immaturity and youth have been their biggest drawbacks,
but the addition of Pippen should act as a catalyst to rectify those
problems.
I mean look at the starting lineup: Curry, Chandler, Pippen, Rose, and
Crawford.
Very impressive.

And then there's the Heat. Ol' Pat Riley has had two great drafts in a
row,
and that will certainly help with this season's standings, but the real
keys
are Riley not micro-managing the Heat into a walk-it-up team and Odom
staying
focused.  Miami like Orlando will be going with a talent rather than a
position lineup,
and I heartily approve. They should have a fun, quick down the
court, lanky, true fast break team, that is, if Riley lets them.
Which I think he will, because he utilized a similar style with the
Lakers.

And then there's Odom. If he can truly act as PG on offense, PF-defender
on
defense and do it  for all 82 games, Maimi will be one of the more
exciting
clubs in the NBA  with a high-scoring staring five of Grant, Odom,
Butler Jones,
and Wade.


Ray