I'm not a huge NBA fan, but watched a fair amount of the Celts last year and enjoyed it up until they started sucking late in the season.
What I see is Danny Ainge bringing in a lot of extremely athletic guys that are all roughly the same age, with similar skill sets and hoping they can somehow grow into a cohesive team.
One problem seems to be a lack of clear-cut role players, which is what I always thought won NBA championships, but that thinking might be 10 years out of date. At least.
I love watching Delonte West, but what is he on this team? A point guard? Which? one, two or three? What else can he do? Does it matter? West is going to be a winner in this league eventually. He works his ass off.
I watched the ESPN documentary on Sebastian Telfair and it was clear to see that his athletic ability and court smarts can be astonishing at times, but the guy is pretty small and doesn't shoot that well. A risk by Ainge, but with big upside. He's a true point guard, but can he survive in the NBA? He could be another Tiny Archibald.
I've seen about 5 minutes of Rajon Rondo and he is another amazing athlete who has a lot of learning to do, but could be a superstar in time.
Bottom line is that I see about nine guys on the current roster who can put up twenty on any given night and that strikes me as a shitload of talent, but.......I really don't know what we're looking at. How is Doc Rivers supposed to divvy up the minutes or is Ainge stockpiling all the talent he can with an eye for a trade for somebody who can make the pieces fit?
All I know is that Tommy Heinsohn likes the hustle and potential of this team and I'm going to go along with him. I love listening to Heinsohn and especially Cousy. I like the Celts and think they could suprise a few people this season and go into the playoffs with a chance to get a round or two deep, although Dale and Holley think they are 4 or 5 years away from anything big.
It's about time basketball mattered in this town again and I really think they are on the right track.