Celtics Preview 2013 Anythings Possible Except For A Winning Season

Outlook- The 2013 Boston Celtics are a team very much in the midst of a rebuild. The C's are likely going to be a lottery squad this year and new head coach Brad Stevens will need to deal with something he hasn't had to deal with a whole lot so far in his career as a head coach, losing. Steven's Butler squad made it to two national championships during his tenure and were a Gordon Hayward buzzer beater away from knocking off the Dukies in what would have been an insane upset. The 36 year old Steven's goal for this season shouldn't be hanging a banner it should be developing some of the solid young talent that the C's have on their roster.

Notable Additions- Kelly Olynyk (C), Kris Humphries (PF), Gerald Wallace (SF), Marshon Brooks (SG)

Notable Departures- Kevin Garnett (C), Paul Pierce (SF), Jason Terry (SG)

Players To Watch-

Jeff Green- Jeff "The Green Medicine" as the great Iron Sheik once called him is poised to take on an expanded role in the Celtics rotation this season. Without Pierce, Garnett and Rondo ( at least for the start of the season), Green is going to have to be the main scoring option for the green team. The Celtics will be in desperate need of a guy to help offset the nearly 50 PPG they will be losing with the loss of the 3 aforementioned guys. Green displayed flashes of brilliance last season highlighted by his 43 point explosion against the Heat. Green also averaged 20 points in the C's first round playoff series against the Knicks last April. I see Green having a breakout season out of necessity for the Celtics, averaging an impressive stat line that will look something like this (below).

Projected Line

PPG- 21.5

RPG- 6.5

APG- 2.1

BPG- 1.4

Big Al Gets A Facial

Avery Bradley: AB is a defensive stud, that much is known about the 23 year old ex Texas Longhorn. Without a viable option at point guard for the start of the 2013 season, I expect Bradley to accept the challenge and run the point. His defense won't be questioned as he will put the lock down on just about anybody he's guarding. The question with Bradley will be whether he can distribute the ball effectively enough for the C's to win a few games without the presence of all-star point guard Rajon Rondo. If Bradley's jumper is more consistent and if he proves that he can run the point effectively then he will have a breakout campaign. Bradley will also start the season fully recovered from his shoulder injury which hampered his growth last season. Let's not forget that AB was the number 1 ranked high school basketball player back in 2009, a class that included the likes of John Wall and Demarcus Cousins. If Bradley can live up to that sort of potential then he should post a breakout line that looks something like this (below).

Projected Line

PPG- 13

APG-6.5

SPG-2.5

RPG-3

Get That S*&T out!!

Kelly Olynyk: Finally we have the Canadian born Kelly Olynyk. This 7footer has a nice shooting touch out to the three point line and a bevy of post moves that will make him a difficult matchup. I wasn't excited initially about Danny Ainge's decision to pull the trigger on the Gonzaga product, but after an impressive summer league I'm sold on KO. He isn't the most athletic guy but with his skilled post moves and his solid three point shot, Kelly has the potential to turn into a Kevin Love type player for the C's. In todays NBA you need a stretch 4 who can space the floor and open up drive and kick lanes for the likes of Rondo and Bradley. With Olynyk's ability to knock down the open jumper, I wouldn't be shocked to see him have a big rookie year. Long hair nation is coming to the bean. 

Projected Line

PPG- 11.5

RPG- 7.5

BPG-1.2

APG-2.1

Larry Bird?

Closing Thoughts-

The Celtics have some promising young talent but this team doesn't have the fire power to truly compete for much of anything this season. The C's should focus on talent development this season and should honestly give Rondo the Derrick Rose treatment. The worst case scenario for the C's this season would be to become a fringe lottery team because these teams are essentially stuck in NBA purgatory (just ask the Milwaukee Bucks). These fringe teams are on the lower end of the lottery and miss out on the superstar talent that crappier teams receive. In the NBA if your not a top 4 team in your conference then it is literally best to be as bad as you can be. The Celtics should honestly "tank" and hope that Andrew Wiggins falls into their laps #tank4wiggins. This kid is ridiculous, check out his highlight tape here - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJn74ufOx64