Skip to main content

Celtics Push In All the Chips on Three of a Kind


Last night I saw some references to this trade, but it is only being officially announced this hour. KG comes to Boston. Jefferson, Gomes, Green, Telfair, and Ratliff to Minnesota.
Every paper, web site, and blog has had time to do a full analysis before the trade even became official. I scanned 'em on NBA.com, and got sucked over to my man Bill Simmons on ESPN.com. He used a gambling analogy about Ainge's move here, and I played off it on my title.
The point is Garnett, Pierce, and Ray Allen are all competitive late-career vets who know they've got a shot at a ring that they may not have ever expected to get just a month ago. Pierce is 30, Garnett 31, Allen 32. None of them has had the kind of support the other two will provide next season. Each of them has carried a team into the playoffs before. All of them are within spitting distance of career decline.
Check out some stat lines:
Ray Allen PPG: 21.5, APG: 3.9, RPG: 4.6, FG%: 44, FT%: 88, STL: 1.3
Paul Pierce PPG: 23.6, APG: 3.9, RPG: 6.5, FG%: 44, FT%: 79, APG: 3.9, STL: 1.7
Kevin Garnett PPG: 20.5, APG: 4.5, RPG: 11.4, FG%: 49, FT%: 78, BLK: 1.9, STL: 1.3

You know those three guys will be "helping" Rondo make the right decisions game in, game out (rush the ball up the floor every time, then give it to the first one who is open, cut through the lane to the other side, then rotate back to the top of the key, probably). You know Scalabrine, Powe, Brandon Wallace and (if he's smart) Glen Davis just realized that all they have to do is work their ass off on D and crash the boards and their jobs are real easy. Kendrick Perkins just got a big pat on the back and better play his ass off or get it kicked.
The schedule comes out soon...

Comments

Pete said…
The value of your season tickets soared with this trade. It's wonderful news! This team will win often and be fun to watch. A veteran journeyman point guard and big stiff would round things out but Huey, Dewey and Tyrone Lue could win the East with these 3 guys.
2:32 AM
Jeff said…
Yes!
As long as no one of them goes down for the season...
I talked with a guy yesterday who commented on how many season tickets the Celts must have sold the past two days. I'm going to want to keep more of my tickets than I have in past years, too. You and I should go to a game together.
I think Glen Davis and Brandon Wright are coming into a great situation now; they only have to do what they do best and not worry about anything.
I'm keeping my fingers crossed about Tony Allen's recovery, because he's going to be a weapon subbing for Allen and Pierce (maybe even at point guard -- The Three of a Kind all have superior ball handling skills at their position, and he was quick enough to defend anyone in the league before he got hurt) if he can get back to where he was.
5:35 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Racial Injustice: The Case of Walter Lett Inspired Harper Lee

Chronology: The case of Walter Lett influenced Harper Lee in writing To Kill a Mockingbird. Here are the events of the case, and its connection to Harper Lee. The case began in November 1933.  "On Thursday, November 9, 1933, the Monroeville Journal reported that Noami Lowery told authorities that Walter Lett had raped her the previous Thursday.” ( "Lee, Harper: 1926 - 2016").  Just as in To Kill a Mockingbird , the accusation alone was enough for most citizens to assume guilt.  Writing for Time magazine, Daniel Levy asserts,   “Such an accusation was a death sentence for an African American man. ‘Rape was the central drama of the white psyche,’ says Diane McWhorter, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Carry Me Home: Birmingham, Alabama: The Climactic Battle of the Civil Rights Revolution.”   Lett was captured on Saturday and jailed in another town out of fear he’d be lynched. The legal system operated quickly. “On March 16, 1934, Lett was arraigned on a gran
Post a Comment
Read more

Walking the John Muir Way: Getting There

 At the bus station in Portland and the airport in Boston people, 2 men, commented positively on my shirt. At 5:00, 3 state police & 2 immigration police were at the gate. 2 state cops went away with a guy, but others went on the plane.  We boarded soon after for our 5:45 departure. Gate agents seem unperturbed.  The police disappeared & the guy returned.  Travel was uneventful. The Dublin to Edinburgh flight was just long enough for a quick drinks service. Then a tram and a train    and a cab, and we left our bags with the desk agent at The Coachman Inn before checkOUT time to walk around town.     People have been super nice to us, from George the taxi driver to a kid at the train station, the conductor who backtracked to be sure we knew to transfer at Linlithgow, to the librarian, shop workers, and folks in the park (one recommended The Scarecrow Pub). Today is the kickoff of a town festival, they have a kind of fair going on in the park, and a parade went past the Inn ju
Post a Comment
Read more

Pease Air Show - Wings of Hope

I'm getting excited about the Wings of Hope show, and thought that, even though it is nominally off-topic, I wanted to blog about it. First, here's the web address: http://www.peaseairshow.com/ And here's the schedule: 9:00-11:00 Civilian Air Craft Rides (limited) 11:00 Opening Ceremonies (Saturday Only) 11:35 Flag Drop "Silver Wings" US Army Jump Team 11:45 American Air Power B-25, P-40, P47, TBM Avenger Noon Jet Car and Rob Holland Act 12:15 L-39 Demonstration - Dan McCue 12:30 Red Star Formation Team 12:45 B-2 Flyover (August 18th Only!) 1:00 Carol Pilon Wing Walker (Rob Holland / Pilot) 1:30 Jim Parker Salto H101 Sailplane 1:45 F4U Corsair (Dan McCue / Pilot) 2:00 U.S. Navy F/A-18 Hornet Demo Team East 2:15 Legacy Formation / F-18/F4U 2:30 P-40 Warhawk Demonstration 2:45 NH Army Guard Helicopter Ground Assault Demo 3:00 Rob Holland Airshows / Ultimate 20-300s N8UB 3:15 Lockheed T-33 "Shooting Star" 3:30 F-86 Demonstration (Ed Shipley / Pilot) 3:45 U
25 comments
Read more