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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
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