Halfway through this shortened NBA season and the All-Star break has come and gone. Two Celtics, Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce represented the East in Orlando, where a valiant late game comeback was not enough to overcome the West; Kobe Bryant. The Celtics are below .500, but thanks to the Bobcats and Wizards-laden Eastern Conference are on track for a 7th or 8th seed, with surprisingly good rookie Kyrie Irving threatening a game and a half behind. This most likely means elimination at the hands of the Heat or Bulls. The Big Three has run its course in my book, and the NBA Finals ring and several playoff runs is a pretty good return on the investment that the Celtics and Danny Ainge made.
KG is too old and immobile to be the impact MVP player that he was in the past. Ray's shooting is still stellar, but his struggles handling the ball and aging knees show that his age is also starting to catch up. Pierce started the season of out shape, coming off an injury, but he is also in the end of his prime. Rondo is still exciting, but his poor shooting (and fear that comes with it) and his bad attitude (see video of him throwing a ball at a ref) are hurting the team. Weak bench play, save the injured Brandon Bass, and the lack of a solid, healthy center spell mediocrity for Celtics nation. Seriously, we picked up Chris Wilcox and Keyon Dooling in the offseason and thought we had a chance?
Bill Simmons, the sports guy, advocates blowing up the team in his latest column, trading Rondo + JO for Pau Gasol, although I think the Lakers would balk at trading him. He also suggest maximizing value on KG and moving him to Dallas for Shawn Marion and Lamar Odom. Finally, trading Ray to the Clippers for Mo Williams and Eric Bledsoe, although I don't see a ton of value in this move. This plan is feasible, but it involves a lot of moving pieces and ifs, which means its not gonna happen.
I have little confidence in the Celtics for the next 3 years as Miami/NYK/OKC and whoever gets Derron Williams/D.Howard will dominate for the time being. If the Celtics bottom out and acquire some draft picks, they have the ability to come back strong, but the short to medium outlook is not great.
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