Boston Celtics
Last Season: 24-58, 5th Place (Atlantic)
After an off-season of complete overhaul, the Boston Celtics are once again a championship contending team. The well documented additions of Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen should pave the way for an NBA Finals appearance this season. In fact anything less than a Finals appearance would be a major disappointment. With such high expectations, the Celtics can only hope that their big-name roster doesn’t end like the ’03-04 Los Angeles Lakers experiment. Then with the likes of Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, and Gary Payton, the Lakers highly regarded championship team managed to get to the NBA Finals, but weren’t able to claim the title. The Celtics can only hope they don’t fall to the same fate.
Projected Starting Lineup
PG – Rajon Rondo
SG – Ray Allen
SF – Paul Pierce
PF – Kevin Garnett
C – Kendrick Perkins
Top reserves who should receive significant playing time
Tony Allen – PG/SG
James Posey – SF
Eddie House – PG/SG
Fantasy Expectations: (per game averages)
PG – Rajon Rondo – 8 pts, 7 ast, 4 reb, 2.5 stl, 43 fg%, 70 ft%
SG – Ray Allen – 23 pts, 3.5 ast, 3.5 reb, 1 stl, 4 3pt, 45 fg%, 90 ft%
SF – Paul Pierce – 26 pts, 5 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 3pt, 45 fg%, 80 ft%
PF – Kevin Garnett – 22 pts, 12 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 1.5 blk, 52 fg%, 82 ft%
C – Kendrick Perkins – 6 pts, 8 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk, 55 fg%, 60 ft%
Tony Allen – 8 pts, 2 ast, 2 reb, 1 stl, 45 fg%, 75 ft%
James Posey – 6 pts, 4 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl, 1 3pt, 42 fg%, 80 ft%
Eddie House – 6 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast, 42 fg%, 90 ft%
The big three of Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett should account for at least 70 points per game for the Celtics this year. That doesn’t leave much for the rest of the Celtics team. In fact many of the players who expect to see game action this year will probably be pressed into being a specific role-type player. However as a fantasy manager it is important to remember that role players can serve the same type role on a fantasy team that they do in real life. For instance, Rajon Rondo is not expected to score points, but he is expected to play good defense and be the floor leader and ball distributor as the point guard. This will give Rondo value to any fantasy manager because he should average nearly 3 steals per game and account for well over 5 assists per game. Center Kendrick Perkins has a chance to break-out this year, or on the other hand he may become a huge flop. Perkins’ main purpose on the floor will be to defend the opponents big men and dominant the glass. Unfortunately for Perkins, Garnett is a great rebounder and so his opportunities on the glass may be limited. Like previous years, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett should post similar numbers to their career averages, with the exception being Ray Allen possibily posting a career high in 3-point field goals.
