Sure, the Celtics are old, but now they look dead. Or at least their hopes for success do.
Forget about winning a championship. Making the playoffs could be a stretch.
How did this team fall so far so fast?
Last year, the Celtics took a 40-14 record into the All-Star break. Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo were all voted to play in the All-Star Game, and Doc Rivers coached the Eastern Conference All-Stars because Boston owned the best record in the conference.
This year, they're 15-17 and have lost five in a row and seven of their last eight. Only Pierce and Rondo, who replaced the injured Joe Johnson of Atlanta, will represent the Celtics in tonight's All-Star Game.
The Celtics are on a pace to finish 31-35 (.470); they were 56-26 (.683) last year. The 23 times they won 56 or more games before last season, they never posted a losing record the following season. Their largest single-season drop-off was from 57-25 in 1987-88 to 42-40 in 1988-89, when a bad back limited Larry Bird to six games.
The Celtics are on pace to post their second-largest drop in winning percentage (21.3) from one season to the next. They fell 21.9 percent from .402 (33-49) in 1995-96 to .183 (15-67) in 1996-97, when they tried to lose in order to get Tim Duncan in the draft.
Pierce, Garnett and Allen may no longer rank among the NBA's elite, but they're still good players that many teams would love to have. Rumors are already flying that Allen will be dealt by next month's trading deadline. Rondo may not be Derrick Rose, but he's still one of the NBA's best point guards.
So, why is he having so much trouble finding the open man? And why have the Celtics lost to such less-talented teams as Detroit, Toronto and Cleveland? Sure, injuries have cost Boston, but plenty of teams have played short-handed.
The stretch of winning nine of 10 seems like an aberration. Take that away, and the Celtics would be only 6-16.
The Celtics can still defend, but they have all sorts of trouble scoring. Even after allowing Oklahoma City 119 points on Wednesday, the Green still have surrendered the third-fewest points (88.53) and the second-lowest field goal percentage (41.8) in the NBA. But they're only 26th of the 30 NBA teams in scoring (89.41). They haven't averaged less than 90 points for an entire season since 1953-54, before the shot clock.
The Celtics have taken the fewest shots in the league because they don't have the ball as often. They rank last in the league in rebounding, offensive rebounding and second-chance points. Why? Because they're old, slow and not very mobile. They're also not very big. Danny Ainge built a smaller team to try to keep up with Miami, which doesn't have an overpowering center.
If the season ended today, the Celtics would be the eighth seed and play first-seeded Miami in the opening round. Such a playoff series might not last the five games it took Miami to eliminate Boston in the second round last year.
The Celtics must finish no worse than sixth in the Eastern Conference to avoid facing Miami or Chicago in the opening round of the playoffs, but they're closer to ninth (1-1/2 games) than sixth (four games).
There's plenty of blame to go around, from Ainge to Rivers to the players. There's still time to salvage the regular season and maybe even win a playoff round if the Celtics can somehow get everyone back and remain healthy, but that seems unlikely.
A sense of doom hangs over the franchise. The end is near. If they're not traded this season, Garnett and Allen probably won't return after their contracts expire this summer, and luring free agents to Boston has never been easy.
Bill Doyle?s Celtics midseason grades
Paul Pierce: B
The Celtics' captain passed Larry Bird and moved into second place on the franchise's all-time scoring list, but his shooting percentage has plummeted from a career-high 49.7 percent last year to 41.7 percent this year, by far his lowest in Rivers' eight seasons as coach. One reason for the drop ? 31.1 percent of Pierce's shots have been 3-pointers this season, compared to 29.1 percent last year. Pierce played his best while Rondo was out with a wrist injury, but he seemed lost when Rondo came back.
Kevin Garnett: B
Yeah, he's old and slow and can't jump as high, but the Celtics are the NBA's best defensive team when he's on the floor. Without him, they're not.
Rajon Rondo: B
Rondo shot more after he returned from his wrist injury, but his scoring boost came at the expense of Pierce and Allen. He must figure out a way to keep his teammates involved. He must also learn to keep his cool. Getting suspended two games for throwing the ball at a referee showed a lack of leadership.
Ray Allen: B
Allen has fallen off after a fast start. He can still shoot, but he needs help getting open. Opponents have trapped Allen and Pierce while daring Rondo to shoot.
Jermaine O'Neal: D
Playing on two bad knees, O'Neal deserves credit for taking charges and blocking shots, but he gets into foul trouble and needs to score and rebound more.
Brandon Bass: B
Acquiring Bass for Glen Davis and Von Wafer was Ainge's best move. The 6-foot-8 Bass held his own under the boards, and his jump shots helped spread the floor. But he has missed the last five games with a knee injury, and the Celtics miss him and his 11.6 points a game.
Mickael Pietrus: C
Pietrus said he plans to do more in the second half than just shoot 3-pointers. That's good because he has made only 4 of 21 attempts from 3-point range in his last five games.
Avery Bradley: C
The kid can defend, and he's shooting a bit better, but he can't run an offense.
Chris Wilcox: C
He came on strong after a slow start, but then got hurt again.
Marquis Daniels: D
He's shooting only 32.2 percent and rarely plays anymore.
Keyon Dooling: D
He has been injured for most of the year and not very effective when he has played.
JaJuan Johnson: C
He gets pushed around because he's so thin, but he should play more so the Celtics can figure out whether they can expect anything out of him in the future.
E'Twaun Moore: C-
In limited playing time, Moore has shown he can make 3-pointers, but not much else.
Greg Stiemsma: C-
He's no Bill Russell, but the Celtics weren't counting on him to be one.
Sasha Pavlovic: Incomplete
He has been nagged by a wrist injury for much of the season, but it remains a mystery why the Celtics signed him.
Doc Rivers: B-
Rivers must be wondering why he decided to come back for another season. Injuries have been a major problem, but this has not been his finest coaching job with Boston. He's not the problem, but neither has he been the solution.
Danny Ainge: C
Losing Jeff Green to heart surgery left the Celtics with nothing from the Kendrick Perkins trade. Acquiring Bass worked out well until he got hurt. Signing Pietrus was a good move. Signing Wilcox began to look good after he returned from injuries, but signing Dooling and bringing Daniels back look like mistakes. Failing to pull off the trade of O'Neal for David West hurt the Celtics. Ainge's most important work will come before the trading deadline or this summer when he must make over the franchise.
Bill Doyle can be contacted by email at wdoyle@telegram.com.
Source: http://www.telegram.com/article/20120226/COLUMN08/102269815/1120/RSS01&source=rss
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