Any way you look at it, whether you are a Celtics fan or not, it is impossible to ignore the obvious: The Celtics are just not championship contenders anymore.
After acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the offseason in 2007, the Celtics stampeded through the NBA with a suffocating defense, team basketball and a triple−headed scoring threat that couldn't be matched by any other team. Now, Boston seems one step slower than it used to be, and it is starting to fade in the Eastern Conference in the season's final month.
The Celtics are by no means a poor team; at 41−24 they're currently in fourth place in the Eastern Conference and five games ahead of the fifth−place Milwaukee Bucks. They still have three future Hall of Famers leading their team, but all are under−producing this year. Kevin Garnett, who has been a double−double machine for most of his career, is putting up just 14.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, compared to his averages of 18.8 points and 9.2 rebounds in 2007−08.
However, Paul Pierce and Allen have remained relatively consistent, and Rajon Rondo has picked up his all−around game, bumping his points and assists per game average from 10.6 and 5.1 in the Celtics' championship year to 14.3 and 9.8 this season, good enough for an All−Star selection.
But on Sunday, when the Celtics went to Cleveland, LeBron James and company systematically broke them down on both ends of the court and made them look old and slow.
But what should be cause for concern for the Celtics is not the play of LeBron — because odds are he will put up a consistent 30 points, eight rebounds and seven assists regardless of the situation — but rather the play of the Cleveland role players who simply outhustled the Celtics' supporting cast. Anderson Varejao, the 6−foot−11 forward, beat Kevin Garnett at his own style of play. Dropping 17 points and grabbing 10 rebounds, Varejao was diving for loose balls, taking charges and wreaking havoc under the basket.
Aside from a few minor personnel changes, such as the losses of Eddie House, Leon Powe and James Posey, the core of the 66−16 championship Celtics team in 2008 is still intact. But those core players are simply not producing the way they used to or the way their fans expect.
Highly touted free−agent signing Rasheed Wallace, for instance, is shooting just 40 percent from the field and only averages 9.5 points per game, despite attempting 8.7 shots per contest. The team, likewise, ranks dead last in the league in total rebounds per game and averages a measly 8.4 offense boards per contest, the worst in the NBA.
Against the NBA's best, the Celtics have faltered significantly. They've looked overmatched when taking on the top of the Western Conference, losing to the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks and twice to the Phoenix Suns while splitting with the Memphis Grizzlies.
But even more troubling is how Boston has fared versus the cream of the crop in the East. The squad has gone 1−2 against the Cavaliers, 1−3 against the Orlando Magic and 0−4 against the Atlanta Hawks. With such a poor track record against the top three teams in their own conference, the Celtics will have serious trouble making it out of the second round of the playoffs — something they failed to do last year.
What is surprising about the Celtics' struggles, however, is that they statistically have the second−best defense in the NBA, holding opponents to just 94.2 points per game. But their injury−plagued offense is not producing — it ranks 19th in the league at 98.4 points per game.
Boston's superior talent allows it to defend well and beat up on weaker teams, especially in the Eastern Conference, which currently has six teams that are 20 or more games under .500. But the Celtics of 2007−08 were utterly dominant, beating teams on average by 10.3 points per game, as opposed to 4.2 points this year.
Fans, especially those in the Boston area, still tend to remember that dominance and wonder when the Celtics are going to click back into championship form. But one must keep in mind that the NBA has gotten stronger and more competitive in the last two years. The Cavaliers, Magic and Hawks are younger and faster than the Celtics are, and those up−and−coming squads have proven they can beat the NBA's best teams.
Although their record keeps them among the top teams in the Eastern Conference, don't expect the Celtics to make too much noise in the playoffs this year, especially if their offense remains lackluster and their players slow.
