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These are strange days around the Celtics. Uneasy days, to some degree.
While the players struggle to improve on the fly and the coaches try to mold a rotation given more options from three players acquired two and a half weeks ago, there is the clear expectation that more shoes will be dropping.
The Celts have been in rebuilding mode since the summer of 2013, with changes always a possibility. But when Rajon Rondo was sent to Dallas, the last fading, hanging-by-a-thread, pretty-sure-it-wasn’t-going-to-happen-anyway hope of adding an impact player and building on what’s already here was removed.
The players knew there were going to be moves anyway, but now that the reconstruction is going to be more thorough, a roster that was already in flux has become even more so.
“I think so,” veteran Gerald Wallace said. “That’s a clear sign. Once Rondo was gone, then you know it’s really a rebuilding process.
“Everybody’s gone from that 2008 championship team, so now it’s a new beginning. I think it’s an evaluation for not only the rookies but everybody, as far as managing the rotation and playing time.”
Boston Herald – Rebuild remains work in progress
Now that Rajon Rondo is gone, has had his homecoming and the dust has settled, it’s time to ask the question: What are the Boston Celtics, exactly? As a fan, what, and who are you rooting for? Still pulling for Jeff Green to be aggressive, find consistency in his offensive game? Because there’s a pretty good chance that development in his game will come to fruition in another city and on another team. Looking for Jared Sullinger and/or Kelly Olynyk to develop and refine their offensive games and become go-to scoring options on a nightly basis? Of course. But by doing so, it makes either player a far more desirable centerpiece in a blockbuster trade.
The Celtics are a tenuous group of 15, serviceable, NBA parts (yes, maybe even you, Gerald Wallace). What that means is anybody’s best guess. It seems completely absurd and inconceivable, then, that this assemblage of assets is only 2 games out of the 8th spot in the playoffs. True, that probably says more about the state of the east than it does about the Celtics’ performance to date, but a team without much of a direction and one void of a star player is outperforming conference foes who should ostensibly be looking down at Boston in the standings.
The Knicks wanted to contend coming into the year, as did everyone’s trendy playoff pick, Detroit. Charlotte has an all-star big man and approached free agency this past summer like a team looking to stay in the top-eight of the conference. All three of those teams are below the Celtics in the standings.
What are the Celtics, exactly? Hell if know. But during these “uneasy” days, I’ll take a moment to tip my cap to this assemblage of parts and the coach who has to get them to play with a sense of purpose each night. Five years from now Celtics fans probably won’t talk about the 2014-15 team, so might as well pay my respects now, because who knows what they’ll look like come mid February.
On page 2, Brad Stevens is Jim Mora Lite
[…]it’s not completely crazy that head coach Brad Stevens fielded a question about the p-word. A reporter wanted to know if Stevens thinks the Celtics can compete for a postseason berth.
“Yeah,” Stevens said Saturday at the United Center. “I’m going to approach every single day with that mindset. And I think the biggest thing is not too look at it necessarily from what’s 52 games away, but look at it as how do we become the best team that we can be? For me it’s identifying where we stand right now statistically – really black and white – in the rankings of some key categories, and seeing if we can’t rise up in that. And being able to judge ourselves that way.
It can’t be easy being Brad Stevens right now. He has new roster additions to integrate and juggle while he waits for Danny Ainge to make a subsequent move, and his team is nine games under .500 without a discernible go-to player. Even with all of that uncertainty and less-than-mediocrity, his club is right in the thick of the playoff race.
Stevens is saying the right thing and taking the right approach, but it’s hard to know if he can get players to adopt his mindset when trade rumors swirl and when the Cs are equidistant from the bottom five of the lottery to the eighth spot in the conference. The Cs next three games are against teams hovering in basketball purgatory alongside and we may have a good idea as to whether Stevens’ approach is a realistic one by the end of the week.
And Finally… Celtics ‘keeping tabs’ on DeAndre Kane
The Boston Celtics are among a handful of teams reportedly interested in former Iowa State star DeAndre Kane.
[…]Undrafted in last year’s NBA draft, Kane plays for the Antwerp Giants of the Belgium League where he’s averaging 14 points, 5.7 rebounds and five assists in EuroChallenge play.
As a senior at Iowa State, Kane averaged 17.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 5.9 assists while appearing in 36 games.
CSNNE – Report: Celtics interest in DeAndre Kane
Kane was part of a deep and talented Cyclones squad that lost to UConn in the sweet sixteen last spring. After a quiet stint with the Lakers in summer league play, he looks to duplicating his college numbers overseas. Every once in a while in the NBA a player comes out of obscurity to carve out a role in a rotation. Maybe Kane can be one of those guys.
Here are highlights from Kane’s best college game, so that you can get irrationally excited/intrigued along with me.
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