The playoffs will be an adventure, no doubt. But there’s still a significant segment of the fan base ruing the Celtics’ trade deadline dealings from a month and a half ago. The C’s turned their world upside down on Feb. 24, and they may not be able right the ship in time to pursue another championship this spring.
Postseason fervor is in the air, but so is panic. It’s a crazy time to be a Celtics fan.
Let’s get to your questions. Thanks to everyone who submitted them this week. Hope to see even more going forward.
1. Thanks for allowing me to respond. I’m now 75 and have been a Celtics fan since the 1950s. My question: Have the recent trades helped to destroy the Celtics’ chemistry?
–Dexter Spaulding
“Destroy” is a strong word, Dexter. The Celtics were definitely shaken up by the February trade of Kendrick Perkins, and, for a few days, they hung their heads over it. Their negative attitude may have affected their play in the beginning.
But these guys are professionals. Even if they were blindsided by losing their big man — not just the players, but coach Doc Rivers was, too — they know how to move on and focus on the task at hand. A few of the C’s may still harbor resentment for the deal, but I doubt at this point it’s impacting how they perform on the floor.
Perk’s absence is meaningful, though, in terms of X’s and O’s. They miss his presence in the paint defensively, and they miss the hard picks he set on the offensive end. The hope now is that Jermaine O’Neal can fill Perk’s shoes a little bit.
2. What the hell was Danny Ainge thinking? Will he be fired if the Celtics don’t make the Finals?
–allenbosox
Sorry. Like it or not, Danny Ainge has job security in Boston.
Here’s a good rule of thumb: When you win a championship in this league, you get at least five years of leeway. Danny may have made a very controversial move this winter in giving away Perkins, but after 2008, he’s earned the right to make a bold move or two.
Anyway, not to beat a dead horse, but Ainge’s thinking in the Perkins’ trade was twofold — he wanted to get something back because Perkins was leaving this summer in free agency, and he wanted to swap an injury-prone big man for a healthier one (Nenad Krstic) in preparation for the playoffs.
Is the move guaranteed to put the Celtics in the Finals? Of course not. But there were no guarantees with keeping Perkins, either. The top of the Eastern Conference is loaded this season, and the C’s have a challenge ahead of them either way.
3. Is Rajon Rondo just a sulker? Is his poor play is due to losing his friend Kendrick Perkins? If he is that childish, will Danny Ainge look to dump him in the offseason?
–Flipside
Rondo took the Perkins news harder than anyone. Being the two young stars on a veteran team, the two guys became best friends, and that bond lasted nearly five years while they were together in Boston.
That said, I’m not buying for a minute the idea that Rondo’s recent slump was because of Perkins’ departure. Rondo has been dealing with a couple of minor injuries lately (sore feet, a jammed finger) and it’s been really tough for him to give 100 percent physically every night. But mentally, he’s still locked in, even if the deadline deal shocked him.
And no, there’s absolutely no chance the Celtics try to “dump” Rajon Rondo. He’s the future of the franchise.
4. How productive do you think the center position will be for the Celtics in the playoffs? They are versatile there, but who will really be the go-to guy?
–Matt
Call me naive, but I still think Shaquille O’Neal is the Celtics’ first option at center this spring. He may be 39 and falling apart physically, but he still has the prowess to dominate offensively in five-minute bursts. If he gets healthy again at some point in the next week or two, expect him to start and give the Celtics instant offense in the playoffs.
But since neither Shaq nor Jermaine O’Neal is healthy enough to play major minutes, Doc Rivers will inevitably mix and match based on matchups. Shaq is the offensive guy, and J.O. is the defensive specialist. Nenad Krstic will also see some time as the backup for the O’Neal two-headed monster.
The five-spot will probably end up being the least productive position on the floor, but on this team, that’s perfectly OK.
5. What’s your feeling on Jeff Green? He has given Paul Pierce time to rest. Look at Pierce’s numbers since the trade.
–coug88, via Twitter
I like Green a lot, but his effect on Paul Pierce isn’t the main reason why. Pierce has averaged 34.6 minutes per game this season and 34.1 in March. Any difference on Pierce’s workload is negligible — his minutes are his minutes. Pierce’s production has been very solid lately, but that’s simply because he dials it up this time of year with the playoffs around the corner.
The best part of having Jeff Green is having a little extra athleticism on the Celtics’ second unit. Let’s face it — the C’s backup five is loaded with skilled guys, but none of them are particularly good athletes. Think Glen Davis, Delonte West, Nenad Krstic. Green takes that group to another level — he can run the floor, he can score in transition, he can create his own shot. Doc hasn’t had a player like Green off the bench in a long, long time. For a seventh man, he’s pretty darn good.
The one thing he needs to improve is his rebounding — he’s only averaging 2.2 per game so far as a Celtic, and, even when you translate that into a per-minute stat, he’s still at a career low. He’s not used to being a small forward, so it’ll take some adjustment, but he does need to become more productive on the glass.
6. Do you think resting the stars from now on would be better than pushing for a No. 1 or No. 2 seed and being more fatigued for the playoffs? I would rather take the No. 3 seed and see the younger players get more minutes.
–scousechris
Depends on the player. Rajon Rondo is young and carefree — he can play all the minutes in the world. Kevin Garnett is notoriously stubborn about playing his usual minutes. Ray Allen is in such good shape that his fatigue isn’t much of an issue.
In general, no, I don’t think the Celtics are too worried about the fatigue factor. And they do really want to get these wins — even if they don’t catch the Bulls for the No. 1 seed in the East, they’re still in a close race for the Lakers for the better record, which could become very significant if the two teams meet in the Finals.
I think Doc Rivers will look to pick his spots to rest the starters for a few minutes here and there, but you won’t see anything dramatic. They want to finish the season strong.
7. Who do you think will be left off the playoff roster? Will Von Wafer miss out after missing time with his calf injury?
–Spencer
I think Doc will err on the side of carrying more big men and fewer guards. It should be pretty obvious why — the bigs on this roster are injury-prone and fragile, while Rondo and Allen are the two workhorses. They don’t need a lot of depth behind their starting backcourt.
Von Wafer and Avery Bradley were healthy scratches from the active roster on Tuesday night against the Sixers, when Doc had 14 healthy players. It’s pretty likely that those two get left off in the postseason, as well. The other odd man out will probably be either Troy Murphy or Sasha Pavlovic — and, again, because the C’s have had trouble keeping their big guys healthy, I think Murphy has the advantage. Close call, though.
If Wafer misses out, I don’t think his recent calf injury will be the reason why. He wasn’t getting very many minutes before he went down, either. It’s just that between Delonte West and Carlos Arroyo, the C’s already have enough depth at the guard spots without Wafer.
8. How many games will it take for the Celtics to beat me in the second round?
–LeBron
Ha! Good one.
If the Bulls hold on for the No. 1 seed in the East and the Celtics and Heat finish second and third, and if the Celtics win their first-round series, and if the Heat win theirs (if, if, if), then yes, I think the Celtics would be the favorites. They’ve done well against LeBron James and the Heat this season, and that may well continue in the playoffs.
But LeBron basically pushed the Celtics to six games last year by himself. That Cleveland team was really struggling — Shaq was breaking down, Antawn Jamison totally disappeared, and Mo Williams basically had one good half the entire series. LeBron won two games with virtually no help. With Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh? He can win three.
The Celtics are 3-0 this season against the Heat, but they can’t let that make them overconfident. The playoffs are an altogether different animal. When rotations tighten and the Heat’s big three are on the floor 40 minutes a night, anything can happen.
9. It’s starting to look as though age is catching up with the Big Three, with the possible exception of Ray Allen. Is there any future plan to move some of the old men out and bring in some younger bodies — maybe somebody like Monta Ellis or Tyreke Evans?
–iceman7
I think the Celtics are done making major moves between now and the summer of 2012. Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are all getting on in years, but they’re still a solid nucleus to pursue a championship this year and next.
After 2012 is when things will get interesting. Rajon Rondo will still be around and so will Pierce most likely — he’s under contract until 2014 and probably not getting moved. But the C’s do have $39 million coming off the books next summer, and they will have the salary cap space to pursue a big name.
The two guys you named are athletic combo guards that thrive with the ball in their hands. They might not fit well next to Rondo, who also needs the ball to be his playmaking self. But if the C’s do want to make a big splash in free agency, they could pursue either a new wing scorer to replace Allen (Eric Gordon, George Hill) or a star big man (Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum). The possibilities are endless.
But before 2012, you probably won’t see Danny Ainge shake anything up. He’s already done plenty of that already, hasn’t he?
To submit a question to Evans Clinchy for future mailbags, click here. You can also ask Evans a question via Twitter at @evansclinchy.
