1. Save the Big 3
Paul Pierce is 31. Kevin Garnett is 32. And Ray Allen is 33. These guys aren't exactly young, and playing playing big minutes, especially in unnecessary situations, will wear them out. Allen and Pierce each played 35.9 minutes per game last year, with Garnett right behind them at 32.8. All three are going to have to see a small (each one right around 30 mpg?) drop in minutes to save them for the post season. The Celtics are one of the two or three best teams in the east, no questions asked. So why throw your superstars out there in during blowouts? Save them for April, when a little more energy can be a season saver.
2. Get some help from Gabe Pruitt
Everybody knows that Rajon Rondo is the point guard of the present and the future for this team. He is going to get the bulk of the minutes on any given night, but he won't play 48 minutes a game. Sam Cassell is ancient, and the Eddie House/Tony Allen combo struggled to bring the ball up against presses last season. That leaves Gabe Pruitt as the backup point guard. The former second round pick out of USC was in the D-League for much of last season and rarely saw any action in Boston. Pruitt did impress in the preseason, however. He started twice, averaged 6.0 points and 3.3 assists in 23.4 minutes a game, and put up 11 points and 12 rebounds with 7 assists in an October 19th exhibition win against the Nets. The Celtics lack of a true backup point guard nearly hurt them last season. Now Gabe Pruitt seems poised to take on that role in '08.
3. More Improvement from Rondo and Perkins
Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo, the Celtics other two starters made great strides last season. Perk was a beast inside for most of the year, and Rondo was great in distributing the ball. If the Celtics are going to repeat, these two are going to have to continue getting better on both sides of the ball. Perkins shot blocking skills were superb last year, but he tended to pick up stupid fouls, which forced him to sit. KG would have to move to the 5, which he prefers not to do, and the Glen Davis/Leon Powe/PJ Brown trifecta would play significantly more minutes, a huge dropoff in terms of inside production. Perk needs to stay on the floor, and stay healthy this season. As for Rondo, he needs to just continue to play smart basketball. Sometimes he tried to do too much last year, and ended up making a boneheaded play, like throwing an alley-oop to a covered player, or going too fast and dribbling the ball off his foot. The improvement of these two will be huge for this team.
4. Get Tony Allen's head in the game
Allen was tremendously athletic before tearing his ACL two years ago. It was apparent last year that the injury still effects him, if not physically than mentally. He sometimes appeared unsure when cutting, and passed the ball instead of taking it to the rim. Allen has been known primarily as a defensive stopper, save for one terrible play against Detroit, jumping on Chauncey Billups' up fake with 0.1 seconds left in a tie game. With James Posey gone, Allen is the new stopper. If he can get some of that athleticism back, and keep his head in the game, Allen can help this team a ton.
5. Get Lucky
Every team needs a little luck in winning a championship. A bad bounce or a blown call, even a mistake by the other team, anything can help get a team going. Hopefully the C's can get a little more luck of the Irish in 2008.
If the Celtics can get these five things, and if, for the most part, they are able to stay healthy, there is no reason why they shouldn't be right there at the end of the year, going for back to back titles. Only Detroit and Cleveland are really with the Celtics at the top of the Eastern Conference, so it should be another great season in Boston.
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