Boston Celtics: How can the ‘Big Boys of East’ launch one last charge at NBA Glory? - Part 2
Rajon Rondo is another player who will be key to the Boston Celtics’ success next season. Rondo has proven himself to be an excellent playmaker and is undoubtedly now one of the better point guards in the league. The player has great athletic ability and can get to the rim very easily when he wants to.
However, the fact that he is surrounded by three future Hall of Famers, often drives Rondo to be more of a team player than he needs to be. Following the example set by Garnett & Co, Rondo has grown to learn that the team comes first. That mentality has served the Celtics well so far, but it won’t in the future.
Rondo’s scoring ability now has to come to the fore for the Celtics. The point guard has been happy passing the ball to his illustrious teammates so far in his Boston career, but he would have to change his mentality for the Celtics to progress. If Rondo becomes more selfish, aggressive, attacks the rim, takes his shots and becomes the scorer he has potential to be, he will provide a huge relief to the Big Three and give the opposition a lot more problems than in his playmaker role.
In another league, the Celtics would have been OK with just taking these steps. However, the likes of the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks raised the bar last year. In addition to that, the Los Angeles Lakers are bound to be back with a vengeance next season and the scarily talented Oklahoma City Thunder are only going to get better.
In order to compete with these elite teams, the Celtics need reinforcements. The Achilles heel currently for this Boston side is their rebounding. They were ranked 4th from the bottom last year, in terms of rebounds per game in NBA. That absolutely has to change.
JaJuan’s development is one way to go about it, but that wouldn’t be enough. The Celtics lost Shaquille O’Neal and Nenad Krstic in the offseason so they have room for some players. That void has to be filled with a quality rebounder, one that will instantly make this Celtics team better. T
Tyson Chandler is a free agent, but his stock is probably too high for the Celtics right now. Nene Hilario is someone they can realistically chase after. Nene doesn’t really want to go back to the Denver Nuggets and has already stated that he wants to play somewhere where he can compete for the highest honours. The player is one of the better rebounders in the NBA and has plenty of experience as well. With him on their roster, Boston will definitely be one of the favourites for the title next year.
Danny Ainge and the Celtics management will probably be looking at the options to improve the team, if they go after Nene, he could prove to be the final piece of the puzzle Boston need for their last hurrah.
All in all, write the Celtics off at your own peril.
They will certainly need some adjustments in terms of mentality, personnel and roles of different team members but it’s only a matter of when for them. They will do that and when they do, watch out.
Link for Part-1: http://www.senore.com/Boston-Celtics-How-can-the-Big-Boys-of-East-launch-one-last-charge-at-the-NBA-Glory-Part-1-a84540
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