Do the Boston Celtics have some gas left in their tank? – NBA Feature - Part 1
Boston Celtics are a team with a lot of history and success has been a constant part of their tradition.
There can be no doubt that talent presently on the Celtics roster is among the best NBA has to offer. The likes of Kevin Garnett, Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce have been around for a while and have all the chances of bringing home
a championship. They have added a few new pieces as well, but will that be enough to surpass the might of the Miami Heat in the East and the Western Conference giants remains to be seen.
Nevertheless, a perfect scenario for that to happen is as under:
Kevin Garnett – The role of a veteran
There is no doubt that Celtics future title ambition revolve around the availability of Kevin Garnett and the Boston management is well aware of the fact as they made it their top priority to bring the veteran back for next season.
KG on the other hand is coming off from possibly the best individual second halves of the season. He was a constant force for this Boston team as he led the bunch all the way to the Easter Conference Finals but was unable to get
them past Miami Heat.
Ever since the All-Star break, KG cemented himself as a class above the rest of NBA veteran as he helped the Celtics finish the season strongly. Not only was he a constant leader for his team but was there to answer every call
for his team.
The second half of the season saw him finish the regular games with an average of 15.8 points per game but it was in the post season when Garnett came into his own. He pulled off some of the best performances of his career but
his individual brilliance of averaging 19.2 points a game was not enough to help Boston get past Miami.
So coming into next season, will Garnett be able to repeat his performances from the last campaign or take a smaller role in the rebuilding process for Boston. However one thing which is certain is that he will have to be a role
model for young draftees like Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo.
Paul Pierce – Accepting the captaincy
If there is any one player that the Boston team need the most to step up next season, it is their captain Paul Pierce.
The captain has not been that effective in the past few seasons and despite his brief brilliant stints has been unable to be a true leader for this Boston team. He may have averaged 19.4 points per game last season but was unable
to keep the same level in the post season.
Pierce’s numbers became slightly less effective in the play offs as he could only manage18.9 points a game. Averaging double figures in the playoffs may be a thing to be proud of for some but on a roster that hardly had any bench
strength, these numbers from the team captain were not that brilliant.
On top of seeing a drastic change in his conversion rate, Pierce was also at the end of getting fouled out twice in the series against Miami which further depleted his team’s chances in a huge manner.
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