It's All Coming Together

(CBTC)


By: Greg Payne

With reports surfacing that Glen Davis is set to sign a new contract with the Celtics sometime early next week (hopefully it will be done by Tuesday at the latest) an already improved Celtics bench received a much anticipated shot in the arm yesterday.

Couple that with the Celtics prepared to use the biannual exception to sign Marquis Daniels, and suddenly our roster is taking shape, particularly the second unit.

It sure is something of a relief to have this Big Baby business coming to an end. It was clear that as negotiations with other teams were delayed more and more, the better chance we had of retaining him, so as August wore on, I was pretty confident he would return anyway. Nonetheless, it's nice knowing it's all about to come to a conclusion and we can turn the majority of our attention towards the season.

So, with the key cogs of the bench looking like this: Rasheed Wallace/Marquis Daniels/Eddie House/Glen Davis, we just need to find our fifth and final guy. Will Danny Ainge look to bring in a veteran point guard to back up Rondo (does he really need a "mentor" anymore? Aren't we officially past that stage? Unless that mentor can teach him how to shoot a consistent jump shot, I think we're good), or will rookie Lester Hudson get the call? House is always available to back up Rondo, meaning someone like J.R. Giddens or Bill Walker could find time in the rotation alongside a quality group of players in the second unit. Having a vet backing up Rondo wouldn't hurt come playoff time though...

The more I think about it, the more I believe the signing of Shelden Williams will go down as one of this season's most underrated, yet important moves. We saw how imperative depth at the four and five spots was last post season (only because we didn't have any), so with Kevin Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Wallace, Davis and Williams in tow, and throw in Brian Scalabrine who proved in the playoffs he can fill in adequately when need be, and we're looking at a very secure rotation of big men.

I know Williams is undersized at 6'9, but we've seen what undersized yet bullish players can do (Leon Powe, anyone?) for us. And hey, anyone's better than Mikki Moore, right?

Speaking of a secure rotation, our options at the two-guard spot are almost too secure for our own good. Quite simply, it's looking like we have too many players for only one position. Right now, our options at the two consist of Ray Allen (who will receive the majority of the minutes), Marquis Daniels (he might see more time backing up Paul Pierce, but he can easily play at the two as well), Eddie House (if Daniels does play at the three, House will receive the majority of the minutes behind Allen at the two), Tony Allen and J.R. Giddens.

And, with the signings of Williams, Daniels and Davis bringing the roster to 14 players, it seems likely that something's gotta give. It's becoming very difficult to see where Tony Allen fits into the equation this year, and Giddens might lose out simply because of seniority to more experienced and productive players.

With T.Allen and Scal both carrying expiring contracts under their belts, it will be interesting to see if the Celtics look to shed those numbers off of their own books heading into next summer, or if they'll use either as trade bait at the deadline (I'm tempted to say Ainge will try and move Allen ahead of Scal, but you never know). If Allen won't receive many minutes this year, we're paying him a hefty amount of money ($2.5 million) to do nothing. But we'll have to see how that plays out.

At least we've bettered our team. I for one am convinced that this year's team trumps last year's and could even make a case to be better than the 2008 championship squad. But don't be fooled. While we as Celtics fans like to deem ourselves the favorite (check the poll on the right hand side), our competition stepped their game up as well. But at least we're ready to give everyone a war. It's going to be a hell of season and it's nice to see that it's all coming together at last.

Stay Tuned.