Things are beginning to heat up in Celtics/NBA land…in case you missed it…
– Jason Terry has to step on the court in Celtics uniform, but he already gets what it means to be a Celtic. Flipping Terry for Ray could be a stroke of genius. Although there is some skill replication, Terry, as a Celtic in 2012-2013, will be hungrier, a better ball-handler, more comfortable offensively as the anchor of a unit, and a better locker room presence.
– It’s a good thing that Jason Terry is Jason Terry because Bradley could be a out a while to start the season. The blessing in disguise could be the fast-tracked acclimation of Courtney Lee, Terry, and Jeff Green who should all see more playing time with Bradley out.
– The Bucks found refuge for Marquis Daniels. In retrospect, what a bizarre Celtics career he had.
– ESPN’s NBA rank experiment, now in year two, is an exhausting and at times tedious countdown of every single player in the NBA as voted upon by too many bloggers. I would take it all more seriously if they created a super committee (say WoJo, Bob Ryan, Bill Simmons, Rich Bucher, Marc Stein, and Steve Kerr) and streamlined the process a little bit. Instead, over what feels like six months, days were spent on a very unnecessary portion of the league and when you get to quality players, it is hard to tell what it all means without knowing who is ahead of them. Celtic fans will be happy to know that yesterday Rondo’s position was revealed to be no. 12, ahead of Tony Parker and Steve Nash, but behind DWade, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Kobe, and DRose. I could see Rondo making the leap over DWade (aging slightly), Deron (ech), and DRose (the injury could set him back) into the top 10. It is mind-blowing to think that Rajon Rondo is a top 10 player in this league, but I think we are on the cusp of that realization. Wow.
– Old Celtic frenemy, Rasheed Wallace, is thinking about joining some other old-timers in the New York Knick Front-court. His stalwart game 7 performance against the Lakers in 2010 (even the running out of gas part at the end), will always give me a reluctant smile about his time in Boston. Most intriguing about this potential move to NYC is that at 38, he would be only the fourth oldest player on the roster behind Jason Kidd (39), Kurt Thomas (39), and Marcus Camby (38). I love everything about this.
The Celtics preseason begins in few weeks in Europe on October 5. Let us hope this European trip is like this European trip in 2007 when the pillars for a Championship team were built. Ubuntu!