Boston Celtics: What to Watch For in The Coming Season

After the way the Boston Celtics were eliminated from the playoffs in the 2008-2009 season, most of New England was heartbroken.

But fear not, fellow Celtic fans. We battled the Chicago Bulls and Orlando Magic without Kevin Garnett. They battled Dwight Howard, and almost won.

But with additions like Marquis Daniels and Rasheed Wallace, the Celtics bench is now up to par with the 2007-2008 Celtics team.

Plus with the Big Three of Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce returning for one last NBA Championship run, the Celtics look like the class of the Eastern Conference again.

The guys on the parquet floor time is running out, though.

The younger Orlando Magic and Chicago Bulls exposed the Celtics as an aging team during the playoffs.

Wallace and Daniels aren't necessarily young, either. Virtually, the Celtics are an old team. Their championship time is running out.

The Celtics main concern for 2009-2010 is keeping their starting lineup healthy.

Garnett's late season injury hampered the Celtics for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs.

However, this season if a similar injury were to go down, the Celtics' bench would definitely be able to pick up some slack, unlike last season's, which was weaker than the 2007-2008 Celtics' bench.

But I digress.

Ray Allen was showing his age in the playoffs. Allen made 35 out of 100 three pointers, for a three point percentage of .350, a playoff career low. The .350 average is a far cry from the season before, where Allen's playoff three point percentage was .396. In 2007-2008, he made 55 out of 139 three pointers.

Hopefully, Kevin Garnett won't have any adverse affects from his injury. He had the playoffs and the offseason to heal up. What I'm worried about with Garnett is rust. The heart and soul of the Boston Celtics did not play at all during the postseason.

For the rest of the Celtics, from Tony Allen to Shelden Williams, from Lester Hudson to Brian Scalabrine, from Rajon Rondo to Kendrick Perkins, the Celtics are looking strong. The Celtics should be in the top three in the Eastern Conference for most of the season.