Boston Celtics: Latest Trade Rumors and Expert Analysis for Struggling Celts

For the second time this season, the Boston Celtics are in the middle of a big slump. This one, though, could be costly.

The Celtics have lost four consecutive games after last night's blowout loss to the Dallas Mavericks, and have lost six of seven overall.

They can't rebound, and they have problems scoring, but things aren't going to get any easier for Doc Rivers and company as they travel to Oklahoma City on Wednesday.

What can the Celtics do, and what's the problem right now?

Let's take a look around the nation and find out.

Panic Button

For those expecting Danny Ainge to have his fingers on the panic button and rush to make moves, it doesn't look like Ainge is at that point just yet.

"My feelings haven’t changed yet,” Ainge told Mark Muphy of the Boston Herald. “You don’t panic when things aren’t going well and when your lineup isn’t 100 percent.”

I wouldn't expect anything to happen on the trade front with the All-Star game this week, but I would expect something to happen before the March 15 trade deadline.

With the Celtics sitting currently at 15-16, if they don't turn things around very quickly, changes are going to need to be made.

Dwight Howard

The Celtics have tried to get into the Dwight Howard sweepstakes, but it doesn't look like the All-Star center is going to change his mind on Boston.

Speaking with a Boston radio show Thursday, Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo! Sports had the following to say about the Celtics making a full-court press at Howard in an effort to change Howard's mind.

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I think it's late in the game to do that. Boston has tried very hard to get into that mix to be a team he would consider.

I think there are really two scenarios for him in free agency, one is going to Brooklyn with Deron Williams and the other is going to be Dallas. Dallas...do you see Mark Cuban telling everyone how great Shawn Marion is, he's all defensive team, why doesn't anybody appreciate Shawn Marion?

Because he's trying to get his contract off so he'll have the cap space to sign both Deron Williams and Dwight Howard. If they get rid of Shawn Marion, then Dallas is in the game for both those guys and then they'll be right there with the Nets in getting both guys.

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Ainge should probably forget about Howard altogether and should consider other options at improving the team for the future.

Pau Gasol

When the Pau Gasol for Rajon Rondo rumor first broke a couple weeks ago, it looked liked a deal that may make sense for both teams, given the Celtics need for big bodies not only now but in the future.

Hoopsworld's Eric Pincus reported that the potential deal had growing interest on both sides, but while I would keep an eye on it as the trade deadline approaches, I wouldn't expect anything to happen.

You can make the case, as NESN's Luke Hughes did, that the Celtics aren't a better team with Gasol and that Rondo has much more value to the Celtics than Gasol would ever offer.

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At this point in his career, Rajon Rondo is simply a better all-around player than Gasol. Gasol still scores and rebounds at a very high level, certainly something the Celtics are in need of, but he isn't an elite defender like Rondo and his passing abilities are far inferior.

To be completely candid, Rondo is simply a better and more versatile player than Pau Gasol at this point in their careers. It's not to say that Ainge shouldn't pick up the phone and listen to offers for the franchise point guard, but to ship out arguably the future of your franchise for an aging forward seems ludicrous.

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My take on this situation is pretty much identical to that of Hughes.

As the Big Three's time is coming to an end, having Rondo on the roster will help attract potential free agents in the next couple of seasons.

He's an elite point guard who will be awfully hard to replace if Ainge doesn't get a big return for him. Adding Gasol simply isn't enough.

Offensive Issues

Much of the Celtics issues have been at the offensive end of the floor, where they average a mere 88.9 PPG (26th in NBA).

Even a bigger issue is scoring in the paint, where the Celtics quickly became a below-average post team.

NBA.com's John Schuhmann expanded that thought by adding:

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In reality, they may just be a .500 team. Offensively, they're below average. As usual, turnovers are an issue. And they no longer get to line as much as they used to.

In a related point, the Celtics no longer own the paint. After outscoring their opponents by 5.2 points in the paint per game over the previous seasons, they're getting outscored by 4.4 this season.

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Turnovers and Rebounding

It's been the same old problems for the Celtics—that's turnovers and rebounding.

Boston is the NBA's worst rebounding team at only 39 rebounds per night.

In addition, the Celtics are the NBA's worst offensive rebounding team at only 8.5 a night but allow 11.6 offensive boards a night.

When talking turnovers, Boston has a turnover differential of only 0.6, which isn't like a Doc Rivers-coached team.

That means way too many turnovers and not forced enough on the defensive end.

ESPN's Greg Payne added to that after last night's loss to Dallas:

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It's difficult not to sound like a broken record these days, but the Celtics once again suffered mightily due to turnovers and offensive rebounds allowed. The C's turned the ball over 17 times, good for 25 Dallas points, while surrendering 13 offensive rebounds and 12 second-chance points.

Garnett and Bass clearly would have made a difference on the glass. Dallas finished the game with a 52-44 rebounding advantage, but might not have had such an easy time had Garnett and Bass been involved.

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Injuries

One big problem in Boston is dealing with the rash of injuries that's hit the Celtics.

Added to that, Rondo's two-game suspension doesn't help at all.

Out of the lineup yesterday for the Celtics were: Rondo (suspension), Garnett (personal) and Brandon Bass (knee).

Leaving the game due to injuries were Jermaine O'Neal (wrist) and Chris Wilcox (groin).

Playing through pain were Sasha Pavlovic (wrist) and Keyon Dooling (hip).

No team needs to get to the All-Star break quicker than the Celtics do, and Payne concurs.

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Right now it's more about getting to the All-Star break than anything else for this group, as the team's health has to be one of the top concerns, particularly with O'Neal and Wilcox developing their own maladies on Monday.

Don't forget that Garnett and Keyon Dooling still could be dealing with nagging hip injuries, while Pietrus' right knee still might not be at 100 percent. After Wednesday's tilt against the Thunder, the C's will have nearly a week off (except Pierce, who'll be playing in the All-Star Game on Sunday) to rest their bodies and refresh their minds for the second half of the season

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