Where The Celtics Are at Right Now and Where They Will Be

The Green have recently signed big-man Rasheed Wallace and are on the way to signing Marquis Daniels as I write. Kevin Garnett has successfully come off his injury. Things are looking great for the Celtics right now. They have great depth on both ends of the court.

We saw how the Celtics struggled in the playoffs last year. They played without Kevin Garnett but lasted until the Conference finals—and it came down to the last game. Although the final game in the 2008-09 season for the Celtics was a 101-82 blowoff against the Orlando Magic, they proved a lot.

Rajon Rondo got better from the perimeter, giving the Celtics another option on the offence. Glen Davis became a man and won Game 4 against the Magic. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce, albeit fatigued, showed us some great basketball. 

Things are looking great, but nobody is perfect. 

The Celtics are old. Kevin Garnett's injury last year was a wake up call for the Celtics. Even though they signed Rasheed Wallace, it doesn't take away the fact that Garnett is 33. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce are 34 and 31 respectively. Injuries are inevitable. While the addition of Rasheed Wallace (34) and Marquis Daniels (28) may help take some load off the Big Three, the age problem is still there and is a major downfall of the Celtics.

Last season, the Celtics experimented with their shallow bench and added Mikki Moore and Stephon Marbury. Their efforts turned out to be futile. The crunch factor right now are Glen Davis and Leon Powe. Hopefully Danny Ainge learns from his mistakes after losing James Posey and tries his best to sign the pair.

Conclusion

The Celtics right now are the Beasts of the East. If they manage to sign swingman Marquis Daniels (which is most probable), resign Big Baby and Powe (the big question mark), they are serious contenders. Failing that, they are still legitimate contenders after signing Rasheed Wallace. Ray Allen and Paul Pierce have both sounded that they wished to retire as Celtics.

The Celtics are on their prime or are near right now. But, like many things in life, there is a flipside. As mentioned before, the Celtics are one of the oldest teams in the NBA. They are going to struggle against young teams like the previous season. They have Lester Hudson, J.R. Giddens, Kendrick Perkins, and Rajon Rondo who have all shown some potential. But whether they will suffice in a championship-contending Celtics is still a question mark. We will have to wait for the 2010 Free Agents market, which is as big as ever, before we can make any predictions.