Boston Celtics: 5 Reasons Lingering NBA Lockout Is Killing These Celtics Slowly

The NBA lockout drags on as the disagreements only continue to develop further between the NBA Players Union and the league's owners. As a result, it will be teams like the Boston Celtics that will suffer tremendously as a result of the never-ending lockout.

The Celtics are a veteran ball club that enter arguably their last season as championship contenders with Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen as their leaders. The Big Three may be getting their rest, yet in turn they are also getting that much older.

The lockout has not only worsened, but according to the Washington Post, it has gotten to the point in which the players have filed antitrust lawsuits against the league for keeping them out of work. According to the Post, two groups of players have filed antitrust lawsuits against the league in both California and Minnesota.

These are the five big reasons why a continued NBA lockout and the potential loss of the 2011-2012 NBA season hurts the Boston Celtics significantly more than it helps head coach Doc Rivers and the team.

No. 5: Doc Rivers Tenure Cut Shorter

In order to optimize the time Doc Rivers has as the Boston Celtics head coach, it is essentially vital that he fulfill all five years on the contract. By not having a season, Rivers will is only under contract with the Celtics for four seasons.

What makes this difference integral in the success of the franchise is the fact that every year counts in the development of such a young basketball team. Outside of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Jermaine O'Neal, the Celtics are a relatively young squad that will soon undergo what most refer to as the "re-building period."

As the Celtics will soon enter this period, it is vital that Rivers is there developing the young rookies in E'Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson from the get-go and helping to improve the game of Jeff Green and starting point guard Rajon Rondo.

Re-signing or extending the contract the top-notch head coach is another possibility to avoid this problem, yet keep in mind it was difficult enough for Danny Ainge and the C's to get Rivers to coach another season with the team.

Rivers was tempted to temporarily quit coaching to be with his family and children, and as a result, it took a significant amount of time to get a deal done with Rivers.

No. 4: Rookies Get Delayed Development

Both JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore were drafted by the Boston Celtics in the 2011 NBA draft, and both are now in jeopardy of not developing as quickly as NBA players due to the lockout.

Johnson has been making efforts to develop his game during the elongated offseason yet does not wish to play basketball overseas. He has focused on developing his game here in the states and has made attempts to bulk-up and put on muscle as well.

Moore, on the other hand, has decided to take his talents to Italy's Lega Serie A and play overseas ball there with Benetton Treviso. Moore is set to receive $ 200,000 for one season with the team, as well a contract clause that allows for the option to go to the NBA if the lockout is to end.

The two are both doing what they have to do in order to help their games and get ready for an NBA season. Yet if it's not going through the regular motions of NBA training camp and playing together with their teammates prior to the start of the season, it is not necessarily the optimal situation for their development.

No. 3: Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green Lose a Year in Their Prime

If one thing is for certain, it's that Rajon Rondo is an elite point guard in the NBA and has been continuing to improve his game as the starting point guard for the Boston Celtics. If the lockout is to persist and there is no 2011-2012 NBA season, Rondo loses a year of basketball in what is looking like the start of his prime in the league.

Jeff Green, picked up in a trade from the Oklahoma City Thunder last season, is also a promising player for the future of the Boston Celtics. A talented small forward with tremendous upside athletically as well as on the offensive end as a whole, Green is a player who if he hasn't already, is soon enough to enter his prime and needs every year he can get to improve.

It is also imperative that Green gets another year under his belt playing alongside Rondo, as the two of the them are two vital components of the future of the Boston Celtics.

No. 2: No Kevin Garnett? Perhaps No Ray Allen? Paul Pierce?

A contract is a contract, and that is what the Boston Celtics must well be aware of.

That being said, both future Hall of Fame inductees Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are headed into their last years under contract with the Celtics. If the 2011-2012 season is not played, the contract does not get pushed back another year, it will simply result in both Allen and Garnett becoming free agents.

This is could mean a world of problems for the Celtics, or more specifically, the end of a championship contending team. If the Celtics make the right offers and moves to keep both Garnett and Allen in Boston, the Celtics will not have much of a problem. Yet, who is to say the two don't explore their options in the free agent market?

The Celtics have the talent and the youth to make another run at an NBA championship, as a team with the Big Three automatically becomes a contender. Yet, there is a chance that this NBA lockout eliminates the 2011-2012 season, which in turn eliminates the final years of both Garnett's and Allen's contracts.

No. 1: The Big Three Are but Another Year Older

As simple an argument as it may be, if one's thing is for certain, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett are all veteran basketball players who are only getting older.

Allen, 36, Pierce, 34, and Garnett, 35, are all arguably entering their last two to three seasons in the league.

Although last season each of the Big Three improved upon many of their numbers from the year before, including career-high numbers on offense for Allen and Pierce in particular, the fact of the matter is the three will be another year older in 2012 and will have to shake off the rust of not having played this season.

Not to mention if there is no season, Garnett and Allen technically are no longer under contract and will be free agents in 2012.

Talk about a problem for the Celtics.

There is no question the team is capable of bringing back both Allen and Garnett for another run or two at an NBA championship, yet even still the aging itself cannot be helping these veteran talents.