Jeff Green: Devastating Diagnosis Will Keep Celtics from Title Contention

The Boston Celtics have been dealt a crushing blow with the terrifying news that Jeff Green has been diagnosed with an aortic aneurysm.

While Green's health is the most important issue, the basketball concerns can't be ignored. The old team that will need some youth and athleticism during the season's final push just lost a young, athletic player.

According to Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, the Celtics do expect Green to be back in action when next season begins. 

To get to the NBA finals, the Celtics will have to get through young, athletic teams in the Heat, Bulls and Knicks. 

Paul Pierce will need to be kept fresh for the team to make a deep run in the playoffs. According to Washburn, this injury will move Marquis Daniels and Sasha Pavlovic into the primary backup roles. That's not going to be good enough. 

The star-studded team led by Pierce, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Rajon Rondo will have no problem getting the team to the playoffs, but that's not the goal of a veteran team like the Celtics.

Allen is 36, Garnett 35 and Pierce 34. When the Celtics go against the East's best teams late in the year (and in the playoffs), they're going to need their top players completely fresh. This injury hampers that possibility. 

There is a very distinct chance that this will be this group's final attempt to win a title. Garnett and Allen are both free agents at the end of the season. 

Again, we need to first keep our thoughts on the health of Jeff Green. This isn't an injury to the body that while inconvenient, won't risk his future health. Heart injuries are serious, and need to be taken as such. 

But when you step back and look at this from a basketball perspective, this is a devastating blow for a Celtics' team that already had slim title hopes.  

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