..State of the C's...

The hometown c's got boo'ed last night. I don't boo, but this was actually a time where I felt it was sorta deserved. 

I normally don't have a problem with Doc, I think he gets the most out of his players, and I am not smart enough to comment on his playcalling, etc.

But this really irked me, from Celtics Twitter:
Doc: "We were awful tonight. I thought the first 7-8 minutes we had great energy. But our lack of offense is affecting how we play defense."

I am not sure how to react to that. At the 6 minute mark, I said to Andy the following words, "look at the score [12 or 13 to 6, Grizzlies] - we are going to be lucky to get 12 points this quarter."  That was at the 6 minute mark. Given they scored 12 in the quarter, and were down by 15 at the end of the first 12 minutes, you can imagine that the next 1-2 minutes following the 1/2 way mark did not mark some significant energy change.

Doc is/was flat out wrong. I know I am nitpicking, but there was no energy from the team all night. They were out-athleticized.

I said to Andy last night at dinner also that the things we are praising Garnett for is demeaning to Garnett. It is like when you are sick, and you can't eat for 3 days, and then you get incredibly pumped when you are able to down a 1/2 slice of toast. Garnett is nibbling at toast right now, and we are patting him on the rear end for it.

He has aged 6 season in the last 2 years. Show someone game film of Kevin McHale from 82, then show them 88 game footage, and the style of play is what Garnett has managed to downgrade to in just 2 seasons.

I am not unappreciative, I really am not. I think his time has been amazing here, but it is either the end of his season, or the end of the road entirely, I can't figure it out.

This is what I hope happened last night. I actually imagined this last night as I was going to sleep. 

After the game, Ainge calmly walks through the Locker Room, talks to Doc. He and Doc share a "what the eff is going on?" moment, but neither of them are accusatory. They close the door, chat about how difficult things are going to be in terms of integrating Nate and Finley, how the starting unit seems to have lost fire - how Rondo may be taking on too much of the load offensively, and Perkins is forced to take too much of it defensively. They talk about Rasheed and how his place on the team is completely up in the air, and they ponder the future.

Ainge leaves the Garden and thinks about the future on his ride home.  Rondo is the C's point guard for the next 5 seasons. Perkins has to be the C's center for the next 5 as well. Signing Perkins this offseason to an extension is the only thing that matters. Ainge also starts to think about what can be done with KG. He knows that next year may be his last as a Celtic - as he will be a valuable expiring contract in the 11/12 season, and he is not a necessary component.  He knows that Rasheed is in the same boat, and knows he can work around the 6.5+ million per he will get the next 2 years.

Signing Perkins and getting creative with another player is of the utmost importance.

Secretly, he and Pierce are talking about the probability and likelihood that next year will be his last. 21 Million player option will be picked up, but Ainge isn't going to entertain the idea of an extension for a body and a player that is simply beaten down.  Years and years of service to a horrible team in a city that underappreciated him is taking a toll, and his potential Hall of Fame career will likely end after next year. It's early, but signing a 7 or 8 million extension is demeaning, and the thought of going to another team would literally be overwhelming.  

So for the 11/12 season you have on your roster, given a Perkins long term extension and a Garnett expiring contract dump:

PG - Rondo

C - Perkins

Bench - Rasheed

1/2 season Bench or Starting PF - Garnett

It is a 'reset button' type of year, but let me say this. I am willing to endure a 10/11 season in which we are a 5 seed, and get knocked out in round 2 by cleveland or whatever...but position ourselves for a very bright future.  We potentially could have STARTING all stars in Rondo and Perkins by 11/12, and build the team around those guys. It is how it can be. I am optimistic that Ainge has set it up this way.

asd