2007 Boston Celtics Season Preview

2007 Boston Celtics preview from MadduxSports.com. As well as previews Maddux offers FREE NBA picks against the NBA betting lines daily during the pro basketball season.

For the once proud Boston Celtics, snagging forward Kevin Garnett .476 FG%, .835 FT%, 12.8 RPG, 4.1 APG, 22.4 MPG) and guard Ray Allen (.438 FG%, .372 3P%, .903 FT%, 4.5 RPG, 4.1 APG, 26.4 PPG) has given them and fans hope for the 2007- 08 season. Dynamic swingman Paul Piece (.439 FG%, .389 3P%, .796 FT%, 5.9 RPG, 4.1 APG, 25.0 PPG) is back for his ninth season and, after an injury filled season, looks healthy.

Obviously, the combination of Garnett and Pierce upfront will be lethal. But after that the frontcourt gets thin. Center Kendrick Perkins (.401 FG%, .000 3P%, .6000 FT%, 5.2 RPG, 1.3 APG, 4.5 PPG), who stands at 6’ 10”, gave the team a foul every seven-plus minutes of play in 2006-07. Perhaps new guy Glen Davis, from LSU, can make a difference if he’s in shape. “Big Baby” is tough inside, but he’s got to be durable and leaner to make it in the NBA.

Star shooting guard Ray Allen arrives in Boston at the age of thirty-two, often considered the age of decline for backcourt guys. Although injuries caused Allen to miss 27 games last season, he was exceptionally sharp when he played. This is a guy you don’t want to send to the foul line, and this is a guy who makes other clubs foul him. At the point, Rojon Rondo (.418 FG%, .207 3P%, .647 FT%, 3.7 RPG, 3.8 APG, 6.4 PPG) gets the starting role as former point man Delonte West went Seattle in the Allen trade. Rondo, now in his second year, really has to step up. He’s got great potential as a court general but must improve his shooting.

G.M. Danny Ainge has put together team that has three top-fifteen NBA players on it—no other club has that. Will that be enough to take the weak NBA Atlantic Division? It probably will be. Doc Rivers, one of those players coach, is good. Can the Celtics go deep into the post-season? They have a chance. But they need some “D.” At the very least, Boston will make their division and the conference very interesting.

If you enjoyed reading our Boston Celtics preview read up on the rest of the Atlantic Division rivals like the Nets, Knicks, 76ers, and Raptors.