Photo by AP
After Saturday’s horrific beating 106-77 in favor of the Los Angeles Clippers, I checked in on CSNNE’s Celtics Postgame Live with Gary Tanguay, Tom Heinsohn, and Donny Marshall.
There was a specific moment in the show when I became baffled, the #celticstalk segment. One of the tweets was circulated around Danny Ainge needs to make moves fast. Heinsohn replied to that comment stating that the Celtics don’t need to make acquisitions due to the team has only been together for only a couple of months, they still need time to grow.
This is humorous to me. Doc River’s team, including new players, has been only together for a couple months, but ironically Vinny Del Negro’s team hasn’t been together much longer. Additionally, Heinsohn’s point is irrelevant because Danny Ainge must assess what they need the most, and have always needed– a big who can rebound.
The defeat by Chris Paul and company was a bit of a slaughterhouse to say the least. While they were on a 14-game winning streak going into last night’s game, the Boston Celtics played like a high school varsity team. Specifically, Rajon Rondo’s game brought some fright to the table as he was very hesitant with the basketball and taking uncharacteristic attempts early in the shot clock. Additionally, the Celtics became a group of stand-still figures on the hardwood.
Their play as of late involves inconsistency. Yes, part of the reason is they are a young group (aside from Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce), but the Celtics’ front office knew that was evident going into the 2012-13 season.
Photo by AP
If Paul Pierce and company want to be successful this year and compete against the elite teams in the playoffs (like the Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers), they must draw all attention towards finding a rebound phene. DeMarcus Cousins is the most logical target. Despite his off the court issues, he can rebound the basketball, block shots, and has a post game. Cousins has posted 16.6 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks per game thus far.
The down low game also raises another conflict. Kevin Garnett is really the only true post man the Celtics have on their roster. All the other four and five players on the depth chart just look to shoot the ball.
Boston (14-14) will resume their three-game road trip against the Golden State Warriors (19-10) on Saturday at 10:30 p.m. ET.
