The Celtics will be considerably worse...
1) They have no PG now. Tony Delk is NOT a point guard. And Shammond Williams is NOT a starter in this league, period. Kenny Anderson is nothing special, but he's a much better starting NBA point guard than either one of these two dudes. And the team could've gotten a lot more out of him than Vin Baker--there are a lot of teams out there eager to dump longterm salaries, and trading for a guy like Kenny Anderson--who makes $9.2 mil next year, then he's off the books forever--is a GREAT WAY to dump payroll. They could've gotten a much better player in return for Anderson.
2) The team is apparently not going to be able to re-sign THREE key players from last year's run: Rodney Rogers, Erick Strickland, and Mark Blount. WOW.
3) Vin Baker, in case anybody doesn't know, is NOT a good NBA player. He couldn't handle the pressure in Seattle. Uhhhhh... do you honestly think that the pressure in BOSTON won't be about ten times worse than the pressure in SEATTLE? This is a Celtics team that nearly made the NBA Finals last season--so the ONLY WAY that Vin Baker doesn't get in the doghouse IMMEDIATELY--where he will stay FOR FOUR MORE YEARS OH MY GOD THAT IS A LOOOOOOOONG TIME--the ONLY WAY that he avoids the doghouse is if this team makes the NBA Finals BECAUSE Vin Baker becomes a good NBA player again. Which isn't going to happen. So you're talking about a depressive personality here--you think he's going to respond well to the pressure and the booing? WHAT?
4) The team is suddenly counting on bigtime production from two guys who aren't ready to produce in this league, especially for a team interested in making a run at the NBA Finals: Kedrick Brown and JR Bremer. I'm not sure if the team isn't crossing its fingers and hoping Bremer wins the starting PG job! Take a look at the top ten dudes on this team now that Rogers, Blount, and Strickland won't be coming back--and you need nine dudes in this league to be able to play for you--here are the top ten dudes for Boston:
1 Paul Pierce
2 Antoine Walker
3 Vin Baker
4 Tony Battie
5 Tony Delk
6 Eric Williams
7 Walter McCarty
8 Shammond Williams
9 Kedrick Brown
10 JR Bremer
OUCH! Take another look at last year's Eastern Conference Finalist, their top ten dudes:
1 Paul Pierce
2 Antoine Walker
3 Rodney Rogers (let's face it, a better player than Vin Baker)
4 Kenny Anderson
5 Erick Strickland
6 Mark Blount
7 Tony Battie
8 Tony Delk
9 Eric Williams
10 Walter McCarty
Did you notice what I noticed? Last year's #7 dude (Battie) is this year's #4 dude--last year's #8 dude (Delk) is this year's #5 dude--last year's #9 dude (Eric Williams) is this year's #6 dude--last year's #10 dude (McCarty) is this year's #7 dude. In other words, you are replacing the following four dudes--Rodney Rogers, Kenny Anderson, Erick Strickland, and Mark Blount--with THESE four dudes--Vin Baker, Kedrick Brown, Shammond Williams, and JR Bremer. OUCH!
Fellas! The Celtics just got A WHOLE LOT WORSE! Make no mistake about it! A WHOLE LOT WORSE! This team will NOT be back in the Eastern Conference Finals next season--in FACT, they won't even be making it out of the first round!
Revised projected Eastern Conference standings for 2002-03 (win-loss totals based on average Eastern Conference win-loss totals per position in the standings over the past seven seasons--obviously the East was significantly better during the Bulls' dynasty, but I'm just being a statisistical purist here, folks):
1 Nets 60-22
2 Pistons 55-27
3 Hornets 52-30
4 Bucks 49-33
5 Celtics 48-34
6 Magic 47-35
7 76ers 44-38
8 Pacers 43-39
---
9 Heat 41-41
10 Raptors 37-45
11 Bulls 34-48
12 Hawks 31-51
13 Knicks 27-55
14 Wizards 24-58
15 Cavs 16-66
The Celts are still a playoff team as long as Pierce & Walker are around--but, make no mistake about it, peoples--the Celtics have gotten WORSE this summer, not BETTER--they haven't stayed THE SAME, they've gotten WORSE, period! PERIOD!