First there was Len Bias. Then Reggie Lewis. Then the Spurs got Tim Duncan via the draft lottery. Finally, Red Auerbach died. With all of this bad luck i was certain that this was the year that the Celtic leprechaun and mystique would be back.

After all, everything else is right in New England.

Before this year’s draft lottery in fact I said, God, I don’t ask you for much, but please just put Kevin Durant in a Celtic uniform.

Well that didn’t happen and the Celtics got a different Kevin and Ray Allen. I’m not complaining, I just wanted to see what my second favorite player all time in the college ranks would do in his first official game as a Sonic.

Although he did not shoot the ball very well Durant still finished with eighteen points on seven of twenty two shooting. In fact, a few of his moves were so spectacular Steven A. Smith was gushing at halftime like a schoolgirl who just was asked to prom about Durant. Smith went to to say that Durant’s on court fluidity was reminiscent of the “Iceman,” George Gervin.

To me Durant is in many respects a small forward version of Tim Duncan in that the game comes so easily to him. For example, I can gurantee that there will be multiple times this season when it appears as though Durant has been quiet yet he will finish with thirty points seven boards and five dimes. He’s that good.

Another interesting side note is the production of the players the Celtics gave up in order to get Ray Allen.

Delonte West looked exceptional shooting eight for thirteen from the field although he did commit five turnovers. Wally Szczerbiak was zero for five from the field and Celtic fans can be nothing but grateful he is no longer a part of the organization. Finally, jeff Green, the power forward from Georgetown, who was also a part of the Allen deal had an inauspicious debut with five points.

Kevin Garnett registered a triple double as Celtics blowout Cavaliers on Friday night. What was really impressive, however, was the scoring balance and the play of Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins.

Between the Celtic superstars Paul Pierce took eleven shots, KG thirteen and Ray Allen fifteen finishing with twenty points.

Beside the unselfish play, Rajon Rondo especially provided glimpses of the talent the Celtic front office had been lauding all summer. Rondo was able to run the team effectively allowing the C’s to shoot a gaudy 59.2 percent from the field.

Not to mention having ten points, six assists and displaying the quickness and ability to get to the basket that will open up even more opportunities for Pierce, Allen and Garnett.

One beneficiary of the excellent Celtic ball movement fueled by Rondo was Kendrick Perkins who shot five of six from the field and looks as though he is finally developing the unstoppable Kevin McHale jump hook that has been so lacking from the NBA low post in recent years. If Perkins can perfect this move in addition to learning how to cut to the basket off of Garnett double teams he is looking at a career year.

The last sign that the Celtics will truly be contenders in the East was the play of their bench.

Eddie House had sixteen points in twenty two minutes demonstrating he should be able to provide instant offense when spelling Pierce and Allen this season.

James Posey and the LSU rookie Glen “Big Baby” Davis also combined to shoot eight for twelve totalling eighteen points between them.

Another excellent sign in this likely eight man rotation.

The Celtics open the season on Friday night, November 2nd, in a nationally televised game against Gilbert Arenas and the Wizards on ESPN.

KG, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce were completely shut out in the fourth quarter as the Celtics lose at MSG. To make matters worse, Rajon Rondo had only one assist in thirty eight minutes although he did have ten points and six boards.

Hopefully, this is not a foretelling of things to come this season.

The good news is Kendrick Perkins did not play most likely contributing to David Lee’s fourteen rebounds including six offensive boards. No, that’s not a misprint and there’s no excuse for this under any circumstance.

That said, these are the road wins the Celtics need to make sure they get this season. Divisional and against a much inferior team talent wise.

This loss is also indicative of what Celtics fans have been worried about since the KG acquitision-the bench-which was a combined seven of twenty six (if you include Scalabrine who started in place of Perkins) for the game.

If the C’s are truly going to be title contenders they are going to need more of a contribution then that coming off the pine. I mean think about how deep Dallas (Stackhouse, Eddie Jones), San Antonio (Finley, Ginobli, and Brent Barry) and Phoenix (Barbosa, Grant Hill) all are.

They might be able to get through the East with their starting talent, but, if they make the finals they need much more depth.

My recommendation is for Garnett to worry more about winning titles then his obscene contract. As such, why not restructure take a pay cut and bring in some more players to help off the bench.

I mean I’m pretty sure Karl Malone would gladly have taken a pay cut in exchange for a couple titles and to be mentioned in the conversation with the all time greats.

Until Kevin Garnett does this he is more on the level of a Vince Carter and still on the outside looking in at MJ, Tim Duncan, Akeem and Dr. J amongst others. 

Celtics blow out Knicks in 101-61 in the much anticipated Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett preseason Boston debut. The Knicks shot a paltry 25.9% from the field including a combined 1 for 15 performance from Jamal Crawford and Quentin Richardson. Conversely, the Celtic wings Allen and Paul Pierce shot a combined 13 of 16 from the field finishing with 36 points between them.

KG contributed with 13 points and a team high eight rebounds.

Based on this performance below are the 2007-2008 predictions for the Atlantic Division.

1. Boston Celtic 55-27

The big three of Garnett, Pierce and Allen make them legitimate contenders for Eastern Conference supremacy. The big question mark is can Kendrick Perkins develop on the low block and will Rajon Rondo develop into a court general that can keep everyone happy.

Thus far, one excellent sign is Perkins is hitting his free throws which means tems will be far less apt to rotate off him and double team one of the big three. This means KG will get far more isolation opportunities.

2. Toronto Raptors 50-32

Toronto will improve by three games just from the continued growth of Bosh, Bargnani and TJ Ford. I still say when it’s all said and done Chris Bosh will have had a more productive NBA career than Carmelo Anthony. This is the year he becomes a full fledged superstar.

3. New Jersey Nets 47-35

Nets have a Hall of Fame point guard, one of the most exciting players ever to play the game in Vince Carter and silky smooth Richard Jefferson. Unfortunately, they had all these guys last year with the same mediocre results.

4. New York Knicks 43-39

Currently, quite possibly the most poorly managed franchise in sports. “Starbury” has become emblematic of the selfish athlete who cares more about individual statistics than the success of his teams. Eddie Curry? Jamal Crawford? Q Richardson? Yeah right. An abomination.

Alright, they did acquire Zach Randolph, this will propel them into the first round of the playoffs. That’s about it.

5. Philadelphia 76ers 23-59

Andre Miller is a solid point guard and Andre Iguodala is a spectacular finisher. Having only those two might make them a contender for the Pac 10 Championship, however, in the NBA it makes them a very bad team.