Boston Celtics: Season dependent on resigning talent

The outlook of the NBA up­coming season, now set to kick­off on Christmas day, is looking good for the Boston Celtics. Many of last years' player con­tracts were up and the team was not entirely sure who was going to remain and who was going to depart.

One of the largest contracts ending, however, was Head Coach Doc Rivers's contract. The coach has made a tremen­dous impact with the Celtics as he has taken the team to the playoffs a few times and brought home a championship in 2008. The roster of players that won the title just a few years ago has changed up a bit, with a few departures and a few additions.

So, what is outlook for this upcoming season? As long as the team remains the way it is, they are looking pretty strong. Unfortunately, it is still too early to tell if key players with ending contracts will remain playing for the team.

So far, only two of the start­ers for the Celtics have expired contracts. Those players being Ray Allen, who has the current record for most three pointers, and Shaquille O'Neal. Though his contract happened to be up, O'Neal had announced his re­tirement and now the Celtics are in need of another big man. Some of the key bench play­ers' contracts are also expired, including those of Glen Davis, Delonte West, and Nenad Kris­tic. Even though these three players aren't season threaten­ing if not resigned, they have certainly provided excellent re­lief for the starters and can hold their own while on the court.

Aside from figuring out fi­nal rosters, the Boston Celtics must figure what to do about their struggling offense. They have some big name players on the team, however those play­ers are pretty much confined to their starters. Last season, the starters would start off the game hot and knocked down basket after basket. Then, when the bench came in, it all went down hill. There are two or three decent players that are good enough to keep the team at the pace that the starters set, however the relievers were an overall disappointment. The Celtics need to work more with their second team players so they can head into the game without worrying their fans about the outcome of the start­ers taking a breather.

When it comes down to it, I believe that the Celtics will be able to pull out a decent season and make the playoffs. However, I do not think that they will make it very far con­sidering their weakness in the second team players. Last years bench players just are not per­forming like the bench players just a few years ago.