The Celtics Revisited

Earlier we reported that since the KG trade, Celtics tickets have been a hot commodity. Over the weekend, Celtics team president Rich Gotham confirmed that the Celtics season ticket base has grown by an astounding 50% since the KG trade. With the Reggie Miller return rumors running rampant, this number could be pushed even higher if Miller ends up signing with the Celtics.

As John Hollinger noted on his blog, which covered some of the potential NBA comeback players (Penny Hardaway, Charles Oakley, and Allan Houston in addition to Miller), most of them should stay retired. Oakley is too old and was terrible in his final three seasons. Hardaway had a horrendous PER of 8.99 in 2004-2005; his last season of 30 or more games. Houston has an arthritic knee, which as Hollinger pointed out, doesn't exactly go away. However, Miller was the exception. Miller retired when he was still a starter and had an above average PER of 16.62. Additionally, the Pacer's were 9.6 points per game better with him on the court than off.

Although certainly not the same player from the late 90's or even of 2004-2005, Miller would still provide the Celtics with a much needed additional shooter, who would have myriad open looks with KG drawing the double team and Pierce usually drawing help defense on drives. Additionally, with Rajon Rondo able to guard the PG and SG positions, Miller could always guard the weaker of the two opponents given his age and shaky defense. Furthermore, Miller would provide the Celtics with a fourth player who has literally sold out an arena by himself (KG, Pierce and Allen being the others). Even if Miller only played 10-15 minutes a night, he'd still draw fans and help the team as he was easily one of the best shooters of his era (.395% career 3 point percentage), and shooting is one of the few skills that normally stays with a player as they age.

Celtics making all the right (follow-up) moves

Not surprisingly, Celtics tickets are on fire. Their intro screen proudly declares "We've got our ticket, have you got yours?" Their website is already filled with pictures of Kevin Garnett, Allen and the incumbent Pierce. The marketing is in place, the phones won't stop ringing and the web is still buzzing about the Celtics. Some Timberwolves fans are pissed, but most understand the situation. What's been interesting is how happy non-Timberwolves fans are for KG. By every account I've read, KG really is the person portrayed on TV - the guy who goes hard every night no matter what the circumstances. This wouldn't be much of a revelation ,if the NBA wasn't filled with Vince Carters.

At first, I was worried when rumors started appearing that the Celtics would surround their super trio with minimum salary players. Screw the salary cap; the team's window is 3 or 4 years, the luxury tax is a non-factor at this point. The Celitcs are all in; it's not time to be shit kicking over a few million. The Celtics have permission to get in to Isiah territory.

The Celtics quelled my initial fears, signing incredibly underrated guard Eddie House to a one year contract. He can play either guard spot, hit the 3, and doesn't need the ball in his hands to be effective. He's the antithesis of Rajon Rondo, who is a much better ball handler and defender.

Also, the Celtics Blog is reporting there's a rumor going around that Ryan Gomes might be released and sign back with the Celtics. I've never seen so many fans excited about a potential role player addition, but the Celtics need all the bench players they can get. If this happens...why was Gomez included in the trade to begin with? His 700kish salary easily could have been omitted.

In other news...

Unfortunately, futures for the NBA Finals winner haven't been released from Trade Sports yet (I was anxious to see the Celtics' odds), but I'll post them as soon as they are. It will be interesting to see the futures for the Eastern Conference Finals winner too - other than Chicago and maybe Detroit - is there any other team that isn't an injury or two away from instantly becoming a lottery contender?

Update: All $15 and $18 Celtics season tickets are sold out.

Update 2: All $15, $18 and $25 tickets are sold out. Guess who got some? Also, the NBA quickly redid its schedule after the KG trade to allow for 19 TV appearances by the Celtics.