Filling the blanks

Supporting cast needs more punch for Celtics to contend

By John Hollinger, SI.com

Celtics at a Glance Head coach: Jim O'Brien 2002-03: 44-38 2002-03 Stats Key Additions PG Marcus Banks (draft) C Kendrick Perkins (draft) PG Mike James (Heat) SF Jumaine Jones (Cavaliers) Key Losses PG J.R. Bremer (Cavaliers) PG Bimbo Coles (Heat) Projected Lineup Starters Reserves PG  M. Banks M. James SG  P. Pierce T. Delk SF  E. Williams J. Jones PF  A. Walker V. Baker C  T. Battie M. Blount

The Celtics went to the Eastern Conference finals two years ago, but since then they've been stuck in a holding pattern. While Paul Pierce has been brilliant and Antoine Walker has been a solid second banana, the supporting cast has struggled to raise their game to the level of the two Celtics' stars.

With new owners and a new general manager, the hope is that trend will change. New GM Danny Ainge's chief task is to identify the players that can fill Boston's weaknesses at point guard, center, and small forward. To that end, his first draft featured a point guard (Marcus Banks) and a center (Kendrick Perkins), both of whom may see key minutes this year.

Bu the Celtics' main goal this year is to improve from within, because the supporting cast is largely the same. To that end, their hoping for much more production from Vin Baker, who spent the offseason getting treatment for alcoholism, and third-year forward Kedrick Brown. The two offseason imports, Mike James and Jumaine Jones, will be counted on to spread the floor and help the Celtics fire away with abandon from the 3-point line.

Defense. The first image everyone takes away from watching the Celtics is of a helter-skelter club seemingly determined to launch a 3-pointer on every possession. While Boston bombed away so much that they took twice as many triples as eight other NBA teams, that's more a question of philosophy than a genuine skill.

Boston's real talent is at the defensive end, where the trapping, post-fronting strategy implemented by coach Jim O'Brien and assistant Dick Harter has kept opponents befuddled. If you look at Boston's lineup there aren't any defensive dominators, yet the Celtics held opponents to 43.5 percent shooting (seventh-best in the NBA) and only five teams forced more turnovers.

While the Celtics lack a dominator, there's hardly a weak defender on the roster, and the players give maximum effort because O'Brien has sold them on his system. Small forward Eric Williams is in some ways the key defender, taking the most difficult matchup on the wings, but it's a team effort. The system masks the weaknesses of Boston's undersized frontcourt by fronting post players and rotating from the weak side, forcing the opponent to make precision passes in order to score inside.

The one quibble is that Boston's defensive effort didn't quite have the same intensity it did in 2001-02, and one has to worry that opponents have started to get the hang of how to beat the Celtics' singular technique. O'Brien may have to come up with a new wrinkle or two to keep Boston in the upper echelon of the league's defenses, which is a must given their limited scoring punch.

Point guard. Last year, Boston's point guard situation was desperate enough that it had to import a nearly finished Bimbo Coles and use him in several playoff games. With the addition of first-round draft choice Banks and free agent James, the hope is that they won't have to resort to such measures again.

Heading into the season, however, the position is still a huge question mark. Banks has the physical skills to be an excellent point guard down the line, but rookies at the position have a proud history of burial under a mountain of turnovers while they learn how to run an NBA offense. James, meanwhile, is a journeyman with a career shooting mark of 38 percent. Despite a reputation as a shooter, he only hit 29 percent on 3-pointers a year ago. Given that it's the Celtics' offensive staple, he'll need to improve the accuracy considerably.

Boston traded J.R. Bremer in the offseason, so the only other viable option is veteran Tony Delk. While his 6-foot-2 size screams out point guard, he has generally played better at off guard. He had a strong playoffs last season as the starter at point, however, and may be pressed into service if the other two struggle.

Can Vin Baker be salvaged? The past few years of Baker's career have been a nightmare of uninspired play, bad conditioning and frequent mental lapses. And it's all come at the low, low price of just $86.7 million over seven seasons. The hope in Boston is that he's finally ready to earn at least a portion of that money, and it isn't completely unfounded.

After wallowing in misery for several years, Baker finally sought treatment for alcoholism this summer. He came back in the best shape he's been in since before the 1998 lockout, and in early exhibition games has looked as light on his feet as he's seemed in years.

The real games will have to start before we'll know whether the soft, lethargic play that has marked the latter part of Baker's career is really a thing of the past. But it would be a huge development for the Celtics if he is even partially rejuvenated. For one, Boston hasn't had a true post option in years (Walker is a three-time All-Star but likes to play on the perimeter), and that's the most effective part of Baker's game. Second of all, is an area of concern for the Celtics. The addition of a productive Baker suddenly makes their front line look much more fearsome, and even gives Boston the option of playing Walker at small forward in a towering front line with Baker and Tony Battie.

Finally, it's important for the Celtics because they're stuck with him. Baker makes the maximum and his contract doesn't expire until 2006, so he's not exactly an alluring prospect in trades. Boston is paying close to $40 million over the next three years whether it likes it or not, so the Celtics might as well try to get him straightened out and see some return on the investment.

More of the same. The Celtics are a thin team with one superstar and a solid defensive concept. In the Eastern Conference, that gets you a playoff berth. But in any league, it's hard to imagine that earning you much more. A rebound from Baker would certainly help, but it's not like he'll suddenly morph into the All-Star he was in the mid-'90s. In the big picture, it's up to Ainge to find the guys who can get the team over this hump while Pierce and Walker are still in their prime.

John Hollinger covers basketball for SI.com and is the author of Pro Basketball Prospectus. Click here to send him a question or comment.