Jack Jemsek

Think back 4 years ago when there was the perpetual concern of filling out the starting spots around Paul Pierce, particularly at point guard and center. Since then, all positions have been locked down thanks to The Big Three and Rajon Rondo . . . and Kendrick Perkins with a little help from the in-coming Jermaine O’Neal. Of course Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and O’Neal had to be (re)signed this summer, which was the 1^st order of business this summer for Danny Ainge.

Now the fans can enjoy the nuances of setting the unsettled rotation, which will be played out through training camp, pre-season, and if the past is any indication, through the 2011 playoffs. As of the reports of the 6’ 5” Von Wafer signing yesterday, this is the way the depth chart plays out:

Below, we take an in-depth look at the depth chart for the Celtics and assess the gaps that may exist.

--------read more after the jump-------

The latest free agent signing news appears to be the Celtics first miscue: Tony Allen is close to signing with the Memphis Grizzlies courtesy of ex-Celtic GM Chris Wallace. The deal is for 3 years and $9.7 million.

At face value, this seems like a significant loss for the Celtics, who didn't want to extend the 28-year old Allen for more than 2 years. It seems like peanuts to simply give him the additional year. Plus, the C's need the extra wing guys with Marquis Daniels and Mike Finley not being viable solutions . . . and the Celtics actually also need to fill out a roster with at least 12 guys after all. David Aldridge at NBA.com gave Tony Allen his props for his play this past year:

Allen was key during Boston's run to the Finals, guarding the likes of LeBron James, Vince Carter and Kobe Bryant with next to no help during several stretches of play, and providing unexpected offense on occasion for the Celtics. Allen and Glen Davis were instrumental in Boston's Game 4 win over the Lakers in the Finals that tied the series at two games apiece. He shot 51 percent from the floor for Boston, averaging 6.7 points per game, and had shown increased maturity and consistency this season.

Chris Forsberg at ESPNBoston also laid out reasons to like Tony Allen this year.

Here's my take.  I really like Tony and have written quite a few pieces on the Chicago native mainly due to his flare on the court - but I'm thinking that the Celtics just might have a method to their madness in letting Tony go.

It is true that TA stepped up in March 2010 after the Celtics signed Michael Finley, and TA firmly planted Finley's and Marquis Daniels' fannies behind him on the Celtics depth chart. But there was also a day when everyone thought Allen's days were numbered last season when he lashed out at a Celtics reporter regarding issues revolving around a supposed death threat against Tony. He's battled knee and ankle injuries in his 6 years with the Celtics, and has only had an average floor time of 12 minutes per game during his tenure with the Celtics due to combination of the injuries, fouls, turnovers and offense.

And here's the rub - Tony Allen really didn't deliver the goods for the Celtics off the bench during the Finals when they needed him most.

------read more after the jump------

If you are reading this article, you survived “The Decision” on ESPN last night and the most hyped free agent signing in history. Lebron James says it is going to be “South Beach” for him for the next 5 years, but not after stringing the 11 million people in Ohio, the 10 million people in the Chicago metro area, and the 19 million people in New York City metro along. The interest level was so high in the televised event in Greenwich, Connecticut that it had a market share of 7.3% of the viewership – equivalent to an NBA playoff game. James also staged his announcement so that the advertising would reportedly provide millions of dollars to James hand-picked selection of The Boys and Girls Club of America.

Narcissistic Villain or Charitable Hero?

Well before you make your decision, you have to appreciate the open letter to fans from the Cavs owner Dan Gilbert – delivered in a no nonsense fashion to his “constituency” of Cavs fans. It is heart-breaking for Cleveland, but then didn’t Cleveland benefit by the promotion of James for these past 7 years? In his announcement, James said:

“Those 20,000 plus fans that came out every night we played. They see me grow up from an 18-year old kid to a 25 year old man. I never wanted to leave Cleveland. My heart will always be around that area. But I also felt that this is the greatest challenge for me - was to move on.”

With that said, below is a gleaming of the most insightful and entertaining Twitter statements I came across on this weird event.

-----read more after the break-----

The Boston Celtics Finals experience was pretty darn close to being consummated . . . as Paul Pierce said last week in Chicago, the C's were “one quarter away from winning another championship”. Think about it. With 6:11 left, the Lakers tie the game, and the nip-and-tuck ensued was decidedly in the Lakers favor thereafter as they pulled out the 83-79 Game 7 victory. That was after the Celtics were up by 13 early in the 3rd quarter and for all practical purposes dominated the 1st quarter, and had a 6 point lead at the half.

Up 3 games to 2 on the Lakers, and only 2 teams had previously lost in the Finals with that lead. The Celtics made it 3 teams. Certainly Phil Jackson’s record of never losing a series after winning the 1^st game didn’t have the cache for the Lakers to rely on. What was more important was Doc’s mantra that the Celtics, with all their starters healthy during the Pierce-Garnett-Allen era, had never lost a playoff series. They won the championship in 2008. They lost last year to Orlando in the Conference Finals after being up 3-2, but they didn’t have Garnett. And this year, they find themselves knocking at the door with a game 7 against the Lakers to win it all.

-----read more after the jump-------