And you thought the Boston Celtics were tanking.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone; I thought so, too. Matter of fact, I still think so. They’re 8-12, probably to the dismay of general manager Danny Ainge. He likely figured them for a win or two by this point. Not eight. And there was no way in hell he imagined them sitting atop the Atlantic Division 20 games into their season. Don’t care what you say. There’s just no way.
Jared Sullinger disagrees. Not about the Atlantic Division thing, but the tanking thing.
“We just want to win and show everybody that they can kiss our butts about that tanking stuff,” he said, per the Boston Globe‘s Baxter Holmes prior to the Celtics’ game against the Milwaukee Bucks. “Lot of guys expect us to just like tank for Parker or Wiggins. Y’all might as well throw that out the door.”
Following a win over the Bucks, Sullinger’s vendetta against tanking and those who counted the Celtics out continued, according to the Boston Herald‘s Mark Murphy:
“If we win, don’t jump on our bandwagon now,” Sullinger, who thumbed his nose at tank talkers following Monday’s practice, said before last night’s 108-100 win against Milwaukee. “We don’t want wishy-washy fans. As grown men, we play hard and do the best for this team. For everybody else outside the circle, we could care less.”
…
The same guys who are laughing at us are the ones who said we were going to win five games,” said Sullinger, who had 12 points last night. “Now all of a sudden we win some, we lose some, and guys are saying they’re surprised with how the Celtics are playing.”
The Eastern Conference being as dismal as it is, the Celtics could find themselves in the playoffs this April. Rajon Rondo has to come back at some point (right?) and Beantown is already leading the Atlantic. There’s a real chance 35 games wins that division. If the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets don’t turn things around, that’s exactly what’s going happen.
Could the Celtics, these Celtics, secure 35 victories? In the East, you bet your pretty little ass they can. Once Rondo returns, they’ll have a legitimate floor general to run things. This could, against all odds, be a .500 or better Celtics team. It could happen. I’m not about to rule it out after all we’ve seen this season—the Knicks and Nets sucking, the Los Angeles Lakers surviving, Derrick Rose’s injury and all that jazz (not to be confused with the Utah Jazz, who are actually tanking quite nicely).
But while that’s impressive, I must say this: crap.
There isn’t much for the Celtics to gain by clinching a playoff berth. Even a top-four one. They’re clearly not a contender and as we know, finishing in the middle is the enemy of rebuilding. Just look at the Bucks all these years (except this one). Boston shouldn’t want that. They don’t want that.
Armed with a plethora of first-round picks, the Celtics don’t plan on riding this current wave out until they have enough cap space to make a free-agency splash. They’re going the San Antonio Spurs route; building from within. At least, that was the plan. Clinching a playoff berth changes things by diminishing the value of their own draft pick.
Proposed solution: Trade everyone.
I’ve been advocating a Rondo trade since Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were shipped out. It gives the Celtics the opportunity to dump one or more of their longer contracts—Brandon Bass, Gerald Wallace, Courtney Lee—and likely brings in another first rounder or two. The financial benefits a potential deal are a humdinger, even if they cannot reel in more selections.
All this winning is good and dandy now, but you have to wonder if Ainge and friends see the perils of being mediocre. If they do, you can bet they’ll make a move to ensure the winning won’t last.
And when they do, you can be sure Sullinger is going to be pissed. Just not enough to allow the presence of those wishy-washy fans he despises so much.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
