Celtic's Offseason 2015

The Celtic's are coming off a much improved 2014-2015 season with many new additions through out the season. They finished with the 7 seed in the eastern conference and are hoping they can improve on it next year. With the new addition of star Isaiah Thomas they only need one more star player to put them over the edge and they have many supporting players. This summer there are a couple key players that are going to be tough decisions for Ainge and the teams management who to sign back, who to let go, and who to try and trade for this offseason.

Jae Crowder has improved immensely since being traded with the Rondo situation and he stepped in to help fill a void on the wing, when Evan Turner had to slide over to the point guard spot. Jae shot a career best .420% from the field and he stayed healthy all year and played 82 games between Boston and Dallas. The main concern is if the knee problem he received in the final game, will go away or if it will not be easily resolved.

The other key player is if Brando Bass will stay or not. He said that he would like to stay with the Celtics. He is now 30 years old and his athleticism is going to start to go down and that is a major part of his game because he is very explosive to the hoop. He also shot a career high from the field but Danny Ainge will have a tough decision on what to do with him.
The only other decision management has is if they want to make a move for Kevin Love or any other free agents and if they are going after people they have to decide who they are willing to trade and what draft picks they will decide to use in order to keep this team on the winning track and keep making it to the NBA Playoffs.

NBA Rookie of the Year

The race for the Kia Rookie of the Year is quickly coming to an end. The leading candidates are Andrew Wiggins, Elfrid Payton, and Nikola Mirotic. This years rookie class was widely affected by injuries and many of the early contenders for this award are now out due to injury. Rookie's Jabari Parker and Julius Randle both got hurt in the beginning of the season, Randle made a comeback at the end of the year but it was not enough to make a statement. Joel Embiid was drafted third overall by Philadelphia but he was injured before the draft and had to sit out all year with a foot injury.

Andrew Wiggins, the first overall draft pick was the favorite for this award before the season even started. He plays mostly at shooting guard and he has started in all 81 games so far this season. He is also a strong leader as a rookie for the struggling Timberwolves. This season he averaged 16.8 points per game which is first among rookies and he also averaged 2 assists, 1 steal and 5 rebounds to fill out his stat sheet.

The next candidate is Nikola Mirotic who was drafted in 2011 but made his debut this year after finishing playing over seas. He is the only candidate that is on a playoff team and he really stepped up in the month of March when he was needed due to injuries to many key players of the Chicago Bulls. He plays about 20 minutes per game and averages 10 points and 5 rebounds. His versatility helps improve his case because he can play both forward spots as well as the center position.

The final candidate is Elfrid Payton of the Orlando Magic. He has been their starting point guard for the majority of the season and has averaged 9 points, 2 steals and 7 assists per game. He plays about 30 minutes per game which is 5th among rookies this year. Lastly, he is the only rookie this year to achieve a triple double and he did it twice. 

I believe that Andrew Wiggins will win the award because he not only averaged the most points but he played the most minutes and has made in impact on the tam since the beginning of he season because he has started all 81 game so far. lastly most of the analysts believe that he will win so i believe he is definitely the favorite for the award. 

Boston Celtic's Playoff Push

The Boston Celtics have had their ups and downs this season but for sure, right now they are playing their best basketball of the season. They traded away Rajon Rondo, the leading assist man and also traded away Jeff Green the teams leading scorer yet the team continues to strive. Now their leading rebounder Jared Sullinger is back and should really help solidify the team down low in the paint on both sides of the floor. The Celtics are the 8 seed right now and are hoping to continue to hold this spot and make it into the playoffs.

In order for the Celtics to make it into the playoffs they will need contributions from every single player on the roster. The starting back court of Marcus Smart and Avery Bradley will be relied on for their aggressive defense and the front court trio of Brandon Bass, Evan Turner and Tyler Zeller will need to score and rebound the ball. The bench will be responsible for the main scoring punch consisting of players such as Isaiah Thomas, Jared Sullinger, Jonas Jerebko, Kelly Olynyk and Luigi Datome. Key minutes could possibly be played by role players Phil Pressey and Gerald Wallace.

The Celtic's record right now is 35-42 and they have five games left and hope to keep the 8 seed in the east. The Celtic's are battling the Pacers, Nets, Miami and Charlotte for the final two spots. The remaining games for the C's are against Detroit, Toronto, Milwaukee and two against the Cavaliers. Last week the Celtics beat the Raptors and lost a tough one to the bucks so both of these games along with Detroit are very possible for wins.the Celtics have hung around with even the top teams in the league so they have a chance to win any of them. if the Celtics can win three of theses games there is a very good chance that they get the 8 or even the 7 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs. Their last game is on April 15 and the final standings will be posted the next day, so for now cheer them on and hope for the best.

Matthew Berry Article

Matthew Berry makes many good points throughout the article. When he tells the story about when he was bullied as a kid, it makes the article very easy to relate to because so many people are bullied at school now a days. Also, I agree with him when he said that Richie Incognito might not realize what he was doing because most bullies do not. Berry in a way stated that if Jonathan Martin stepped up and said something that the situation would probably not have ended like this but sometimes it is not that easy to let people know what's going on with out being a tattle tale. I think Berry's article is very well written and it really helps you understand the situation in the Dolphins locker room last year.