SDH's 2013/2014 NBA Worst to First Previews and Predictions: 29. Boston Celtics

+Boston Celtics  Overall Win/Loss Record :  41-40,  third place Atlantic Division	Last Season’s Rank 11	Projected 2013/2014 Finish 29
Last season’s Team Statistics and League Rank Points Scored: 96.5 (18th) Points Allowed: 96.7 (12th) Team FG%: .465 (6th) Opponent’s FG%: .441 (7th) Team FT%: .776 (5th) Team Three Point FG%: .358 (15th) Rebounds per game: 39.3 (29th) Opponents rebounds per game: 43.6 (23rd) Turnovers per game: 13.9 (13th) Opponents turnovers per game: 14.4 (11th)	Returning Individual Statistical Leaders Scoring (ppg): +Rajon Rondo  (13.7) Rebounds per game: +Jared Sullinger  (5.9) Minutes per game:  Rajon Rondo (37.8) Assists per game:  Rajon Rondo (11.1) Field Goal Percentage:  Jared Sullinger (.493) Free Throw Percentage:  Courtney Lee (.860) Three Point FG Percentage: Jeff Green (.385) Steals per game:  Rajon Rondo (1.8) Blocked Shots per game: Jeff Green (0.8)
Projected Starters Based on Talent, Tenure, and Potential Impact: C. +Kris Humphries  PF. Jeff Green SF. Gerald Wallace SG. Courtney Lee PG. Rajon Rondo	Second Unit Roster Order Ranked on Talent, Tenure, and Potential Impact: G. Avery Bradley G. Jordan Crawford F. Brandon Bass G. Marshon Brooks F. Jared Sullinger
Analysis: It is the end of an era in Bean Town basketball as all the remnants of the glory year which saw the Celtics reaching the +NBA Finals twice winning one of them in 2008--their first since 1986.  +Kevin Garnett and +Paul Pierce now find themselves in the +Brooklyn Nets while head coach +Doc Rivers found his way off that sinking ship by essentially being traded to the +Los Angeles Clippers for an unprotected first round pick--the first time that has ever been done.  Now all that is left is a rag tag group of young no name players along with a crew of less than spectacular veterans who will be led by the last vestige of the Celtics' past glory, +Rajon Rondo.  And coaching this team will be a guy that is far greener that the color of the team's uniform having not even played an +NBA team, nor even coached one in his entire career.  Brad Stevens has spent his entire career coaching in the +NCAA for +Butler University--a small school that is not even situated in any of the stronger conferences--and Celtics GM Danny Ainge tabbed him over over far more qualified candidates signing him to six year deal, twice the average length of an average NBA coaching contract. One has to ask what the hell was Ainge thinking signing a guy with absolutely no NBA experience to a contract double the average length for a coach on a team that boasts an already established star with an NBA title to his credit?  The NBA is all about reputation and credibility and to hire a person that has neither of those while expecting him to coral a bunch of spoiled millionaire athletes who make WAY more than he does makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Didn't Ainge learn from the past that historically hiring college coaches have not brought nothing but shame and disappointment to NBA?  Considering the fact that one of the worst examples of a coach who had major success in the NCAA to simply fall flat in the pro happened in Boston would make Ainge even more wary of hiring one from the college ranks.   Twelve years ago, the Celtics made the same mistake hiring someone straight from college and expected him to lead Boston back to glory only to fail miserably in the end--and he had FAR more credibility than Brad Stevens ever had. In 1998, +Rick Pitino came in and was touted as the savior of Boston Celtics basketball after winning a national title with the +University of Kentucky Wildcats and had the best credentials that any coach in the game of basketball.  Before he turned a downtrodden college program into an NCAA powerhouse, Pitino had previously coached ad experienced success coaching in the NBA as he led the +New York Knicks to the playoffs in 1989. So when it came to speculating whether he would succeed or not, there was no no doubt because his resume spoke for itself; however, Pitino would not have the same success in Boston as he did in Kentucky. He had trouble relating to the pros that he coached and was criticized and castigated by the fans and media to a point where he threw up his hands and resigned a year or two later.  So this brings forth the question--if a person with such high credentials as Rick Pitino could not assimilate himself to the NBA, then how can Brad Stevens, who does not nearly have the extensive resume as Pitino. All this spells for disaster as Ainge has virtually sent a lamb to the slaughter bringing in a coach who has never worked outside of the college into one of most highest pressure jobs in the NBA.  It is not like the college game where the coach has all the power and whatever he says goes or else. In the NBA, Coaches have little or no power whatsoever and have to be more of a diplomat because he has to deal with players who essentially run the organization and Stevens does not have the assets necessary to pull that off.  This season will simply end up ugly on so many level either finishing with Rajon Rondo being traded out of Boston by mid season or Stevens getting the heave ho.  It is bad enough that the Celtics have a team with no real big name talent and a roster full of no name scrub, but to add an equally no name coach at the helm will not only be worse but also be severely detrimental to the franchise for years to come. Ainge could have chosen much more qualified candidates who have league experience who can easily engage the players' and receive their trust and confidence at the same time.  Instead he picks some nobody who comes from a two bit Division I basketball program who has not even associated with an NBA player, let alone coach an NBA team.  Such a move will not only doom a once storied team into turmoil, but may also lead to the demise of Ainge's career as the Celtics' head of basketball relations.  It will be interesting to see how everything will play out over the course of the season although the outcome is almost predictable looking back through history.  Nonetheless, it was already a forgone conclusion that the Celtics would inevitably crash and burn sooner rather than later; however, now with the team the way it is and the team's coaching choice, the devastation will be far more gruesome that it should have been.