Surveying the Field
By Dylan
As the once storied Boston Celtic franchise approaches the 20th anniversary of their last trip to the NBA Finals, the C’s are on pace for one of their worst records in team history. However, not all is bleak. With the potential for one of deepest drafts in NBA history coming up, the Celtics have a chance to turn around the franchise in a hurry. This opportunity is based on the basketball talents of two players: Greg Oden and Kevin Durant. While I’m sure this space will cover in more detail both players, there is a consensus of all basketball people that these two players are the real deal. 
After floundering about for the first part of the season, the collective light bulb went off in the heads of Celtic Management. With at best a marginal shot for the playoffs and no Allen Iverson, the C’s decided it was time to put Paul Pierce on the shelf and try to tank the season in hopes of landing one of the two potential superstars. To date, the plan has worked to perfection. The young players are getting a chance to play minutes and in the time I’ve considered writing this column, the Celtics have gone from the fifth worst record to the second from the bottom.
In the grand scheme of things, this development has been huge. With how the lottery works, it is important to have one of worst records to increase the chances of landing one of the high sought after first two picks. Other than watching Al Jefferson develop, the most important thing to watch over the rest of the season is how the Celtics stack up against their competition. The rest of the column will examine potential threats to Boston’s chances of having the worst record in the league.
Currently, there is one team “below” the Celtics: Memphis. The Grizzles have been a team in tank mode all season. With their top player, Pau Gasol, out the first part of the year due to an injury sustained at the World Championships, the Grizzles stumbled out of the gate. As a result, they’ve positioned themselves from the start of the season as one of the main players in the lottery. The Grizzles even took tanking a step further when they fired respected head coach Mike Fratello. The firing of the defensive minded Fratello resulted in a mid-season change of philosophy by the team. Now employing a more wide open, fast break attack, the Grizzles might catch some teams playing the second game of a back-to-back. However, the outlook still looks bleak. With trade rumors swirling around Gasol, the Grizzles will be the top competition in vying for the worst record.
The team sitting third from the bottom is the Celtics’ longtime rival the Philadelphia 76ers. When any early season hope was dashed by problems with Allen Iverson and Chris Webber, the 76ers realized it was time to start over. One problem, since struggling early at the start of the Iverson trade saga, the team has played somewhat respectable ball. The highlight is the emergence of Andre Iguodala who gives Philly some hope for the future. The key thing to watch for the Sixers as the trade deadline nears is how they will approach the Andre Miller situation. Miller has plenty of value around the league, such as to a team like Miami. Does Philly ensure a poor season and trade their point guard? Or do they keep Miller as part of the puzzle? Either way, this team should finish with more wins than the Celtics.
Currently, the next team in line is the Seattle Supersonics. The Sonics are up in the air right now mostly due to not knowing where they will be playing in the future. Of the bottom teams, right now their roster has more talent that the Grizzles and 76ers. But with their shaky ownership situation, they could also dump Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen and go into a full tank. If they do this, then there is little doubt they will be in the mix for a very high draft pick. If they stay the course, they will likely win a few more games, but due to the strength of the West, the Sonics will be in the hunt for a high lottery pick.
The Charlotte Bobcats are next in line. This young and upcoming team has a nice core of emerging talent. As with any inexperienced team, the Bobcats have had their ups and downs. After a nice stretch of winning four of six games, the BCats have dropped four in a row. However, with Gerald Wallace finding his game after a slow start to the season and Emeka Okafor taking his game up a notch this season, the Bobcats should stay above the four teams already mentioned.
As for the rest of the teams in the next tier, the only team that could make a downward move is Sacramento. With rumors circulating that the Kings are fed up with Ron Artest and Mike Bibby, the team be trying to move the both of them before the trade deadline. Currently, holding the eighth worst record in the league, the Kings possess a smart GM who could see the door has closed for them and it is time to blow it up and grab a top young talent.
Ultimately, I see Boston and Memphis finishing 1-2 in the worst record category. The 76ers should follow next in line. What follows should be interesting to see teams play for a few extra ping pong balls down the stretch.
Whatever the case, at the end of the season, the Celtics will have done their part. It will be up to the ping pong balls from there.
