Celtic City

So, it seems as though "the rest of the Universe" is getting a lot of attention on the blog thus far. Don't worry, we've got the next seven months for baseball games. Plenty of time.

Today we're dealing with the Celtics, my second sports love (after the Red Sox). Growing up, I would go to games with my Dad all the time. My cousin Peter had season tickets in good position in the upper deck at the Garden, and we saw many a game there. Later, when the Celts made their playoff run in 2002, I bought a package deal, nabbing three tickets to every playoff game. The comeback vs. The Nets in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals is the greatest non-BU hockey sports event of my lifetime.

So where is this going? Danny Ainge has been the savior that Rick Pitino was supposed to be. The Mark Blount debacle aside, Ainge has made nothing but extremely smart decisions as Head Celtic. With the latest trade of Walter McCarty, the Celtics have a really solid nucleus. While Paul Pierce and Raef Lafrentz, as well as the aforementioned Blount aren't worth their money, the Celtics have tons of promising talent in Tony Allen, Ricky Davis, Kendrick Perkins, Jiri Welsch, and of course Big Al Jefferson. Delonte West, Marcus Banks, and Justin Reed figure to be good complementary players as well.

Right now, the Celts are in a position to win the Atlantic division while continuing to improve the core of their team by getting young talent and/or picks for Gary Payton. Either way, they are better than the Sixers and will likely win the Atlantic. This sets up the following Eastern Conference scenario:

1. Miami
2. Detroit
3. BOSTON
4. Washington
5. Cleveland
6. Orlando
7/8 Chicago/Indiana/Philadelphia

1 vs. 8 - Miami vs. whoever - Miami
4 vs. 5 - Washington vs. Cleveland - Cleveland

1 vs. 5 - Miami vs. Cleveland - Cleveland

3 vs. 6 - BOSTON vs. Orlando - Boston
2 vs. 7 - Detroit vs. whoever - Detroit

2 vs. 3 - Detroit vs. BOSTON - ?????

Prediction for that at a later date...