Welcome to the inaugural edition of eDraft’s NBA Season Preview.  We start with the Atlantic Division, the toughest in the East, covering everyone from the pretenders to the contenders. 
We turn our attention now to the Boston Celtics, a proud team with championship aspirations. Anything short of the title and this season will be considered a disappointment for this group. 

BOSTON CELTICS
Key additions: Jeff Green (F), Jason Terry (G), Courtney Lee (G), Jared Sullinger
(21st overall F/C), Fab Melo (22nd overall C), Jason Collins, (C)

While it was clear by the middle of last season that the days of the “Big Three” were numbered and necessarily so, it was still with some sadness that we saw the uniquely talented, and future Hall of Famer, Ray Allen say au revoir to his beloved teammates Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. These were the pioneers, after all, the original talented trio of the new millennium, Danny Ainge’s experiment that provoked the scramble by the rest of league to assemble super-star tandems in threes. But everything ends, and in this case it might be best for all concerned parties. Allen gets to chase (and probably attain) another ring with the Heat, and the Celtics get a breath of new life.

Replacing Allen in the backcourt are Jason Terry, a terrific scorer (career average 16.1 PPG-38 3P%), only a season removed from his Finals excellence, and Courtney Lee. Lee was only a few short years ago one of the top rising talents in the NBA and should find the Celtics a nice fit. Jeff Green is also back and will get a lot of touches in this offense. Boston fans will be pleasantly surprised by the versatility of Green (career average 13.9 PPG-5.6RPG, excellent floor vision), and will someday finally forgive Ainge for trading Kendrick Perkins.

Paul Pierce, perennial all-star and future Hall of Famer himself, still possess the deadliest jump-shot from the elbow in the game and might be the best clutch performer in the East. In his younger days Pierce was an outstanding athlete but, as his quickness faded he managed to developed a killer mid-range game to go with his three-point shooting (career 37% 3P%) that should allow him to play at a high level for at least two more years.

Kevin Garnett (yes, also headed to the Hall) will display his familiar ferocity, but KG, once an excellent defender, is two steps slower than he was in his prime and often can barely contain opposing power forwards these days. The Celtics’ interior defense is weak and this will hurt them when they play in the rugged Eastern Conference. Luckily, Boston has two of the best perimeter defenders in the game in Avery Bradley (though he’s out to start the season, shoulder injury) and Rajon Rondo.

Rondo is in some respects the most talented point guard in the East (11.9 PPG-4.8 RPG-11.7APG-1.8 SPG). A guard who isn’t afraid to take it to the teeth of the defense, Rondo is a brilliant passer and a ball hound on defense. If he could only hit the 15-foot jumper with consistency, and shoot a higher percentage from the free-throw line, the Celtics might be talking title. But as Ray Allen recognized, they just don’t have enough weapons to go to war with the very best in the league.

Reason for optimism: Brandon Bass is tough big man who can score from the outside- no one in Boston is missing Glen “Big Baby” Davis these days.

Reason for despair: The Celtics actually benefited from the shortened season and more games means a diminished Garnett.

Projected record: 52-30

Up next: the Knicks