ESPN's John Hollinger has released his complete season preview. Here are some excerpts from his Celtics's forecast:
The end result is that this season's Celtics will look a lot like last season's, which was one of the most distinctive in basketball on several fronts. For starters, their periodic offensive struggles didn't emanate from an inability to make shots -- instead, it was an inability to take them that was the problem. Boston led the NBA in 2-point field goal percentage (see chart), but was so anemic on the boards and so prone to turnovers that it took fewer shots per possessions than any other team (with "shots" defined to include free throw attempts times 0.44)...
All these guys were good last season. How many of them will still be good in 2010-11? With so many players in their mid-30s, the risk of collapse shouldn't be dismissed. Boston will start a 32-year-old, a 33-year-old, a 34-year-old and a 35-year-old; two of those four have been in the NBA since they were 18 and thus have played more minutes (and taken more pounding) than nearly any similar-aged player in history. The bench isn't exactly a bunch of spring chickens either, with a 38-year-old Shaq the most likely sixth man...
Boston will be a huge favorite to win the division -- it might be the only team over .500, in fact -- and still has the trump card that it matches up so well with Orlando. Unfortunately, the Celtics are unlikely to get to the point where it's just them and the Magic left standing, and they still have uppity rivals like the Bulls, Bucks and Hawks nipping at their heels. The Celtics' defense and chemistry will keep them near the top, but I'm not seeing enough firepower to provide a repeat of last season's run. At the end of the day, I think they'll be exactly what they were a year ago from November to April. It's the ending that I see changing.
Prediction: 51-31, 1st in Atlantic, 3rd in Eastern Conference
No surprises. While he does make good points about the lack of firepower and shots, I do feel it's something that can be corrected. And the concerns about age are a bit overstated. This team's depth will help offset the tired legs.
In Hollinger's world, the Heat win 66 games and beat the Lakers in the Finals. (Whatever...)
PS - Can someone tell me why Orlando is perceived as better than Boston?