[Zen653]

Nate Robinson has gotten praise from almost anyone that has covered him this offseason. SI said he has taken his game to the next level and suggested that he is 1 of the top 10 players to watch this year.

Alright, I stand corrected then. He had a reputation for being a bit of a punk last year who plays a selfish brand of basketball. I'm glad to learn that he's changing that image by elevating his game and improving his attitude. He's an exciting player to watch when he has his head screwed on straight.

The only reason the Celts have a shot at the playoffs is because they play in the worst division in basketball. A division in which they managed a GRAND TOTAL of 24 wins last season... burying them 4 games back into last place in the East.

The 2007-08 squad barely remsembles the one that finished with the worst record in the Eastern Conference last year. First of all, only 6 players are back from that team. Second of all, last year's Celtics suffered through a series of debilitating injuries to key players like Paul Pierce, Al Jefferson and Tony Allen. How far would the Cavaliers have gone without LeBron James? The same logic applies to Boston. Third, this year's Celtics team added two veteran All-Stars in Kevin Garnett (a top 5 player leaguewide) and Ray Allen (a top 5 shooter leaguewide), without subtracting anyone of import except Al Jefferson. Fourth, the Celtics vastly improved their bench by bringing in defensive specialist James Posey and talented guard Eddie House. Fifth, Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins are another year older and another year wiser. Both of them should be able to elevate their games, especially now that they're surrounded by a trio of great players in Garnett, Pierce and Allen.

I just wish people in Boston could set bias aside and realize that things don't just click in one year. Boston will improve this season, but I'm hard pressed to put them ahead of Toronto and New Jersey... let alone Detroit and Chicago who now have a history of winning. I like the Pierce-KG combo, and agree that it is enough to bring the Celtics to the playoffs. But 1st seed in the East? Yikes! I guess stranger things have happened.

It's not a matter of bias. I look at last year's Eastern Conference and I see that the Cleveland Cavaliers won it with LeBron James and a couple of decent role players. I look at this year's Celtics and I see a team that boasts three All-Stars in a league where teams with multiple All-Stars win championship titles. Professional basketball, more than any other sport, has the simplest formula for winning. The more All-Stars you have, the more likely you win a ring. From the Bird-McHale Celtics teams, to the Johnson-Kareem Laker teams, to the Thomas-Rodman Pistons teams, to the Jordan-Pippen Bulls teams, to the Shaq-Kobe Lakers teams, to the Duncan-Parker Spurs teams, to the Shaq-Wade Heat team, you need at least two All-Stars to win an NBA Championship. The Celtics now have three All-Stars, at least two of whom are still at the apex of their game. If James, Varejao and Pavlovic are enough to win the Eastern Conference, then Pierce, Garnett and Allen can certainly do it too.