It is the beginning of the season.  It is a long season.  But make no mistake both teams wanted this one.  Lebron James' Cleveland Cavaliers needed to prove they can beat a top Easter Conference team.  The Celtics have not beaten the Cavaliers on their home court since Kevin Garnett arrived on the team.

Great effort from the team.  Pierce hit a clutch shot.  Rondo had 10 assists and played ferocious defense.  Shelden Williams had 3 rebounds off the bench.  Great all around effort. 

We also were missing Glen Davis, who was suspended for an altercation with an LSU teammate. 

I am still in Iraq, so I can't go into more detail right now, but a great start for this team, we wanted it and we got it!!! 

Before I write this article, I will need to make a few comments.  I am currently deployed to Iraq.  While I will be the chief writer for this site, I will not be able to always be as quick to post as I would like.  With all of that said, I intend on watching every game played to analyze it and give my opinion on hte Celtics. 

But now let's move into a little pre-season analysis.

Bigest hope:  Kendrick Perkins steps up offensively.  He has stated that he wants to be a bigger part of hte offense.  He shoots a high percentage, can find his shot and his footwork is getting better.  Finishing around the rim can be a problem. 

Rajon Rondo gets a contract extension

Biggest fear:  Artest reverts to his old defensive-minded self.

Shaq reverts to his early Laker days.

Real biggest fear: The San Antonio Spurs.  Like us, they solved just about every problem they had. 

In reality, from a non-biased perspective, barring injuries and whatnot, I think the Celtics have the talent and drive to win it all.  I'm not scared of the rest of them.  Maybe I should be, but I don't think Dwight Howard's Magic (especially without Turkoglu) can compete.  Shaq is old and there are too many shooters surrounding Lebron and little else besides an aging Shaq.  The Lakers will be interesting to see, they could repeat, but I think they should have kept Ariza instead of Artest.

The Spurs I think will come out of the west to play hte Celtics.  Again I could be wrong, but that is my prediction.  Maybe the sand is getting to me.

Kevin Garnett is limping up the court.  Yes, he is making excellent plays, he is hustling as hard as he ever did, but he is clearly in pain.  No one is saying he won't be ready for the regular season, but right now he is not what he once was.  Still, this is going to be a very long season and still a very good one.    He is the single biggest reason we had our turnaround last year.  The impact he has had on Kendrick Perkins and the way he has mentored the game to our young point guard Rajon Rondo is excellent.  And I will bet good money he will be very close to 100 percent by the time the regular season starts. 

The Boston Herald is reporting that cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal is impressing the Cavaliers.  He is working hard and is motivated to prove his detractors that he is not old and still has game in him.

But are you really scared of him?

Shaq has won 4 titles, being a playoff MVP three years in a row.  His last title was on the heels of Dwayne Wade with the Heat.  Since he was traded from Miami for Shawn Marion, the Suns have experiences a substantial drop-off, missing the playoff entirely for the first time since 2004.  While they had a winning record, the west was a very strong conference and they just couldn't keep up.

Now, Shaw is clearly the second fiddle to the reigning MVP, Lebron James.  In a roster that does not have a true post-up presence, Shaq is a welcome, but he is also very old and has not had the moves of the young Shaq. 

When he plays angry, he has played pretty well.  But the key to the team is going to be how he fees off of Lebron James. 

I'd say overall, the team is going to rely much more on Lebron than Shaq.  In matchups with the best teams, Kendrick Perkins or Kevin Garnett can provide single coverage on him.  Dwight Howard or the overpaid Marcin Gortat can as well, unless he gets hot, which is increasingly unlikely. 

I am not convinced Pau Gasol is a defenseive force.  He had no substantive defensive assignments in last years playoffs.  Howard did not show up in the finals and the Nuggets frontline was virtually non-existant.  Andrew Bynum is another story.  Although, I think Lakers management is maybe a little unerved that Bynum is going to spend the rest of his career playing with a knee brace. 

Still, the Cavaliers are relying on Shaq to be the Shaq of old.  He could come through.  But we have a man who helped shut down Shaq in the finals:  Rasheed Wallace.  They both got old at the same time, the question is, who still has more talent?

The Celtics have signed their draft pick Lester Hudson and forward Michael Sweetney going into training camp.

We'll have to see on Hudson, Danny knows his diamonds in the ruff and he knows talent period.  Hudson is an intriguing scorer who works hard and seems to have a great attitude. 

If you look at Ainge's record on picking talent, he found Delonte West, a solid scorer, Al Jefferson, a franchise player whatever team he is on, with the 15th pick, Ryan Gomes, a reliable role player, Glen Davis, who has proven to be more than a good role player and Leon Powe, who when healthy is a very effective bench player.  He even has the record for points for a Celtic player during the finals off the bench.  Now I know, Tony Allen isn't exactly in that category, but he had the potential for a little while.  That dunk after the foul a few years back has shaken his confidence. 

J.R. Giddens and Bill Walker are still in the wait and see category.

Michael Sweetney is an undersized, slightly overweight forward who has proven to be an effective, consistent player.  Someone is going ot have to be cut. 

My opinion is that there is going to be a trade, nothing large, just something to bring a little more talent in off our bench.

Celtics General manager Danny Ainge has said he expects negotiations between Rajon Rondo and the organization to go very well and both sides want to keep Rondo in green.

This is excellent news to almost every Celtic fan.  Rondo almost averaged a triple double in the playoffs last year. 

Rajon Rondo is the best defensive point guard in the NBA.  Chris Paul made the all-defensive team, but I have never seen Paul do the shut down job he has on defenders like Chauncy Billups and Steve Nash.

Paul has slightly better vision and can score a little more, but Rondo is becoming an ultimate gamer.  He is a guy that will stand up and take his team to victory.  The interesting fact is, he is only improving.  He has become a better jumpr shooter.  He is now proud to have added more muscle this year and he is ready to go. 

If Ainge doesn't get him wrapped up, it is going to be to this team's detriment.  But it looks like it is going to happen.

Raja Bell is being shopped around the league according to various reports.  While aging, defensive minded Bell is a guy who can finish, has made big shots, and can defend against the other teams best perimeter player.  He will replace what we had in James Posey, our stopper. 

Bell played huge minutes with the contending Phoenix Suns.  If we are able to acquire the guard, that would give us more and more depth that we could use now and for the future. 

I've always liked Marquis Daniels.  He is a guy who, offensively, does so many little things.  He was a very big part of the Mavericks when he was with the team.  He put up solid numbers with the Pacers.

While he is playing for a contract, I hope we are able to sign him to a long term deal, and being in some talent.  He is a guy who can play off Rajon Rondo's energy and do a lot of little things as a reliable supporting player.  Defesniely he is god, but I don't think he is above average.  But it is possible he will feed off of Kevin Garnett and Kendrick Perkins, like so many of our team do.

I was really screaming for the Celtics to sign Ron Artest.  But I think Marquis Daniels will actually do better than Artest.  He is a gamer who has no personal issues that will get in the way of his game.  Defesnively, I think Artest has regressd to the point he is close to level with Daniels.

Right now, there is not a whole lot of news.  Lester Hudson, the Celtics' sole draft pick, I guess is on the roster.  But he is injured.  He is motivated, if nothing rlse. 

I will keep everyone motivated as I get more news.