LestersLegends.com

As the world prepares for LeBron’s announcement later tonight, the Celtics made a move to bolster their chances of repeating as Eastern Conference Champions. They added Jermaine O’Neal to fill the void the C’s will feel as Kendrick Perkins recovers from his knee injury. O’Neal, who will turn 32 in October should give them an upgrade over the recently retired Rasheed Wallace. His fantasy value takes a hit as there are more scoring options  in Boston than there were in Miami.

I should probably call it the Big Four as Rajon Rondo proved to be as important as any of the Celtics’ future Hall of Famers (Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen). Perhaps the Big Five if the Jermaine O’Neal to the C’s rumors are true. Whatever number of big players the Celtics have next year, they will have sharpshooter Ray Allen there for two more years after he signed a $20 million deal. He will turn 35 later this month so the odds that he can match the 16.3 points he averaged last year aren’t great. That said, he is a great source for three-pointers and free-throw percentage and a good source for points and field goal percentage. He offers little in the rebounds and assists category. A lot of teams are gearing up in the East, and it appears Boston will remain in the hunt.

The Celtics will be without Paul Pierce for up to two weeks because of a knee infection. He’s not making the Celtics four-game road trip. He’s a pretty tough dude so I would expect him back before the two weeks. Definitely get him out of your lineup for next week though.

In other news around the league Yi Jianlian returned for the Nets, logging 30 minutes and scoring 22 points. Jameer Nelson was in Orlando’s starting lineup and responded with 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists.

It seemed like all the major players added a piece recently except for the Boston Celtics.  That changed when Rasheed Wallace agreed to join the C’s for the mid-level exception.  Teamed with KG, the Celtics not only have two of the more fiery Power Forwards in the league, but two dynamic multi-dimentional big men, something that caused Cleveland fits in the Eastern Conference Finals.  He also gives the Celtics another big man, along with KG and Kendrick Perkins, to take on Shaq. 

Sheed’s fantasy value takes a hit.  With Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, KG, and Rajon Rondo, there just won’t be enough shots to go around.  With KG and Perkins down low, he won’t grab a ton of rebounds.  This signing wasn’t about his number though.  It was about winning.  As long as everyone stays healthy, the Celtics should be right in the mix to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals. 

The deal won’t be official until Wednesday.

5/2/09

Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics
Ben Gordon – 33 Points
Ray Allen – 23 Points, 7 Rebounds
Paul Pierce – 20 Points, 9 Rebounds
Kendrick Perkins – 14 Points, 13 Rebounds
Joakim Noah – 7 Points, 15 Rebounds
Derrick Rose – 18 Points
Kirk Hinrich – 16 Points, 4 Steals
Eddie House – 16 Points
Glen Davis – 15 Points
Rajon Rondo – 7 Points, 11 Assists, 5 Rebounds, 3 Steals, 2 Blocks