Vote in our poll: Which player will provide the biggest unexpected boost to the Celtics this season?
With the pre-season officially upon us, we here at CelticsLife thought it would be fun to dish out some pre-season award predictions for the Celtics. We came up with eight awards (four positive, four not-so-positive), and will be giving out writer predictions on each of them over the next week or so.
These awards will be named after Celtics greats (and not-so-greats), and hopefully we can have some fun with this. We'll also be posting a poll for everyone to vote on, and be sure to add your two cents in the comment section.
Award #1: The Paul Pierce award for Team MVP - Writer's pick: Rajon Rondo
Today's award: The P.J. Brown Award for the guy most likely to give the line-up an unexpected boost.
Mike Dyer (Follow Mike - Mike_Dyer13)
Keith Bogans - I know what you're going to say - "but Mike, Keith Bogans is terrible..how is he the P.J. Brown award winner?" Simple - this season isn't so much about wins and losses as it is about acquiring assets and building for the future. And I've got a feeling that Bogans $5 million expiring salary is going to come in handy at some point this season. Whether it be by itself or combined with Kris Humphries expiring deal, Bogans deal will open some doors for Danny Ainge as he looks to make a move.
Mark Vandeusen (Follow Mark - LucidSportsFan)
Gerald Wallace - With the hindsight of last night's preseason opener, I'm going to say Gerald Wallace. The guy has no real expectations, and he could well turn into the 6th man/top scoring option off the bench. He did average 13.8 PPG just two seasons ago.
Eric Blaisdell (Follow Eric - EricBlaisdell13)
Gerald Wallace - All everyone talks about is Wallace's horrible contract, but the guy can play. He gives his all every night and will never pout or complain to the media if he isn't getting a ton of touches. That shouldn't be an issue though, as Wallace always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Sure, he's a tad overpaid for what the Celtics need right now, but fans will fall in love with Wallace's hustle, ability and drive to leave it all out on the floor, rebuild or not.
Danielle Hobeika (aka DH) (Follow DH - dhobeika)
MarShon Brooks - I'm going to go with MarShon Brooks here, since he can provide a spark on offense. It was close though because Avery Bradley has demonstrated in the past that his tenacity on defense can be game changing (the Orlando game where he annoyed the crap out of Jameer Nelson comes to mind), but now his defensive presence has come to be expected and not unexpected.
Burak Tekin (aka semioticus) (Follow semioticus - semioticusCL)
Kris Humphries - It's bizarre to nominate a starter for this award, but because of Humphries' off court history, people think he's useless. He's going to be a fan favorite and average a double-double by the end.
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| CelticsLife writers pick for the P.J. Brown award - Hump |
Matty Mackay (Follow Matty - MattyMackay)
Brandon Bass - I think he took a bit of a step backwards last season but with more touches we should see the Brandon Bass of old, maybe even better. I would start him along with Rondo (when he’s healthy), Bradley, Green and Olynyk. His skills would mesh best with these guys and compliment better than Humphries or Sully.
Karl Dillinger (Follow Karl - karl_dillinger)
Kris Humphries - Douchebag as a human being but great rebounder and no one thinks he'll do anything so if he does something it'll be a surprise.
Padraic O'Connor (Follow Padraic - padraic_oconnor)
MarShon Brooks - I think he's going to be instant offense off the bench and push all the other 2-guards to work harder. They're going to have to because Brooksie comin'.
Julian Edlow (Follow Julian - BleedGreenBlogs)
Kelly Olynyk - I know people are expecting a lot out of Olynyk in the future, but he is going to produce decent numbers this season. 12 PPG and 6 RPG is not farfetched.
Matt Richissin (aka MattDotRich) (Follow Matt - MattDotRich)
Marshon Brooks - A couple weeks ago Sean Grande made a comment about how he thought Rajon Rondo would play better by 'getting away' from Doc Rivers. You know what could help a promising B-level prospect like Marshon Brooks? Not having to hear Avery Johnson's squeaky voice, or having to deal with PJ Carleisemo's overhwelming incompetence. Brooks is going to be given every chance to prove himself as a rotation worthy player in this league, and I think he's capable of it. He'll have a point guard that will give him the looks, and finally the coaching that might get him to do stupid things less often.
Devin Archer (aka Devin A) (Follow Devin - TheCelticD)
Kris Humphries - Few people are expecting legitimate contributions from him, but I feel like if he’s given the patience, he can win the Celtics a few games, as well as get them a few double-doubles.
Mike Saver (Follow Mike - SaverSports)
Kris Humphries - Does Humphries count? The storyline with Humphries always starts with:
A.) He married a Kardashian for a little bit
B. ) He seems like an asshole
C.) He got in a "fight" with Rondo once.
None of these things have anything to do with basketball, which Humphries actually gets paid to do for a living. He's been in the league a long time for a reason, he's actually not that bad. For a team that has been awful on the boards for years, I think a lot of Celtics will start to come around on Humphries in the first half of the year. Then he'll be traded and everyone who's hating on him now will start calling for Ainge's head.
Writer votes: Kris Humphries, 4 votes; MarShon Brooks, 3 votes; Gerald Wallace, 2 votes; Keith Bogans, 1 vote; Brandon Bass, 1 vote; Kelly Olynyk, 1 vote
Explain your answers in the comment section!
