Are You Ready For The 66-Game 2011-12 NBA Regular Season (Crickets)?

If it feels like I've neglected to talk much about the NBA and more specifically, the Boston Celtics, then you are correct. I'm sure once the regular season starts I'll get into it a bit more but honestly at the moment, the Bruins and Patriots (in that order) take priority.

I love college basketball but I've never been a huge NBA fan so the lockout that just ended was the perfect reason to start caring even less about the NBA. There are so many things wrong with the league and the product that we're all well aware of. Still, I admit I do enjoy watching the Celts and the NBA playoffs are usually pretty awesome too.

The abbreviated 66-game NBA 2011-12 regular season officially starts on Sunday (Christmas) with the C's visiting the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. It's a tasty rematch from last season's playoffs (Boston swept New York) that is the beginning of a nice slate of games.

Boston's 14-man roster for the opener appears set since they waived three players today: forward Michael Sweetney (remember when he was a lottery pick out of Georgetown?), center Jamal Sampson and undrafted rookie guard Gilbert Brown (Pitt). No surprises there. Sweetney is washed up, Sampson is a bum and Brown probably needs some playing time in the D-League before he makes the leap to the NBA.

The Celtics brought four invites to training camp but D-League center Greg Stiemsma is the only one that stuck.

Here's the expected roster for Sunday
Guards: Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Avery Bradley, Marquis Daniels, Keyon Dooling, E'Twaun Moore
Forwards: Brandon Bass, Kevin Garnett, JaJuan Johnson, Sasha Pavlovic, Paul Pierce, Chris Wilcox
Centers: Jermaine O'Neal, Stiemsma

The starting five has to be Rondo, Allen, Pierce, Garnett and O'Neal. Pierce has a heel injury which reportedly could keep him out of Sunday's game; if he can't play, expect Daniels to start in his place.

The first few guys off the bench (when everyone is healthy) should be Daniels, Bass, Wilcox and Dooling.

I'm most intrigued by Moore (who has been tearing it up in camp and preseason games), Johnson, Bass and Wilcox. Moore and Johnson are rookies so they'll be up and down but after great four-year careers at Purdue, I expect them to have less of a learning curve than most guys that enter the NBA at an earlier age. We know what Bass can do, it'll be interesting to see how he fits in Boston's gameplans. Wilcox is somewhat of a wild card: he's not young but he's been on mostly terrible teams so being on one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference should rejuvenate his career.

UPDATE 12/23: Celtics head coach Doc Rivers said today that Pierce is doubtful for Sunday's game so it looks like Pavlovic will get the nod if the captain can't suit up for the opener. Apparently, the thinking with Sasha starting is that Daniels is one of the leaders of the bench so they don't want to break that up. Um OK?

The Phoenix Suns released swingman Mickael Pietrus yesterday and rumors swirling around Boston are that the Celtics could sign him, to fill their empty 15th spot on their roster. I'm a huge Pietrus fan so I hope they do it, he's a good player that would see some decent minutes on this team. Stay tuned I guess.

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Marquis Daniels Appears To Be Returning To The Celtics For The 2011-12 Season

According to the Boston Globe, the Boston Celtics are "very close" to bringing swingman Marquis Daniels (on a one-year deal) back for his third season with the Green.

Last year was a bizarre one for Daniels since he suffered a scary spinal cord injury Feb. 6 against the Orlando Magic. He was traded to Sacramento before the deadline for a 2017 draft pick (haha really) but he never played a game for the Kings.

Daniels' health is always the biggest issue, he missed a bunch of games in 2009-10 due to a thumb injury. However, since he's been here before, he is capable of jumping in and contributing much faster than other veterans that have never played under Doc Rivers and with the Big Three.

Daniels can play three positions (both guard positions and small forward) and he's an outstanding defender. Best of all, he's 30-years-old (going into his ninth NBA season) so he should have something left in his legs. Haha on the Celts, he'd be one of their younger guys and more importantly, he'd anchor the bench which at the moment is basically non-existent.

In other news with Training Camp beginning tomorrow in Waltham, undrafted rookie guard Gilbert Brown (Pitt) is expected to be there. The C's thought about drafting him in June but when he went undrafted, they kept in touch with Brown and his agent. His strengths are defense and his size for a guard. He could definitely make the team as one of the last guys on the bench.

Veteran guard Keyon Dooling (who averaged 7 points, 3 assists last season with the Bucks) and big guy Michael Sweetney have also been mentioned as names that could turn up tomorrow in Celtics practice gear. Dooling has reportedly been obtained for a future second round pick of the Celtics.

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