Jermaine returns....1 down 3 to go

Christmas Day's return of Jermaine O'Neal to the Green Team may not seem like a huge deal on the surface, but in the long run it will help turn the Celtics from an already great team into a deadly one. Without Jermaine and starting center Kendrick Perkins, the C's had to rely on 38 year old Shaquille O'Neal and rookie Turkish import Semih Erden (playing with a separated shoulder). If Shaq got in foul trouble or got winded, in came Glen "Big Baby" Davis who is posting a 6th man of the year candidate season.

Now that O'Neal is back that leaves the trio of Rajon Rondo, Delonte West and Kendrick Perkins to get healthy in order to turn this team into one of the deepest, talented teams in Celtics history. Jermaine isn't the dominant player he was in Indiana 5 years ago, but he gives another body off the bench to spell Garnett and Shaq which will pay dividends come the post-season. One of the weaknesses in the 2009-10 team was the lack of depth in the front-court. After Perkins and Garnett they had Davis and Rasheed Wallace to depend on, but injuries to Marquis Daniels limited trust in anyone else (including Shelden Williams and Brian Scalabrine). This led to a post-season run that ended with an exhausted team in game 7 that scored only 79 points.

When Perkins comes back they'll have former all-stars in Shaq and Jermaine to come off the bench along with the surging Glen Davis. They're going to need all 3 considering Shaq is 38 and Perkins is going to be in foul trouble more often than not. Also, Perkins will probably not be back at full health all year so his minutes will need to be monitored. This will lead to Jermaine, Shaq, Davis and maybe Erden having to step up as Perkins progresses.

The next to return will be Rajon Rondo and its self explanatory how much he means to the team. Nate Robinson is good, but Rondo is that much better. Opposing defenses would now have to worry about guarding both Rondo and trigger happy Robinson which will spread the defense so thin, any of the other 4 Celtics on the court will likely be open to receive the ball. Since this year's team is so talented, any of the 4 has a chance to score.

Last to return (or not depending on when Perkins is ready) will be Delonte West and his return will also make opposing coaches suffer massive headaches. His playmaking skills and shooting ability makes him a perfect complimentary piece to Ray Allen and Rondo. Add in the now healthy Marquis Daniels and you've got a bench rotation that's good enough to start for other teams. Hell a starting 5 of Shaq, Davis, Daniels, West and Robinson with Jermaine, Wafer, Bradley, Harangody and Erden off the bench could probably go 42-40 given some of the horrendous teams in this year's NBA.

The only good thing to come out of the injury situation is much needed playing time for the reserves. Nate Robinson has filled in nicely for Rondo (the last 2 games not withstanding), Glen Davis worried about what his role was going into the year and now he's a legitimate 6th Man candidate, a healthy Marquis Daniels has been stepping it up and the quartet of Von Wafer, Luke Harangody, Semih Erden and Avery Bradley have gotten minutes that normally would not have come. With these 4 in the games, Doc can evaluate them individually and get an idea of what to expect come the post-season. Unlike last year when Doc left 37 year old Michael Finley rotting on the bench, the play of these 4 will determine which of them will see minutes when the games truly matter.

Going into tonight's game against the Pistons the Celtics stand at 24-5 which is remarkable considering they haven't had a full complimented roster since the season started. They opened the season with Perkins out rehabbing his knee and West serving a 10 game suspension. As soon as West returned, O'Neal was lost for a month and a half then 5 games later West broke his wrist.

When all hands are on deck the Celtics have 4 first ballot Hall of Famers (Shaq, Garnett, Allen, Pierce) a former all star (Jermaine), a future all-star (Rondo), 4 guys who could start on other teams (Daniels, West, Davis, Robinson), a dependable bruiser on the boards (Perkins), and a quartet of youngsters (Erden, Bradley, Wafer, Harangody) that will vie for the 12th spot which included playing to the best of the abilities to outlast the others. The team will have to re-learn chemistry once everyone comes back healthy but once they work the kinks out, this team will be dangerous with its depth and talent. The sky's the limit if they can remain healthy.

One last chance for Brady

The standard for great quarterbacks has been their jewelry. Terry Bradhsaw, Joe Montana and Bart Starr have won 4 NFL championshhips (more in Starr's case) in their careers. A lot of people will take Peyton Manning over Tom Brady because of his yardage numbers and overall stats, but where is Peyton's bling? Sure he won a Superbowl but that's singular, Tom Brady has won SuperbowlS plural.
One of the reasons Brady doesn't get the respect he deserves is he missed out on that 4th Superbowl title. 3 years ago Brady damn near capped off a perfect season with a touchdown strike to Randy Moss with a little over 2 minutes left in Superbowl 42. Ultimately the Patriots defense couldn't hold and Eli Manning walked off the field as Superbowl MVP and Brady had to settle for his 3 previous victories.
As Brady puts the finishing touches on his second NFL MVP this season one has to wonder if this is his last chance for that elusive 4th championship. No quarterback has been to 5 Superbowls in the modern era and only Joe Montana possesses 3 Superbowl MVP trophies. Currently Brady sits on 3 superbowl wins and 2 MVP's (which is more than Peyton Manning) and is 3 playoff wins away from the promise land.
This could be his last chance, nobody expected the Patriots to be this good this year coming off 2 lost seasons and a host of injuries (Ty Warren, Leigh Bodden, Stephen Neal, Kevin Faulk, Brandon McGowan all lost for the year) yet they sit at 12-2 on the year thanks to the efforts of Tom Brady.
Experts say this is Manning's best year since he's lost a ton of players to injury yet at best the Colts will go 10-6. Meanwhile back in 2006 Tom Brady led the 12-4 Patriots to the AFC Championship game with receivers the likes of Reche Caldwell and Jabar Gaffney in the abscence of David Patten, David Givens and Deion Branch. Even then, Brady led the Pats to a go ahead score before the defense gave the game away. Compare that to Manning who's crucial 4th quarter interception sealed the Superbowl for the Saints. Brady may have lost Superbowl 42, but he didn't exactly lose it himself in the manner that Manning lost Superbowl 44.
Time appears to be catching up with Manning and unless the Colts strike gold in next year's draft and free agency, the chances of him owning 3 Superbowl rings are getting slimmer every year. Time also will catch up with Brady eventually, nobody expected the Patriots to bounce back from Superbowl 42's collosal collapse but they appear to be doing it this year. One more regular season win will give the Patriots a first round bye and home field advantage against the likes of the Chargers and the Colts who are historically allergic to bad weather January games. Also the Steelers, Ravens and the Jets who the Patriots have defeated this season. The one wild card are the Kansas City Chiefs who I refer to as the Kansas City Patriots with Scott Pioli, Romeo Crennel, Charlie Weis, Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel on the team. The Patriots enigmatic defense will be a wild card unto itself but Tom Brady's offense has been consistant all season.
As it stands, this could be Brady's last real chance for a championship and 1st ballot hall of fame status. He's already had a fhall of fame career, but one last Superbowl victory (and subsquently MVP) could put him along the wall with Montana himself. After all, Montana didn't play in 5 Superbowls.