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Not since the Chicago Bulls amassed a triumphant triumvirate has a more exciting trinity been assembled, but Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippin and Horace Grant/Dennis Rodman rarely had question marks.

The Boston Celtics have three legitimate 30-points per game scorers with Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and the returning Paul Pierce, but Allen and Pierce both suffer from injury bugs. The Celtics also need the specialists that made the Bulls so great through the 1990s.

The Celtics will finish no better than third in the Eastern Conference this year because it takes more than a year to develop the type of chemistry to congeal three superstars of that magnitude into a cohesive unit. Don't misinterpret that as saying the Celtics are not the team to beat in 2009, but 2008 will have its share of ups and downs.

Besides teamwork, this team needs a few key elements to work for them. They need Rajon Rondo to work as a true point guard. He averaged only 3.8 assists per game despite more than 23 minutes of court time. They also need to look at a big man to relieve Garnett of some of the rebounding load. Perhaps they can talk Glenn "Big Dog" Robinson out of retirement to help this team along.

There is no doubt that the Celtics will run a modification of the Bulls' and Phil Jackson's triangle offense. Allen will be the spot-up shooter, Pierce will dribble penetrate and Garnett will be the enforcer. But Chicago knows this offense, and can defend it. Cleveland will be scary-good with another year of Lebron James working in that system.

Give the Celtics a full year working together and they could be something special. Give them one injury in that triad and they could be something mediocre.

Learn more about this author, John Hale.
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