5 of 13

Yes

Write now Article Tools

The answer lies in KG's own mind, and he certainly seems to think so. He didn't agree to come to Boston merely because of the rich Celtic tradition. Hardly so. The man wants a ring, period. Creating a formidable trio along with Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, he sincerely believes that a title is in the offing for the new-look Celts. You know what? I concur.

First things first, to win a championship, a team has to emerge from their own conference. While the Eastern Conference is not totally bereft of good teams, who projects better than the 2007-08 Celtics right now? Granted, Rajon Rondo still has a long way to go at the point guard position. (But the organization's faith in him is obvious - he is virtually the only young player to survive GM Danny Ainge's housecleaning deals in these last couple of months.) But when KG, Pierce and Allen are on the floor together - most noticeably in crunchtime - the matchup problems for opposing defenses will be daunting. Never mind all three, you can't double-team any one of them without cutting your own throat. As a result, each member of the New Big Three can expect a lot of one-on-one coverage, which they can then exploit to their advantage. Creating their own shot hasn't been an issue for any of the three superstars.

Assuming that they can conquer the Heat, Pistons and Cavs to reach the Finals, then the real fun begins. They'll likely find themselves in a shoot-out series against either the Spurs, Mavericks or Suns. While coming out of the East is a fairly reasonable call to make, predicting a best-of-7 series win against any of those three teams is decidedly not. But harkening back to the question at hand - CAN the Celtics do it? It is within the realm of possibility? Without a doubt. If they can avoid the injury bug and channel some of that old Celtic mystique, we could certainly witness a 17th world championship banner being raised to the TDBanknorth Garden rafters in the not-too-distant future.

Learn more about this author, Matthew Kimber.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Can newly acquired Kevin Garnett lead the Boston Celtics to an NBA title in the 2007/2008 season??
We want to hear your view. Write now!