Because the Celtics spent so much money on their starting lineup they had to be on the cheap for the bench. When that is considered, the Celtics didn’t do too bad at assembling one. Tony Allen will be the top player off of the bench for the Celtics this season as long as he stays healthy. He can play both the point and shooting guard positions which will come in handy for the Celtics. He played in 33 games (18 starts) last season for the Celtics before blowing out a knee and he averaged 24.4 minutes, 11.5 points, 3.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game. He also shot well from the floor (51.4%) and the free throw line (78.4%) last season. James Posey will back up at small forward and shooting guard for the Celtics. He’s a great defensive player and he’s a solid shooter. He played in 71 games (19 starts) last season with the Heat and he averaged 27.0 minutes, 7.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game. Eddie House is also a three point bomber (42.9%) that will provide instant offense off the bench for the Celtics. He’s a shoot first guard as he played in 56 games (1 start) last season for the Nets and he averaged 16.9 minutes, 8.4 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Brian Scalabrine will back up at both forward spots for the Celtics and he’s also a solid three point shooter (40%) but he’s a little soft. He played in 54 games (17 starts) last season for the Celtics and he averaged 19.0 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Rookies Gabe Pruitt (point guard) and Glen “Big Baby” Davis will get some opportunities to show what they can do this season. Pruitt is the #3 point guard right now but Davis is listed as Kevin Garnett’s backup so he could earn some playing time and he has some good moves around the basket and he’s a good rebounder. Leon Powe and Scot Pollard will back up Kendrick Perkins at center for the Celtics. Powe is the younger player and he seems to have a higher ceiling than Pollard does. Powe played in 63 games (2 starts) last season for the Celtics and he averaged 11.4 minutes, 4.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. Pollard wasn’t used much last season by the Cavs and he could be rusty. Pollard only worked in 24 games (0 starts) last season for the Cavs and he averaged 4.5 minutes, 1.0 point, 1.3 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. Pollard has played in 484 games in his NBA career and he’s averaged 4.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. The Celtics would be happy if Pollard could average his career norms this season.

Paul Pierce has been complaining for a while that he didn’t have any help but that will not be a problem this season. Pierce is the senior member of the Celtics and he played well last season despite being injured for a big chunk of the year. Pierce played in 47 games (46 starts) last season for the Celtics and he averaged 37.0 minutes, 25.0 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Look for his scoring to come down a little bit with Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett on board. The “Big Ticket” Kevin Garnett was added in the big trade with the Timberwolves in the off-season and he will be outstanding for the Celtics. He is an unselfish player that plays hard at both ends of the court. He played in 76 games (all starts) last season and he averaged 39.4 minutes, 22.4 points, 12.8 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks per game. Look for the Celtics to run the offense through Garnett as he has a knack for finding the open teammate when the double team comes. That’s good news for Ray Allen who will make teams pay for double teaming Garnett. Allen also needs to stay healthy as he missed a lot of games last season due to ankle injuries. Allen played in 55 games (all starts) last season and he averaged 40.3 minutes, 26.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Second year man Rajon Rondo will be the starting point guard and he will do a good job. His game is hustle and defense which could lead to frequent fast breaks for the Celtics offense. Rondo won’t likely score much but he might rack up assists with the firepower the Celtics have on offense this season. Rondo played in 78 games (25 starts) last season for the Celtics and he averaged 23.5 minutes, 6.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Kendrick Perkins will be the starting center for the Celtics and his main jobs will be to play defense and rebound and those are two things he can do well. He played in 72 games (53 starts) last season for the Celtics and he averaged 21.9 minutes, 4.5 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 blocks per game.

The Celtics have waived F/C Esteban Batista and G/F Dahntay Jones. The Celtics figured they weren’t going to play either of these guys very much so they did them a favor so that they might get to hook up with another team. Batista only played in 1 game in the pre-season and he played 19 minutes and he scored 7 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, dished out 1 assists and stole the ball twice. Dahntay Jones played poorly in the pre-season for the Celtics as he played in 5 games and he averaged 8.6 minutes, 2.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. He didn’t shoot well either as he was 5 for 14 from the floor and 3 for 7 from the free throw line.