en-us Copyright 2008 - All Rights Reserved. Sun, 22 Nov 2009 23:24:13 GMT 15 By Joey Nichols
The Boston Celtics are attempting to win back-to-back NBA Championships for the first time since the LA Lakers accomplished a three-peat from 1999-2002. The Celtics signed Stephon Marbury and Mikki Moore to improve an already boastful line-up.     The line-up includes 8-time NBA All-Star and reigning NBA Finals MVP Paul “The Truth” Pierce. Also included are Kevin “The Big Ticket” Garnett (a.k.a. KG), a 12-time NBA All-Star, 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist, 2004 NBA MVP and reigning Defensive Player of the Year, and 9-time NBA All-Star and 2000 Olympic Gold Medalist Ray Allen (a.k.a. “Ray-Ray”). Stephon Marbury, a 12-year veteran and 2-time NBA All-Star, hails from the Georgia Institute of Technology and was drafted 4th overall in the ‘96 draft. Marbury plays point guard and was brought in to hopefully spark some offense and help the Celtics repeat as champions.     Although Marbury had not played for over a year due to disagreements with the Knicks’ organization, he has said he wants to change. So far in his Celtics career, he has not shown any disciplinary problems that say otherwise.     Mikki Moore is a 10-year veteran hailing from the College of Nebraska and was an undrafted rookie. Moore started the season with the Sacramento Kings before the Celtics acquired him due to an abundance of injuries to the Celtics Big Men. Mikki Moore was brought in to add some much needed depth to a depleted roster.     This year, five of the Celtics’ Power Forwards and Centers, the two positions where the biggest men are placed, have gotten hurt. The injury list includes Glen “Big Baby” Davis, Brian Scalabrine, Leon Powe, Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Garnett.     So far, Moore is playing just as well as he played before he came to the Celtics. Moore was playing 16.2 minutes per game and averaging 3.5 points per game with 3.3 rebounds in Sacramento. Now he plays 18.1 minutes per game and averages 3.7 points per game with 4.1 rebounds.     Marbury, on the other hand, is still trying to get his game back after his previous absence. While with the Knicks, Marbury was averaging 16.4 points per game with 5.4 assist. Now as a Celtic, Marbury averages 3.3 points per game with 2.7 assist. It was expected that Marbury’s stats would decline since he is now a back up to Rajon Rondo, but a little more from him was anticipated.     The acquisitions of Moore and Marbury, and hopefully the recovery of the men lost to injuries, will cause the magic that was the Celtics of last year to come back and propel them to another NBA Championship.   ]]> Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:08:08 GMT