19. Boston Celtics

The Celtics are picking at 19, they are represented by

   Orin Day .

With the 19th pick, the Celtics select:

   a>Greg Graham, SG, 6-4, Indiana.

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Celtics History/Needs

This year the Celtics finished with the fourth best record in the 

NBA's Eastern Conference, and ninth overall.  


The Celtics are a very interesting team to draft for given their
combination of aging NBA stars, borderline all-stars, journeyman
NBA players, and young players with decent potential.  Larry Bird
is gone, McHale is following him, and the Chief will probably retire
at the end of next season as well.  Boston needs not only help, but
health to challenge the top teams in the East, but should not slip
into the lottery with their current lineup.  The Celtics are OK at
PF and PG, and a decent center probably won't slip low enough this
year.  The Celtics need a backup to Lewis at SG, or an SF if no good
SG's are available, or a PF if Ed Pinckney isn't coming back strong.

Last year the Celtics drafted Jon Barry out of Georgia Tech, but
traded his rights before he signed. 


Current Roster

SG:

Reggie Lewis dominated the Celtics offensive totals this year - 

taking almost 20% of their shots in playing 39+ MPG, Lewis averaged
20.8 ppg.  Lewis was the only Celtic to crack the top 10 in any 
major statistical category for the season, and that was FT%.  It
remains to be seen if Lewis will be back and healthy for next year,
but it can well be said that "As Reggie goes, so go the Celtics".

Lewis is basically the only shooting guard that the Celtics have,
and he does not have NBA range for three.  The three point game can
be said to be a problem for Boston, given that their .286 clip put
them second to last in the league, but with Bird gone their half-court
offense has tended to favor the percentage shot by Lewis, Parrish, McDaniel,
or Abdelnaby - Boston finished 5th in the league in FG%.

PF:

The Celtics lose McHale this year, but will benefit from the return
of Ed Pinckney, who went down after just 7 games with an injury.  

Boston fans had expected big things from Ed this year, and it 
remains to be seen how well he will recover.  The X-Man had a good
year in Boston, averaging 13+ in 27 minutes.  Alaa Abdelnaby put in
some good minutes after he came over from Milwaukee, and became a
starter towards the end of the season.  Alaa may split time between
the PF and C role, but his defense is certainly poor at that slot
compared to Parrish and Kleine (especially given Alaa's foul troubles).  


C:

Boston also needs a dependable replacement for the Chief, who will
possibly retire after next year.  However, such a player probably
won't be available at #19 - the Celtics do not want a project such
as Luther Wright.  Joe Kleine isn't great, but he's a known quantity 
and resistant to injury - there's little point in drafting a college
center that won't get any better than him.  Kleine is not a big scoring
threat, but has developed a soft baseline shot from 10-15 that we'll
see more of next year.  Both Kleine and Parrish are fine rebounders
on both ends of the floor, and Parrish is also an excellent shot blocker.
The Chief managed 27 minutes this year, a figure that may decrease next
year, but not by too much.

PG:

With Dee Brown and Sherman Douglas sharing time at PG the Celtics
are pretty much set at this position.  Douglas dishes out the assists,
and Brown led the team in steals.  Neither were really TO prone as the
team was among the leagues best in not handing over the ball.  


SF:

Kevin Gamble has this spot pretty much locked up, with backup from
Rick Fox.  Gamble is Boston's most legit threat from three point
range, having shot 37% for 52 makes (Dee Brown shot 31%, 26 makes, 
Lewis shot 23% with 14 makes - the only three to make 10+ 3's),
Gamble will never be a superstar, but the Celtics probably would
draft a SF on the basis of "best player available" rather than to
fill an immediate need.

Selection:

*   Greg Graham, SG, Indiana

According to our scouting reports, the biggest worry about Graham
is endurance, but as many minutes as Reggie Lewis plays it shouldn't
be a worry, and with a rigorous training program this should improve
over time.  


Other Players Considered:

After the #14 pick I made a short list that included Dehere, Graham,
Walters, Lynch, and Mills - three of those players went, so only
Graham and Walters were left.

It was tough not to take Walters, as it's basically a toss-up, but I
think that Graham will pull down more rebounds, and that Walters sometimes
"quick trigger" is perhaps not in the Celtic mentality.

The Celtics might consider trading their pick for a player that is an
established 3-4 year vet (Scott Williams came to mind).  With Parrish
probably leaving at the end of next year, and the resulting cap implications,
look for Boston to perhaps trade up in the draft or get a center on the
free agent market - I see Boston as a #4 or #5 team in the East again next
year if healthy, so their pick should be again in the 17-20 range.

Who the Celtics will probably pick:

Since they're picking so low this is a tough one - probably
the best player available while avoiding the PG spot.  The
Celtics also might pull a trick like last year - drafting a
player another team wants and trading him there.

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Draft Summary:
1.  Orlando
    GM:   Tom@Orlando 
    Pick: Chris Webber, PF, 6-10.  University of Michigan
2.  Philadelphia
    GM:   Dave Meeks 
    Pick: Shawn Bradley, C, 7-7. BYU
3.  Golden State
    GM's: Mike Moore 
          Terry Wong 
    Pick: Jamal Mashburn, SF, 6-8. Kentucky
4.  Dallas
    GM:   Curtis Hill  
    Pick: Anfernee Hardaway, SG, 6-7, Memphis State
5.  Minnesota
    GM's: Kevin Hansen 
          Toni Morgan 
    Pick: Calbert Cheaney, SF, 6-7. Indiana
6.  Washington
    GM's: The Crossjammer 
          Jim Nagle   
    Pick: J.R. Rider, SG, 6-5, UNLV
7.  Sacramento
    GM:   TODD FURESZ 
    Pick: Rodney Rogers, PF, 6-7, Wake Forest
8.  Milwaukee       
    GM's: Brian Saunders 
          Morgan Edwards 
    Pick: Malcolm Mackey, PF, 6-11, Georgia Tech
9.  Denver
    GM's: John Exby 
          Rick Grubin 
    Pick: Ervin Johnson, PF, 6-11, New Orleans
10. Detroit
    GM:   Rob Skrobola 
    Pick: Alan Houston, SG, 6-6, Tennessee
11. Detroit
    GM:   Rob Skrobola 
    Pick: Acie Earl, C, 6-10, Iowa
12. L.A. Lakers
    GM:   Cliff Slaughterbeck 
    Pick: Bobby Hurley, PG, 6-0, Duke
13. L.A. Clippers
    GM:   Cliff Slaughterbeck 
    Pick: Vin Baker, SF, 6-10, Hartford
14. Indiana
    GM:   Doug Mraz 
    Pick: Scott Burrell, SG, 6-7, UCONN
15. Atlanta
    GM:   Kevin Metz 
    Pick: Terry Dehere, SG, 6-4, Seton Hall
16. New Jersey
    GM:   A. Borges Sugiyama 
    Pick: Douglas Edwards, PF, 6-9, Florida State
17. Charlotte
    GM:   Bren Bailey 
    Pick: Chris Mills, SF, 6-6, Arizona
18. Utah
    GM:   Michael Wendt  
    Pick: George Lynch, SF, 6-7, North Carolina
19. Boston
    GM:   Orin Day 
    Pick: Greg Graham, SG, 6-4, Indiana

Next up:
20. Charlotte (from San Antonio for J.R. Reid)
    GM:   Bren Bailey