The Fig Cap: “Wait, it’s not official… yet.”

The trade that sends Kevin Garnett from his beloved “Sota” to Beantown is all but done with the only thing delaying the seemingly inevitable move being a money issue.  And we all know how situations concerning money can easily be resolved, right?  Sarcasm aside, it would take a huge change of mind on Garnett’s end to kill the deal, but if The Big Ticket wants to punch his own ticket to the NBA Finals by going through the weaker Eastern Conference, this will get done.

But what will the fantasy basketball impact be?  Well, when dealing with the fact there will be three 20-point scorers on the same team, it will be tough to determine.  Specifically, will there be enough basketballs to go around?  Honestly, amongst Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce, there really isn’t a ball hog in the group.  Okay maybe The Truth, but Pierce never had a choice on most nights during the chaos that’s been the Celtics for the past several seasons.

First let’s look at the number of shots the Celtics averaged per game last season (78.7 FGA; 15.7 3PT FGA) and compare it to the combined total of shot attempts by GAP (Garnett, Allen, Pierce):

Garnett: 17.6 FGA; 0.7 3PT FGA
Allen: 21.0 FGA; 8.1 3PT FGA
Pierce: 18.1 FGA; 5.9 3PT FGA

Total: 56.7 FGA; 14.7 3PT FGA

The trio would have accounted for 72% of overall shots taken and 94% of triples attempted, mostly thanks to Allen’s obvious love of firing from beyond the arch.  What does this all mean?  Actually, absolutely nothing.  So, why go through all that research work then?  So that you don’t have to.  What really counts when looking at this particular group of 20-point scorers is their career assists numbers:

Garnett: 4.5 (4.1 last season)
Allen: 3.9 (4.2 last season)
Pierce: 3.9 (4.1 last season)

Looking at the above, you can tell that these guys are not simply chucking it up with a blatant disregard for their teammates.  So, if you’re worried about there not being enough rocks for the trio, don’t worry about it.  Each one of these guys will get their looks and get their shots off and they will each have a hand (or a pass, more like it) in helping the other two score.

So, who’s going to do what?  Let’s break down the GAP.

Kevin Garnett, SF/PF
Garnett will be the most passive of the three in regards to shooting the ball, but he’ll still get his and be on the cusp of 20 points because there won’t be much double-teaming with Allen and Pierce on the perimeter.  But, despite any potential dip in scoring, feel safe in knowing that Garnett will probably lead the league in rebounding once again since Allen and Pierce will take a lot of outside jumpers and the fact that there really won’t be anyone else on the inside to take boards away from KG.  Garnett will be the main man down low, but has skills from the high-post and a very good mid-range game.  He should be able to rack up the dimes when he kicks the ball back out to either Allen or Pierce.  Garnett is an underrated defender and is excellent on help defense, so don’t expect any changes on his hustle stats because he’ll still get at least a block and steal per game.  Mr. 20-10-5 should be back in full effect in Beantown.

Ray Allen, SG
There are some durability questions with Allen, but I think that he’s probably so geeked about playing with KG and The Truth that the endorphins and adrenaline will make him invulnerable to injury, especially considering the sadness of playing with the SuperSonics last season.  All due respect to Rashard Lewis, but getting to play with a guaranteed Hall-of-Famer and a player on his way there, Allen has to be happy at the prospects of setting up for his sweet jumper.  Okay, so defensively, Allen isn’t what he used to be, but he’ll be okay.  And considering that he won’t have to work much on offense – Pierce penetrates towards the basket and kicks it out to Allen for the outside shot; Garnett is doubled down in the box and throws it back out to Allen for the outside shot – Jesus Shuttlesworth won’t need to work much and stress out the “gimpy” ankle.  Will Allen average 25+ points this coming season?  No.  However, 23.0 ppg isn’t out of the question considering all the open shots he should get from the perimeter.  And, yes, most of the points will be from treys drained, so you’ll still be happy in that category, as well as in the percentages from the floor and the charity stripe.  Allen will still be able to play the passing lanes and contribute in the theft category and contribute on the boards as he has a good nose for the ball. 

Paul Pierce, SG/SF
Pierce is the veteran Celtic on this team and the alpha dog because of it.  However, make no mistake in assuming that Pierce wouldn’t play second or third fiddle on any given night in order to win.  In fact, it was Pierce who lobbied KG to come to Boston the first go-around when it was rumored that the Celtics and T-Wolves were working on a deal before the NBA Draft.  Alas, it was not meant to be.  I guess all it takes is time… and a lot of money.  In any case, Pierce is another one with injury questions, but he should be A-OK with KG in town now.  He’ll be the main guy attacking the basket and scoring in more ways than Garnett and Allen.  I’d expect him to continue to be the main man in Beantown and if anyone scores 25 or so, it’ll be The Truth.  His assists numbers should remain the same as last season’s if not with a slight uptick, but maybe there will be a very small drop in boards with KG in town.  He’ll still take a good share of triples and won’t hurt your percentages from the floor or free-throw line.

When all is said and done, the Celtics should have a trio of 20-point scorers and fantasy owners should remain happy because of the other categories that each player regularly contributes to, such as Garnett with boards, and Allen and Pierce with threes.  Don’t expect too much to change with each player from seasons past except for, on average, a nominal drop in points.  And while this is a fantasy basketball column, I have to say that the real winners here will be Boston Celtics fans around the world since the GAP should close, well umm, the gap between the Celtics and the Detroit Pistons, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Chicago Bulls in the East and if the Celtics get some depth, don’t be surprised to see them close in on the elite Western Conference teams as well.