Boston Celtics Tickets

Boston Celtics 2010 Playoffs Preview The Boston Celtics come into this year's playoffs with a healthy Kevin Garnett but not as the team to beat in the Eastern Conference.

Boston limped through much of the regular season and ended up as just the No. 4 seed in the conference, meaning they will likely have home-court advantage for just the first round of the playoffs.

The good news is that the Celtics were actually just as good playing on the road as they were at home, and this veteran-laden team is not likely to get intimidated or rattled by a hostile environment.

The bad news is that it seems like many games and seasons are finally starting to catch up with the Celtics trio of Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

Garnett is still troubled by his worn out knees and can't run or jump like he used to. Pierce seems tired from being the go-to player for so many years, and Allen's jump-shot comes and goes like the wind. In fact, the team was desperately trying to work out a deal to trade Allen away before the deadline but could not find any suitors.

The Celtics signed Rasheed Wallace in the offseason, thinking he could really help the team on both ends of the court. Instead, Wallace came into camp out of shape and still looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy.

When the players weren't going through the motions out on the court, they were fighting with each other off of it. Garnett, who used to be the leader of this team, no longer seems to command the respect he once did.

The best player on the team is now point guard Rajon Rondo, who can make an impact on both ends of the floor.

The Celtics sure don't look like a team capable of a deep postseason run, but you never know with this group. Maybe the veterans have one last run in them, and it's not like there are great teams standing in their way in the Eastern Conference.