Offseason Movement: The Celtics were unable to re-sign James Posey, who ended up signing with the Hornets. GM Danny Ainge did re-sign Tony Allen, Eddie House, and Sam Cassell, while also signing Darius Miles and Patrick O’Bryant. Out of the draft, the team ended up with shooting guard JR Giddens and small forward Bill Walker.
Keep Your Eye On: The bench
Even more than last season, Boston is going to need a regular lift from its bench. With Posey gone, someone will have to pick up his defensive-mindedness and shooting touch. The bench projects to be very young, but with youth comes energy, and the Celtics will need it this season.
The Big Question: Now that the Big Three won a title, will they be as focused?
Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen came to Boston with one thing in mind – a NBA championship. Paul Pierce set aside his ego for the same reason. Throughout that season, the Celtics were focused on a singular goal, but now that they have their rings, will they be able to bring that same intensity every night? Hunger can really bolster a team’s success, and Boston will somehow have to manufacture that hunger this season. That’s a tough thing to do.
Outlook: The C’s are still the class of the East, but will face a bigger test within the conference given the improvements that the Sixers and the Heat have made, along with the continued maturity of the Magic and the Cavs. James Posey was so crucial to the team’s playoff success that one wonders if the team will be overcome that loss and stay as focused as they were last season. They are the odds-on favorites to win the East, but it’s shaping up to be a very interesting season in Beantown.

The Celtics have signed oft-injured forward Darius Miles. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Darius … has impressed us with his progress, health, and attitude,” Ainge said. “Darius will have the next couple of months to prove to myself and Coach [Doc] Rivers that he can help us win.”

Miles, who was drafted out of East St. Louis High School, has posted career averages of 10.6 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.15 blocks in 412 NBA games.

“I’ve watched the Boston Celtics play a lot last year and loved what I saw in their teamwork and chemistry on the court, and it’s the team that I want to try to resume my career with,” Miles said in the team’s statement. “I am excited about having an opportunity to play on a team that I feel my personality fits with and a team that can have great success on the court.”

Miles has a reputation for being poisonous to a team’s chemistry, but I doubt he’ll have an adverse effect on what the Celtics have going. This is a low risk move that could reap solid rewards for the C’s. Miles has always been a talented player, so if he’s turned a corner with his work ethic, he could have a positive impact in Boston.