A brand new day for the C's

  Alright baby, this is it, tonight is the night.  I'm guessing I have uttered these very words somehwere between 2-4 times a week over the last month.  Every time I thought they (the celtics) were "back" they proceeded to fall flat on their face shortly thereafter.  They would play virtually flawless through the first half, only to completely fall apart in the final two frames.  This has been the Celtics identity since christmas, and the primary reason why the rest of the country has officially written them off, but not this dude. 

  As the Celtics begin a crucial west-coast swing tonight in Sacramento, many fans will be wondering if the team can start to turn things around.  Never has a road game in Sacramento carried so much importance for the Celtics, who will likely use this trip as a barometer for the rest of the season.  The green-team will be playing in hostile environments, while facing some of the best clubs the association has to offer, including Denver and the Lakers.  Hopefully the all-star break was enough time to regroup, drop some of those bad habits, and ultimately forget just how poorly the team performed in the first half of the season.  If I'm Doc Rivers, I revert to training-camp mentality, literally starting over.  We hear about this approach mainly in football, but it may be time to break this group down before attempting to build them back up again.  This team started off the year great, and has a wealth of talent, so it's plausible that the majority of their issues are of the mental variety.  If they can start to get back to the fundamentals and this notion of actually playing for each other, I still think the sky is the limit.

  It's worth noting that this road trip is going to coincide with the NBA's trading deadline, and there is no shortage of rumors surrounding the Celtics.  Then again, with Danny Ainge as your GM, your team is always going to be workin' the phones as the deadline looms.  In recent years, Ainge has accompanied the team on this trip, and with gang green heading into Arco Arena tonight, there has to be some specualtion of a face-to-face meeting between Ainge and King's GM Geofff Petrie regarding a potential Ray Allen/Kevin Martin swap.  There's no doubt that Martin, an athletic wing player, is rather high on Danny's wish list, and Ray's contract would be extremely enticing for a team looking to dump salary, such as Sacramento. 

  Kevin Martin is an enticing player for the Celtics as they look to contend this year, and hopefully remain competitive in the future when some of their older vets decline in production.  Martin could be a nice bridge into the future as the window for this current roster is continuously closing.  I do, however, have reservations about Martin being a savior for the current season.  People need to remember that Ray Allen is not the problem with this team.  He is currently mired in a little slump, but this is what happens to shoooters, they go cold.  If people think Ray Allen suddenly forgot how to shoot they're crazy, and I would argue that of the "BIG 3" Mr. Allen is the surest bet to return to the form he was in two years ago.  It's the other two we need to be concerned about, and if they don't, you can bring back Bird in his prime, and it wouldn't make a difference.  Finally, there are other smaller deals that Danny could be contemplating, inlcuding finding a back-up point guard, or another big off the bench.  In regard to these scenarios, the Celtics do have some other expiring deals(Scalabrine, House, and Tony Allen) and mid-level talent(Glen Davis,and a future pick) to offer in exchange.  I know Ainge has been enamored with the likes of Nate Robinson, Kirk Hinrich, and DJ Augustin possibly filling that void behind Rondo, so keep an eye on those names in the next couple of days.