Challenges Ahead for Powe, Celtics

By: Jessica Camerato Last Updated: 9/9/08 12:15 PM ET | 1477 times read

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Leon Powe rested his arm on the Larry O'Brien Trophy and sighed at the thought of next season. He was at a Boston-area mall as part of the Celtics championship tour, but for that moment the golden globe represented a future goal, not a past accomplishment. Last season's title run is over and now the Celtics face an even bigger challenge of defending their glory.

When Powe left Boston at the end of last season the Celtics were on top of the basketball world. But as he returned home to California and enjoyed a family vacation in the Bahamas, the powers in the Eastern Conference began to shift. By the time he came back to Beantown, the East was stacked with postseason contenders.

"The teams that have been in between or on the down side are all coming up now," the Celtics forward told HOOPSWORLD. "You've got to keep that motivation. Now that we've won a championship we've got to be hungry more than ever to go out there to defend our title."

By now the Celtics' seven-game series against the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers have been overshadowed by their eventual NBA Finals victory. Powe can't forget about those early struggles, though. They are a lesson in staying focused for next season.

"For us, [the Eastern Conference] was tough enough last year," Powe said with a laugh. "It's still going to be real tough. We barely got out of the first round … You can't go any further than game seven, that's the last game, and that's where we were almost every series except for the last two."

Powe knows firsthand the threat posed by the Cavs and Detroit Pistons, and he is keeping an eye on the newly revamped Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors.

"It's going to be harder for us to beat [the Raptors] because they've got some firepower now. If we aren't focused, we probably won't win that game," he said. "We've got to be extremely focused and ready to go to war. Especially with Elton Brand going to the Sixers. I thought the Sixers were pretty good. I don't know about everybody else but I thought they were really good. Now they've got Elton Brand so that makes them even stronger."

The biggest challenge for the Celtics is not necessarily who their competition acquired, but who they lost themselves. The departure of James Posey is a huge blow to their bench. Powe expects his teammates, including Tony Allen, J.R. Giddens, and Darius Miles, to "fill in bits and pieces," but the Celtics do not have a clear-cut replacement as of yet. And while Powe was visibly disappointed by the loss of Posey, he respects his decision to sign with the New Orleans Hornets.

"I was hoping we were going to bring him back," Powe said. "But Poz had to do what was best for himself and his family, and I understand that completely. What he did was he helped us get a ring and we all appreciate that. And he secured himself financially too."

But perhaps the loss that would affect Powe the most is that of P.J. Brown. Last season the 15-year veteran took then-sophomore Powe under his wing and guided him through the playoffs. Although Brown has not made an official announcement – and Powe would like to hold out hope of a return – all signs are pointing toward his retirement.

"[Before I came back to Boston] I told him to come back," Powe said with an innocent smile. "I said, 'Ok, you can come back in the second round of the playoffs.' He said, 'Nah big fella, I'm going to leave it up to you guys.'"

Brown has promised to keep tabs on Powe's progress and continue to mentor him from afar. Now, with just two years of NBA experience under his belt, Powe is one of the Celtics most proven reserves. He may have been a well-kept secret during the NBA Finals but next season he expects teams to take notice.

"I'm going to be ready and I'm not going to creep up on anybody," he said. "But, I'm going to have more stuff in my package. I'm already physical and that's where I want to stay at. But I also was putting a jumper in, I was putting off the dribble stuff in. So if you're going to guard me, you're going to have to guard me because I've been working real hard and I'm going to continue to work so I'll be ready for next season."

Opening Night against the Cavs is nearly two months away and Powe is already looking forward to it. He knows LeBron James is, too.

"It's going to be good. I know LeBron is going to be looking for some revenge and he's going to come out with that fire and intensity and try to win the game," Powe said. "But I know all of our guys will be ready too because it's going to be fun. It's Opening Night, we're getting the rings, but also we've got a job to do. Everybody can't forget that."

As Powe rested his arm on the Larry O'Brien Trophy, he pondered the Celtics next plan of attack.

"We've got to be really mentally tough and focused on bringing our A game," he said. "We know we can't get complacent and get used to ourselves winning like last year."

For that moment the humble Powe does not seem like an athlete coming off of a championship season. He is just another hungry player looking to capture the NBA title.

About the Author: JESSICA CAMERATO
Jessica Camerato is a member of the Professional Basketball Writers Association and has covered the NBA for HOOPSWORLD for two years, powering HOOPSWORLD.COM and HOOPSWORLD Magazine.


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posted By mojosdaddy, 9 September 2008 1:16:45 PM Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, Celtics, Boston, C's, Pierce, in that order. posted By matt bo, 10 September 2008 5:23:39 PM I know they won the chip, but 2 game 7's in a weak eastern conf. is too close to give them the go ahead nod at repeating as even eastern conf. champs this year. KG, paul and rayray are great but losing posey hurt their defense more than anybody is willing to talk about. Even though pierce will try to take all the glory, it was posey who give Lebron and Kobe trouble. And Perkins did all he could last year, but in the retooled east, KG can't guard brand and dalembert by himself and he really can't do much with Bosh and Oneal. I think the C's are at best 25% to come out of the east and 15% to win it all again. posted By adam8, 10 September 2008 9:47:02 PM first of all kg doesnt need to guard two players by himself since the only reason perkins is in the league is because of his defense. And pierce guarded lebron better than posey for the last 5 games of the series and posey did not guard kobe all that much, mostly that was rayray or it was pierce with that task and both did exceptionally well

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