By: Dan Massar, YawkeyTalkies Correspondent
The NBA regular season is finally here.  Our long dark national nightmare is over.  The Celtics are of course no longer the defending champions.  An injury to Kevin Garnett last season took care of any hope for another title in 2009.  The Lakers will be the ones trying on rings Tuesday night.
While that should make you queasy as a Celtics fan, there is reason to be optimistic for the upcoming season.  The big three are all healthy and Rasheed Wallace is now wearing green.  So without further ado, here are the top 5 story lines for the 2009-2010 Boston Celtics.
5. Jesus Shuttlesworth is in a contract year: Ray Allen’s contract expires after this season.  He will also turn 35 in July.  While Allen still possesses perhaps the sweetest jumper in the NBA, the mid 30’s are not a kind time for shooting guards.  The good news is Allen should be even more motivated this season so he can be rewarded with a contract at the end of the season.  He actually performed better last year than in the championship season.  He shot 95% from the free throw line and 48% from the field.  Throw in 40% [...]

By Dan Massar, YawkeyTalkies Correspondent
You sign Rasheed Wallace.  Ok, that’s a good move!
You sign Big Baby Davis.  Ok, avoided losing a valuable piece.
You bring in Marquis Daniels.  Ok, smart pick-up.
But what About KG?  If the “Big Ticket” doesn’t come back at close to full strength off of his knee injury will any of those moves matter?
The answer is no, they won’t matter at all!  The Patriots couldn’t win another Super Bowl without Brady and the Celtics need Kevin Garnett to be the beast that he was in 07-08 in order to recapture the NBA’s top prize.  The Celtics can’t win it all without Garnett leading the way.  Case closed. 
Example A is last season’s playoffs.  Sure, the Celts played a thrilling seven game series with the upstart Chicago Bulls.  It was wildly entertaining. But if Garnett had been healthy it may have not gone longer then five games, certainly not seven. 
Example B is the Magic series.  The Celtics were lucky to get that series to seven games.  They were outplayed in most of the games.  A miracle comeback in game five and a Big Baby buzzer-beater kept the series from being an embarrassment for the defending champs. 
Garnett was the defensive soul for the 08 title team.  He was a man on a mission under [...]