And so it begins

The school year has begun, which means The Green Team is back in action!

Since my last post on July 3, the Celtics have been anything but inactive.

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce are gone. So aren't Chris Wilcox, Shavlik Randolph, Terrence Williams and Fab Melo.

In comes Brad Stevens, a man with no NBA experience and two NCAA national championship appearances, to lead a team that doesn't have the highest of expectations.

Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, Keith Bogans, Kelly Olynyk, Marshon Brooks, Colton Iverson, Phil Pressey, Donte Greene and Vitor Faverani are all, as the newest member of the basketball Hall of Fame Rick Pitino once famously said, walking through that door.

Jared Sullinger was arrested on assault and battery charges, and his status for the upcoming season is up in the air.

Rajon Rondo is "not near 100%" in the words of Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge. Rondo tore his right ACL back on January 28, and it is unclear when he will return. 

Training camp starts October 1, and while many feel the Celtics will rank in the lower third in the Eastern Conference, in reality, the 2013-2014 Celtics remain utterly unpredictable. There are many question marks, health concerns and "if's". Such as...

Is Jeff Green ready to be that go-to guy we all expect him to be? 

When will Rondo be back? 

Can Avery Bradley rebound from a poor second half of last season? 

How will Stevens handle his first NBA head coaching gig?

If he remains with the team, how will Sullinger bounce back from back surgery?

The "if's" are quite intriguing. Being the optimist that I am, I believe that if everything goes their way, the Celtics can contend for a playoff spot. This would put them in roughly the same spot they were last season: a sub-.500 team for the first part of the season, and finishing the season hovering around .500. 

Boston can contend...

...if Rondo proves he can return to form.

...if Olynyk shines like many in the basketball world expect him to.

...if the shipment of ex-Brooklyn Nets (Bogans, Brooks, Wallace and Humphries) do their job.

Look, this team could look totally different in a few weeks. They could very well end up being bad. Very bad. But it's all part of the plan. So just sit back and enjoy the ride.