Canceled games mean Celtics' savings

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With Friday's all-too-predictable announcement by the NBA that all games through November are canceled, it means players are finally going to feel the financial impact of the lockout.

Players are paid bi-weekly during the season, with the first check coming around Nov. 15, and the last one being in May.

From the outset, players knew that fighting for the best deal possible would come at a cost.

And while no one is going to feel sympathy for multimillionaires missing out on a few paychecks, that doesn't diminish the reality that the players in their desire to get what they believe is the best deal possible, are leaving a lot of money on the table that they're unlikely to ever recoup.

The Celtics are no different in that regard, than any other franchise.

While the C's only have a handful of players under contract for this upcoming season, they're all well paid which means each canceled game comes at a hefty price for them all.

But how much?

At CSNNE.com, we've taken a look at just how big a financial hit the C's under contract -- there are six of them, a tally that does not include Jeff Green, who is a restricted free agent -- will take now that the all games in November have been wiped out.

When it comes to figuring out per-game salary, each game represents 190th of the season which includes eight preseason games and a full 82-game schedule.

For the Celtics, that amounts to a total of 22 lost games lost (eight preseason, 14 regular season).

To put in perspective how big a loss this is, those 22 games missed account for 24.4 percent of their entire season (preseason and regular season games combined).

We all know that the Boston Celtics have had one of the league's highest payrolls ever since Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were traded to Boston in 2008.

But how much is this lockout REALLY costing them?

While the money they're losing out on is significant, don't expect to see KG, Rondo or Allen at a grocery store near you whipping out coupons anytime soon.

And if you're wondering why the owners have been so willing to see games missed, consider this: with no preseason games or games in November, the C's will save nearly 16 million in salaries, a number that would be substantially higher when you consider they would have a roster with at least seven more players.

Player2011-2012 salarySalarygame missed The lockout cost so far ...

Kevin Garnett21.247M236,078 5.2M
Paul Pierce15.333M170,370 3.748M
Rajon Rondo10.045M111,616 2.455M
Ray Allen10M111,111 2.444M
Jermaine O'Neal 6.226M69,180 1.521M
Avery Bradley1.524M16,938 372,416
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Total64.375 M715,293 15.7 M

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