Celtics bigger, better, stronger in 2010 postseason

The Boston Celtics no longer rely just on the intensity of The Big 3 like in 2008.



Celtics bigger, better, stronger in 2010 postseason



BOSTON -- They haven't won a championship or sipped champagne or raised a banner or even puffed a cigar, like they did in 2008, but these Celtics are a better team.

Really? Yes, really. We can't say these Celtics will match the same result or reach the same conclusion because the 2010 journey is still in progress. But are they actually a better team, in the strictest sense of the definition? Yes. Better. Taken as a whole.

They haven't leaned as heavily on the Big Three in these playoffs, definitely not against Orlando in the Eastern Conference Finals, which has become a surprise runaway. Remember, Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen all had bald tires in '08 because the Celtics rode them so much.

Now? Not so much. The Celtics go seven deep now. Anyway, there is no Big Three anymore. It's up to four. Rajon Rondo is a member of the club. And then Kendrick Perkins is playing defense just as good if not better than Garnett against Dwight Howard. Big Baby is putting a body on Howard, too, while showing a trusty 15-foot jump shot and some Astaire footwork around the basket. And Rasheed Wallace is dropping 3-pointers and some D. And every now and then, Tony Allen will make a play, on one end of the court or the other.

Better team. Defense. Offense. Better.

The Celtics are deeper and more diverse, because of the growth of trust and respect between the Big Three and The Other Guys. In '08, the ball and the responsibility usually fell to the core group. Now, everything is shared. It's truly a team.

"These guys are coming through," Pierce said about teammates not named Pierce, Garnett or Allen. "You look up after the game and you've got five or six guys with double figures in scoring. What you don't see is somebody with 30 points. It's really neat in the way we're taking the pressure off one another. "

The Celtics have won six straight games, and five times they had a different leading scorer. Pierce shot 4-for-13, scored 13 points in one game. Celtics won. Allen had two baskets in a game. Celtics won. KG four baskets, eight points. Celtics won.

"We have single guys who can go off," said coach Doc Rivers, "but I never found that to be an effective way to play offense. I think it's very predictable. We had a possession (in Game 3) with eight passes with no dribble, and Kevin ended up with the shot. That's just unselfish basketball. I think they trust each other. That's good."

Defense? Same thing. Rotations are moving swiftly and surely. Help is coming whenever help is needed. Perkins goes out, Big Baby comes in, same interior defense applied. There are special props being paid to Davis, who gives 2-3 inches to Howard but is being smart with his body and his fouls.

"He's not in awe of the moment," said Rivers. "We're asking him to guard all kinds of positions. Guarding Dwight Howard and then going out and guarding Rashard Lewis in the same game is very difficult, and he's doing both."

Let's revisit '08. Pierce led Boston with 19.6 points, Allen had 18.8, KG 17.4. Rondo, still raw offensively, was next with 10. Perkins was a big body; that was his asset. The best from the bench was James Posey, who did have moments, and Eddie House, who lived and died with the 3-pointer. That's it. The Celtics were comprised of three veterans still clinging to their prime, and role players, neither of which could be counted on in big moments.

Now, 2010. Rondo is an All-Star now. But he still plays like he's hungry. His hustle play on Jason Williams in Game 3, sprinting to the ball and diving and then scoring, was typical Rondo, never forgetting how important hard work helped make up for his flaws in '08.

"That was just an incredible play," said Pierce. "It kind of reminded me of myself ... in college. When I could get down on the floor and then get right back up."

Big Baby is no longer crying after being scolded by K.G. (remember that scene?). He's earning playing time. Perkins still can't convert an offensive move without twisting himself into a knot, but the defense is there and that's all the Celtics want. Sheed made himself a target during the regular season for his uninspired play, but that's all forgotten because he's contributing.

So that's it. Better team. The Celtics don't know if the end result will be the same, but with a 3-0 lead on Orlando, and being serenaded off the floor with "Beat L.A." chants, they're about to put themselves in position to find out.

"When we began the playoffs, we knew we could beat anybody in a seven-game series," said Pierce. "Just like we did in '08."

Let them win in '10. Then we'll compare conclusions. But teams? We've already reached a conclusion about that.

Brandon,

Where did this article come from?

bob

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Pundits, gotta love em...A month ago they were falling all over each other trying to be the first to bury the "old" Celtics...now they claim the C's are better than sliced bread...The basketball IQ of this board is much higher than punditville, IMHO, and that's even with an outlier like me to skew the mean....

Bob,

http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/shaun_powell/05/23/celtics.improve/index.html?ls=iref:nbahpt1

Hey, LACelt.

If I were you, I wouldn't go around skewing my mean. Doesn't that smart?

Sam

Sam ,
I've skewed my mean right into the median...and yes that is painful, not to mention some kinda standard deviation. THe best fit is a least squares regression line to my local tavern where I toss back a few quartiles and check out the young ladies normal curves...

Let's not forget how agonizing (but fun) the 2008 playoffs were for us. Winning the championship by blowing LA out in the last game by 39 was the culmination of all that struggle just to make it through the playoffs to get to that final game. We were always one home loss away from marching right out of the playoffs because we couldn't win on the road. We had to have home court. We played 26 out of a possible 28 games. Even if we went the max 7 games in these last two round this year, we would only play 25 total. This year, we have started that 2008 Game 6 mentality and execution much earlier in the playoff cycle. I'd say right after losing to Miami.

From that perspective, I'd say this team is that much better, more effecient and playing much more confidently not relying on home court or any other crutch. This is a fully operational death star. Destination for any team in its path...Horror!!

Speaking of pundits, I still can't believe Magic Johnson (and Jon Barry for that matter.) He's been pushing the Celtics, of all teams, everytime he opens his mouth. Yet when it came time to make his prediction...ORL. He knows what's coming. He doesn't want LAL v. BOS. He's the only LAL team that beat Boston and it will stay that way if things unfold like everyone is thinking. And if it does go that way, we know he will not be able to be objective.

Magic is no different than most ex players giving their opinion.........they change it like they change underwear.
Objectivity never even crosses their feeble minds.

Announcers on the national broadcasts should be able to be a bit more objective but really it's whatever way the wind blows!

beat

You have to admit, beat, it's been fun watching them have to go back to the drawing board each time for Plan B's since this current script is one they never even thought would happen or even planned for. It was Plan A and nothing else. It was a lay-up. Each round it gets better and better.

My paper here had a last paragraph, Monty Python's Holy Grail bite your kneecaps off jab at the Celtics in an article about how ORL can win this next game that shows how slow they are to get off their horses in mid-stream. They brought up the Boston Bruins collapse as their last hope. It can still happen. Not saying it will. They just don't give up. Gotta sell newspapers to DA's like me.

Magic was pissed though afterward. He let the Magic have it. That's what I want to see.

This Celtic team's defense looks like swarming bees! ORL must feel there are 10 guys for the Celtics on the court on every possession. Have to close it out tonight. Predicting big win.

dbrown

last night while waiting in the van after the baseball game (marcus was attempting to get Steve Strausbergs autograph) by the way he failed as the kid signed nothing when he left the ballpark.

Well while sitting there listening to the radio they had a sports talk show on. not sure where it was out of but it was nationally aired. The jock was speaking about was the Boston-Orlando series where it was because the Magic never showed up..........or is Boston that good.

First caller was all over Lewis for laying an egg so far.

Second was basically saying the C's would be playing for their third straight title if KG was healthy last year. And we did take them to 7 before running out of gas.

We have had no Chicago series to overly tax us this year. Heck last year we played nearly another full game due to the overtimes. And the intensitly level had to remain so high then too. Now we are just as intense BUT we are also healthy, and a bit BIGGER to.

Things bode well for us and I hope we end it tonight and wait like a croc for the next wildebeest to wander into the watering hole!



beat

Evan (my middle) has revised his line for tonight as of lunch. Celtics by 20 again. Sorry about Marcus. KG's kinda quirky about autographs too, isn't he? Love the picture. Can you photo shop Doc and Phil's heads in, maybe a Lakers Logo across the mid-section (it should stand out quite well against that black background) Celtics on the upper lip of the gator/croc?

BTW, what is the name for the leprachaun (sp) on our logo or is there one?

dbrown,

The leprechaun is called, "Lucky"

http://www.nba.com/celtics/contact/lucky-the-leprechaun-celtics-mascot.html

gyso

Sam/LA,

I was just perusing Punditwille and..

I think I just skewed my mean.

And I can't get up...hard to reach the keyboard.

I gotta start my crawl to the tv so I can watch the C's tonite..

All,

IMO the C's are better balanced therefore, better TEAM.

Hoop