Russell and Garnett

I firmly believe that the biggest problem with the NBA today is the glorifying of the individual, Kobe, Lebron, AI, Wade and all of the superstars. Because of this the team philosophy that Red developed has almost gone into extinction and what a loss that would be for future generations. San Antonio used the team philosophy to garner the championship and even Detroit used it for their lone win this decade. What KG has done is put the emphasis back on team defense and team accomplishments much the way Russell did and I hope that the team can stay healthy and realize the potential that their combined talent projects.

Hondo17, in Red's last interview, he said the problem with the modern game was money and agents. He used an example of how one player with a bit better stats could be easier to market in free agency, than one who didn't score as much but could play great defense. One far-sighted fan from another city who I won't name pointed out that KG's stats had dropped when he came to the Celtics. Well, duh. That's part of the Celtics' tradition of teamwork. Pierce's numbers dropped. Ray probably got hurt the most stats-wise. It's disturbing that the NBA is now allowing two steps rather than one-and-a-half like it should be. I guess they like guys cheating their way to dunks or they want the scores to go up. It reminds me of baseball creating all those small parks and having a blind eye to steroids. Sure more tickets were probably sold watching Mike Mcguire and Sammy Sooser chase 70 home runs and then Bonds. Nonetheless, there will probably be a backlash in the longterm. If the NBA wants to return to glory, it needs to watch the films from years' past and see how the teams used to pass the ball, things like that, and then change the rules accordingly. Giving two steps is ridiculous. I don't mind the three point shot. But I'd rather see less one on one superstar stuff and more old school basketball. Maybe the Celtics will show how it's done the right way, and then other teams will copycat. No more favoring the superstars please. No more calling rookie fouls. No more cheating refs. Please.