The Celtics persevered over a very tough and well-coached
76ers team. It would seem that the Celtics brought their experience and legacy
to bear on a 7-game series that provided an important test of their team will.
It appeared that the 76ers had the same kind of no-nonsense lunch-bucket
mentality as the Celtics did, and when you saw the two teams battling it out in
their games together they seemed evenly matched: -- Kevin Garnett and Elton
Brand, two shrewd veterans; Rajon Rondo and Lou
Williams, two outstanding guards. Because of this particular win it appears
that Boston will be the beneficiary of this practical and tough attitude, and
it could serve them well as they progress to the East Finals match against the
Miami Heat.
The four teams that made it this year each seem to have
their own unique personalities, and they are definitely the best teams in the
NBA this year for very different reasons. The teams are the Celtics, the Heat, the
San Antonio Spurs, and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Celtics have a reputation
for being old, or aging to put it more politely. They won it all in 2008 with their four
horseman of the Apocalypse: Garnett, Rondo, Paul Pierce, the captain, and Ray
Allen, all still there. It’s my opinion this team cannot be under-estimated,
and their Coach Doc Rivers is a brilliant tactician. I know this is a cliché,
but playoffs are so different from regular season play, and when you have sheer
physical ability only and lack the mental fortitude of older teams, it’s
usually the older team that figures out how to win, either through wily veteran
moves or a tenacity born of experience. They have simply been there before and
are not self-conscious and simply come to ready to play, and win.
And so the Celtics are the workingman’s team, tough and full
of guile. Much like the 76ers were this time out, except Philadelphia seems
more like the 2004 Champion Detroit Pistons with no real high-profile star. The
team does it together in this case, and I think the Celtics are so very potent
because they embody both these qualities: -- they have high-profile, superstar
players AND they play cohesively as a team. That’s a winning combination.
The Heat reminded me a little bit of the New York Knicks
because they go out and buy talent, very glitzy and everything, but it doesn’t
serve them in winning championships. Man, the early 1970s was the last time the
Knicks won it all, with Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson coming off the bench. The
only title the Heat won was in 2005: -- that was with Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'Neal
and Gary Payton. Shaq and Payton are no longer there and they were important pieces
of the championship puzzle. Of course, the Heat went and added LeBron “I’m Taking My Basketball Skills to South
Florida” James. But between James and Wade, to say nothing of Chris Bosh
who is day-to-day, there doesn’t seem to be enough ball to go around. Not to
take away anything from the Heat, they are a formidable team with some
excellent pieces, but my feeling is that Coach Erik Spoelstra is a suit filling
in for Pat Riley, former championship coach and now team president. It almost
seems like James is the Heat’s player-coach for the team. Spoelstra doesn’t
seem to have much leverage with James. Yet James had an amazing season like a
modern Prometheus bringing the fire every night. Man, how does he do it? Still
the championship is eluding James because he needs the right pieces in place to
make it happen. The Heat will do well with pyrotechnics, with lots of flash (to
coin the phrase Shaq used about Wade), but watch them implode against the
Celtics. At least that’s my prediction. As Mike Royko once said, I could be
wrong but I doubt it.
The San Antonio Spurs have gone undefeated in this post
season. Their coach, Gregg Popovich, is some kind of genius. He’s been in there
since 1996, and the Spurs have won it all three times on his watch, in 1998 in
an abbreviated season, in 2002, and in 2006. The triptych of Tim Duncan, Tony
Parker, and Manu Ginobili is the key to their success: -- and like the Celtics
they bring tenacity, experience, and teamwork to the hardwoods. I can’t think
of a bad thing to say about them as a team. Duncan, two-time Finals MVP,
apprenticed with Hall of Fame center David “The Admiral” Robertson, whom he won
his first two titles with. Parker went onto to win Final MVP in 2006 with the
Spurs after Robertson retired.
So based on what I’m saying above it would seem that it
would be a Celtics-Spurs finals match-up for this year. Not so fast. What makes
things interesting and keeps us watching as students and fans of the
professional game is the Oklahoma City Thunder. This team is awesome. They recently
knocked off Kobe Bryant’s Los Angeles Lakers in 5 games in the West Semi
Finals. They have an intriguing mix of veteran players, Derek Fisher, Nick
Collison, and Kendrick Perkins, while their younger players are incredibly athletic
and bring a lot to their game. The combination of Russell Westbrook and Kevin
Durant is just astounding, and this seems to be the future of the game because
they are still so young. I also love the play of Thabo Sefolosha, a Swiss guard
who debuted with the Bulls.
The Thunder is the NBA’s Cinderella team this time out, the
wildcard. Their coach, Scott Brooks, led an incredible 20 + game winning turnaround
this season. Brooks was a three-point specialist with the Houston Rockets in
2004 when they won the title. He has very little playoff experience as a head coach,
but the makeup of the team and a bevy of great players are what could carry
them to the finish line this season. Nobody knows.
Let’s keep watching. The Celtics-76ers was a great series in
its own right.
