Saturday, May 26, 2012

Boston Celtics Rally over Philadelphia 76ers in East Semi Finals


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.








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