I'm going to preface this article by noting that I am no longer bitter about the Cavs losing to Boston in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. It has been a couple of weeks and the rage has subsided. But by analyzing what happened in that series, the Hawks series, and this current conference final, the Boston Celtics of 2008 are not fit to win the NBA Championship, but will probably do so. Note the "probably". I'm not going to pick this bunch of losers over the Los Angeles Kobes.
If anything has come out of the playoffs so far in the Eastern Conference this year, it is this: the Celtics don't know how to win. This team was supposed to be the reincarnation of Mchale, Parrish, and Bird. They are more like another version of Daugherty, Price, and Nance. For those of you who don't know, those were the early 90s Cavs all star teams that got handled by Jordan because they didn't know how to win. The worst part about this is that we don't even have to look past the first round to notice the Celtics' flaws. They were taken to 7 games by an 8 seed. They lost every game on the road and benefited greatly from favorable home officiating.
As a side note: There can be no argument that the referees this year are giving home teams more leeway on defense. The Cavaliers pretty much mugged the Wizards at the Q and got away with it. Furthermore, there can't be any other explanation of why home teams were winning 90% of their games in the second round. I'm surprised that no media outlet has said anything about this. It isn't conspiracy theory, its just an observation. Home court is no longer some abstract concept that gives teams 5 more points on the spread. It is an actual advantage manufactured by the league.
So with that in mind lets evaluate the overall trend in the Celtics playoff run. They basically are unbeatable at home because their defense is allowed more leeway. They can be bruisers and not pay the price in fouls or minutes played. However, on the road when they are challenged by an equal on defense, such as Cleveland or Detroit, they can't manage to win convincingly. Sure they stole one in Detroit earlier this week, but thats one game compared to the rest of the postseason. The Celtics, and other home teams, have been helped immensely by the refs this year. It helps Boston more because they have the advantage.
But even with favorable home officiating, the Hawks should not have taken more than one game at home. The Celtics are too talented to lose to the Hawks. They have too much veteran presence and experience to lose three games on the road to Atlanta. And this is from the team which completed the Texas three step. This finally leads me to my thesis.
The Celtics don't know how to win. They have three all starts who haven't won a damn thing in their careers. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett are known respectively as: the underachiever, the disappearing act, and anti-Jordan. Pierce has played under his potential his entire career. Ray Allen is the type of player that can take over a game but for some reason shies away from the spotlight. Garnett loves the spotlight but is so competitive that he is afraid of failure. Mike once said that he's missed more game winners than he has made. But thats what makes a legend: the courage to take that shot and miss. Because you can't make shots without taking them.
These three combine and contribute to the collective personality of the Celtics. They play scared. They haven't played like champions so far and its unlikely that they will learn at this juncture. Last night they had a 15 point lead in the 4th quarter. Sure they got the win, but they played like they were trying not to lose. The Pistons, being champs, roared back and almost stole one at the Garden. This is inexcusable. I guarantee that if the Celts pull that shit against the Lakers, Kobe will destroy them. Even in the Cavs series, there wasn't one game at the Garden that showed the willingness of the Celtics to step on the throats of their opponent. With the exception of game 2, the Cavs could have easily won in the Garden with a few lucky bounces here and there. The Pistons, and Lakers, don't need those lucky bounces. They will take a mile from any inch the Celtics give them.
Game 7 of the series with the Cavaliers really epitomized the Celtics thus far. They had a substantial lead going into the 4th quarter at home and still managed to let the Cavs get within 5 with considerable time left. Garnett barely scored into double figures and Allen didn't bother even showing up to the game. They were fortunate that Paul Pierce took the game into his hands and dropped 40. But the refusal of the other two to step up at a crucial juncture showed that this team doesn't know how to win. It does not know how to put the nail in the coffin. Maybe they don't need to though. Maybe when its all said and done, they were too talented to lose. But as we've seen in the past, sheer force of will can defeat all the talent in the world. As it should.
If anything has come out of the playoffs so far in the Eastern Conference this year, it is this: the Celtics don't know how to win. This team was supposed to be the reincarnation of Mchale, Parrish, and Bird. They are more like another version of Daugherty, Price, and Nance. For those of you who don't know, those were the early 90s Cavs all star teams that got handled by Jordan because they didn't know how to win. The worst part about this is that we don't even have to look past the first round to notice the Celtics' flaws. They were taken to 7 games by an 8 seed. They lost every game on the road and benefited greatly from favorable home officiating.
As a side note: There can be no argument that the referees this year are giving home teams more leeway on defense. The Cavaliers pretty much mugged the Wizards at the Q and got away with it. Furthermore, there can't be any other explanation of why home teams were winning 90% of their games in the second round. I'm surprised that no media outlet has said anything about this. It isn't conspiracy theory, its just an observation. Home court is no longer some abstract concept that gives teams 5 more points on the spread. It is an actual advantage manufactured by the league.
So with that in mind lets evaluate the overall trend in the Celtics playoff run. They basically are unbeatable at home because their defense is allowed more leeway. They can be bruisers and not pay the price in fouls or minutes played. However, on the road when they are challenged by an equal on defense, such as Cleveland or Detroit, they can't manage to win convincingly. Sure they stole one in Detroit earlier this week, but thats one game compared to the rest of the postseason. The Celtics, and other home teams, have been helped immensely by the refs this year. It helps Boston more because they have the advantage.
But even with favorable home officiating, the Hawks should not have taken more than one game at home. The Celtics are too talented to lose to the Hawks. They have too much veteran presence and experience to lose three games on the road to Atlanta. And this is from the team which completed the Texas three step. This finally leads me to my thesis.
The Celtics don't know how to win. They have three all starts who haven't won a damn thing in their careers. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett are known respectively as: the underachiever, the disappearing act, and anti-Jordan. Pierce has played under his potential his entire career. Ray Allen is the type of player that can take over a game but for some reason shies away from the spotlight. Garnett loves the spotlight but is so competitive that he is afraid of failure. Mike once said that he's missed more game winners than he has made. But thats what makes a legend: the courage to take that shot and miss. Because you can't make shots without taking them.
These three combine and contribute to the collective personality of the Celtics. They play scared. They haven't played like champions so far and its unlikely that they will learn at this juncture. Last night they had a 15 point lead in the 4th quarter. Sure they got the win, but they played like they were trying not to lose. The Pistons, being champs, roared back and almost stole one at the Garden. This is inexcusable. I guarantee that if the Celts pull that shit against the Lakers, Kobe will destroy them. Even in the Cavs series, there wasn't one game at the Garden that showed the willingness of the Celtics to step on the throats of their opponent. With the exception of game 2, the Cavs could have easily won in the Garden with a few lucky bounces here and there. The Pistons, and Lakers, don't need those lucky bounces. They will take a mile from any inch the Celtics give them.
Game 7 of the series with the Cavaliers really epitomized the Celtics thus far. They had a substantial lead going into the 4th quarter at home and still managed to let the Cavs get within 5 with considerable time left. Garnett barely scored into double figures and Allen didn't bother even showing up to the game. They were fortunate that Paul Pierce took the game into his hands and dropped 40. But the refusal of the other two to step up at a crucial juncture showed that this team doesn't know how to win. It does not know how to put the nail in the coffin. Maybe they don't need to though. Maybe when its all said and done, they were too talented to lose. But as we've seen in the past, sheer force of will can defeat all the talent in the world. As it should.
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