Today's tangent is inspired by Raymond (shockingly, with me on this one) and Matt Stauffer, who has posed a challenge to me by asserting that the Celtics will lose to either Detroit or the winner of the Western Conference for a few key reasons. Following the game one victory for Boston, I thought I'd address a few of his concerns (convenient that I waited until a resounding Celtics victory to start talking smack, isn't it?). Hey, hey, easy now, I'm not fixin' to start a war or anything, in fact I respect the feedback and the fact that somebody is actually reading my posts (anyone else? ...Beuller?). I'm only out to address the argument and provide as complete a rebuttal as I can, so without further delay, let's get started.
Basically, Matt chimed in to tell me that he thinks that the Celtics are weak sauce and won't hack it against an elite team in thePlayoffs, be they Detroit, the Lakers , or the Spurs. To bolster his argument, he first reminded me that the top nine teams in the West would have made the Playoffs in the East and could have easily won 66+ games if they were in the same position as the Celtics. While I cannot deny that the Eastern Conference is as weak as... as weak as... Matt's logic (couldn't resist, zing!), I can say that the Celtics are indeed for real and do have a great chance to win a championship this year.
I would like to take this chance (once again) to simply point out that Boston was 25-5 this year against the Western Conference, including several impressive wins in some of the toughest places to play in the entirety of the Association. This season, the Celtics swept the dreaded Texas Triangle, winning on the road against San Antonio, Dallas and Houston in consecutive games. You may also remember that the Celtics' win in Houston snapped the Rockets' NBA best 22 game winning streak (a disheartening 20 point blowout). Additionally, the Celtics pulled off a 104-98 victory against the Jazz (Matt's favorite team) in Utah, the toughest place to win in the league (unless you are theLakers!). Add to that resumé two road wins against Detroit and it is impossible to deny the supremacy of the Celtics, and appears to be horribly misleading to assert that the Celtics are only as good as they are because they play in the East.
Matt's next point was that the Celtics had to go seven against the young and inexperienced Atlanta Hawks, who entered this year's Playoffs with a losing record. While it is certain that the Celtics' struggles against the Hawks were frustrating and disheartening and exposed some of Boston's weaknesses, I don't think that this argument is proof positive that the Celtics will lose. First off, the Hawks were better than anybody thought they could be, and Joe Johnson is perhaps one of the most underrated players in this league. Also, the Celtics total margin of victory against Atlanta was greater than 100 points for the series, and every single performance at home was dominant. It wasn't always pretty, but the Celtics moved on, which is all that really matters.
Matt didn't bother to critique the Celtics/Cavs series, which was wise because despite the continuing road struggles of the Celtics, Boston managed to contain LeBron James and force him out of his comfort zone for a good portion of the series. As LeBron adjusted, so too did the Celtics to Cleveland's lack of a game plan. In the decisive game, LeBron came out determined to win, however the Celtics' defense clamped down on the other Cleveland players (what's that you say, there are actually other guys who play for theCavs?) and rode the incredibly clutch performance of Paul Pierce to victory.
Speaking of Pierce's clutch 41 point performance in game seven of the semis, Matt's next contention was that the Celtics have a roster full of guys who haven't won anything and are used to losing in the Playoffs. He specifically stated that "Save for Sam Cassell, everyone is either new to the Playoffs, or used to losing." This is not entirely accurate, seeing as how James Posey won a ring in 2006 with Miami, but I dare to go deeper than the mere inaccuracy of my esteemed colleague's argument.
While it's true that neither Pierce nor Garnett nor the ghost of Ray Allen have ever even been to the NBA Finals, all three have been involved in big series and have been responsible for coming up with big wins against elite competition. Take Pierce, who, in addition to his ballsy game seven against Cleveland, was responsible for the largest fourth quarter comeback in NBA Playoff history against New Jersey in 2002. Pierce scored 19 points in the final period to help erase a 21 point deficit and beat the Nets, 94-90.
As for Garnett, despite his first round struggles in the postseason, he has had his own moments of glory in the NBA PLayoffs. In 2003-04, the Timberwolves squared off against the mighty Sacramento Kings in the second round, and on the back of Garnett, the Timberwolves won in a grueling seven game series. Garnett took over in that series and willed his team to victory, doing anything and everything he could to get wins for his team. He even won games in ARCO Arena, a difficult place to win during the Kings dynasty that wasn't.
Not enough for you? How about LAST NIGHT!!!!! Against the highly acclaimed Pistons, Garnett dominated his lanky counterpart, Rasheed Wallace, and posted a line of 26 points (11-17 FGs), nine rebounds, four assists and two blocks. 'Sheed, on the other hand, posted a dismal 11 points (3-12 FGs), five rebounds and four assists and disappointed throughout. Garnett dominated on both ends and his intensity fueled the Celtics and propelled them to victory.
Speaking of convincing game one victories, did anyone else catch the Pistons/Celtics throwdown last night. Again, I don't care what the Celtics' road record is this postseason, as long as they keep winning at home, all will be well. Detroit looked slow and confused on the court last night, while Boston looked sharp and determined to win against a tough opponent. Boston has been guilty of playing down to their opponents this season, but they've shown in the critical situations that they are capable of beating anybody, the trick now is to be able to do the same anywhere.
The bottom line is this: it's true that the star players on the Celtics have no championships, but as I've shown, it doesn't matter all that much. Pierce, Garnett and even Allen are hungry for a championship, and they can smell it now. While it helps to know that you've been there before, it helps even more to be in the position to have a golden opportunity to snatch something that has eluded you before. Pierce, Garnett and everyone else on the Celtics know that this is their opportunity and that they are poised to strike and cement their legacies, which is, if you ask me, more motivating than competing for the chance to simply add to your resumé. The true test will come in Detroit for games 3 and 4, where the Celtics will have an opportunity to silence the critics once and for all by winning (if they can) on the road in the Playoffs.
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