20
Dec
2007
Celtics’ First Hurdle
Let me make it perfectly clear; I am as big a fan of the NBA as any. However, I don’t pay attention to regular season games in December or prior because they generally mean nothing. We’ve seen surprising teams get off to hot starts and be ranked first overall in their conference, only to falter come game 30 and end up missing the playoffs completely. I have seen championship teams start slow, only to gain momentum and a comfort level once the first quarter of the regular season is over. Now it’s not like I pay absolutely no attention to what is going on. I know that the Lakers are playing good ball. I know that the Bulls and Heat are awful right now. I know that Phoenix, Dallas, and San Antonio are still the three best teams in the west. I also know that Boston is one of the top three teams in the East; not the best. Tonight we saw the first real test of how good Boston is. They played the Detroit Pistons in Boston, where they were previously undefeated (12-0).
Why was this game one that I paid attention to? Simple. Everyone knows Boston will be a top 3 team in the East come playoff time. Everyone knows that they have three premiere players in their starting lineup. What people sometimes forget is that Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett don’t have that much playoff basketball experience combined. What people forget is that though the Pistons are aging, and are nowhere near as good as they were in 2003, they are the most regular season and playoff tested team east of San Antonio. The one knock that people have had thus far on Boston is that they haven’t played anyone. People who want to just hate on them use that argument to keep the Celtics at bay when talking about the elite. Though I despise all Boston teams, I’m not foolish enough to judge a team based on a schedule that is not their fault. It’s not their fault that their first big game, their first big test came in game 23. I reserved my judgment of how good or overrated they were until I got to see them play a formidable opponent with some hype around it.
Before I jump into what I came away with after watching the Pistons-Celtics thriller, let me explain how I viewed the importance of the matchup. This game, without a doubt, was more important to the Celtics. The Pistons have been there done that. No one, not even the Spurs, phases them. They have playoff veterans on their squad who know how to handle big pressure situations. Even though they haven’t been to the Finals in a couple of years, they still have the swagger of a title contender. The Celtics on the under hand, have 9 new players on their team. Nine. Think about that for a second. Their leaders (KG, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce) have never even made it to the Finals. All three have missed the playoffs completely for years. I’m not saying that they are bad players or a bad team; I’m saying that it is important for them to gain some early season confidence by beating teams like Detroit, like San Antonio, like Phoenix, so that come playoff time; they feel that they can hang with them. I’m not talking about when the series is 0-0 and the score is 10-10 in the first quarter. Picture Detroit being up 23-10 at the end of the first quarter in Game 2 with the Celtics down 1-0 in the series. That mental toughness and confidence comes from proving in the regular season that you CAN beat the big boys. Detroit knows that they can; Boston doesn’t…yet. Yes it is an 82 game season, but just ask Dallas about the importance of having confidence that you can beat a team. Golden State had it. How’d that series turn out? Did the fact that Dallas won 25 more regular season games than Golden State matter? I think not.
That being said, I think Boston and Detroit will have close games each time they play; playoffs or not. Watching the game, I noticed a couple of things. The big three play very well together. Ray Allen looks like he’s five years younger. Paul Pierce is kind of the awkward piece of the puzzle, but a solid contributor nonetheless. The supporting cast of Boston isn’t as big of a joke as people made them out to be. And Kevin Garnett is, well, Kevin Garnett. A monster. One play that stood out for me particularly was when Billups turned the ball over with 5.7 seconds left and a tie ball game. Garnett picked the ball up and instead of sprinting down the court and taking a wild shot, he immediately called timeout; faster than I could yell at him to. Smart, aware player. If you missed the game, here’s what you need to know. The Pistons won by two points courtesy of Billups icing two free throws with 0.1 seconds left. Detroit may be less talented now, but they still are a solid basketball team with a high IQ. Billups is one of the most clutch players in the league. Richard Hamilton’s defense is an absolute nuisance. But most importantly, the Celtics don’t have their on the court game completely in line yet.
When the game is on the line and you have one shot left to take, each team needs to have their go to guy. You can’t have three go to guys; it causes confusion. You need one guy who can either facilitate or go ahead and take the final shot. Everyone knew Billups was going to get the ball just like everyone knows Gilbert Arenas, Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Lebron James, Tracy McGrady, Michael Redd and so on will get the ball. The Celtics inbounded the ball to Pierce who took an off balance leaning fadeaway that wasn’t even close. Game over. The Celtics need to figure out in the coming weeks who is going to get the rock with one play left. I, personally, would trust KG with that because even if he is covered, he has the uncanny ability to find the open man; much like Tim Duncan. KG is the heart and soul of this team and the ball should be in his hands during critical junctures.
The Pistons and Celtics play two more times this season. I see them splitting the games and each one being decided by less than 5 points. By the time the playoffs roll around, the Celtics will be an improved basketball team with a fourth quarter identity. It should make for an epic battle in the Eastern Conference Finals.
