Boston’s Different Tea Party (And The Spurs)

How good is this team? They converted me into a fan.

Celtics for years have been a “who” in the basketball world for the past several years. Yes, we respect the old times when it has been Cousy, Russell, Cowens, Havlicek, McHale and Bird. No team is good enough to threaten their string of championships. But after Larry Bird, the bright spots were simply Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker. They made an impact but never good enough to conquer the conference finals. To my knowledge, they never got higher than 49 wins during the regular season.

Fast forward. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen came to town and got the world excited. At the beginning of the season, I was like, “Wow. This is a serious contender.” Both of the new additions are superstars with bad back-ups from former teams. And now that there are three of them to make up the Celtic’s core, the foundation’s robust enough. They’ve got an agile slasher and a good enough shooter in Paul Pierce, a quick releasing, ruthless shooter in Ray Allen and a versatile power forward in the Big Ticket. Mighty fine, huh?

My first question was: who’s at the point? If there’s a little less than a Jason Kidd, it’s a sigh of relief. Rajon Rondo? Offensively, good. But that’s not what I think this team needs. I want to see a guard who’ll pace the show and defend big time. I want him dishin’, stealin’ and stoppin’ opponents’ point guards. I’m giving him allowance though. He’s a newbie with a lot to learn. But as a good player, he must improve. One boring morning, I tried to match the present Celtics against the Spurs—my dream finals match-up. I left the playing controls of both teams to the computer. It was a real good match up. It the kind you want to see in the Finals. At the end of the game, Boston won. Guess who made the difference? Rondo. Garnett and Duncan went at each other. Bowen has his focus on Pierce, while Manu and Ray-Ray having a shooting and cutting contest. This left the Parker-Rondo match-up. Of course, you’d give the salute to the 2007 Finals MVP Tony Parker. His quickness and speed ratings are both 99, Rondo’s are 80s. But Rondo stayed in front of him most of the time. He was also passin’ the ball well to the big three. You could say that was in the computer. But, hear me, what’s stopping him from that feat? He’s young, lithe and skilled. He’s got the perfect height, too.

I must not forget another key: Ray Allen versus Manu Ginobili. Manu is good on both ends of the court. It’s my guess that James Posey would be assigned to be all over him. But what if Ray’s on the court? He’s got to play tight defense and he’s got to have quick feet. Let’s not forget: Ray Allen, when he was with the Seattle Supersonics last 2005, torched the Spurs in two playoff games that made their battle a series. They lost the series but his performance in those two games is worth mentioning. Now he has Garnett and Pierce. Together, they form the Big Win-Hungry Three.

Yeah, I know what’s on your mind. When we start talking about the Boston-San Antonio header, the depth of the bench issue surfaces. Spurs has this aspect to their advantage. They have Big Shot Rob Horry, Brent Barry, Michael Finley and Fabricio Oberto who brings goodies to a full table. Celtics has Big Baby Davis, Eddie House and James Posey to count on. They can match but not well enough in my opinion. Trades? Yes, I’d agree to that. But they’d better make wise choices. Or, the Celtics bench must prove themselves—or better yet—improve themselves. Glen Davis and Tony Allen had breakout performances. Posey and House contributes. But consistency is the factor here. That’s were the coaches come in.

Motivation and strategies—the headlines of coaching papers. Doc Rivers no Pop but he’s collecting wins, too. This head-to-head I leave to them though. Aside from their résumé, do we really know what’s on their minds at this moment? Improve this, dump that, and all those thoughts. It’s in the map of their minds.

Let’s go to the statistics.

Scoring. Paul Pierce leads the team with 21.2, followed by Kevin Garnett (19.2) and Ray Allen (18). I want to see them in 20s. The rest of the team is in single digits. I want to see at least 2 in 10s.

Rebounds. Kevin Garnett leads the green and white with 10.0 followed by Pierce and Perkins at 5.7 each. Wait a minute. Kendrick Perkins the center? Whoa! ‘got to show me double digits in that category, man!

Assists. Rondo’s got 5, Pierce has 4.9 and Garnett has 3.6. Rajon must strive to get at least 8 a night. Doc, help him!

Defensive Stats. They have good defense and, as far as that category is concerned, they place higher than San Antonio. Top Ten guys. Eyes on the prize!

The Boston Celtics are for real. Let’s stop fussin’ about that. It has become a fact. But the next stop is the playoffs. I’d say they can take it to the top but they have to beat San Antonio, which arguably is the best team (plus numerous finals appearances). Celtics got ‘em tools—but they have to be consistent and show progress as a team.

 I believe in the green and white. Not just because I’m a La Sallian but the newest Celtic fan.