In both victories, the Celtics showed two things. Thing number 1: this team has a nasty streak unlike any team I've seen in a long time. Thing number 2: this year's Celtics are versatile on offense to an absurd level. This year Boston will make every team in the league pick their poison and then kill them with it. Care to clog the middle and defend the paint hard? Well that's just fine, the Celtics will gladly trot Pierce, Eddie House, Sheed, KG and Ray Allen out there to drop long range bombs on your head all day and all night. Feel like playing tight coverage on all those shooters? That's fine too, because then the Celtics can replace House with Rondo and cut you to ribbons in the paint. If you want to stop the little man, you'll have to collapse that defense which leaves one of the other four guys open (oops!). Care to go big? The Celtics can play that game too with Kendrick Perkins and a taller, tougher line-up.
The bottom line is that the Celtics are stacked at every position this year, and are equipped to play and beat almost any style of basketball. This is rare indeed, and it bodes well for the Celtics this year. When a team is so versatile that they can play and combat every style, they become that much tougher to beat on a nightly basis and within the context of a seven game series. Simply put, Boston is poised to dominate this season and has the potential to barn-storm their way to an 18th NBA title.
Now, of course, the caveat. The Celtics need to stay healthy for any of this to happen. With any NBA team, that's one hell of an if, but with these aging Celtics, it is a dark specter that will loom over this entire year. Hopefully, the additions of Rasheed Wallace and Marquis Daniels can stem the tide a bit by providing some much needed rest for the Celtic veterans, and hopefully both Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins will be able to step up and carry a bit more of the load this year to disperse the stress from the rest of Boston's starters. If those things can happen, then the Celtics should be in great shape to make another championship run come May. If not, then it seems as though I'm going to have to try not to vomit while the Lakers repeat and we're subjected to another tidal wave of "Kobe is the greatest player" stories (yuck).
Tonight, Boston faces Chicago at home, which should actually be a good test for the Celtics. Thus far they've beaten two slower paced teams with ease, but this Bulls team is young, athletic and largely the same crew that gave Boston problems last Spring in round one. If these Celtics, who are not, by the way, the same group that struggled last spring against the youthful Bulls, can handle Chicago tonight, I will feel a lot better about our chances against any and all comers. If the celtics lose at home, then we have some thinking and soul searching to do. Just so y'all know, I plan on drinking heavily, which is to say I'm betting on Boston tonight.
Happy Halloween!
