When the NBA season kicked off last week,
nearly all basketball pundits were debating whether the Los Angeles Lakers
would repeat as champions or LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers would
finally climb to the top of the mountain with the help of a very big Sherpa --
Shaquille O'Neal.
Well, don't sleep on the Boston Celtics.
Conventional wisdom says the 2007-08 champs saw their dreams of a second
straight crown go up in smoke when Kevin Garnett went down with a right knee
injury and missed most of the stretch last season as well as the playoffs.
I would argue that Boston lost in its bid to repeat before things even got
started. The C's lost two key reserves from that championship club, James
Posey
and P.J. Brown, robbing coach Doc Rivers of the veteran depth that is a key to
any championship team.
Well, the "Big Ticket" is now back and the Celtics were able to add another
impressive piece to the "Boston Three Party" of K.G., Paul Pierce and Ray
Allen, playoff-tested big man Rasheed Wallace.
Wallace's impressive low-post defense and outside shooting should fit in
rather nicely into Rivers' system, and you won't be able to find a more
impressive fourth or fifth offensive option in the league.
Tuesday, in the City of Brotherly Love, Rivers' vision came together when the
Celtics blitzed their long-time rival, the Philadelphia 76ers, 105-74, to
improve to a perfect 5-0 on the young season.
Wallace, a Philly native, came off the bench to bury 6-of-8 from three-point
range and finished with 20 points and six boards for Boston. Sharp-shooting
reserve guard Eddie House donated 12 and another new addition, Shelden
Williams, chipped in with 11 points for the Celtics, who shot a sizzling 56.9
percent from the field and a spectacular 70 percent (14-of-20) from long
range.
Boston outscored the overmatched Sixers 42-3 from the three-point line and
Philly made its lone trey when just 1:28 was left in the game.
When it was over Rivers didn't want to talk about his All-Star-laden starting
lineup -- he was too busy gushing about his reserves.
"We talked about stopping their transition game and we weren't that successful
early but the second unit really stood out," Rivers said.
Meanwhile, it wasn't House, Williams or even Wallace that Rivers wanted to
brag about.
"It was the second unit that was the difference and it all starts with Marquis
(Daniels)," Rivers said. "He might not be getting the points or the threes but
he's our leader out there and he seems to set everything up for Rasheed and
Eddie with his defense and passing ability. He has such a high basketball IQ
and that really stands out to the coaching staff."
Daniels offers Rivers the perimeter defense he has been lacking since Posey
took his act to the Big Easy.
Of course, the heart of this team remains Garnett. The 12-time All-Star is the
C's unquestioned leader, the rarest of breeds in today's NBA, a true superstar
that isn't concerned about numbers, save the one in the "W" column.
However, K.G. played in just 57 games last season, the fewest he has played in
a decade, and is on pace to become just the 21st NBA player in history to have
logged 40,000-plus minutes in his career.
So, there is tread on those tires.
Tread that can be replaced this season...at least for a few minutes a night.
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