Celtics reign with size, defence
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 | 07:13 PM ET
The 17th championship in the storied history of the Boston Celtics was a long time coming, and what an emphatic victory it was.
The Celtics 131-92 crushing of a directionless Los Angeles Lakers in Game 6 also had some side benefits for the Celtics: it gave championship rings to the team's three best players, denied Lakers Phil Jackson a chance to surpass legendary Celtics coach Red Auerbach for the most championships coached and it gave the team a chance to prove all the pundits who picked the Lakers (cough) wrong.
Equally important for the rest of the league was how the Celtics won the title: with defence.
The normally free-floating Lakers offence was suffocated in the final game of the series, as the spaghetti-armed Celtics clogged passing lanes and stripped away the ball many times when the Lakers tried to drive to the basket.
Steals are usually an iffy indicator of defensive quality, since a team that goes for steals sometimes does so at the expense of defensive positioning, but in this game, they told the story: the Celtics had 18 steals and 32 points off of Lakers turnovers.
Defence, size still rule
This probably shouldn't have been a surprise, since last year's champion San Antonio Spurs won with a similar formula, as did the Detroit Pistons in 2004.
But it’s worth noting that even in era of pro basketball theoretically liberated of hand-checking and other rules designed to open up the game, defence and size still rules.
Consider the Celtics big men: the lanky Garnett is surrounded by some literal heavy hitters in Kendrick Perkins, PJ Brown, Glen Davis and Leon Powe, who weigh an average of 262 pounds. Combine that size with the long arms of perimeter defenders Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, James Posey and Ray Allen and you have the ingredients of a potent defence: harass the opposition at the three-point line and if they cut to the basket, clog the interior with big bodies.
Small ball, which the Lakers used so successfully to reach the finals, didn't have a chance. Lengthy big men Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom were shoved around and the Lakers tiny guards were unable to use their speed to their advantage.
No wonder the Phoenix Suns shifted gears midway through this season, sending undersized forward Shawn Marion to Miami for the lumbering Shaquille O'Neal. Or why the Cleveland Cavaliers - a team that with LeBron James, Wally Szczerbiak and Ben Wallace - have probably the biggest biceps in the league and were able to give the Celtics the toughest competition in this year's playoffs.
Finals will go through Boston for some time
If the Celtics era isn't over yet - and there's no reason to believe this team can't win another championship in the next couple of years - whichever team faces them in the playoffs is going to have to come face to face with a reality: to beat them, you have to push back when they push, and that requires matching both their size and intensity.
A team like the Toronto Raptors, which often played its best with a smaller lineup and never rebounded the basketball with any distinction last season, should take note.
For now at least, it looks like all roads to the finals go through Boston, and as the Lakers found out, it can be a bumpy ride.
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About the Author
Paul Jay has been writing about basketball for seven years, working as a basketball columnist for Rogers Sportsnet and writing for CBC Sports, Raptors Insider, Dose and appearing on air with Sportsnet and Raptors TV. In his 12 years in journalism, Paul has written features for some of the best publications in the country, including the Globe and Mail, the Ottawa Citizen, Saturday Night, Canadian Lawyer and This magazine. He first joined CBC.ca during the 2004 Athens Olympics and currently writes online for CBCNews.ca as a technology and science writer.
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Comments
Fahid
Yo man, da game was insane
the lakers were playin like a high school team
The amazing trio are gonna do da the same thing next yr
Posted June 21, 2008 06:40 PM
kalelrobin
This year's final was tightly contested and it was full of action. I think both teams deserved to win but the better team won eventually. As for Kobe Bryant, a ton full of kudos goes to him . He should not be dishearten but rejoice cos he gave an outstanding performance helping his team reach the play offs and himself being the MVP. Its a challenge for him and other team to fulfil to the fans to be the best in the league thus reaching the finals. As for me, I say that all teams won, as both teams were great. So all smile goes round and congrats to everyone, the players , the fans, the coaches of both teams.Everyone won - we all won!!!
Posted June 20, 2008 06:24 PM
B-Rod
NL
yes I agree moe, no one mentions that the lakers played without their starting center who was breaking out this season, and starting to put up all star numbers and leading the league in FG%
Posted June 19, 2008 06:00 PM
Moe
Toronto
As a Kobe and a Lakers fan, I'm not mad at the Celtics win. I've always thought Garnett was one of the best. So as Allen and Pierce. But now that they have won their rings, I will not be be supporting them in any way shape or form if this rivalry comes back into affect next year and I hope it does. I hope the Lakers learned something from this and I hope Andrew Bynum will be ready and he stays healthy.
Posted June 19, 2008 03:36 PM
Con
Toronto
We all though the Celtic trades were a high risk deal by Ainge - what if one of the stars were to be injured?, the bench was lousy, they had traded away their future etc.,.
We were proven wrong. Ainge rolled the dice and won. Kerr rolled the dice in Phoenix and lost big time. Phoenix has a new coach now!
Posted June 19, 2008 02:12 PM
jack scott
The Magnificant Trio played as on and WON as one:
I was up at 2:00 am to watch the games
ViVa the " Magnificent Trio"
Posted June 19, 2008 11:46 AM
Rob
When I first heard Pierce, Garnett, and Allen would be playing together, I thought they would be shoe-ins to in the title. What'll be interesting is to see if they can keep them all and attempt a dynasty. It seems over the past few years that such collections of stars break up as soon as they get that coveted ring.
Posted June 19, 2008 04:32 AM
Greg Trot
I was amazed that anyone could stop the Lakers especailly a Doc Rivers Team. This defence strategy was not what we saw when he coached the Orlando Magic. I think history may reveal that it is the assistant coaching staff and of course the drive for excellence by the players(bench included)that should get much of the credit.
Posted June 18, 2008 08:10 PM