Celtics bring intensity back to the Finals
Posted by Dan on June 13, 2008
Thursday night’s Game 4 of the NBA Finals was not only a strange and entertaining game to watch, but it was an indication of what the NBA is becoming. What am I talking about? Defense.
The Celtics were down by about 20 points in the third quarter last night…however, when you’re defense is as good as theirs, it’s never over. Mounting one of the best comebacks I’ve ever heard of in an NBA Finals game, defense led the way for Boston. They held the Lakers to 15 points in the third quarter and 18 in the fourth. I don’t know about anyone else, but if you can hold Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and the deepest roster in the NBA to 33 points in a half, that is impressive and not to be forgotten…especially since they did it on the road when they were down by 20 at one point!
Why am I bringing this up? Two reasons:
1) It was absolutely amazing to me that being up 2-1 in the series and down 20 points that they didn’t just give up…like most NBA teams would do. Instead they fought back with defense (and a little offense) holding the Lakers to 91 total points.
2) Defense really does win championships! Now I know the series isn’t technically over, but all Boston has to do is win one of three games now…something they could complete in Game 5 in LA. At any rate, I have never truly and completely believed that statement. Yea it sounds nice and maybe in college it works to some degree because teams can play great zone defenses and presses, which leads to many easy baskets for them (the whole “defense is the best offense” bull-oney). However, the Celtics are actually proving it can work in a league with ego-maniacs and millionare players. Their commitment to getting it done defensively is showing the rest of the league that defense can really win championships. Now I know some might be thinking about San Antonio and the championships they’ve won based on defense. My response: they weren’t playing the Lakers in the Finals!!! This Boston team is shutting down the MVP and his offensively gifted cohort! I thought the Lakers would score too many points for the Celtics offensively challenged squad to overcome. Thankfully, I was wrong. If Boston wins, this year could mark an official turning point in the NBA, and we could see more teams turning to defense in order to reach supremacy. Detroit did it in ‘04, San Antonio has done it pretty well over the past few years (even though their Big 3 on offense carries them), and now Boston is leading the way. Who knows, maybe the Suns will start practicing some defense… That might be what it takes from now on to win an NBA Championship.
