NEW YORK -- By now, everyone knows how the Boston Celtics are going to win games.
Sacrifice.
It's a word that is tossed around the Celtics' locker room as often as "Gatorade" or "towel." Paul Pierce talks about it. So does Ray Allen. If you listen to Kevin Garnett enough, you might come away with the feeling that he is thinking about changing his nickname from the Big Ticket to the Big Sacrifice. Sitting in the corner of the visiting locker room at Madison Square Garden on Monday night, Garnett could barely get past a couple of sentences without coming back to the word.
"We have guys willing to sacrifice," Garnett said. "We have guys who have lost recently and have come into a new situation revived. We don't take the small things for granted. We're three guys trying to be an example for the whole franchise. When you do that, good things happen."
So we know how they are going to win.
Just to play devil's advocate, here is how they are going to lose.
Beat 'em up on the boards
The Knicks were effective at bullying Boston in their 94-87 victory here Monday. I'm not talking about the skirmish that broke out after Jamal Crawford knocked Allen to the floor or the wild swing Tony Allen took at Nate Robinson when the two got tangled up in the second half. I'm referring to the way Eddy Curry, David Lee, Zach Randolph and Quentin Richardson physically dominated their positions as New York racked up a 53-41 edge on the glass.
To be fair, Boston was without centers Kendrick Perkins and Scot Pollard, leaving Garnett and 6-foot-8 Leon Powe to man the middle. But Perkins' physical play often gets him in foul trouble, and Pollard averaged 4.5 minutes a game last season with Cleveland. So whether he likes it or not (and team sources say it is not his first choice), Garnett likely will have to log significant minutes at center this season.
"They might be better off bringing Perkins off the bench," an Eastern Conference executive said. "Try to keep him out of foul trouble early."
Get to the bench
Clearly, the second unit is Boston's biggest weakness, particularly at the point-guard position. On Monday, starter Rajon Rondo exited the game in the first quarter with the game tied; when he returned in the middle of the second quarter, the Celtics were down 11. Eddie House was completely ineffective and rookie Gabe Pruitt didn't see any action until the game's final minute. Coach Doc Rivers admitted afterward that he is probably going to ride Rondo 36-38 minutes a game this season. That's a large burden for a 21-year-old second-year player, but a necessary one until someone emerges as a capable backup.
"We didn't handle [backing up Rondo] it well today, clearly," Rivers said. "I thought we kind of left Eddie out to dry a lot tonight against Nate Robinson, so I don't put [the poor performance] on Eddie."
Still, while Rivers says he is "happy with my guys," Boston may have to look outside the organization for help. One league executive believes free agent Earl Boykins would be a good fit in Boston, though the Celtics have shown no inkling that they are interested in the 5-5 scoring guard. Another possibility is a potential trade with the Grizzlies (run by former Celtics general manager Chris Wallace), who are stocked at the position with Damon Stoudamire, Kyle Lowry and rookie Mike Conley, as well as Spanish combo guard Juan Carlos Navarro.
Hope for a rift
While there is complete harmony in the Celtics' locker room today, it's not a stretch to speculate that problems could arise over the course of an 82-game season. If they do, team and league sources believe they will probably start with Pierce. Ray Allen hasn't always been considered the focal point of his team; in Milwaukee, he shared the spotlight with Sam Cassell and Glenn Robinson, and in Seattle, he played alongside Rashard Lewis. Garnett has always been The Man, but the Big Sacrifice has gone out of his way to defer to Pierce, showering the captain with praise and insisting that Pierce be the final player announced during pregame introductions.
Pierce, however, is in a unique situation. He has been a star since his first game with the Celtics in 1999, aided in part by Antoine Walker's willingness to cede the spotlight. But the Boston fan base will embrace Garnett in the same way it has embraced David Ortiz and Tom Brady. Garnett's trademark intensity will draw fans to him and, consequently, away from Pierce. I'm not saying Pierce won't handle it gracefully. It's just that no one is dead certain that he will.
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Comments (28) Add A Comment
Fall on KG's knee(accidentally, of course) and you wont even have to get into all those ugly schematics.
Cassidy's House:…
Whatsittoya, NO
Total Comments (16281)
Cassidy's House, I agree that it's as simple as that.
King4kong
Galt , CA
Total Comments (157)
To Danny Ainge: MIKE BIBBY
Mike's unhappy with the Kings. Fans are unhappy with Mike. But, he'll be a great fit with the all-star trio of the Celtics.
If not, pry away one of the Sonics' PGs.
King4kong
Galt , CA
Total Comments (157)
they should try and go for Damon Stoudamire or stop playing and get Boykins or even Gary Payton.
dcummings39
Brooklyn , NY
Total Comments (203)
its the east.....really why cant they make it without a pg....ITS THE EAST
MrMykel_Angelo
Arlington , TX
Total Comments (319)
Mykel angwhatever your name is i can tell a lot about your basketball iq with that statement and yes they do need a point guard very badly the best game these bench guys had and will have was that blowout earlier against the Knicks they will fail if they dont get help
blacula3000
Miami , FL
Total Comments (12)
One of the other blueprints to beat the Celtics ...
Keep Doc Rivers at coach ....
azsixerfan
Tempe , AZ
Total Comments (17)
If I were coaching, I'd have Rondo share offense initiation with Allen and Pierce. Those guys are all perfectly capable of bringing the ball up the court like a PG and with 3 major weapons on offense, it's ok to have one of the 'BIG 3' play a little pick and roll with either of the other after dribbling the ball the length of hte court.
I wish they had a back up PG - Gary Payton's actually a great option if he'd be up for it - but they could conceivably get by without one.
ThorRobot
Los Angeles , CA
Total Comments (1)
1. shooting percentage will be key for celtics success, with their limited bigmen
2. defensive energy from garnette and rondo will happen; but i think pierce (in regards of starting lineup) will be the biggest role considering allen's natural lack of defense and ankles, and perkins weaker court awareness
i think that the celtics preseason success will depend on how they come out off the gates; over the season they will wear and tear that is for sure, considering how many minutes the starters are going to have to play w their current lineup
they will need a solid start so that can keep kg, pierce and allen healthy and MORE rested then if they have to shoot everything up for a preseason spot
i give them 50 wins, no more, considering how weak their bench is and how poorly developed perkins and rondo are... they have too many holes; kg wont be able to make up for all their players... im rooting for kg for mvp this season, i think even w these stars he still play his best season to take the east
akanand1
Total Comments (33)
he still will have to*
akanand1
Total Comments (33)
Wow...a blueprint has been devised before a real game has been played. Umm...O.K.
J. HOVA: BROOKLYN
Brooklyn, NY
Total Comments (18072)
I am saying it. Pierce will not handle is gracefully.
Just wait. If the Celtics are only mediocre come all star break and Garnett makes the team and Pierce does not. Pierce will pull out the Globe article where he said I, Ive or me 50 times.
Pierce is a selfish ball hog and it will come out eventually. It came out during that Knicks game but if the refs bail him out every time by giving him crap fouls to the foul line maybe they should make the all star team because it is cheating.
BandofGold
Beverly Hills , CA
Total Comments (787)
Pierce, Garnett and Allen will have to play 40 minutes a night for this team to win and if this happens they will be dead by the playoffs.
BandofGold
Beverly Hills , CA
Total Comments (787)
knicks win the east the P.G.A tour anit ready! u heard it here first . no pg no wins
Styx
Total Comments (19)
No offense to celtics fans but they ain't gonna win against my bulls this season..
their egos will collide in the mid of the season and doc rivers will be fired for not living up to the expectation...garnett is a stat machine but he is not a winner!!! only two playoff series won throughout his whole NBA career.. not bad for a 20 mil/year guy!!!
rieru
Total Comments (1)
Not bad at all considering who he was playing with... If I remember correctly, even Kobe missed the playoffs entirely a few years ago, and how many series have the Lakers won recently? No one's saying he's a bad player, so why is it that KG can't win when he had one year with decent teammates, and that's the one year he took his team to the conference finals?
Anon2378
Blacksburg , VA
Total Comments (2)
Sorry, meant to say "why is it that people say KG can't win" not "why is it that KG can't win"...
Anon2378
Blacksburg , VA
Total Comments (2)
I'm not buying into the C's hype at all. I see three great players and a bunch of scrubs. People can diss the East all they want but most of the East's top teams either made small improvements or kept their squads intact. Meaning what? The Pistons, Bulls, Cavs, Wiz, Nets, Heat, Magic and even the Knicks all have more chemistry. It will take the C's most of the season just to get familiar with each other. On top of that with no bench they're going to have to rely heavily on the aging bodies of their big three to play a lot of minutes just to get through the season, let alone the playoffs.
The Celtics will be in the mix for sure but they're nowhere near the Pistons or Bulls. Heck, as a Wizards fan I don't even see Boston being that much better than my team, if at all.
They need a few more pieces and at least a season's worth of seasoning before we start thinking about handing anything to them.
NotoriousREG
Washington , DC
Total Comments (1)
Rajon Rondo and Kedrick Perkins are going to have break out years. Rondo is a very talented pg. Even KG said that he is going to be a special player in this league. You guys are a bunch of haters, jealous that Boston has a real team now. Celtics are on their way to the finals!
esp4p3
Total Comments (25)
The only problem and only reason we lost to the knicks was the lack of perk (besides of course that the knicks were out for revenge playing like a playoff game and the celts werent trying until midway thru the third quarter). KG can only lock down on one of those 300 pounders, perk or at least pollard is NEEDED to lock down on the other.On offense it doesnt matter much because KG dominates down low anyways, but having Perk to pass to for a dunk when his man leaves him is much better than scal at the 3 point line, although scal does pull the big out and give more room to work, kind of. Kind of because Perk is running around setting screens and doesnt get in the way of KG operating down low, in a single coverage KG scores 9 out of 10 times, and if the double comes he finds the open man every time. Seriously though, The knicks played for revenge, and went up by as much as 20 points, and then the Celtics began trying and cut it down to a 2 point lead in less than 12 minutes.
All in all its preseason, and the team is a GREAT team, theyre basically a western powerhouse dropped out east into the titanic division. (Im not a boston fan, I dont like boston, but I did get league pass to watch this team), Theyre gonna be a powerhouse, its hilarious that some of you are actually nervous. I will admit that the only reason there would be to be nervous is if indeed Perk and Pollard both are out. Otherwise the Knicks have no chance even if they do play twice as hard. Prepare to win the East, at least Boston. And jeesh, be happy for once. This is the celtics, the winningest franchise in NBA history, the quintessential champion, and they just landed the best 7 footer in the league besides Tim Duncan and put the best team around him that he has ever had, with a core of 2 superstars and he???s never even had 1 to play with. They are LOADED, and they are BACK, as they should be, its the celtics. Not the redsox, be happy and be a CELTIC fan, that means arrogant and knowing its a matter of time til youre in the finals. Which IS the truth, look at your team and then look at the east, you know its the truth.
billyb52god
Melrose , MA
Total Comments (48)
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