Celtics Central

If the Celtics run to 66 wins and the home court advantage was ever in question as unnecessary, or overdone, – let the questions be answered once and for all, last night.

There’s no place like home for 4 consecutive series and, at least, for three quarters of game 2 of the Finals, that is.

The Celtic gave 61 points to the Lakers through three quarters and led by 22. They gave up 41 points and almost lost the game in the 4th quarter.

For familiarity with the court and rims, for deafening crowd support, for sleeping in your own bed, for eating home cooked meals, for practicing at your own facility, and ..oh yeah, some good old fashion home leaning foul calls, there is no place like home.

At half time, the Celtics had nineteen foul shots to the Lakers’ two. They finished with a 38 to 10 foul shot advantage. They led at the half by 54-42, and 83-61 after 3 quarters, yet barely won the game when the Lakers closed strong in the 4th (sound familiar?) to make most of the 22 point Celtic lead evaporate. They were a mere basket away at 104-102 with 38 seconds left.

Why such a disparate amount of foul shots? The Celtics were the definite aggressors once again and played as solid of interior defense as you can play without fouling…though that might not be enough proof for Phil Jackson….

After making a statement that he had no statement to make, he pounced on the first question to…. make a statement….. while glancing at a piece of paper. His answer had nothing to do with the question of the difference between his team’s 4th quarter and the first three…

I’m more struck at the fact that Leon Powe gets more foul shots than our whole team does in 14 minutes of play. That’s ridiculous. You can’t play from a deficit like that, that we had in that half, 19-2….I’ve never seen a game like that in all these years I’ve coached in the Finals. Unbelievable.

Statement made.

The Lakers had 17 personal fouls in the first half, including three on Kobe Bryant, while the Celtics had 10, though obviously, the Celtics’ fouls were not of the shooting variety.

The Celtics played a great floor game for three quarters. They shot well, assisted on most every shot, rebounded, and got to the foul line. They also played masterful defense again.

Leon Powe played the game of his life. He had 21 points on 6 of 7 shooting, including at least 3 dunks, with 9 of 13 foul shots in a mere 14.5 minutes. He dribbled and drove the lane from half court for one dunk while Pau Gasol and another Laker watched him split them for the throw down. When the Lakers weren’t fouling, they were playing pretty poor defense.

Discounting any injury repercussions, Paul Pierce came out aggressively from the start and attacked the hoop the first few times he got the ball. It set the tone for the evening. When Paul wasn’t getting to the rim, he was getting open three point shots, going a perfect 4 for 4 from the arc, all with time to eat a meal, play a quick game of checkers, or paint your garage before shooting. He finished with a game high 28 points, 8 assists and 4 boards.

Ray Allen contributed in a big way at both ends of the court. Kobe was his defensive assignment and he did a good job on him, in the first half particularly. Ray also hit 3 big three pointers, while adding 17 points on the night. Kevin Garnett did not shoot particularly well, but played great defense and pulled in 14 rebounds to go with 17 points. Rajon Rondo directed the offense well with 16 assists, 6 boards, and 2 steals, with 4 points. The Celtics assisted on 31 of 36 baskets, an enormous number.

PJ Brown came for a 75% healthy Perkins and played yet another excellent game.

I’m skeptical about the supernatural but…

The Boston Celtics gave life to a corpse last night. I witnessed it with my own eyes.

The Los Angeles Lakers were all but dead, thanks to a flat out pummeling for 3 quarters by the unstoppable Celtics. It would also have weighed heavily on their minds to get closed out strong for 2 straight games.

But as we know, the Celtics taketh…and giveth away.

As is their want to do, the Celtics took their foot off the gas pedal too soon. The Lakers started getting open looks from downtown, Before it was over, the potent Laker offense closed to within 2 with 38 seconds left, thanks to 7 of 11 three point shooting in the quarter, and 41 total points.

In a big defensive play, with 14.8 seconds left, Pierce got a partial block of a Radmanovic three point attempt that James Posey gobbled up as an air ball near the rim. 4 pressure foul shots later, in the closing seconds, 2 by Pierce, 2 by Posey, the Celtics closed the deal.

Still, the Celtics did what they had to and took both games at home to go up 2-0. Now they go to Los Angeles for three games. They don’t have to win any in LA. If they do, an early close out and NBA Championship title is within their grasp.

2 down. 2 to go.

On a number of issues, Lamar Odom spoke more prophetically than he ever knew before game one.

And suffice to say the the Celtics and Kevin Garnett has Lamar Odom’s most profound respect….

They have great perimeter defensive players, as well, I would say, the best player at protecting the basket in the game right now in Kevin Garnett.

The only way to beat this team is to uhmm…move the ball. It’s hard to defend the pass in basketball, and that’s what we have to do. We have to pass the ball and make plays for each other. If we do that, hopefully, we can compete with these guys.

The statement about Kevin Garnett is quite a statement coming from the enemy – true though it may be. Kevin is the defensive linchpin of the Celtics’ masterful defense this year. Even when he is off offensively, he is there to take all comers on pick and rolls and perimeter breakdowns. He and Perkins are been quite a tandem in the middle. But Lamar had given the Celtics perimeter defenders respect as well. While Jackson and Bryant will give no quarter to the Cs defense, Lamar comes clean.

What about the Lakers’ defense?

We’re a quick team. This team (Celtics) ….probably has a size advantage over us. One thing we all do have is heart…and hustle…and that’s what I expect from both teams tonight.

Before the game Lamar said he was..

Feeling a bit of everything. This is my first finals. But overall, I would say I’m relaxed. You can’t win a series in one game.

True enough. More important, there will be no postponement of game 2 until Paul Pierce and Kendrick Perkins are truly healed.

Lamar Odom is healing as well.

In the world of sports, acknowledging an injury is like putting a spotlight on it for other teams. It says, “Abuse me here.”

Regarding Paul Pierce, from Michael Vega, Boston.com…..

“Today he looked fine, but Paul has played through numerous injuries this year that you guys probably didn’t have any idea about,” Kevin Garnett said of the Celtics’ captain.”

I’ve thought that very thought often this season. Players won’t let it be known publicly about any injuries.

Why? Just ask Lamar Odom (Steve Bulpett, Boston Herald)….

Lakers forward Lamar Odom was noticeably absent from the team’s on-court work yesterday.

“Teacher’s pet today, so I got to just watch just a little bit,” he said. “I’ve got a couple parts of my body that just need to heal up a little bit, that’s it.”

Asked what parts, Odom sounded Patriot-like when he replied, “I can’t tell you, man. They might attack it.”

They most certainly would. So will the Lakers attack Pierce and Perkins this evening to find out how bad they are hurt. Any opening in the Celtics’ defense will be more than welcome by the Lakers.

Is it just me? Or does anyone else think that tonight is much more of a must win for the Lakers than for the Celtics? Can you see any team, I mean any team in the NBA, beating the Celtics 4 out 5? I don’t.

The only thing that changes things, and it could change things quite a bit is… Paul Pierce’s injury. I wouldn’t discount Perkins’ injury either, although there are replacement players who can step up in Kendrick’s role. There is no replacement for Paul Pierce.

So look for both Pierce and Perkins to play tonight. How well they play is up in the air, but play they will. Pierce has a possible tear in his meniscus in his knee but he refuses to get an MRI to find out. He has been waiting too long for this opportunity. If he can run, he will play.

If the Lakers are going to grab a game in Boston this is the one to get. Boston needs to grab just one in LA of their three straight away games there.

Look for an epic battle tonight. Game time 9pm. ABC

Doc Rivers pre-game comments revealed something about the team’s desire to win it all, as opposed to be saying they are happy to be there.

It is also worth mentioning that the national media have dropped the ball on the under riding story and hidden strength of this Celtic team. It is the well known, but little mentioned fact, that none of the three stars on the Celtics have won an NBA title in their careers. I would say it is so obvious as to not need repeating except for one little fact…the dearth of national experts who picked the Cs to accomplish their goal. It is not only underestimated, it’s being ignored like your ex-wife at a party.

The media jumped on the rolling Laker bandwagon, with an imitation Michael Jordan, one Kobe Bryant, newly non-selfish, but the ever spoiled star, once they added Pau Gasol, an underachieving, second tier star. The marriage of media and ‘Laker-lock’ syndrome reached fusion threshold right after they conquered the Spurs 4 games to 1.

National guys should know better. Three hungry stars vs one who has already won a few championships? It should, at least be an even set of expectations if not skewered in the Celtics favor. They had the best record, the best defense, and the biggest turnaround in NBA history. They are also far more experienced in age and play-off experience combined than the Lakers. Don’t those things mean anything? How about the fact that they all came together for one reason only – to win the title that eluded them individually? What could be more powerful of a motivator?

That is not to say that is a done deal. The Celtics haven’t run roughshod over their play-off opponents. They have simply done just enough to continue toward their elusive dream.

Don’t let the early play-off stumbles fool you. They are all part of the process. This team is deeply talented, if not always able to maximize that talent. Understand the problem here. This is the three stars’ first play-off together and each of the players’ games have been sacrificed to get here. There are things they have kept in their pockets that are usable at anytime.

As a group, they understand what it means to be Celtic. Anything less than winning it all is a disappointment to Celtics’ history, and yes, to these three players.

Doc Rivers knows this quite well. As the head coach, he is the ‘manager’ of the goal. He knows that being a Boston Celtic has a special historical significance in the basketball world

Our goal is not to get here. It’s more than that. We’ve been congratulated all week, but we haven’t done what we want (to). Just keep that focus.

When I took the job a lot of coaches were calling me and said, Wow, Why would you go over there with all the…you gotta deal with Bird and Cousy and everybody else. I actually thought that was an odd question. I thought it was good. I’ve always embraced it.

When I took the job, I wrote to every ex-Celtic, with the help of Jeff Twiss, and invited them back…uhh…I wanted them to come to practices. On the road, I’d liked them to come. I think it’s something you could use as an asset, not something that should drag you down.

And it’s been great. Just for me to know some personally. I never met John Havlicek until I became the coach of the Celtics and he’s always been one of my favorite players. I think it’s been used to our advantage for sure.

When others saw a moribund franchise that constantly reminded you of past greatness and present disappointment, Doc Rivers saw a great opportunity to attempt to turn around that franchise. It would be noble, even in the attempt, to one who understood what the Celtics stood for and stand for again.

Doc saw and appreciated what it meant to be a Celtic. He lived the Larry Bird years. He certainly knew of the Dave Cowens era. And everyone with breath in America knows of the Auerbach/Russell dynasty days. Why would anyone want to try to coach with that hanging over their heads?

When I talked to Tony Allen late this very season about how things were before the trade and what he was thinking about, I got a surprise answer from him. He said there was always pressure to play well, even when the team wasn’t so good during those pre-Garnett years. In the Celtics practice facility, the original Celtic Championship banners are hanging for all to see. They were too small for the new Garden.

“You come in every day and see those banners (in the practice facility). That’s its own pressure.”

Pressure? Doc would rather you see it as an asset. His embrace of Celtic alumni is more than respectful. It is smart. Recently, embrace of Celtic history was little more than lip service and frankly, a genuine connection had begun to slip away somewhere in the late 90s. Doc Rivers embraced it, and got his stars to embrace defense and team first thinking.

Not coincidentally, his team is three wins away from embracing the Celtics 17th title. Win or lose, they are trying to do it in a way past Celtic greats would appreciate – the team first, Celtic way.

Ray Allen said he didn’t even know what the experts were saying.

I”wouldn’t know anything about it. I don’t watch TV.

.
Hmmm…..Doc Rivers says differently….

Yeah, they care. Whether they pick you or don’t, you still have to play basketball. But you can absolutely use it. Guys take it personal. They do. They understand that 8 out 9, 8 out of ten people picked the Lakers.

The Boston Celtics served up a “Take that!” kind of loss to the national media’s favorite pick to win the NBA title led by the media favorite’s MVP leading them, and one of the media’s favorite winningest coaches. The beat them 98-88, in a game that the Celtics took over in the second half, led in a dramatic return from injury, by life long Celtic Paul Pierce.

While this rivalry will make it’s own heroes and villain’s, one previous essential that seems to be holding true through this on again/off again eternal rivalry is one of the glitzier Laker image versus the lunch pail approach of the blue collar Celtics.

Kobe is the Hollywood star. Kevin Garnett is the construction foreman. Fedora hats versus hardhats. Offense versus defense. This night the Celtic defense gave the Lakers a wake up call. Welcome to defense – Celtic style. The number one defense meets the number one offensive player. Tonight the offense loses. The corollary says defense always wins.

Phil Jackson on the Celtics defense…

They contest. They’re at the ball a lot. Did we handle that well? We had 8 turnovers, which is a big part of our game. Not to turn the basketball over.That was important. I just thought that we didn’t get after the boards offensively. They did a much better job on the boards. That’s the difference in the ball game.

Kobe begs to differ….

Some balls bounced their way tonight. They scrapped and they clawed their way to this victory. They played a lot more physical than we did. And I think that’s something that we have to adjust to. And get ready for game two.

The Rivalry hit rock bottom last year on January 31st, when TDBanknorth Garden ‘fans’ (I can’t call them Celtic fans) wore Laker jerseys and chanted ‘MVP!” for …..Kobe Bryant no less, as he went off and bullied a young and largely inept Boston Celtic team. It shook the heavens. Stars went out of alignment. You can check the astronomers’ records. It’s all recorded.

While most of the crowd last year came to cheer a young Celtic team experiencing growing pains, far too many came to cheer a player wearing the opponent’s uniform. Those that did this were, to a person, all too young to remember any rivalry.

This evening Kobe Bryant was properly booed on introductions. The Celtics rebuilt team has traveled light years in a single season to once again put the rivalry on the front burner.

Raucously loud chants from the crowd of “Beat LA! Beat LA! “were ignited by spontaneous combustion before the pregame intros. No Jumbotron prompts necessary. There was very little Laker yellow to be seen in the crowd.

Every attendee had a “Gotta’ beat LA!” white t-shirt waiting for him or her when they reached their seat. The tees were a nice gesture, but they weren’t needed. It was an amped Boston Celtic crowd that would make all previous dynasty members proud.

Even on the streets, on the corners, in the restaurants, and in the bars, while walking over to enter the arena, there was electricity in the air. Time warp? No this is 2008, and all is right with the world.

Even Ray Allen said….

Many times, in America, the team that won, ultimately, in that particular sport, everybody always says that… “nobody gave us a chance.” That’s the common themes with the interviews. I think it has been different because most (experts) have predicted this match up throughout the year.

And this evening in this new year of Our Lord, things have advanced about as far as they could. The first game of the NBA Finals was played in Boston with the Celtics stepping on the toes of the experts’ predictions and the Lakers.

Red Auerbach was in attendance and was proud of what he saw.

“We got our (butts) kicked.”

So says Kobe Bryant. Ten points may not seem like a butt-kicking, unless you’re used to winning as the Lakers are. They haven’t really been tested to the maximum in the play-offs. Maybe the Celtics will do just that.

Paul is cementing his reputation as a clutch performer and is doing it in the biggest games of the play-offs. Many thought he couldn’t deliver when he is needed most throughout his career. He is proving them wrong, series by series.

Supporters said he just needed a solid team around him and he would be fine. It is beginning to look like Paul’s supporters may be right.

Pierce scored 8 straight points to start the second half to erase a 5 point half time deficit. Then he gets carried to the locker room by Brian Scalabrine and Tony Allen with what was thought was a serious knee injury after having Kendrick Perkins step on his foot as he was turning after trying to defend Kobe Bryant on a drive. Paul went down in a crumple and with a very pained look.

3 minutes later, fans spot him coming back out and give him a Richter Scale registering thunderous ovation as he proceeds to check himself into the game as Doc watches him go to the scorers table. Can he actually play? Yes, he can.

He gets fouled and hits and 1 for 2 before hitting 2 straight three point shots, to rip open a close game with a nice lead. He scores 15 points in the 3rd quarter to push the Celtics to the lead and eventually the game.

Four Series. Four wins to start.

Who says home court doesn’t matter?

It is even more important that the Lakers win one of the first two games here with a 2-3-2 format. To be down 2-0 is going against huge odds to begin with. But to have to win 4 of 5 to win the series with games 6 and 7 on Boston’s court would be downright difficult.

Kobe Bryant scored 24 points but only shot 9-26. But don’t let the Celtics defense get any credit.

A lot of shots rolled in and out on him…

I missed a lot of bunnies. I was getting good looks all night

So expect Kobe to have a better game on Sunday. Expect Paul to play if his leg isn’t falling off.
Expect an even better game from both teams.

Every season has a number of key moments for every team. The Boston Celtics’ season is no different.

Here are a few bearing setting, “You are here” places along the way:
a) The early season 8-0 quick jump from the gate
b) the stratospheric 29-3 record that said this is a special team
c) winning games without Garnett in the line-up (9-2 overall, including 7 straight) that said this is a team period
d) their only 3 game losing streak, in the west, when they thought they thought they could out shoot teams
e) defeating the Jazz, then the Lakers in their own houses
f) Conquering the Texas Triangle
g) winning the season series from Detroit
h) generally setting themselves apart from all other competitors in the east except the Pistons

The Play-offs
Here where is clock was set back to zero. Learning curve number 2 begins.

a) The Celtics lose their mojo and cannot buy a win away from home and struggle with a young athletic Hawk team before crushing them in game 7.
b) In the Hawk series, the Celtics first learn to deal with foul call ‘disparity’ as the Hawks shot almost 50% more foul shots than the Celtics (220-152). The Hawks had two games with 40 or more attempts. The Celtics never had more than 26 in a game.
c) The Celtics also learn to deal with at least 1or 2 starters in foul trouble in the very first quarter of games.
d) Though a defensively oriented team to begin with, the Cavaliers play defense like they rarely have all year and the Celtics learn to dig deeper and longer to win this series.
e) Detroit is the first legitimate title contender they will play and Boston is the slight underdog going in.
f) Boston loses a home game to Detroit. It snaps them awake. Hard to overestimate how much this loss helps wake Boston up.
g) They turn right around and win the next game in Detroit to take the series right back. They responded to an early hay maker with one right back.

But the moment that makes me believe they are developing the confidence to win a championship is from the middle of the 3rd period forward in game 6 in Detroit.

They were holding a lead for the most part. Then some highly questionable calls started going against them. Even the TV announcers were amazed at the calls.

3rd quarter
Rondo gets called for an invisible offensive foul on a hand off, no less. Van Gundy is praising the call until he sees the replay and completely rescinds his approval saying it was a terrible call that should have been a flop. Jeff Van Gundy…..”I take it back, Don’t give him that call. I’m so sick of that, I can’t stand it.” The score was 58-54 with 3:59 left in the 3rd.

Pierce, then Cassell tie the game with shots, 58-58. The Pistons go up 62-58 as part of a 14-4 run.

As Pierce drives the middle for a missed lay-up but a certain foul call, PJ Brown gets called for another phantom offensive foul, negating Pierce’s efforts and putting the ball back in the hands of Detroit. Time 2:09 left 3rd.

Then the most improbable call of all, an offensive foul on Paul Pierce as he is shooting a three pointer as Rip Hamilton goes for the pump fake and flies into Paul as Paul lets the ball go. A potential 4 point play is negated and the Pistons get the ball. After looking at the replay, it is, at most, a travel on Pierce, though that would be a hard call to make. time 1:35 left 3rd, Pistons lead 66-58.

Pistons end the 3rd quarter on a 20-6 run to lead 68-60. The Celtics should be reeling right now. The game’s momentum is clearly in the Pistons’ hands.

4th Quarter:
Rip Hamilton hits a left side 18 ft. jumper with 10:23 left to give the Pistons a 10 point lead at 70-60. Everything feels like this is the Pistons game now. They have clawed their way to the game’s biggest lead, with time now on their side.

After absorbing a number of difficult calls and a loss of the lead, the Celtics showed the focus and determination necessary to stay in the game.

The Celtics would come out of a time out to score the next 12 points to go ahead. They would lose the lead but regain it twice more before surging ahead with a 7 point burst from Paul Pierce who has been the difference maker in the close out game twice now.

A number of Celtics played well in support as the Celtics closed with a 29 to 11 run to win 89-81.

It would prove to be the making of the Celtics and the reason for Joe Dumars to begin to disassemble his team.

Bob Wojnowski of the Detroit News had this from Dumars…

He said he knew he had to do something when he watched the Pistons blow a 10-point lead in Game 6 against Boston and get eliminated on their home floor.

“The last 10 minutes of that game was a microcosm of us — we’re good enough, we’re right there, but we didn’t get it done,” Dumars said. “As I walked out of the Palace that night, I had a real sense of calm that I’ve seen enough.”

Chris McCosky of the Detroit News…

“This team became way too content,” Joe Dumars said Tuesday at a press conference to announce the firing of coach Flip Saunders. “They did not show up with the sense of urgency to get it done. I can’t sugarcoat it and make it pretty. I told Tayshaun (Prince) and Rip (Hamilton), watching the final four teams in the playoffs, I thought the other three teams played a lot harder than us. There was just way too much contentment from us.”

So what would have been perceived as coolness under pressure if Detroit had won, is now unwarranted ‘contentedness’. I don’t disagree. I’ve thought the same thing about the Pistons many times myself. But then they would rip off some great wins and I’d doubt myself. It is a fine line between the two.

Ultimately, coolness should prevail under pressure. But if it isn’t getting the job, it’s time to get busy as heck. The Celtics did. The Pistons started feeling the pressure as time wound down. Billups uncharacteristically missed two wide open threes for example.

The unmaking of one team was the making of the other.

How many games like that the Lakers have had this post season, I really don’t know. My guess is none because they have been up in every series.

So, if the Celtics do end up as NBA Champions, thank the Piston series generally and game 6 in particular to help get them prepared.

They don’t stand a chance.

They were put together as an instant ‘ready-made’ team.They are playing together in the play-offs for the very first time. They don’t have a consistent go-to guy. Their offense has been inconsistent generally. They don’t close out games well. Their rookie, oops, 2nd year, but 22 year old point guard is inconsistent. They have a center you throw a party for when he pulls down 10 rebounds. Their bench has been a model of futility, with a rare good performance here and there.

They struggled with Atlanta, a 37-45 team in the weak east. They struggled with a one man team, the Lebron-aliers. They played poorly in portions of games against Detroit.

They are facing Kobe Bryant, the best offensive machine and player in the game today.

Like 1944, they are massing at the (G)Ardenne(s).
They are on Boston’s very doorstep. The Lakers have sliced through the very tough western conference play-off competition like a hot knife through butter. To wit: 4-0 against the 50-32 Denver Nuggets, 4-2 against the 54-28 Utah Jazz, 4-1 against the 56-26 defending champion San Antonio Spurs. They boldly snatched away games at both Utah and San Antonio, two teams that lost 11 games combined at home all season.

If ever there was a Generals (coaching) mismatch, this is it. Phil ‘tied with Red Auerbach for the most titles ever’ Jackson against a guy named Doc Rivers who got ‘coach of the year’ for playing……. .500 ball.

Though the outcomes are enormously different, we live in a world where sports and war often use each other for analogy.

My message board buddies let it be known that 9 out of 10 ‘experts’ picked the Lakers to win the NBA Title this year. 9 of 10. That many doesn’t even agree that water is wet. They’re almost unanimously sure about who is winning this year’s NBA Title.

The league’s best 66 win regular season be damned! This is the play-offs pal. 66 wins and a needle and thread will sew that hole in your sock.

The Celtics multiple series of drawn out play-off battles has not impressed the pundits. The seemingly unimpressive March through Atlanta, the ever-so narrow victory over King James in the Surrender of Cleveland and the early Destruction of Detroit did not register high enough on the Champion meter for anyone to think they can beat back the approaching Laker juggernaut. The Purple and Gold Are Coming! The Purple and Gold Are Coming! Run for your lives.

Like the Battered Bastards of Bastogne, call them the ‘Bartered Bastards of Boston’.

Like Easy Company of the 101st Airborne Division, the Celtics are being sent in by the Eastern Conference Allies to stop the devastating march by a rampaging Lakers’ team that 3 strong western conference teams were decimated by.

Like the Allies ‘opponent’ in 1944, the Lakers regrouped, and renewed their efforts this year. They struck out with force, speed, surprise, precision attacks and heavy artillery. Their offense is awesome. Only one thing stands in their way on the push to the title. Welcome to the Eastern Front.

Memphis’ Chris Wallace made the trade that made everyone forget about McHale’s handing over the family jewel to the Celtics. Until then, the Lakers were merely a bump in the road to this year’s Finals. Enter Pau Gasol. That theft ‘Gasoled’ them up for a title run.

The Lakers went from a pretty good, middle of the road team to being a very dangerous opponent. Gasol Vulcanized that team in a way that many did not predict.

Only one writer has the Celtics being able to delay their own death until the 7th game. Not a single prognosticator thinks Boston will beat LA. Oh yeah, one does. Like Winston Churchill, Tim Legler stands alone in saying that the Celtics will win the battle against their opponent. Way to go, Tim.

What the Germans didn’t know in 1944, and what the Lakers and the current pundits don’t know now is….. who they are about to fight.

The 101st had been in every major battle of the war since D-Day. They were used to going in against the toughest Germany had to offer, and often against overwhelming odds.

The Celtics have beaten every team in the league on their own courts. They swept the Texas triangle and narrowly lost to New Orleans to end the trip. They have won without Ray Allen playing well. They have won without Paul Pierce playing well. They have won without strong bench support. They have won without consistent point guard play. They have won while having key players in foul trouble. They have won two game sevens. They have beaten arguably the 2nd best team in the league, Detroit, twice on their own court, the vaunted Palace of Auburn Hills. They beat them in 6 games. They were underdogs by most pundits in that series as well.

When the 101 Airborne were called in to stop the march of the Germans in the Ardennes in Belgium, they knew they were short of ammo and guns. Other soldiers were literally running the other way in retreat and told them to do the same. “Run! They’ll kill you all!”, they cried. The 101 Airborne said ‘give me your gun and ammo if you’re going the other way.’

They were shortly completely surrounded in a small town named Bastogne.

When they were told they were completely surrounded by the enemy, they had the audacity, or perhaps the assured confidence to say, “Well, good. We’ve got them right were we want them.”

The Celtics are moving to the front to fight an opponent where others have failed miserably and no one thinks the Celtics can beat. Like a Band of Brothers, the Boston Celtics have melded since training camp, and been through an awful lot.

The Boston Celtics have them right where they want them.