Did The Celtics Sell Us A Bill Of Goods In Regular Season?

Watching the Boston Celtics for the better part of the season, I thought there was no way they were a championship caliber team. Whether is was age or injuries I didn't think this Celtics team had what it took to battle the likes of Cleveland and Orlando. And I wasn't the only one. After each astonishing loss the Celtics bandwagon became less and less crowded. There was the mid-January stretch in which the C's loss three in a row (to the Bulls, Mavericks, and Pistons). Things got worse the middle of February. An 8-point home loss to the New Jersey Nets. Then in early March back to back losses at Milwaukee and home to the Grizzlies. You couldn't blame me and others for writing the Celtics off. Popular belief was this team was never going to regain the form it showed on its way to winning the 2008 title.


But boy did the Celtics have us fooled. To be honest, their words were speaking more truth than their game. Throughout he season Coach Doc Rivers kept telling us, "I like my team." Rasheed Wallace kept harping, things will be different in the postseason. At the time we thought they were delusional. Now they are the ones who look like geniuses. They haven't said, "I told you so." But with Sunday's four point win in Orlando in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals they have the right to do just that.

The Celtics are legitimate title contenders. Led by a steady point guard in Rajon Rondo, and veteran leadership of the Big Three (Garnett, Allen, Pierce) the Green Team have done a 180. They've made us forget about the mid-season struggles. Instead what we're seeing is a team getting after it on defense, frustrating the opposition, and having their way with their offensive sets. You have to give Rivers a ton of credit. He's been the best coach in the Eastern Conference so far.

In the semifinals against the Cavaliers he thoroughly out-coached Mike Brown. The Cavs coach never made adjustments to make life easier on LeBron James. Instead we kept seeing LeBron frustrated by the Celtics defense. The Celtics were determined to keep James from attacking the rim and it worked causing him to have two of the worst games of his playoff career. That's the difference between this Celtics team and the one we saw during the regular season. They've ratcheted up the defensive intensity.

They're making the games best players look like amateur street-ballers. Sunday, Wallace and Kendrick Perkins got under Dwight Howard's skin and had "Superman" looking more like Clark Kent.  They frustrated him into a 3-10 shooting day. Anytime he got near the rim they fouled him and made him earn them at the charity stripe. Once again give Rivers credit. His game-plans have worked to perfection.

So did the Celtics sell us a bill of goods during the regular season? Probably so. But as they've now taught us. What happens in the regular season doesn't matter. It's all about what you do come playoff time.