Recognition of the 2010 Celtics

[PosImpos]

Ingredients for a contender:

1. Two top 10 players (one can be top 15-20 if the other is top 5)
2. A good to great coach
3. A supporting cast of solid roleplayers that give the team balance
4. Acceptable team chemistry

The Lakers were the only team in the entire league who had #1 (the Celtics had all but that one). The fact that the Celtics came within a hair's breadth of beating the Lakers despite this fact is amazing, and something all Celtics fans ought to be proud of.  The team defense of the '10 Celtics was nothing short of incredible, and nearly carried them to a title despite their lack of star power and athleticism.

I'm actually hoping that this summer some other team ends up with two top 10 guys (since the Celtics can't) so the Lakers can have some real competition.  I think I've finally reached the point where I'd much rather see LeBron win than the Lakers.

[guava_wrench]

Ingredients for a championship team:

1) win 16 playoff games.

[PosImpos]

Ingredients for a championship team:

1) win 16 playoff games.

[Mr October]

The most important item is number 1. You need the talent. However there are exceptions.

The Billups pistons and Thomas Pistons come to mind. The Billups pistons contained a bunch of excellent defensive players that were all outside of the top 10. Isaiah was probably the only top 10 guy on his teams.

With defense and balanced scoring, it is possible to win the title. The Celtics need either an infusion of athleticism, scoring or above all: rebounding, and they could have 1 more great shot.

The alternative is that is it really really hard to land two top 10 players (or at least get the best big man in the game in the case of Duncan or Olajuwon's teams).

I'm not ready to go to lottery land for years yet.

(after all in terms of top 10 guys.... not even 1 of these guys are coming to Boston anytime soon: James, Bryant, Wade, Howard, Gasol, Nowitzki, Durant, Williams, Paul, Anthony or Bosh.)

[PosImpos]

The most important item is number 1. You need the talent. However there are exceptions.

The Billups pistons and Thomas Pistons come to mind. The Billups pistons contained a bunch of excellent defensive players that were all outside of the top 10. Isaiah was probably the only top 10 guy on his teams.

Right, but those teams are the exceptions that prove the rule.

The '04 Pistons happened to be significantly younger than the C's (in terms of their key players), which helped them tremendously.

[Mr October]

The most important item is number 1. You need the talent. However there are exceptions.

The Billups pistons and Thomas Pistons come to mind. The Billups pistons contained a bunch of excellent defensive players that were all outside of the top 10. Isaiah was probably the only top 10 guy on his teams.

Right, but those teams are the exceptions that prove the rule.

The '04 Pistons happened to be significantly younger than the C's (in terms of their key players), which helped them tremendously.

And if the Celtics had just a touch more depth or at least Kendrick Perkins in game 7 they could have won game 7, and would have become another defense team that was an exception to the top 10 talent rule.

Luck or bad luck enters the picture as well.

[celticinorlando]

need to keep the core together. perk needs to be ready by november. must replace the bench with some young athletic wings and bigs. resign ray allen

[PosImpos]

The most important item is number 1. You need the talent. However there are exceptions.

The Billups pistons and Thomas Pistons come to mind. The Billups pistons contained a bunch of excellent defensive players that were all outside of the top 10. Isaiah was probably the only top 10 guy on his teams.

Right, but those teams are the exceptions that prove the rule.

The '04 Pistons happened to be significantly younger than the C's (in terms of their key players), which helped them tremendously.

And if the Celtics had just a touch more depth or at least Kendrick Perkins in game 7 they could have won game 7, and would have become another defense team that was an exception to the top 10 talent rule.

Luck or bad luck enters the picture as well.

But the fact that losing a role player like Perk - as good a roleplayer as he is - made the difference for the Celtics speaks to the importance of having great talent on the roster to make up for such problems.  The Lakers missed Bynum for large stretches of this series, but they could overcome that because Kobe and Gasol could shoulder the vast majority of the load for their team.  A team like the Celtics is far more fragile, and thus more easily derailed by injuries.

In other words, in many ways the '10 Celtics proved the rule.  If defense were what mattered most, the Celtics would've been the best team in the league by a fair margin.  But nothing is so important in the NBA as transcendent talent - great rebounding, scoring, and athleticism.  A team lacking those things will have a very difficult time no matter how much heart or intensity they have.

[RJ87]

The most important item is number 1. You need the talent. However there are exceptions.

The Billups pistons and Thomas Pistons come to mind. The Billups pistons contained a bunch of excellent defensive players that were all outside of the top 10. Isaiah was probably the only top 10 guy on his teams.

Right, but those teams are the exceptions that prove the rule.

The '04 Pistons happened to be significantly younger than the C's (in terms of their key players), which helped them tremendously.

And if the Celtics had just a touch more depth or at least Kendrick Perkins in game 7 they could have won game 7, and would have become another defense team that was an exception to the top 10 talent rule.

Luck or bad luck enters the picture as well.

But the fact that losing a role player like Perk - as good a roleplayer as he is - made the difference for the Celtics speaks to the importance of having great talent on the roster to make up for such problems.  The Lakers missed Bynum for large stretches of this series, but they could overcome that because Kobe and Gasol could shoulder the vast majority of the load for their team.  A team like the Celtics is far more fragile, and thus more easily derailed by injuries.

In other words, in many ways the '10 Celtics proved the rule.  If defense were what mattered most, the Celtics would've been the best team in the league by a fair margin.  But nothing is so important in the NBA as transcendent talent - great rebounding, scoring, and athleticism.  A team lacking those things will have a very difficult time no matter how much heart or intensity they have.

I disagree here. The Celts - against all the Lakers' talent, athleticism and rebounding - nearly won that game. 4 pts was the difference, in spite of the severe rebounding discrepancy. Yes, when we look back at the stat sheets, we'll say this game was lost on the glass. But IMO, we lost this one because we were too tired down the stretch to pull it out. A large part of that is due to the defense we played, it's hard to expend that much defensive energy for 48 minutes. I don't care how young or in shape you are.

[Meadowlark_Scal]

Well, look at it this way, these guys weren't supposed to be even in the finals, they beat the best teams of the East, with the biggest names (most favored anyway) in the Eastern Conf.....I won't say here what i feel happened in the finals, but we almost took it all. I hate losing, but these guys did represent the New England sprit very well.

[Celtics17]

This teams top priority should be a big who can rebound the ball. I dont mean a little either I mean a guy like Rodman with Anthony Mason's toughness. A guy with a take no prisoners mindset. That player on this team would have won us the title with maybe only 12 minutes a game. There is a player like that out there and Danny needs to get him.

[PosImpos]

There is a player like that out there and Danny needs to get him.

Um...who?  The only guys who average over 10 rebounds are guys like Bosh, Noah, Howard, and Marcus Camby.  There are no on-the-market guys who can pull down rebounds like freakin' Dennis Rodman