a link to raise the blood pressure of Celts fans everywhere

[Steve Weinman]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/30365-Debunking-NBA-Myths-The-Boston-Celtics-Aren-t-a-Great-Defensive-Team

I read this for the first time at about 3 a.m., so I thought maybe my system wasn't fully functioning and that my eyes were misleading me.  Sadly, a re-read later this morning made indicated that this was not the case.

Enjoy -- or more likely, don't.  I feel like it's worth us knowing that this stuff is out there...and then remembering that it's our boys who earned the rings this year...which makes the nonsensical sideshow stuff all fall by the wayside...go green!

-sw

[Frontierboy]

That article didn't even makes sense........ it was like reading that an orange isn't orange but instead is black when viewed in the dark........ waste of 45 seconds of my life

[Chris]

Wow, that is pretty out there.  Maybe if he threw out some stronger evidence (maybe some stats on pace of game), it would be a better article, but that came accross as someone who simply never watched the Celtics this season, and was basing his entire theory on his own misconceptions of the players past.

He is right that having a good offense helps the defense, because its easier to set up your defense off a made shot than a miss....but he is absolutely wrong with the rest of the article.

[Donoghus]

Well, I don't have the numbers in front of me but my two eyes told me that this one of the best defensive teams I've ever seen.

I'll trust my eyes on this one.

[Steve Weinman]

Also a quick FYI: The reason I posted this in the first place was because what bothers me most about it was the fact that I only came across it because someone cited it to me as a legitimate source explaining why the Celts' D wasn't that good.  It's dangerous to have the power to publish if there's it's going to lead to the misinforming of your audience...

see the bottom of the comments section here for details: http://mavsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/06/boston-point-of-view-defense-puts-paul-p.html

That's truly frustrating to me -- especially since it might be the most antagonistically inaccurate non-Jemele piece of Celtics-related content I've read this year.

Ah, well -- like I said above, our boys are the champs.  No one else is.  If this is what comes with the territory, bring it on.

-sw

[Kwhit10]

What a horrible article.  This guy doesn't even give an statistical evidence for what he is saying.  Hollingers team stats say Boston had the best defensive efficiency.

Also another point the author misses is the GS-Dal series, AJ tried to play small ball with the Warriors which lost them that series.  It was two opposite teams, and the team that would cave first to try and play the others style would be the one to lose.

This guy is a joke.

[zerophase]

as tommy suggested, its possible to have a fastbreak off a made basket. yes, the celtics do have a good offense, but have you seen the number of stops they get that result to the points they score? this guy has no stats to back up his conjecture.

[threzd]

Much like the many of the commenters, I see what this guy is trying to say, I understand his point..but it doesn't make sense regarding this year's Celtics.

Edit: I take what I said back..I just finished reading the comments. This guy really does not get it

[GLS]

I had to take the time to register and reply.  What a troll.

[Redz]

Short of the guy just having a blind anti-Celtics agenda, you'd have to wonder if he watched more than 3 seconds of the team he was "reporting" on.  Just silly.

It's like saying the '85 Bears didn't have a good defense because the Giants held the this years Patriots to 14 points in the Super Bowl.  What's one got to do with the other?

[mjohnson]

The writer was simply stupid... and stubborn.

This 08 Celtics team was incomparable. It shouldn't be compared to any other team.

[ACF]

NBA Championship Race:

Boston Celtics 17
Max Fischer 0

[Roy Hobbs]

This may have been my favorite one of his comments:

And last but by no means least, if the Celts are a defensive team, then why didn't their defense translate to the road in playoff games? Every team they played played as well as they did. Something sucks, either their offense or their defense. We know they are offensive players, so do the math.

That's right.  Your World Champion Boston Celtics officially "suck".

[fairweatherfan]

Yeah, this guy's an idiot, and cites no stats to back anything up.  It's refreshing to see how many of the commenters rightfully called him out on his convoluted nonsense.  Here's my favorite comment, it is the author's rebuttal to all the other comments:

"Look, I know the Celtics put a ton of effort into their defense. I know they LOOKED like a great defensive team. And in effect they WERE a great defensvie team. But what I am saying is it wasn't from being great defenders. It was from having 3 great offensive players who complemented each other perfectly and together made the most efficient and potent offense in the league.

You take that tremendous unbeatable offense... put it on a methodical offensive team, like the Spurs, and you have the appearance of a great defensive team."

Hilarious - so we weren't that good defensively, we just had an amazingly good offense that also slowed the game down, so our defense LOOKED good.  What's funny is this guy keeps alluding to the concept of defensive and offensive efficiency, but clearly hasn't bothered to look up any of the widely available stats on it.

[cordobes]

Reading the comments, you will find that he doesn't understand some basic pace-adjusted metrics.