The Celtics Must Repeat. As odd as it sounds, for the winner of the NBA 2008 crown to be considered true champions, they must validate this years win with a repeat in '09, minimum. As unfair as it may seem, this compilation of great players, given all they have achieved, won't be remembered as a great team historically (not by NBA standards at least), unless they follow up their fine accomplishment with the minimum of at least one repeat. To achieve the now common benchmark status of dynasty, and to avoid the designation of the '71 Bucks, the '75 Warriors,and the '78 Bullets, this squad will need to get the attention of history a second time.
Unlike the modern-day NFL, with its strict salary cap and broad parity, championship teams are not expected to maintain year-to-year dominance, and the few that have been able to are truely elite squads (Go Pats!). Conversely, the NBA is not a league condusive to broad parity, which explains the ability of stronger organizations to regularly maintain a long-term championship structure and continue a title run for a number of years, i.e the Spurs, Bulls, and Lakers. For the last quarter century (that's 25 years for you Laker Fans), only two squads has failed (at least to this point) to follow-up their championship year with a validation title within four seasons of winning said title--the 2006 Miami Heat and the 2004 Detroit Pistons, and they at least were able to return to the championship the following year, only to lose to the returning champions from '03, the San Antonio Spurs.
This squad as compiled has an excellent opportunity to be one of the historical elite teams, a squad that could truely stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the Boston Celtics of the seventies and eighties. But they must strike while the iron is hot. Our veteran core is older, and the heft of their respective contracts do not lend to the idea that the Big 3 will remain as such past 2010. The rest of the league reacted to Celts '08 dominance by making significant upgrades to their own rosters, and that is to be expected. And while there is something to be said for not messing with a good thing, or winning with the horse you road in on, or one of the many colloquial sayings that justify not making any drastic changes, to which I generally agree, also I know I'm not the only one that's a little perplexed with the direction of the off-season, at least up to this point. This team won,yes, but the post season revealed some significant vulnerabilities that our opponents next year will be better prepared to exploit. And with the loses of Posey and PJ Brown, it would be difficult to argue that this year's team as it stands today is better that the team that captured the crown. In order to stand as champions again, it's vital that we make the needed adjustments now, or the great '08 will end up just a blip on the NBA's dynasty radar.
