Boston Celtics: Life After Ubuntu
If you listen to Jason Terry in this video it sounds like the Celtics are still trying to find their way with less than a week left before opening day. But I beg to differ. Boston is one of the rare teams that has made wholesale changes in the off-season and won a championship the same year.
Miami tried it, but we all know the result. Winning a championship is purely about health and can your role players stand up and deliver. For the 2011-12 Heat, it was Mike Miller, Shane Battier and for one game each it was Mario Chalmers and Norris Coles. They have now added Ray Allen And Rashard Lewis; reunited after all these years.
The one thing that you can say about the Heat is that except for their three main players, they only have specialists. That in itself lends to a thin line between winning and losing with a considerable more pressure on your star players.
Boston has done something similar with the additions of Jason Terry, the rooks, Courtney Lee and the return of Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox to health. These are the key players that will contribute to the drive for banner 18.
The difference being is that except for Wilcox and the rooks the rest are all interchangeable parts and leave no significant drop off if the new "Big Three" are on the bench or get injured.
Miami will be hurt if LeBron does not maintain his iron man status. They have no insurance policy if he sustains any kind of injury. If he doesn't score they also become a mediocre team. That is not a good thing for The star of your team to have no equitable backup.
On the other hand, the less Rondo scores the better the team gets; and Doc has managed to get adequate backups such as Leandro Barbosa, without sacrificing speed and youth. I say all this because I have a sneaky feeling that the C's are more prepared than they are letting on.
Opening night is right around the corner and win or lose we will see if Terry's prediction "that they are still trying to find their way" is true. But the ultimate will be seeing Boston end Miami's season and the Ray Allen Victory tour in the Eastern Conference Finals
