Say what you will about defending a championship as there's often the belief that once having won one it's extremely difficult to come back to try and defend and retain the said championship. But it'd appear that's what the Boston Celtics are setting out to do this year. So much so that the start and stats that they've proceeded to put up are even more staggering than last seasons. They're now on pace to exceed last season's tally of 66 wins. Infact that they're now on pace for 74 wins that'd best the Chicago Bulls' 72-10 tally at the height of when Michael Jordan reigned supreme.
That being said this team with their triumvirate of stars in the guise of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce now seem to have added an even greater swagger to their role as champions. The team's play is one of confidence night in and night out since this season has started. And the fact that they now sit atop of their division with a commanding 10 game lead over their nearest rival the New Jersey Nets within the Atlantic Division. It'd suggest that the team hasn't missed a beat since its defeat of the Los Angeles Lakers in last season's NBA Finals. At 23-2 the team as alluded to before is playing with a great deal of confidence and it has to be said has come with the improvement in the play of sophomore point guard Rajon Rondo. As of late the player has been on a tear that has impressed not only his coach Glenn Doc' Rivers but also his more studious and experienced teammates as well.
Rondo commands the floor with a great deal of presence and no longer would it appear that the leadership role on the floor has to go through Garnett or Pierce with everyone else having to defer to them both in terms of the team's offense. Rondo now has the confidence in his own ability and that of his teammates around him that he makes the right decisions when it comes to the distribution of the ball and the aspects of the team's offensive strategies. Rivers,himself has expressed his pleasure in the player's seemingly progress and maturity shown not just on the basketball court but also off it as well. So much so that the feeling is that the player can become the lynch pin of the team's success for years to come and that the franchise can also profit from it all. Say nothing of which in repeating as champions they would become to the toast of the New England area.
The New England Patriots may long be viewed as the talk of the town but it's the Celtics who hold sway in much of Boston and beyond for that matter. With the team playing with such supreme confidence. There are those who feel that all Boston now has to do is to pace themselves over the season and then raise the level of play once the postseason beckons. They're not about to be pressured by the likes of the New York Knicks or the New Jersey Nets as far as winning the division goes. That may well be all but sewn up once the New Year is in unless something unforeseen were to happen.
The team has held sway over their opponents with languid ease and it's easy to see why they are the best team in the NBA by far. Defensively they're stellar and on the offensive side of the ball they get contributions from either of their Big Three. But now adding Rondo into the mix it makes it all the more difficult for teams to ingore him. In doing so they're ingorning a fact that as a player Rondo has matured and is able to light up a team almost at will. Evidence of this was on hand as he by far had one of his best games of the season, almost single handedly taking apart the Utah Jazz in an impressive 100-91 victory. To believe that the team can't be viewed as favorites as chamions would be ignore the obvious and in some respects express naivete'.
If there is anyone who may prove to be an obstacle to this team reaching the Eastern Conference Finals and beyond. Then it may well be in the hands of LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Of whom it can be said has been playing with such prowess and energy it's hard to believe that this is the same team from last year. They're getting some invaluable contributions from players such as Anderson Varejao and even more surprising from BenWallace. Such has been his presence on the team that it'd seem that he's back to the Wallace of old when the Pistons reigned supreme within the Eastern Conference and berth in the Conference Finals was nothing more than afterthought. That being said it'll be difficult to see either of these two teams usurping the Celtics. As good as they are I seemingly think that the Conference Finals are the Celtics to lose. But as usual there's a caveat in there somewhere.
The Boston Celtics having won their seventeenth championship are only too willing to raise an eighteenth at the end of this season come what may. In the Western Conference the Los Angeles Lakers are looking and hoping for another bite at the apple. Having lost the series to the Celtics in last season's finals the Lakers are only all too aware what they need to do if they're to redeem themselves. Kobe Bryant has a renewed confidence about him having won Olympic gold in Beijing. It brought about a semblance of success for him working within a structured team environment amongst his peers. And he'll no doubt view that as a good recipe for success which can be passed along and amongst his Lakers' teammates. With a fully fit Andrew Bynum and a bench that's amongst the very best in the league. The Lakers much like their eastern counterparts have a great deal to prove this season are also on a mission.
Whether or not these two storied franchises of the NBA are to meet again in this season's finals will not only be predicated on their form during the regular season and during the playoffs themselves. But a great deal will also have to do with the temperament of the players and their resolve to succeed. With the Celtics seemingly playing at a level that was unimaginable at first. It's very difficult to see how any team'll be able to walk let alone run with the Celtics. They're playing at a higher level and at the same time when you see a player like Rajon Rondo playing above expectations. It makes us all the more intrigued to see what'll unfold as the season reaches its climax. The Four Horsemen of The Apocalypse are indeed alive and well and playing Celtic green. Who'd have thought it ?
tophatal ..................
