The Celtics are off to a 13 and 2 start that is beyond what most of the green faithful could possibly have imagined or in our wildest dreams hoped for. The trio of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are a joy to watch every night. Celtic style basketball has been revived here in Beantown with a team that is unselfish with the ball and is playing the most suffocating defense in the league.
Even though it is early in the season, kudos have to go out to Danny Ainge for having the nerve to pull of the deals that landed Garnett and Allen in Boston. Over Garnett's career we saw him infrequently in Boston and a fan of the game watching Garnett play night in and night out gives you a much better appreciation of the grace and power of his game than reading a box score could ever do.
As important as his physical skills are, his on court attitude contributes even more. Garnett leads by example by being in ultra playing shape, by taking no plays off and by demanding that his team take the same approach.
As currently constituted and with any injury luck it is apparent that this team will be making the playoffs and going deep into them. The one suspect in the whole plan remains coach Doc Rivers. Doc has proven time and time again that he is not a particularly good end of game strategist and now it appears that he is not going to be much of a season long strategist as it concerns harboring his resources.
Garnett, Pierce, and Allen are all in their early thirties. Your thirties are a wonderful decade for the average person in life but for a basketball player it is the beginning of the end. In order for the Celtics to get the most out of this season and the seasons to come with this trio then a plan must be put in place now to accomplish a couple of things.
The big three must play a reasonable amount of minutes on a nightly basis. Already Doc has Pierce and Garnett at 39 minutes a game and the oldest of the three, Ray Allen is logging over forty. Winning a game by thirty or winning the divison by 20 games will mean nothing if when we get to the finals our go to guys are exhausted. The NBA season is a long and demanding one that culminates in a grueling playoff format in which teams REALLY play hard.
Not only will the health of the big three be a continuing issue but so to will the contribution of the bench. Since getting a high seed in the playoffs is a forgone conclusion, Rivers should be setting a regular rotation that will result in his bench getting fully integrated into the offense and defense by providing meaningful minutes against other teams first units.
After 15 games we can see that this team has a legitimate chance to bring us another NBA championship. Let's coach the whole season with that goal in mind.
