Luka’s Corner

Boston’s win over Detroit on Wednesday was their biggest win of the season thus far and will remain just as big by the end of the season as well. The Celtics beat out the Pistons for the lightweight regular season title (the heavyweight title is yet to be decided in a much deeper Western Conference). With their victory, I learned a lot about Boston that will help them greatly in the postseason. If we see more of these in the Playoffs, they will reach the Finals with ease:

1. To me, Kevin Garnett proved once again that he is the most dominant player in the game when you consider all statistical categories (points, rebounds, assist, steals, and blocks). But, despite his statistical greatness, what impresses me the most is his passion and energy while playing. I have never seen anyone in the NBA today who shares this and it is because of this that opposing teams hate playing the emerging Celts. Yes, he did finish with 31 points and 6 rebounds (Kendrick Perkins finished with 20 boards), but while you were watching the game you had to ask yourself these questions. Who was always there fighting for the ball on defense? Who was guarding their hottest player (Rasheed Wallace) down the stretch? What was the reason why the Pistons did not attack the basket in the final three minutes? And who came up with all the big shots and plays on offense? The answer is Kevin Garnett.
2. Rajon Rondo quieted all of the critics in this game and proved that he can be the one point guard for the Boston Celtics. He carried the team on his shoulders by finding the Big Three in their favorite spots the whole game. He was the one who shut down Chauncey Billups in the fourth quarter and was the one on the Celts attacking the basket in all four quarters. Even though he may have forced up a few drives here and there, his quickness created opportunities for the likes of Perkins and Glen "Big Baby" Davis. The Kentucky product finished with 16 points and 5 assists and was constantly followed by Billups of Richard Hamilton. But my point is that he was followed, like on his dunk over Antonio McDyess in the 3rd quarter.
3. I was perhaps the most thrilled when I realized that Boston had won almost without their two swingmen Ray Allen and Paul Pierce. Ray Ray finished his dismal shooting night (1-9 FG) with a total of three points. He looked completely out of the game mentally, always trailing behind the play and not moving as well as usual without the ball. And while Pierce was involved in some big plays and made some big threes down the stretch, he did not play his standard high-scoring game. He did finish with 15 points, but if you saw the game, the Celtics ran almost not set plays for him. In this game, the inconsistency of these two players proved to me that Boston can still win when both of them have bad shooting nights and that will be key in their Playoff run. I was surprised to see Pierce not forcing up fadeaway jumpers and instead passing out of double teams. Allen also moved the ball on offense and the two were a big part of finding KG in the game when he was feeling it. Although Doc Rivers relies on their scoring to carry the team, we all witnessed a new element of their game that will help the Celts in the long run.

Seeing this game, I was convinced that Boston is a better team than Detroit. We will not see the last of these three keys to success in the Celtics’ run through the regular season and the postseason.