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Losing two in a row is no big deal - but losing four out of six is, especially if you plan on repeating your previous season's title run. That's the slump that the Boston Celtics are going through right now - and they're going to have to bust it if they want to win another championship.
At the risk of scapegoating the Celtics' Superintendent of Defense and Intensity, I ask : Is Kevin Garnett tough enough to repeat? Does he bring enough drama?
For all of his noisy antics, ironically, it's KG that brings the least amount of drama amongst the Celtics' stars. Paul Pierce may be typecast as a Rocky Balboa - but he's a master at seizing the moment. Pierce's Willis Reed impersonation in Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals and turducken-like stuffing of Kobe Bryant's fadeaway in Game 4 to jumpstart the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history certify Pierce as a hoops thespian.
Ray Allen, with his star casting as Jesus Shuttlesworth in He Got Game, and transformation as Moses in Game 4, is the Al Pacino-like method actor on the Boston roster. For all his of soft-spokenness and perceived weakness, Allen is a guy who knows how to step up and hit shots when they count. Allen, who had a reputation as a bad defensive player, willed himself into becoming a tough defender; moreover, he overcame a horrible playoff-long shooting slump to help Boston get a pivotal Game 5 victory over the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference Finals.
With Rajon Rondo throwing opposing teams into chaos and confusion with his hardwood film noir, it's Kevin Garnett's turn to alter his approach a little to help his team. There will always be questions about KG's love affair with the jumpshot and lack of post presence, and it's indeed too late in his career to change his game, but the least he could do is make slight adjustments to how he leads his team.
I know the Celtics, with their lack of post scoring and backup point guard, are trying really hard to maintain their sense of urgency and all, but it may be time to just relax and bend a little. You know, mix some more love into the fear.
So how exactly should Boston go about doing that? Only the Celtics will know the specific answers - because they're the only people attending every practice and every game. But something does have to be done, because the questions about whether the Celtics have what it takes to repeat aren't going away - until the deed is done.
In their current state, the 2008-09 Boston Celtics are no Bird-era Celtics, and they have to learn how to be not only tough, but ingenuine, in order to repeat. Gaining homecourt advantage in potential playoff encounters against the Cavaliers and Lakers is important, but in case they don't get it, they need to be able to win a title on the road, like Michael Jordan's Bulls did against Phoenix and Utah.
That stuff is a drain and a grind, and that's why KG, Boston's Minister of Toughness, has to get down with his coaches and minions and figure out an answer that will help them walk the walk all season long because :
Winning a championship is one thing; defending it is another matter entirely - just ask the San Antonio Spurs.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Mad Ballin' : Is Kevin Garnett tough enough to repeat?
Daily Sports Select : Stephon Marbury could propel New York Knicks to greatness
Don't get it wrong; as long as the same people are running the New York Knicks, the marriage between Stephon Marbury and the Knicks franchise is over. That said, isn't it time for some bad blood between the basketball team in Manhattan - and the one in Beantown?
When you think about it, although they've been playing in the same division forever, the Knicks and Celtics haven't had a true rivalry. Besides a brief skirmish in 1969, the cards just haven't played out that way - and it's time for a change.
The truth is, Boston and New York need a vendetta between them for the sports to thrive tenfold. The moment the Red Sox sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees in 1919, the "Curse of the Bambino" was on : The Sox couldn't win a World Series for 86 years, and were frequently sacrificed by the Yanks on New York's World Series runs. Hell, even the Mets were involved. (Remember Bill Buckner in 1986)?
Now, in the new millenium, after a letdown in the dramatic, brawlin' American League Championship Series in 2003, it's Boston that has the upper hand in baseball : In spite of the Yankees' ability and willingness to throw money at free agents (look up how much they've paid for Alex Rodriguez, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira), the Red Sox are the team that has won World Series championships and consistently excelled at the Yanks' expense this decade.
Although not quite as intense as the baseball rivalry, there's some bad blood to be had in football, too. Just when you thought the Patriots had put the Curtis Martin saga behind them for good with their run of three Super Bowls and a fourth seemingly in the bank, another New York NFL team - the Giants - stepped in spoiled the Patriots' potential undefeated season with a back-breaking, history-changing touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress with 39 seconds remaining in the Pats' arguably most important game ever.
Since that fateful day last year, the Patriots have lost star quarterback Tom Brady to a major knee injury and missed the playoffs despite an 11-5 record; the Giants, despite losing Osi Umenyiora to on-field and Plaxico Burress to off-field injuries, cruised to a 13-3 record and look poised to defend their title. Is there a curse of Eli Manning brewing for New England?
I'm not saying that Stephon Marbury even compares to Babe Ruth in their importance to their respective sports. In fact, it doesn't really matter if Starbury goes to the Celtics and helps them repeat or helps them implode from within. The bottomline is that if the deal gets done, and Marbury wears Celtics Green, it will be like seeing your ex-wife getting remarried to your neighbor after a nasty divorce - there will be some serious, serious bad blood.
If it takes a vicious spat involving Starbury with the Celtics to propel the Knicks to greatness, so be it. Because a true, dirty Boston-New York rivalry is something that the NBA needs.
