There Can Only Be One: The Boston Celtics

Coming into this NBA season most of us were not REALLY expecting the Celtics to be as great as they were.

Come on, we know there was a huge bandwagon turnout when we all found out that the team turned Wally Szerbiak into Ray Allen, and Al Jefferson into Kevin Garnett. These were huge upgrades, and the dismal previous record of 24-58 (2nd worst of the season) would definitely be improved, but who was expecting Paul Pierce to be Finals MVP, KG to be Defensive Player of the year, Celtics to have the best record in the league, and to go out and set numerous finals record.

In all honesty the odds were against the team. The criticisms included...

-The all stars cannot remain healthy throughout the entire season
-Doc Rivers has never won a playoff series.
-Rondo can't be a championship starting point guard. He is an inexperienced second year player.
-There has never been such a huge turnaround for an NBA title, after such a horrible record.
- The bench is full of players who are inexperienced, or too old.

Quentin Richardson, "We ain't sacred of them, they ain't done nothing yet!"
Richard Jefferson, "They are playing their best ball now, we prefer to play our best ball at the end of the season"
Gilbert Arenas, "Hahahaha I'll be laughing all summer, we beat the Celtics I told you we would, they aren't all that."
Joe Johnson, "I don't know if they can do it this year, I don't think so."
Rasheed Wallace" A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM CAN NOT BE MADE IN ONE SEASON, CAN NOT BE DONE"

However, the Boston Celtics proved naysayers wrong in the regular season. They came out this year and played one of the best team defenses I've ever seen in my life, disregarded all the hype and controversy surrounding them, and played together like a team to 62 wins this season. Most heart warming though was how each of the Big Three deferred and sacrificed their own for the betterment of the team.

It was in the regular season did people's opinions start to turnaround, and think that the Celtics might be able to win the championship, however most know the post season is a different beast.

The Celtics were supposed to easily finish Atlanta Hawks, but that series went to 7 games. And then when Boston could not win on the road in Cleavland either, most decided they were done. On the other side of the bracket the Lakers more then easily moved on to the NBA Finals and this historic rivalry match was predicted to be finished in 6 by the Lakers.

However, it was here in the NBA Finals the Boston Celtics proved something. They proved the Big Three could play together, they proved the bench would be productive, they proved Rondo and Perkins could be in the starting lineup of a championship team, and against the odds they beat the Lakers. However, they did not just simply beat the Lakers. Most surprisingly, and what we should be amazed by the Celtics is their largest NBA Finals defeciet turnaround of 24 points, Ray Allen's tying record of 7 three-pointers in a Finals game, first team to win an NBA Championship after losing first 6 road games of the playoffs, and record 39 point margin of victory versus the Lakers in Game 6.

The Boston Celtics did not just have a great season, they had a historic season. And in one mired by the Tim Donaghy scandal we should appreciate this NBA season and the Boston Celtics' accomplishments. Whether you are a Boston fan, Lakers fan or NBA fan, there is not much you can take away from the Celtics from what they've been able to accomplish. Looking at all the statistical odds the Celtics overcame, and the accomplishments they achieved, this is a historical season we should all appreciate.

Congratulations to the 2008 NBA Champions, The Boston Celtics.














Picture Source: NBA.com