The Boston Celtics: A true team
I hope that every little hoopster in America – every kid with a basketball in the closet and a pair of hi-tops under the bed – was allowed to stay up late and watch this year's NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers. Because the display put on by the now-17-time NBA champs in green did more to further the true spirit of the game than anything seen on a court since the sixties.
Every coach on the planet must have been psyched to see how Doc Rivers and his crew dispatched the Phil Jackson-led Lakers, because it lent so much creedence to the classic philosophies of teamwork and unselfish play that have become so hard to teach to the modern youth player.
After watching how guys like Michael Jordan, Allen Iverson, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James have made ball-hogging, 20-plus-field-goal-attempt-per-game play not only accepted, but celebrated, is it any wonder that coaches have had a hard time instilling concepts such as disciplined shot selection, prioritizing defense and playing as a five-person unit into today's young players? Why would a kid aspire to be a heady team player, when the crowd and the ESPN highlights both seem to favor the tongue-hanging-out, beat-an-entire-defense-off-the-dribble superstar whose teammates may as well just stay on the bench and enjoy the show?
But then came the 2008 Celtics. Yes, they have their superstars, especially the "New Big Three" (though I prefer the moniker "MV3") of Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. Yes, some of these guys (Pierce in particular) are prone to games where they take a boatload of shots, often in the face of defensive pressure that they should probably pass out of. And yes, they still put up some impressive individual stats, in some big games.
But from the beginning, Rivers had this crew believing in two major themes : Unity and defense. All three stars admitted from the start that some individual sacrifices would have to be made on each of their parts if they hopes to win the title, and that did indeed prove to be the case. Their mantra of defense first was adhered to all season, and ended up spelling the biggest single difference between them and the run-and-gun, offensively-minded Lakers (and Bryant, who epitomizes the "single superstar" mentality that Jordan pioneered and that has since plagued the league).
For that reason alone, I am excited that Boston prevailed in this year's Finals. Now, coaches across the country will have a perfect example to get young players to buy into a handful of concepts that are true to the sport's very spirit.
-Adam White