#RTC

@eLiud3

June 20, 2012

#RoundTableCongLOmerate

“R.I.P. Big 3” The end of an era for the Boston Celtics, the NBA Finals and everything basketball

July 31st, 2007. The day the culture of the Boston Celtics changed for the better. Kevin Garnett said during his introductory press conference that being traded to the Boston Celtics was “like 200 mph in a Lamborghini with your head stuck out the window”. As a fan, that’s what the past 5 years have felt like. For playoff basketball to be relevant again, it’s felt like a wild ride on the highway. Kevin Garnett has single handedly transformed this basketball team into a defensive juggernaut. The Boston Celtics went from a team that was going nowhere to a team that was consistently competing for a championship, year in and year out. The year prior to trading for KG, we had the likes of Al Jefferson, Delonte West, Gerald Green, Sebastian Telfair and Ryan Gomes on the roster. All young players who would eventually be moved for what would become the core of the Big 3. Delonte went in a packaged deal with Wally Szerbiak and the number 5 pick in the 2007 draft (which would be used on Jeff Green) to Seattle for Ray Allen. Once that trade was complete, Danny Ainge pulled off the big trade, caught the big fish and reeled in Kevin Garnet for a package that included Al Jefferson, Sebastian Telfair, Gerald Green, Ryan Gomes and Theo Ratliff’s expiring contract, along with two first round picks. The 7-for-1 deal constitutes the largest number of players traded for a single player in league history.

Would I make that trade again? Of course I would. I remember following this trade closely and remember hearing the rumblings that Minnesota really wanted Rajon Rondo in the deal. For Danny Ainge to be able to pull off this trade without giving up two big pieces of his team in Rajon Rondo and Kendrick Perkins was huge. Danny was able to keep Rajon, a young distributing point guard, Perk, a big boulder of a defensive center, Paul Pierce, your primary scorer, Ray Allen, the best three point shooter in NBA history and KG, the big ticket. For the past 5 years, we were able to witness basketball at its finest. We witnessed a team that played great defense, shared the ball with no individual’s agendas at hand and played as a unit. This team embodied what you want in a championship caliber team. My grandfather always tells me stories about the Big 3 of the 80’s. He always tells me how great it was to see Larry Bird toy with his opponents. He tells me how Kevin McHale had the best low post moves he’s ever seen. He tells me how the Boston Celtics as a whole were exactly how basketball should be played. That kind of basketball is what I’ve always wanted to see. The Antoine Walker years? That wasn’t perfect basketball. That was an overrated power forward jacking up 3’s without anyone telling him not to. Paul Pierce’s early years? That wasn’t perfect basketball. That couldn’t be perfect basketball. Mark Blount was your starting center. This Celtics team, that became the Big 4 with the emergence of Rajon Rondo, that was perfect basketball. The 2007 team that had Eddie House, Tony Allen and James Posey coming off the bench; that was a perfect team. That team had veteran leadership, hunger and a mindset determined to win a title. In 2007, we saw a perfect team win a title the way it was supposed to. With a win at home against the Los Angeles Lakers. A perfect way to end a championship drought.

Fast forward 5 years and things have changed. When we acquired KG and Jesus Shuttlesworth, we knew the window for a title was a small one. That’s why winning in 2007 was huge. Throughout the years, we’ve tried to add pieces to complement to the core of this team. We’ve brought in Rasheed Wallace, Jermaine O’Neal, Shaquille O’Neal, Jeff Green, Delonte West and a few others to try and bolster the team to compete for a championship. In 5 years, we have won one championship, lost to the Orlando Magic in the conference semi-finals, lost in a Game 7 in the NBA Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers, lost to the Miami Heat in a conference semifinal and lost to the Miami Heat in an Eastern Conference Finals. Five years of playoff basketball, two trips to the finals and three trips two either the second or third round. I call that a successful window of playoff basketball. But now that window is closed.

We lost to Miami in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals, but really, we blew the opportunity to go to the Finals by not closing the series out in Game 6. We got “blew” out like Magic Johnson says, and all the momentum we had evaporated going into Game 7. We were 8 minutes away from going to the Finals for the 3rd time in 5 years, but in my opinion, we should have never gone to a Game 7. We came out flat in Game 6 and we came out with the comfort of knowing that we had Game 7 to finish it if we needed to. Game 6 NEEDED to be our Game 7.

If you are watching the NBA Finals, you’re watching Erik Spoelstra coach circles around Scott Brooks. What do you think Doc Rivers would have done? Spoelstra is trapping James Harden and bringing one of Oklahoma’s bigs out of the paint. All he’s doing is giving Wade and LeBron room to drive in the lane, that’s it. Kendrick Perkins is hurting you in this series. Why are he and Derek Fisher, two of your slowest players, on the court so much? If I’m Scott Brooks, this is my plan. I play Russell Westbrook, Thabo Safalosha, James Harden, Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka 40+ minutes a night. I make sure Thabo is on LeBron all night. He’s your best defensive player and he has six fouls to give. I make sure that he uses every foul he has. I don’t let LeBron get an easy basket even if it causes a technical. You have to make these guys aware that if they drive in the paint, they are going to hit the deck. The NBA Finals is the last games of the season. If you aren’t playing your top guys as much as you can, then are you really giving your all to win? The Oklahoma City Thunder has an average age of 24 years. They have seasoned veterans who have been there before but they should be using their size to their advantage. When watching these Finals, aren’t you asking yourself, what would the Celtics do here?

Back to the Celtics. The Celtics face an offseason in which for the first time since the Rick Pitino era, they actually have cap room. Brandon Bass has opted out of his contract, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett are Unrestricted Free Agents and you have two first round draft picks. What will Danny Ainge do? I don’t know. But I’ll tell you what I would do. First, I would look at what trade value my remaining players have. After these playoffs, what would a team pay for Rajon Rondo? Would anyone offer anything of value for Paul Pierce? When your team is down to its bare core and you are in the midst of starting over, you look at what value your team has and you start there. Me personally, I’d try and bring Kevin Garnett back at a 1 year 8 million dollar deal. KG is the emotional leader of this team. Everything starts and ends with him. Can KG give you 100 games next year (82 game season plus the playoffs) of intense playoff basketball? Probably not, but Doc Rivers has shown the ability to manage KG’s minutes. Second thing I do is re-sign Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox. These are two talented players who bring size to the Celtics. I am not ready to give up on Jeff Green after half a season and a missed season due to a heart condition. In Chris Wilcox’s half season here, he showed the ability to set a good pick, run with Rajon Rondo and finish around the hoop. The Celtics have two first round picks to use and if I’m Danny Ainge, I’m using one and trading one. I thought the Celtics should have kept Marshon Brooks in last season’s draft. Especially since JuJuan Johnson got no minutes and Marshon went on to score a lot of points for the Nets. Mind you, the Nets were one of the worst teams in the league, but in the playoffs, it showed how the Celtics need someone who can create off the dribble and get to the rim. Are we going to overpay for OJ Mayo now in order to get that kind of player? We’ll see. But those would be the first moves I make. One minor move I’d also look at making is making a run at Greg Oden. If you can get Greg Oden on a one year deal, what’s the risk? If he works out, great, if not, then he is what he’s been, a bust. This team signed Gentle Jermaine O’Neal to a two year deal; you don’t think we can take a one year flier on Greg? That’s a classic low risk high reward type of contract.

As a Celtics fan, am I sad that the era of the Big 3 is over? Yes and no. They always say that all good things must come to an end. When Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were acquired we all knew that the championship window was a small one. The thing about this Big 3 era is that they all did things the right way. They didn’t have a celebration before they played a game (“Not one, not two, not three, not four…” = garbage), they played team defense and the all bought in to the team aspect. This team has been a pleasure to watch. To see a team execute the small things on the basketball court is what makes a diehard fan love watching this team. Do me a favor and watch the Milwaukee Bucks or the Washington Wizards for two weeks and tell me how you feel about watching basketball. If you watched the Celtics before the Big 3 then you remember how hard it was to watch some of those games. Truth of the matter is we were able to witness some of the greatest basketball this city has ever seen. We saw one of the most dominant big men to ever put on a uniform. We were able to witness the best shooter in NBA history wear a Celtics uniform. We were able to witness Doc Rivers transform from a mediocre coach to one of the best coaches in the league. We saw Paul Pierce lead his team into battle and the maturation of Rajon Rondo. Watching this Celtics team has made us appreciate fundamental basketball while despising the show that goes on in Miami. The Miami Heat might win the NBA Finals this year and LeBron James might finally get his first ring, but the trio of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce will always be the Big Three that changed the landscape of the NBA. Before Danny put this group together, when did teams assemble “Big Three’s”. Where do you think the Knicks, the Heat and the Thunder got their monikers from? Why do you think LeBron James wanted help in the first place? Because he saw how we did it. He saw how Boston ran through the league and marked its territory everywhere it went. The Boston Celtics have shown the NBA how to build a team. The Boston Celtics have shown us fans what great basketball is all about. Now it’s our turn to show the Celtics how loyal we are to them. Regardless of how this team shapes up and how we are constructed next year, the memories of our championship run will never fade. We will all forever bleed green.

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