New Look Celtics

I was talking to a guy I'd never met before and he said of the Celtics after the game 3 demolition of the Bulls that he thought the Celtics "had their swagger back." I knew what he meant, nodded my head and agreed, made sure he realized Chauncey is the shit, and realized I had to get back to work.

However, I've come to the conclusion that the Celtics haven't so much gotten their swagger back as that they've carved out a new, certainly less dominant, almost pathetic swagger. Without KG, the offense is run almost exclusively through Rondo, whom the Bulls can't find an answer for (give D. Rose a few years). This has been written about to a certain extent, although I feel like the affore-linked link is somehow too theoretical a conception of Rondo. In Doc's post-KG offense, Rondo takes the ball to the basket as hard as he can nearly every possession and something usually good happens for the Celtics - Rondo scores, draws the foul, finds the open man (I'll admit he's a much better passer than I originally thought) - however, frequently, it seems, (especially in game 2) Rondo would get his shot blocked (especially by Tyrus Thomas), or he would miss the shot and fortunately someone like Big Baby or Kendrick Perkins would be in great position to get an offensive rebound and putback. Now you gotta give credit to Big Baby and Perk for running the floor, but I think a lot of Boston's success with their Rondo-inspired offense is in large part due to Chicago's weakness at defending it. In a lot of ways Rondo seems like a shot blocker's dream in that he doesn't really seem to give a shit in transition, 1 on 2, 1 on 3, 1 on 4 he's going to take it to the basket. (Do they keep track of how many shots a players gets blocked in a game?) I feel like against a more defensively cohesive team (Cavs) the Rondo Celtics have no chance.




Maybe this is another iteration of the argument that transition teams don't win championships, although it's an interesting case study because these Celtics (roughly) did win a championship. However, with KG definitely out they are having to redefine themselves and redefine themselves quickly, and create a new swagger.




I say that this new swagger is almost pathetic because this is a team that was among the favorites to win a ring this year, and now everyone, including themselves, are realizing that they are not. Suddenly, they are super pumped just to be getting out of the first round. Although they might have the Bulls' number, the series, so far, has been a moral defeat for Boston.


ALSO: DID ANYONE SEE A FAN SNATCH BILL WALKER'S HEADBAND AS HE WAS CARRYING RONDO TO THE LOCKER ROOM??? COULDN'T FIND VIDEO, BUT HIS REACTION WAS HILARIOUS.