Who are these Boston Celtics? How are they winning?

Before the season began, the Boston Celtics were arguably the best team in the NBA on paper. But as everyone said, that is on paper. Paper does not win games. Athletes win games. And the consensus on the Celtics was that they were too old and injury prone to be able to compete.

Over the course of the season, the Celtics dealt with plenty of injuries. Going into the playoffs, it appeared the Celtics would sneak by a Miami Heat team that was lacking talent to support Dwyane Wade, and then lay down to the LeBron James lead Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs were the best team in the NBA. They had the best player in the NBA. And they had finally put a team around him that could help him win a championship. Beating the Celtics was nothing more than an assumed step on the road to the Larry O'Brian trophy.

And then it happened. The Celtics came out in game one and looked like the team to beat in the first half. But they could not hold on. The Cavs dominated the second half and survived game one with a win. Again, everyone said it was a fluke. The Cavs were rusty. The Celtics were rested. Game two would look like the second half of game one. Or not... The Celtics came out and showed the world that they were coming to play. That anything less than a championship was a disappointment. That they were not going to bow down to King James. The Celtics stole game two in Cleveland and took over home-court in the series. Yet the Celtics were still dismissed.

It did not take long for the Cavs to come back strong. They went into Boston and took back home-court with a game three win. The Celtics tied the series with a win at home in game four, and were ready to head back to Cleveland.

And then it happened. The Celtics left no doubt. They went back to Cleveland and wiped the floor with the Cavs, winning game five 120-88. The Celtics now lead the series 3-2, and the Cavs had their backs against the wall. They had to go on the road and steal another one in Boston to force a game seven.
The picture says it all...

LeBron James and the Cavs were going back to Cleveland. Not to play a game seven, but to clean out their lockers. The Boston Celtics had knocked off the best team in the NBA.

But there was more to come. With the Cavs out of the playoffs, the Orlando Magic instantly became the team to beat in the East. They had won fourteen straight games including sweeping the first two rounds of the playoffs (eight games). They had not only won those games, but dominated them the way a championship team should.

The Magic had a long rest before their series with the Celtics, while the Celtics had a few days to prepare. And it showed. The Celtics came out and looked like a team on fire, while the Magic looked rusty, and unready to compete. The Celtics stole game one in Orlando.  

Most of us wrote it off as rust, and again, assumed the Celtics had finally met their match. There was not way they were knocking off the Orlando Magic. As game two approached, the Magic knew it was pretty much a must win game. They took the floor, and found themselves down 2-0 when  it was over. The Celtics took not one, but both of the first two games of the series in Orlando.

Tonight they go back to Boston up 2-0. If they can win game three, I don't think anyone would be able to doubt them any longer. In the history of the NBA, no team has ever come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a series. But Orlando is still a tremendous team. When they are at their best, they can beat anyone.

I think you know who the Boston Celtics are by now. But how did a team that struggled down the stretch and fell to the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference come out and win the way that they have? How did they suddenly become a contender again? The answer is very simple. The NBA wanted them to.

The NBA did not ask the referees to call the games in Boston's favor. They did not do anything to directly affect the games the Celtics played. They gave everyone a level playing field. That level field just favors the Boston Celtics far more than any other team.

During the regular season, teams regularly play multiple games the the same number of nights. They go on long road trips, and have to tough out game after game. In the playoffs, teams always have at least one day of rest between games. They never play back to back games. With the oldest team in the NBA, the Boston Celtics took advantage of the rest. After a long and tiring season, the older teams have to find a second win for the playoffs. Their almost out of gas. The NBA give that to them with the way that they schedule games. If the games were played back to back, you could very well be watching the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals. The NBA is set up for veteran teams to win in the playoffs. A team like the Thunder could have done very well without the rest that was afforded to them. The Lakers and Celtics would have likely crumbled from the wear and tear of back to back games.

I don't mean to take anything away from the Celtics. They have earned every win. And at this point, it looks like they will be matching up with the Lakers for what will be a very veteran NBA Finals.