Heisler - The worst 27-4 team ever

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-heisler28-20...ec28,0,

From the Los Angeles Times

MARK HEISLER/ ON THE NBA

The worst 27-4 team ever

The Celtics are always going to play hard, but they're not as tall and
they might not be as talented as the cruise-control Lakers.


December 28, 2008

They came, they saw, for once they didn't conquer.

By the time the Celtics arrived last week, the Lakers had worked
themselves into such a state of indignation, complaints included not
only Boston fans' rocking their bus in the playoffs, but Ray Allen's
ringing insult as he accepted the team's ESPY at the summer awards
show here:

"Another win in L.A!"

If that was an insult, the Lakers are lucky to ever make it out of
town anywhere they go, with Phil Jackson zinging everyone in sight,
like last spring's lighthearted jibe at Paul Pierce's dramatic return
in the NBA Finals after leaving the court in a wheelchair.

"We were just having a good time," Allen said before the Christmas
game. "It wasn't trash talking. It wasn't anything.

"The game is going to be the game for what it is today. They're a good
team, they're one of the best teams in the NBA, we're one of the best
teams in the NBA.

"I don't think they, nor we, need motivation to play this game."

That's how different the teams are.

Motivation, a given for the Celtics, had been the central issue for
the Lakers, who proceeded to show how good they could be when not in
cruise control.

Everyone then agreed this was only a game in December, including media
people, who hyped it (hello), and Lakers players, who talked about it
for weeks.

Indeed, December games don't settle anything, but they reveal and
highlight some things.

If anyone forgot, as almost everyone did, the Lakers' size, depth and
athleticism are far superior to the Celtics'. If the Lakers played as
hard as the Celtics, and defended as well, they really would win 70.

The Lakers can be expected to dial up their effort (can't they?) but
still have only a dim idea of what they're supposed to be doing in
their new Boston-style, man-to-man-with-zone-principles-or-vice-versa
scheme.

The Lakers' scheme is actually harder to play, with players spread
out, trying to funnel opponents where they want them to go.

The Celtics, meanwhile, sag to protect the lane so breakdowns aren't
as likely to open a freeway to the basket.

Boston's defense is anchored by long, mobile Kevin Garnett, whose high-
voltage intensity takes their whole team to a new level.

The Lakers, meanwhile, were waiting to get the ball back, blaming
ritual targets for breakdowns -- point guards allowing penetration,
Andrew Bynum getting in foul trouble -- as if they just have to
straighten a few people out.

Actually, the point guards are often funneling their man to a big man
who hasn't rotated over. It's possible that even if the Lakers try,
this scheme may be too hard for them.

Of course, the Lakers won Thursday, suggesting the Celtics, who were
in the midst of the deification process, might still have an issue or
two themselves. Their stunning loss the following night at Golden
State only underscored the point.

With one Celtics loss from Nov. 14 to Christmas, the Boston Globe's
Bob Ryan ranked them the No. 2 team in the franchise's history, behind
the 1985-86 Celtics with their Larry Bird-Kevin McHale-Robert Parish-
Bill Walton front line.

Another Globe story on the Celtics noted, "The overwhelming feeling is
that they can't get much better."

That had better not be true, for the Celtics' sake.

Celtics players dismissed the impact of Bynum's return, as if he were
a 7-foot equipment manager who had wandered on the court.

The alternative would have been to say, "His mere size changes
everything. Even if we can still beat them, we're going to get cricks
in our necks looking up at them."

The Celtics are very short for such a physical, defense-oriented team,
with Garnett their only rotation player over 6-9 in bare feet.

Tough as he is, Kendrick Perkins, who's listed at 6-10, looks 6-8
1/2 , at most. (I saw him next to the Globe's Marc Spears, who's 6-6.
Perkins looked an inch or so taller.)

Glen Davis, listed at 6-9, looks about 6-7 1/2 . Leon Powe, listed at
6-8, looks 6-6 1/2 .

Then there's their bench, as in, what bench?

Powe and Tony Allen might or might not break into the Lakers' nine-man
rotation. Davis and Eddie House, no shot. If the Celtics' endurance
has yet to be tested, that loss Friday in Golden State wasn't a good
sign.

Point guard Rajon Rondo, now touted as an All-Star, is a dynamic
defender, rebounder and penetrator . . . but still can't shoot,
allowing opponents to leave him, as Kobe Bryant did Thursday.

It's a tribute to Coach Doc Rivers' direction, Garnett's fury,
Pierce's clutch play, Allen's shooting ability, assistant coach Tom
Thibodeau's defense and everyone's professionalism that the Celtics
function at the level they do.

Adding a reserve or two would help, with the possibility they could
get P.J. Brown, 39, out of retirement again and Dikembe Mutombo, 42,
too.

No Celtics official will comment on the possibility they're the team
New York's exiled Stephon Marbury talks about joining, as if it's a
done deal. With Marbury on his best behavior as his contract runs out,
the Celtics might win 70.

It's only December, after all. The ancient rivals have a long way to
go.

mark.heisler.DeleteThis@latimes.com