What’s the Secret to the Celtics Success?

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Tuesday, May 11, 2010

By: Scott Cordischi

With game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series between the Celtics and Cavaliers on tap for tonight in Cleveland, we think we know what the secret to success might be for Boston. When Rajon Rondo goes off like he did in game 4, the Celts are tough to beat. Likewise, when Garnett scores around 20 or Ray Allen is hot from “3”, Boston will win. And, even though he has struggled offensively in this series, if Paul Pierce ever explodes and has a big game there’s no way that Cleveland has a chance.

We would be wrong in thinking those things.

If the Celtics are to knock off the #1-seed it will all come down to defense. Consider these stats from games 3 and 4 of this series:

GAME 3: GAME 4:

Boston scored 95 points Boston scored 97 points

Boston shot 43% FG (35-82) Boston shot 45% FG (34-76)

Boston shot 24% 3ptFG (4-17) Boston shot 7% 3ptFG (1-14)

Cleveland scored 124 points Cleveland scored 87 points

Cleveland shot 60% FG (44-74) Cleveland shot 40% FG (27-67)

Cleveland shot 42% 3ptFG (5-12) Cleveland shot 19% 3pt FG (4-21)

Boston’s offensive output in games 3 and 4 was almost identical yet they lost game 3 by 29 points and won game 4 by 10.

Now Look at the defensive numbers. What a difference!

The numbers don’t lie. When Boston defends, they win. When they don’t, they lose. It’s that simple.