Celtics-Lakers: Celtics use a silver and black foundation to win no. 17

The Boston Celtics clinched the franchise's 17th championship Tuesday night and it was hard not to picture another dynasty from South Texas that served as a fine blueprint.

The Celtics reversed an embarrassing 24-win season with a whirlwind summer. I will admit that I had no idea what Danny Ainge was doing when he traded Jeff Green and other picks to Seattle for Ray Allen.

Why trade a promising, athletic forward for an injury-prone 30-something shooter to join another near-30 franchise player with no championship ring?

Then I browsed the Internet in late July and read: 'Timberwolves send Garnett to Celtics in historic 7-for-1 deal.' When Kevin Garnett headed to Beantown, it all made sense. Then, Ainge lured free agents Eddie House and James Posey, two invaluable role players.

House's knock down shooting spread out the Lakers' defense when he was on the floor. Posey used his championship smarts, defense and three point accuracy to be the Celtics' finest support player.

Then, coach Doc Rivers asked his superstar trio to believe in youngsters Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins and Leon Powe. They did from the season's opening tip.

Then, Garnett and assistant coach Tom Thibodeau made sure the Celtics played defense first and did so as a team.

Maybe that's why the Lakers, who boast great individual defenders in Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, looked like plastic cones in a parking lot in Game 6. The Lakers as champs? More like chumps.

Many people said at this series' apex that the next five titles belonged to the LA Lakers. Not this one, and if the Spurs and Celtics continue playing championship-level defense, not next year either.

Old guys do it again

P.J. Brown had a better chance of winning a senior citizens' Bingo championship than an NBA championship when Ainge asked him to join the team midseason. In an enduring image of this Finals, the 38-year-old Brown stole a key offensive rebound from two Lakers big men in Game 1.

Sam Cassell may not be a story of great shot selection but his few buckets helped fuel the Celtics' six game series win that was more lopsided than the contest total indicates.

And who can say enough about Posey's enormous contributions? His 18-point game two was a snapshot of what he meant to the team as a commited defender.

Posey and House mounted an 11-0 run in the second quarter that sent the crowd into a roaring frenzy.

After the excessive talk about youth serving age, the NBA's most storied franchise did it the other way around. The Celtics won another championship with "boring" and "old" basketball.

Substance wins over style, or does it?

Another year, another defense-first team grabs the Larry O' Brien trophy. Those who embrace the NBA's false fun-and-gun direction will say that Boston's substance won over LA's style.

I would argue that substance is style. The Celtics commit to playing defense, from the star trio to the end of the bench, but that does not mean they do not run the floor.

The Celtics won it much the same way the Spurs have four times in the last 10 years. They scored on the break after securing stops instead of trying to stop teams with scoring.

"We can't expect to win a championship by focusing on the offensive end," Bryant said in his postgame comments.

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