Boston, Still the Team to Beat in the East

Boston, still the team to beat in the East

Successful teams in recent years have all had one thing in common, big men.

The Eastern conference has been dominated by the Celtics and Magic over the past three seasons. The formula has been their power, height and will in the paint.

Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Garnett, Rasheed Wallace and Baby Davis overwhelm and have their way against most teams in the post.

Boston’s move to get Jermaine O’Neal doesn’t seem like a great addition, but the 6’11, 255 Lbs center will make his contribution felt on the glass next season.

He was brought in purely to solidify Boston’s inside advantage over the East and more importantly the Heat.

The same holds true out west…

The Lakers have exemplified height with their 7-foot towers in Bynum and Gasol. Off the bench, they bring in 6’10 Lamar Odom to continue to dominate the boards.

Clearly the Lakers stole (not won) game 7 in Perk’s absence, which underlines the importance of interior defense and rebounding.

Until Miami gets bigger we can all breathe a bit easier.

When Lebron tries to show critics that he has a jumper, who is going to get the rebound? Bosh does very well on the boards but beyond Chris, they’ll have a difficult time grabbing rebounds.

The Heat will be scrambling this off-season to get whatever height that’s left out there.

Good luck.

The Celtics and Lakers crash the boards extremely well as a team, which ultimately wins games and championships.

2010-11 Lakers – Celtics rematch, and with more green depth in the paint anything can happen.