Why Not Breaking Up Big 3 Could Carry Boston Celtics to NBA Crown

Amidst reports that the Boston Celtics were on the verge of moving Paul Pierce and Ray Allen in separate deals at the trade deadline, you have to imagine this club's recent resurgence may have never come to pass.

Pierce would have gone to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for Mehmet Okur's expiring $10 million contract and a lottery pick that would have come in handy for an old team trying to get younger. The Nets eventually opted to send Okur and their pick to Portland for Gerald Wallace.

Meanwhile, a deal moving Ray Allen to the Memphis Grizzlies for O.J. Mayo and a draft pick was all but done before falling apart for unknown reasons.

After all the maneuverings, Boston wound up right back where it started—Big Three intact and led by the prodigious Rajon Rondo at the point.

The team's subsequent success have proved that the best change is sometimes no change at all.

Since the beginning of March, the Celtics are 19-9, including two convincing wins against the Miami Heat. Even in close losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs, Boston still looked like a contender capable of winning another championship.

Paul Pierce has played his best ball of the season, averaging 21.9 points and six rebounds over his last 10 games.

His most impressive performance came in a disappointing loss to the New York Knicks in which Pierce dropped a season-high 43 points, looking like the same guy who's taken over so many postseason games for this team.

Allen hasn't had quite the same impact, but he's settling into a vital sixth-man role in an effort to inject some offense into Boston's sometimes lethargic bench unit.

Had the Celtics lost Pierce and Allen, their production would only be the first toll taken on a team that still has plenty left in the tank. Had Danny Ainge thrown the towel in on this season, there's no way we'd be seeing the resurgent Kevin Garnett currently on display.

Over his last 10 games, Garnett has outpaced his season performance to the tune of 18.1 points and 9.1 rebounds a game.

With his veteran counterparts at his side, the fearless competitor has returned a fire to the Celtics and a belief that their championship window of opportunity is anything but closed.

These are the intangibles that will ultimately make a difference come playoff time—the edge, chemistry and veteran foresight these guys bring to the table have proved capable of disappointing younger and even more talented squads.

Boston's title aspirations will soon face a challenging seven-game series in a conference with favorites like the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat, monumental obstacles by any measure.

Still, with their institutional knowledge intact and the superlative coaching of Doc Rivers, the Celtics have a chance—a chance they came all too close to passing up.