Boston Celtics: Why Old Age Is Suddenly an Advantage for the C's

In the beginning, the Celtics' collective oldness looked like it wouldn't be an issue.

There would be fewer games, thanks to the lockout. And fewer games seemed to mean that those old bones in the bodies of Messrs. Pierce, Garnett and Allen wouldn't have to play as much, thus keeping their health and stamina in a good place come playoff time.

Then the schedule was released.

So many back-to-backs. A back-to-back-to-back. Three games in four nights, four games in five nights, five games in seven nights. All of these scenarios dotted the C's season slate. 

And subsequently, the old folks couldn't completely keep up.

Everyone, from Allen to Pierce to Garnett to even the younger, far more spry Rajon Rondo, missed at least some time. Yet the C's, thanks to their team-wide mental toughness, the coaching of Doc Rivers and some very unforeseen play by the likes of Avery Bradley and Greg Stiemsma, not only bounced back, but they worked their way back into the discussion of the best teams in the league.

Now, tied 1-1 in their first-round playoff series with the Atlanta Hawks, the C's find themselves in a bit of an unfamiliar spot.

At an advantage due to their age.

The bottom line is that these Celtics, thanks to their nucleus, are more equipped to win a tense, pressure-filled playoff series than their counterparts from Atlanta. The core of these Celts, from the point guard to the coach, have won a title and came within less than a quarters worth of play of winning a second one.

These Hawks, never further than the Eastern Conference semifinals since the construction of the current roster, are deeply flawed. No one gets involved in their offense but Joe Johnson and Josh Smith, and nothing in particular is run for either of these two guys other than isolation sets. The Hawks are fine going one-on-five with Johnson or Smith dribbling out the shot clock, making them predictable and highly susceptible to going into slumps on offense.

The Celtics, as currently constructed, have won nine playoff series in the past five years, and have seemed to figure out how to get around whatever resistance was being put up by the Hawks in both Games 1 and 2 and could probably be up 2-0 headed home if not for a lackluster shooting performance by Paul Pierce in the series' first game.

Now, with the next two games of the series set to be played in Boston this weekend and the Celts getting both Rajon Rondo and potentially Ray Allen back, the pendulum swings even further toward Boston.

The Celtics know how to close out teams. They have multiple players with the know-how to win a series. The Hawks, who may be without Smith for Game 3 on Friday night, have proven themselves to be fraudulent over the first two games of the series. Smith has been their most reliable player and his status is up in the air. Johnson has been a non-factor.

Finally, after a work stoppage, a condensed schedule and 68 games, the Celtics' age and experience is paying off. How long they can last being led by their graybeards remains to be seen. But for this opening round, they're hanging in there just fine.