Boston Celtics: After Heat, Are New York Knicks or Chicago Bulls Bigger Threat?
The dust is starting to settle for the Boston Celtics after an intense round of trades and free-agent signings left things wide open in the Eastern Conference.
While the Celtics have made their moves to try and solidify another championship, via Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic and now Troy Murphy, so have their rivals.
The Miami Heat are still at the top of the Celtics' list of teams to beat. After all, it’s still the old Big Three versus the new Big Three, but now the New York Knicks' Big Two and a healthy Bulls Big Three plus MVP, enter the picture to try and lay claim in a conference where everything is still up for grabs.
The Orlando Magic and Atlanta Hawks are still looming as the No. 4 and 5 seeds, having made deals of their own throughout the season, so don’t forget about their presence.
With so many teams making recent moves it’s time to reassess the biggest threat to the Celtics in the playoffs, after conference rival Miami.
First Things First: Breaking Down the New Celtics
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Two things jump out at you when you consider the recent moves the Boston Celtics made: One is that their interior defense takes a bit hit. The other is that they are more offensively inclined.
While added fire power on offense in Troy Murphy and Jeff Green may be nice, it’s hard to imagine it offsetting the loss of Kendrick Perkins’ defense.
The reason is because you already have three scorers, plus Rajon Rondo, who will score at will if defenses don’t cover him (see the Utah game).
That doesn’t leave much room for Murphy, Green, Nenad Krstic and Sasha Pavlovic to put up numbers. Of course, Kendrick Perkins was only averaging 7.2 PPG, but no one was looking for more out of him in that category.
Utah’s Al Jefferson owned the Celtics' middle the other night, which may be indicative of things to come. Jefferson has been on a tear against anyone who tries to cover him lately, but the question of how the Celtics will fare against similar centers still looms.
The Celtics will need to sure up the 5-spot in order to win the NBA Championship.
4: Orlando Magic
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Despite the concerns about the Celtics not being formidable enough in the middle, the Orlando Magic are not a major concern for Boston.
They may be in the No. 4 slot for the playoffs, but outside of Dwight Howard, the Magic do not put fear into the hearts of anyone.
They didn’t make any deadline moves, either, which they should have, since their trades with Washington and Phoenix have not made them markedly better in any aspect of their game.
Howard will be required to put up 30/20 a night in the playoffs for Orlando to stay competitive, and that’s asking a lot of any one player.
Don’t be surprised to see Orlando upset in Round 1, though if they fall to the fifth seed, it’s not an upset.
3: Atlanta Hawks
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The Atlanta Hawks are the team in the East that never seems to generate publicity, which is a bit odd since they are such a deep team.
The NBA loves its individual players, which may be the reason Orlando gets ABC time on Sundays and the Hawks don’t receive any marquee coverage.
Atlanta has finally started to emerge as a team that can compete in the playoffs, since they have made it three years straight, winning one series in each of the past two years. So is it time for them to take the next step?
Well, that’s probably not going to happen just yet. The Hawks are deep and have youth on their side, despite their core players being in the league for a while, but it’s hard to see them out-dueling the top teams in the East in a seven-game series.
Why? Well, center, Al Horford summed it up the best when he told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution his thoughts on the Hawks' recent road trip:
"You know, when you look at the thing as a whole, it's [just] OK."
That’s not a rousing endorsement for your team, Al. Teams in the East will take notice, even if the Hawks did manage to eke out a victory over the Bulls last night.
2: New York Knicks
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On paper, the Knicks are back in the fold towards becoming a credible rival to the Celtics. Carmelo Anthony has singled-handedly solidified that.
Like Orlando and unlike Atlanta, the Knicks will be relying on their Big Three to get them through the first round of the playoffs. Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and Chauncey Billups are the three, and the only three players the Knicks will be able to rely on, however.
So far, through four games, the Knicks' three average 75 PPG while the rest of the team scores 30 PPG. That, coupled with the fact the Denver, with Anthony and Billups, lost in the first round of the playoffs in six out of seven years, doesn’t bode well for the team.
But the X-factor in the equation is the sleepy town of New York. Basketball is relevant in New York again. New York has made one playoff appearance in the past nine years, so expectations to make them and perform well are off the charts.
Now, you may not think the Knicks are ahead of the Hawks or Magic in the pecking order, but when thinking about matching up against the Celtics, it makes sense.
Amar'e Stoudemire is the second-best center in the East and will present matchup issues for the Celtics. He’s put up an average of 33.0 PPG in two games against the C’s this season, and that was without an All-Star teammate.
Then consider that Wilson Chandler was effective in three games against the C’s, averaging 17.0 PPG, and translate that to three consistent games out of Carmelo Anthony and you begin to start seeing some potential issues.
The Celtics lack of inside presence will now allow the Knicks to easily pick and choose between Stoudemire and Anthony each trip down the floor, which will make things difficult for the Celtics to maintain.
The Knicks will prevent a formidable challenge to the Celtics moving forward, especially since they are still in the their infancy and have time to bring their new talents together before the playoffs begin, even if the Celtics are still a better team.
Concerns that the Knicks could wear out the Celtics will be an issue if the two teams meet in the Eastern Conference Semis. No one should worry about a Knicks upset, but rather their softening up of the C’s.
1: Chicago Bulls
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The Chicago Bulls are the clear-cut No. 2 as far as teams who the Celtics need to be concerned about goes.
Some will even put them ahead of the Miami Heat.
It’s hard to look past the team with the MVP, two top rebounders and a 6’9” small forward. They can score from anywhere and cash in on second-chance points if they are unsuccessful on their first attempts.
The Celtics lost any rebounding edge they had against other teams in the East, and Chicago is the one team who stands to benefit more than anyone else. While some rebounds would be up for grabs, now they will all go to the Bulls.
Glen Davis is not going to be able to out-muscle Joakim Noah for his specialty offensive rebounds anymore, because Nenad Krstic won’t be under the hoop the way Kendrick Perkins was.
Then there’s the Tom Thibodeau factor. He knows how the Celtics play and can easily game-plan against them on offense and defense. Good coaching is always a factor in the playoffs.
The one thing that Chicago has against it is not being able to do what it takes to push themselves over the top. They’ve been bounced in the first round every year they’ve made it, with the exception of a second-round loss to Detroit in 2007.
Celtics fans will have to hope the Heat and Bulls face off against each other in Round 2, thereby eliminating one of them. And after that, don’t be surprised to see the Bulls facing off against the Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals.
