by Benjamin Lomax

Created on: January 31, 2009   Last Updated: April 02, 2009

The Celtics deserve a lot of credit for their hard-fought championship last year. Back to back has always been a difficult proposition, and in this case it does not appear that they will repeat. There are a lot of small reasons why, none of which by themselves would dethrone them. But add them all together and I would have to say that this team will have a hard time regaining that precious ring.

First and probably most importantly, this team is not quite as good as last year's. Despite their impressive record, the depth that made them champions is not what it was. Sam Cassel is a championship veteran, wily and clutch. James Posey is a key defender and a very consistent shooter. P.J. Brown is a banger and another tough defender. These three are all gone, replaced by a couple of deep bench guys and streaky Eddie House. Kevin Garnett will have my eternal respect for declining the honor of replacing Jerry West as the symbol of the NBA, but it is no coincidence that he has missed significant time this year with injuries. All of the big three are one year older and all three have their best years in the rear-view mirror. Only Rajon Rondo (and possibly Kendrick Perkins) is better this year than last.

Second, the East is better this year than last. The Celtics were the class of the league for the first month plus, but since then they have traded top dog status with the Cavaliers and the Magic regularly. Right now they are in a dog-fight for second place and appear to have no hope of securing home-court throughout the playoffs. They would not have gotten through a very hard-fought East playoffs last year if they had not had that advantage. With the single star-driven Orlando and Cleveland teams I believe that the Celtics remain better in a long series due to the depth of star talent. However, it is likely that Boston will be beaten up and possibly even beaten by either of these teams. In any case if they emerge from the East they will be battered, lacking the depth of last year and relying even more on the big three.

All of this would be fine, but the Lakers are lurking in the West, deeper and more talented than last year, bigger and stronger with Andrew Bynum due back for the playoffs. They figure to take much less of a bruising in the West playoffs, where the top tier teams are all old and lack depth. In addition they have been focusing on beating the Celtics ever since they were embarrassed last year. They have shown some weaknesses of late, but still figure to come out of the West in fairly good shape, as no West team appears to be able to beat them in a five or seven game series.

However, it must be said that the Celtics took a lot of abuse last year, going to several full series and gutting it out. If the Celtics are able to stave off Dwight Howard and Lebron James during the playoffs, they may ride that momentum and finish the playoffs on a high note, and the Lakers have yet to show the type of consistency that wins championships. I would say the odds are against them this year, but if any team can win based on history and sheer determination, the Celtics are that team.

No matter the outcome, having the best rivalry in the history of the NBA (indeed probably the best rivalry in the history of sports) resurrected is a great sign for every NBA fan. I love this game!

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