Are the Celtics pointing out the Spurs missteps?

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Could Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs be in the same position as Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics with a few tweaks?

An aging, future-Hall-of-Fame big man. A 30-something shooting guard. A veteran post presence looking for another shot at an NBA title. Um, a ginger.

There are several similarities between the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics. Two years ago, even more so. But since, their roads have forked a bit.

Watching this Celtics team in the NBA Finals, a team that was considered old and left for dead two months ago, competing for a second NBA title in three years, I’m left second-guessing Gregg Popovich and the Spurs front office.

After Pau Gasol arrived in Los Angeles on the Lakers’ doorstep with a nice little note in a greeting card and a check for $20, as if he came from Grandma, the Spurs brain trust moved away from their defense-first principles ever so slightly.

Preventing the other team from scoring was still the message delivered in practices and games, but the roster makeup was telling a different story. The moral: we need to score more to win. In was Richard Jefferson and out were guys like Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas.

I can’t fault the front office for taking a chance. Quite the opposite, in fact. And I don’t think many people foresaw Jefferson being as awkward a fit as he’s been. But would a player like Shawn Marion, who is both a better defender and corner 3-point shooter (and cheaper), been a better fit? Mightier men have wilted under the care of Coach Pop.

San Antonio was still a solid defensive team that won 50 games this past season, but they by no means inflicted as much pain as the teams that inspired Graydon to name this site 48 Minutes of Hell.

Though the Celtics are a good offensive team, it is still a squad whose gameplan is rooted on the defensive end of the floor. With each series victory that brought the Celtics to a Finals matchup with the Lakers, I wondered more and more what would’ve happened if RC Buford and Co. would’ve stuck to their guns more.

Ah the double-edged sword of hindsight.

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  • Trade Tp

    Ron Artest… see what the lakers did here? They got a player that is athletic and aggressive…

  • Jim Henderson

    It is true, we could use an Artest type of defender on the perimeter: aggressive & physical.

  • Nooree

    First: I love Tony Parker. He is my favorite NBA player.

    But this Celtics-Spurs comparison, in terms of needing to build around defense, is pretty silly, considering that the the Celtics have Rondo, the best defensive point guard in the NBA, and the Spurs have Parker, arguably a good team defender but easily overwhelmed physically one-on-one. There is NO way to recreate the Celtics’ swarming, hellacious defense without a wildcat of a defensive point guard like Rajon Rondo.

  • Trade Tp

    Jim - “overall minutes should favor TD & Blair..”

    This was BLATANTLY OBVIOUS LAST YEAR and never happened. So why would PoP “do the right thing?”

    Ever since Tims prime POP hasnt come up with ANY adjustments to win games. This is clear

  • Trade Tp

    Henderson- That’s like saying before Scola came over that he wasn’t going to “do anything” for the Rockets. It hasn’t quite worked out that way, and saying so about Splitter is in my view being unreasonably presumptuous.

    And thats like saying McDoosh/Boner were helpful players on this years team.

  • Hayden

    Did I spot someone scoffing at the idea of trading Tony Parker for an “oft injured Chris Paul”. That would be the best trade ever. Like, ever.

    Anyway, I think this all boils down to, get Splitter. Integrate Blair more. Possibly try to do a “Don Nelson is an idiot” trade with the Warriors. We’re set? Okay. Let’s do it.

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