Celtics: Rip and Tayshaun Weigh In
By Ilan Mochari

Richard Hamilton’s sinewy right leg was knee-deep in a Gatorade bucket filled with ice. Veteran point guard Chucky Atkins sat to his right. “How does this Celtics team look different from last year’s team, and from the ’07 team?” I asked Hamilton.

“They’re the same team, to me,” he said.

I rolled my eyes. “You don’t see a difference in their defensive talent or intensity?”

“They’ve always been a great defensive team. Always. That’s what won them the championship.”

It’s dialogues like this that make you question why you’re talking to an athlete in the first place. Granted: Hamilton might have been in no mood to talk, icing his ankle in the wake of the Detroit Pistons’ March 15 blowout loss (119-93) to the Celtics at the Garden. Still, it was hard for me to believe that Hamilton and I were watching the same Celtics, if he truly saw a team that looked “the same” as the ’08 roster.

Next I approached forward Tayshaun Prince, the other former champ in the room. He had left the game after seven minutes with a back injury and did not return. But he looked perfectly comfortable standing in the middle of the locker room in his sweater and jeans and black Kangol-style cap. He told me his back was fine (“I’m good”) and then we got into the Celtics:

“How does this Celtics team look different from last year’s team, and from the ’07 team?” I asked.

“They only have a couple of different players so, I mean, they’re pretty much the same team,” he said. “They’ve been struggling lately, you know, playing up-and-down, but obviously they still have the firepower.”

Prince’s “obviously” was a reference to the 119 points the Celtics had just scored on .622 shooting from the floor (46-for-74), including .438 from downtown (7-for-16). All told, seven players reached double figures for the Celtics: four of the five starters (everyone but point guard Rajon Rondo) and three subs: Marquis Daniels (11 points), Glen Davis (13) and Michael Finley (15). Finley’s display was eye-popping. He was 6-for-7 from the field and 3-for-4 from three-point land. It made one wonder how the struggling San Antonio Spurs – another former champion in need of a butt-whooping – could have let him go so easily.

Prince continued: “I think they’re one of the teams in the league that have the type of firepower to turn it on when they want to. Who knows if it’ll be the right time, but they still have that type of core guys where, if they get hot at the right time, we all know what they can do.”

“Their firepower is one thing,” I said, “but what about their defensive intensity? Does that seem like it’s there?”

“That’s what they have to keep concentrating on,” he said. “is the defensive end of the basketball court. Because they got scorers, they got guys that could feed off each other and create easy opportunities. So, you know, anybody chasing a championship, defense is the number one key. KG is the spirit of their defense. Hopefully he can continue to get stronger, in their case, and try to push for that championship opportunity.”

This was the nugget I was looking for. No, it’s no great revelation that Kevin Garnett is the “spirit” of the Celtics D. But it was Prince’s “continue to get stronger” remark that caught my ear, as did the fact that he cited an individual player without any prodding.

To the naked eye, it is certainly obvious – to use Prince’s modifier – that Garnett still needs to get stronger. But to hear it from an opponents’ mouth was refreshing, especially in the aftermath of Hamilton’s team-first bromides.

It prompted me to look into Garnett’s numbers.

For the season, Garnett’s totals are 14.3 points, 7.4 rebounds, 0.8 blocks and 2.8 assists. Statistically speaking, he hasn’t performed this poorly since his rookie season in 1995-96.

That’s the oversimplified version of the story. Look a little deeper, and you can find evidence that Garnett is, indeed, getting stronger.

For one thing, his field-goal percentage (.540) and his free-throw percentage (.831) are well above his career averages (.497 and .784). For another, in his recent games he’s flashed some – though certainly not all – of his vintage leaping power and lateral movement. He blocked four shots in the March 4 win vs. Charlotte. He totaled three steals in the next game, a Celtics road win at the Philadelphia Sixers on March 5.

Just as important for Garnett, his overall offense has returned. In his last three games – at Cleveland, vs. Dallas and vs. New York – he has averaged 18.0 points. He has gone 14-for-14 from the foul line and 20-for-31 from the floor. All this, even though he failed to surpass 29:00 minutes in any of the three games.

Don’t look now, but the Celtics’ alpha dog is as efficient and proficient as he’s been all season. That’s something to keep in mind for the regular season’s final 15 games.

For all their hiccups this year, the Celtics continue to flash their bona fides every now and then. For every slipup or close call at home against the New Jersey Nets (Feb. 27) or Wizards (March 7) or (admittedly improved) Memphis Grizzlies (March 10), there has been a game like the March 15 dismantling of the Pistons. On March 3 at the Garden the Celtics destroyed the Charlotte Bobcats 104-80. On March 12 at the Garden the Green wrecked the Pacers 122-103. On St. Patrick’s Day in Boston the Celtics handled a red-hot Knicks squad, 109-97.

And yet, at times this season, it has seemed like even a first-round playoff victory is no sure thing. Lest we forget, the Milwaukee Bucks – a likely first-round opponent – ousted the Celtics in Milwaukee 86-84 on March 9. Bucks C Andrew Bogut was easily the best player on the floor.

If not the Bucks, the Celtics’ first-round opponent could be the Bobcats, the Miami Heat or the Toronto Raptors. Here’s our breakdown of all four prospective series:

Milwaukee Bucks
They can beat the Celtics because: Bogut (16.2 ppg, 10.5 rpg, 2.5 bpg) is finally – at age 26 – playing like a No. 1 overall pick. It is arguable he would be worth more on the open market than any Celtic, including Rondo. And you know how it goes in the playoffs: Often, the team with the best individual player wins. Also, the Bucks boast a playoff-tested perimeter talent in John Salmons (18.9 ppg), a defensive wiz who is quietly having the best scoring season of his career. Salmons, you will recall, played marvelously in last season’s epic Celtics-Bulls first-round series, scoring 35 points in the Bulls’ Game 6 overtime win.

No way they’ll beat the Celtics because: Point guard Brandon Jennings is still a rookie, and he’s no Derrick Rose at that. Bogut will pick up two quick nonsense fouls when the games are in Boston, all but sinking the Bucks’ chances. For all their talent, the Bucks are still a little too dependent on bench-caliber guys (Charlie Bell, Luc Richard Mbah a Moute) playing starters’ minutes.

Charlotte Bobcats
They can beat the Celtics because: Their March resume includes victories vs. the Los Angeles Lakers and at the Orlando Magic. Michael Jordan, their future owner, is watching. None other than Hall-of-Famer Larry Brown is coaching. And their athletic swingmen – Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson, with Tyrus Thomas coming off the bench – will give fits to the slow-footed Celtics forwards.

No way they’ll beat the Celtics because: They are 29-31 and might be happy with simply making the playoffs. The Celtics are 3-0 against the Bobcats this season.

Miami Heat
They can beat the Celtics because: Dwyane Wade can beat anyone on any given night, especially in Miami, where to come within two feet of Wade is to send him to the foul line. The Heat have also played impressively in March, posting home wins against the Lakers and Atlanta Hawks.

No way they’ll beat the Celtics because: After Wade, the team is thinner than Tayshaun Prince. Their point guard tandem – Carlos Arroyo and Mario Chalmers – might be the NBA’s worst. Rondo will eat them alive. Their second best player, Udonis Haslem, is mired on their bench because of management’s need to develop Michael Beasley.

Toronto Raptors
They can beat the Celtics because: They are talented, even if their 33-33 record doesn’t show it. Their forward tandem of Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu can go toe-to-toe with Garnett and Paul Pierce. Center Andrea Bargnani (17.2 ppg) is a former No.1 overall pick, developing at a faster pace than Bogut. Point guards Jose Calderon and Jarrett Jack are competent game managers and outside shooters.

No way they’ll beat the Celtics because: In the same way the Heat effectively throw games by allocating minutes to a young talent who hasn’t earned them (Beasley), the Raptors are hell-bent on developing rookie guard DeMar DeRozan. He’s a gifted kid, but the Raptors would win more games if they played Jack and Calderon simultaneously. Also: While the Bosh-Bargnani-Turkoglu frontline can score with anyone, it is awful on defensive. And that is no way to advance in the playoffs, especially without the home-court advantage.

Ilan Mochari is the Sports Editor of INsite Boston, the Editor of Somerville Scout, and a contributor to KFFL.com.