Winning isn't All that It's Cracked up to be

Fast starts are fun.

I remember when the 1985-86 Celtics, after losing the first game of the season against the lowly New Jersey Nets, worked their way up to a 17-2 record. One more game to .900! Reaching .900 was just so important to me. We only had to beat Portland, one of the worst teams in the league that year, and the game was at home.

Money in the bank, right?

Not so much.

The Cs lost that game in early December, followed it up with a humiliating loss against the New York Knicks on Christmas Day, and, all in all, lost 5 out of 9 for the month.

Of course, our boys gave up beer drinking after New Years Eve, and went on a run in January and February that laid the foundations for a dominating 15-3 playoff performance and championship.

Which brings me to the topic of today’s blog.

Fast starts and gaudy regular season win totals aren’t all they’re cracked up to be.

The 1987-88 Celtics began the season 6-0, but ended it with the starting 5 run into the ground. KC Jones had played the starters ridiculous minutes, and they had nothing left in the tank come April and May. The bench hadn’t played enough regular season PT to contribute when the Pistons rolled over the Cs in the ECFs.

The 1984-85 Celtics started 15-1. They didn’t win a championship.

The 1972-73 Celtics started 10-0. They didn’t win a championship.

Bill Walton’s Portland Trailblazers started 50-10, and they didn’t even win a championship.

More recently, the Fab Four of Mailman, the Glove, Kobe, and Shaq started 16-3, but came up blingless when the season ended. Mark Cuban’s Mavs took the league by storm during the regular season last year, only to be unceremoniously sent packing by the Warriors in the first round.

Not surprisingly, my feelings about the regular season have evolved since the GREEN last won a championship. Teams in the hunt for a championship should be trying to win, of course, trying to build chemistry and figuring out what works and what wins games.

But no less important is for contenders to find out what doesn’t work, to identify weaknesses and holes in the roster. Doc continues to rely heavily on the Big Three playing 38+ minutes in close games, but at the same time he does seem to be giving bench players more opportunities.

Posey and House are consistently playing 20 minutes a game, with Scalabrine playing about 12. Pollard’s role is increasing, and he is responding with increased productivity. Big Baby scored 8 points and grabbed 2 rebounds in 6 minutes against Cleveland in a close game. I expect Gabe Pruitt to get some run before too long.

By the All-Star break, and perhaps before then, Doc and Danny should have a pretty good idea where this team is at. In particular, they should know whether they need to add another big man to the mix or another point guard. Since the Cs assist-to-basket ratio is among the league leaders, I am not anticipating the need to add a point guard.

But our rebounding prowess seems to be on the decline, as we’ve been outrebounded in two out of the last three games. Banner 17 won’t be won until the Cs are controlling the glass 5 out of every six games.

Memo to Doc and Danny:

Keep PJ Brown’s number on your speed dial.