Contrasting the 1985-86 and 2007-08 Celtics

This will be Chapter One in an ongoing effort to compare and contrast the last great Celtics team with the current model. As I mentioned yesterday, I am starting to see what I believe is an important difference between the two teams, especially after the win over Miami on the road, a game where the Heat reduced a 25-point-lead to 8 before KG locked down Dwayne Wade in the final minute of the game to seal the victory.

The 1985-1986 Celtics were an explosive, high-scoring offensive powerhouse.

The last Celtics championship team averaged 114.1 points per game, almost a full ten points better than their opponents' 104.7. The current squad (before today's 80-point-win over the Cavs) was averaging 102.33 points per games, almost 14 points better than their opponents' 88.60.

The 1985-1986 Celtics averaged an eyeopening 29.1 assists per game, while this year's model is averaging 24.1.

The 1985-86 Celtics shot a gaudy .508 from the field, while Doc's team is shooting .483 (before today's .375 effort). Opponents shot .461 against the 1985-86 Cs, while this year opponents are shooting .410 (before the Cavs were held to .329 today).

The final point of contrast (for today) is to compare the number of games each team held their opponents under 80 points. A look at the 1985-86 game log reveals that team did it twice--the entire season. This year's team has already done it three times through 16 games.

Which brings me to the point of this post.

The achillies heal of the 1985-86 Celtics was their inability to stay focused. Kevin McHale is fond of saying that mental lapses prevented the Celtics from several 70-win seasons during the 1980s. During the 1985-1986 season, mental lapses and a lack of focus may have cost them a shot at 80 wins, since 14 of the 15 losses that season were to below .500 teams.

All of this is understandable. There were really only two franchises playing pro basketball from 1984 to 1987, one in Massachusetts and one in California. When the only reason to stay motivated in December and January is home-court advantage in June, it is easy to see why the Celtics got bored, especially when they were routinely beating up on and rolling over the best in the East.

This year's squad will also be subject to the occasional mental lapse. They are, after all, only human. Other than Isiah Thomas' Knicks, NBA teams simply don't roll over and play dead when the Celtics flex their muscles. Teams will make runs, and at home, the crowd will exhort their teams to make those runs.

One difference between the 1985-86 squad and the 2007-08 Celtics might be how quickly they can recover from said mental lapses. The 1985-86 squad relied on offense, pounding it inside religiously, beating down their opponents until the game was in hand. The problem with this being your primary weapon is that once you've lost your rhythm, it's tough to get it back. So when the 1985-86 squandered a big lead, there was always the possibility of total collapse.

I'm not seeing that this year.

The 2007-08 Celtics get their MoJo on defense. Playing defense is part desire and intensity, part experience, part athletic ability, and part teamwork. Even when other teams make runs against twenty-point leads this year, Garnett seems to be able to get his troops back in formation to defend the beachhead.

Opponents could hope that a good run might result in a Celtics collapse during the 1985-1986 season, as the Celtics had a penchant for losing leads and collapsing on national TV (first game of season against Nets and Christmas Day game against the Knicks).

Opponents this year are learning that they can make runs against the Celtics, but it's only a matter of time before the Cs put the clamps down on D.

It's early, but I don't see this year's team developing a reputation for embarrassing collapses the way they did during the last championship run, and the reason is this team, while obviously talented on offense, is building a brand of nasty defense.