Credit: David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Celtics are one of the most successful franchises in sports history. With 17 championships to their name, they have always been a team competing for the crown.
2008 was the last time Boston completed a title run, and it was a perfect storm of circumstances.
As former Celtic Eddie House explained to Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson of Bally Sports, that team was perfectly balanced and had three stars/closers that were capable of stepping up at any time.
“KGL post, pick-and-pop, pick-and-roll. Paul: iso. Ray: coming off screens, iso if he needs to, got the dagger. You got three guys who could be closers: KG, Paul, and Ray, and each one would say ‘well it’s your turn to do it tonight.’ Nobody was like ‘it’s mine, move out of the way.’ It was just however the game was flowing and Doc had a real good feeling for that whole team, that locker room especially because he knew when to push, when to pull back, when to give us rest, he knew when we had to put our foot on the gas and work a little harder. It was just a perfect mix of older guys and then getting the right other guys to come in.”
The 2008 Championship is still fresh in the minds of Celtics fans. They went 66-16 that season and looked to be the favorites all year long. Even though they just won one, bringing together Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett brought great prosperity to the Celtics and that squad will be remembered forever.
Regarding how they stack up against other championship teams, they might not be quite as strong as the Warriors or Heat, but they were well built and brilliantly run. Besides having a well-rounded roster, head coach Doc Rivers knew his team well and knew what buttons to push to bring out the best in his guys.
So if you want to see an example of a truly expertly-built team, look no further than the ’08 Celtics, who used teamwork, talent, and leadership to bring home a title.
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