The Small Fundamental

Ray Allen takes pride in doing things the same way, over and over again. If you watch video clips of him on YouTube, you'll notice his release looks the same, every time, all the time.

But if you watch him closely over the course of the season, especially the playoffs, you'll notice he does a lot of things basically the same way. The way he dribbles, the way he spins, crouches down on defense, jump-passes... it's so consistent, it's uncanny.

But then again, do we expect anything less from one of the the smoothest, most fundamentally sound players in the NBA? I mean, if you want your kids to watch someone play the game, Ray Allen is it. He does all the basics right. Dribbles with his head up. Finishes well with either his left or his right hand. Shoots with perfect balance.

Maybe the speed is no longer there; maybe the explosiveness is gone. But Allen has shown that if you really know how to play the game well, it doesn't matter. Heck, at 32 and with two surgically repaired ankles he still managed to blow past Sasha Vujacic in Game 4, and Sasha isn't exactly a wimp on D.

Ray doesn't look as intense as KG, or as passionate as Pierce, but he is one thing, and he proved it in the Finals: solid. Rock solid. He was the team's most consistent player, the guy who kept them in some games, and won others.

He sacrificed the most to give the Celtics a legitimate chance at a championship, and his sacrifices were rewarded. Now he's a winner; now he's like that other fundamentally-sound player in San Antonio: a champion.

Redemption, Thy Name is Kevin Garnett

Most players, even the great ones, are flawed. Kevin Garnett, for all his unbelievable skills, was knocked for two things: (1) his inability (or unwillingness) to take over games by scoring at will, and (2) his propensity to cave under pressure when the game was on the line.

The 2008 NBA Finals and Playoffs may have done something to change these perceptions.

It wasn't that his team won; it was that his team won with him basically disproving the theses of all the NBA "experts." He made shots when they counted. He took shots when they were needed. He didn't shrink from the Big Shot.

Yeah, he still fell short every now and then, the two botched free throws in Game 5 being his worst sins during the series. But what do you expect? This was a guy who wasn't sleeping, but was leading everyone in rebounding, who was playing mad, desperate D every possession, and who just left it all on the floor.

Now, he has nothing left to prove. Now, his critics can go find something else to critique.

Green is Great

It's been over a week since the Celtics won the NBA championship and I'm still euphoric.

Few people thought they could win it all, but they proved the "experts" all wrong. Now these NBA watchers are saying how great the Celtics' defense was, how tough they were, etc., etc. The same people who gave them grief for underachieving against the Hawks and the Cavaliers. So they can't finish games, huh? So KG can't come through in the clutch, eh? So Ray Allen's lost his jump shot, no? So Paul Pierce doesn't belong among the pantheon of Celtic greats, right?

By winning their seventeenth banner, the Celtics said one collective "screw you" to all these pundits, and proved once again that talent isn't enough to win; it takes heart, too.

Never Underestimate the Heart of a Champion

Or its lineup.

When the NBA Finals started, nine of ten ESPN writers picked the Lakers to beat the Celtics. Only Tim Legler, I believe, chose the Celtics. Across the blogosphere, the Lakers were the favorites; J.E. Skeets and Tas Melas of my favorite podcast, The Basketball Jones, picked LA in six. I'm trying to remember a major writer who picked the Celtics to win. (Bill Simmons did, but he's a Boston fan so he doesn't count.)

I can't.

I bet another lunch on the Celtics, and, I admit, a part of me did because of the fan in me. I felt the Celtics had a chance––however slim––in seven. I believed then––as I do now––that Boston had the better lineup. A more experienced, hardworking bench; three stars, all desperate for a championship to validate their careers; role players who played their guts out every freakin' game.

Maybe LA had, on paper, a more talented, energetic lineup.

But in terms of motivation, in terms of heart, I thought the Boston Celtics would win because they want it more.

Now, with the Celtics up, 3-1, they've confirmed it.

And proven that, 22 years after the last Celtics team won a championship, defense wins championships. And that the intangibles like heart and focus and drive matter.