Derek Bodner’s Blog

I have a confession to make. I’m making this confession in a basement of an unnamed building for my own safety. What I’m about to say is blasphemous. As a life long Philadelphia fan and resident, I have to admit, that I…..

Wait for it. It’s coming. I can do this. Deep breath…

I’ve been rooting hard for the Celtics during 2008 NBA Playoffs.

Phew.

Kevin Garnett has been my favorite player in the NBA for the better part of the decade, and it’s a treasure to see him finally play with a supporting cast that can maximize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses. Now that he’s surrounded by legitimate top tier offensive talent, we can truly appreciate his defense, passing, and all around game which make him so very unique. His high post skills perfectly complement Paul Pierce’s slashing, and his passing is a great aid to Ray Allen’s shooting and screen based offensive attack.

I’m also a big fan of Ray Allen, although unlike Garnett where I’m very open about my appreciation of his talents, I’m a little more reserved speaking publicly about my adoration for Jesus Shuttlesworth. The series against the Sixers in 2001 was a little too intense to openly heap praise upon the former UConn guard. With Ray Allen you get an extremely hard worker, a fundamentally sound old school player, and an honest to goodness good person. His jumpshot is the closest thing to basketball perfection you’ll find. His all around game is sometimes lost because he’s not jumping over people. The shooting, ballhandling, passing, body control and movement without the ball provide a package that’s been sorely lacking from the NBA in recent years. While Allen received some animosity from Philly fans during the first half-dozen years of his career, and donning the Boston green isn’t going to endear him to many, it’s not hard to appreciate him as a basketball player and as a person.

I said before the season how great the Garnett trade was, and why certain concerns about it were unfounded. As it turns out, they didn’t have trouble sharing the load, their role players aren’t as bad as advertised, and they’ve meshed tremendously well, particularly on the defensive end. If the Celtics are able to capture the title, it will bring vindication to a trio of superstars who before this time have had the misfortune of being stuck on poorly constructed teams, and received unfair criticism because of that. I can’t do anything but applaud the Celtics front office and players for a job well done. Even if I’m not supposed to.