The NBA slate was packed with postseason-ready pairings last night. Headlined by the Thunder and Heat’s bruising tease, the Mavericks and Grizzlies jostled for position in the Western Conference while the Clippers and Lakers met for the last scheduled time this season; and, in Boston, the Celtics and Spurs got together for the only time until next year, unless of course it’s sooner, as in this spring sooner.
The 87-86 San Antonio win was the sort of game you’d expect these teams to play — tight, defensively-focused, with big shots going in back and forth until Paul Pierce’s missed step-back attempt bounced off the rim as time expired. Both of these proud, veteran teams have been staving off their own shelf life in a league that gets more-and-more youth oriented all the time. And the respective franchises have done it well, whether it be giving ample rest to guys like Tim Duncan or Paul Pierce earlier in the season or infusing the rosters around them with capable young talents like Gary Neal, Tiago Splitter, and most obviously Rajon Rondo, whose complete wizardry over games or portions of them on some nights has long-since forced his way into the conversation as Boston’s most important piece towards contention. Maybe a better pick would be Avery Bradley, who has come out of the relative nowhere to provide suffocating defense and energy in Ray Allen’s absence.
Whether or not the Spurs and Celtics have enough resources for one last Finals run depends on things like match-ups and injuries — like any other team — but for veteran teams the margin for error is slimmer when execution is key. A comeback (or the threat of one, often a necessary component in the playoffs) cannot simply be had by boundless energy and repeated blows and attacks to an opponents’ central nervous system, like a team such as Oklahoma City can initiate just by playing within their style. For San Antonio and Boston, unless Rondo is going out of his mind or something, the strikes are better off being efficient, in the correct spots, and in sustained bursts of action rather than the untamed explosiveness of younger teams and players.
Last night, the Heat and Thunder showed why a Finals pairing between the two of them would be an incredible gift from the basketball heavens; a showcase of two teams in their physical peaks, plenty of biting edge towards one another to go around and with maybe four of the ten best players in the league right now. Few will complain if this is what we end up with to decide a champion, and rightfully so. But the Celtics and Spurs in their own right, if they could each somehow navigate the postseason — for what it’s worth, the day-to-day schedule will be something closer to normal — would also be a more-than-worthy Finals. Aside from the sheer improbability of two of the league’s elder statesmen of teams making the Finals in the Basketball (Seriously) Never Stops season, the match-up itself, as we saw last night, would be just as compelling as anything else we could ask for as fans of this league. Long dead (it should be, at least) is the notion that the Spurs’ brand of ball is SUPER BORING to watch; along with Boston, when these teams are operating at high frequencies, the game can be as sublime as ever.
The chances of both, even one, of the Spurs and Celtics reaching the Finals is as up the air as anyone else’s chances this spring, but things would seemingly have to break especially right for the opportunity to arise. If nothing else, San Antonio’s trip to Boston showed that some teams are just made to play one another. And while we may or may not see these two sides together again, their respective postseason runs will not be quick or lifeless. Call it a last stand if you want, but turning either the Celtics or Spurs away will be anything but enjoyable or routine.
Griffin Gotta contributes to The Hoop Doctors and is a co-managing editor of Straight Outta Vancouver. The story arcs and infinite weirdness of the NBA are addictions he deals with every day. Email him at griffingotta at gmail dot com.
