Jeremy Lundblad of ESPN Research has dug up some fun numbers at ESPNBoston on the dominance of the C’s starting five:
In the past three seasons, the Celtics’ primary starting five — Allen, Pierce, Garnett, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins – has started more games as a unit than any other in the NBA. When healthy, these guys are close to unbeatable
(snip) ™Rob Neyer
As a group, those starters are 94-25 together. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that is easily the best record of any starting five with at least 50 starts over the past three years. The next best unit is the now-defunct Pistons five of Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince,Antonio McDyess and the Celtics’ own Rasheed Wallace. In fact, this group is establishing itself among the best in franchise history. Need proof? When in the starting lineup together, Danny Ainge, Dennis Johnson, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish went 138-38, according to Elias data. That’s a .784 win percentage — lower than the .790 percentage of the current group.
The central thrust of the piece is that if the C’s core unit stays healthy, there is no reason to consider them any less likely to win the title than the Lakers, Magic, Cavs or any other team.
The 2007-08 season ended with a parade. Last season ended in MRIs, disappointment and a commitment to replenish the bench.
So what was the difference? Quite simply, health. Specifically, the health of Garnett, who missed 25 games and the postseason.
These numbers nicely encapsulate the deal the Celtics made with themselves—and the one we enthusiastically accepted—when they made the KG/Allen trades. They accepted the potential for high-level greatness along with the risk that age and injuries could derail that greatness at any time.
Does the 2008 title alone make the deal a success? After 22 years, I think it does.
One more interesting tidbit from the ESPN Boston piece:
The highest winning percentage in games played before Christmas in the past three seasons combined (source: Elias Sports Bureau):
| W-L | Pct. | |
|---|---|---|
| Celtics | 57-6 | .905 |
| Lakers | 46-16 | .742 |
| Magic | 46-20 | .697 |
| Suns | 43-20 | .683
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the thing about winning percentage before christmas is rather awe-inspiring, but i’m not so sure it’s a good thing. the spurs always make their mark by waiting until march to turn on their A game. i’d trade all these early season wins for health down the line when it matters. here’s hoping…