John Krolik looks at some issues of perspective concerning the NBA Finals. Including...
Question: Is the Laker offense broken, or is Boston's defense just that good?
Answer: Boston's defense is just that good. They swarm and recover like no other team is able to. They play physical without losing their heads. They don't let anybody get to where they want to go, and dictate the pace of the game even when the other team has the ball. They made Cleveland's offense look broken. They shut down Orlando's three-point attack and handcuffed Dwight Howard at times. They didn't let any Heat player other than Dwayne Wade have any kind of success. (Okay, maybe that wasn't all that hard.) Despite all the injuries they had in the regular season, they finished 5th in defensive efficiency.
In 2008, the last time Garnett was healthy for the playoffs, the Celtics dominated every offense in their path on their way to banner #17. That season, their defensive efficiency was the best in the league. They have the best defensive center in basketball this side of Dwight Howard. They have the best defensive point guard in basketball. Their power forward was the 2008 Defensive Player of the Year. Their defensive coordinator is perhaps the best defensive mind of the last 20 years. At some point, it is not a coincidence that so many teams forget how to play offense when they play the Celtics.