Where Defibrillators Happen

At halftime of tonight's game between New York and Boston, I had given up on the 2010-2011 Celtics.

I was convinced Boston was done. Cooked. Over. Washed up. I was cursing the very air that Danny Ainge breathes. I was wishing for Kendrick Perkins the way a heart broken 14 year old wishes for her first ex-boyfriend.

When the Celtics trailed by 12 at halftime, I was assuming several things to be true about the team. First, I assumed that the Celtics had been winning games at the beginning of the season based on two things: intimidation and team camaraderie. The intimidation came from the interior defense. Opposing wings knew one thing: if they challenged any combination of Perk, Shaq, or KG by driving, chances were they were going to end up on their rear ends. The Celtics bullied teams, pure and simple.

But more important than intimidation was the camaraderie. The Celtics were a real team, a group who believed in and needed each other, a symbiotic ecosystem of friendships, egos, and roles. They had bought into Doc River's preachings of Ubuntu back in the summer of 2007 and had created an environment in which they had convinced themselves that, when together, they had a team that could not be beaten in the playoffs. They were running on pure confidence, working together on both offense and defense to grind out win after win.

Which brings us to the Celtics dirty little secret: in 2010-2011, Boston is not the most talented team. Not in the NBA, not in the Eastern Conference, heck, they might not be the most talented team in the Atlantic Division. It's difficult to acknowledge, as a Celtics fan who loves this current team more than some parents love their children, but it's a harsh reality that this team's championship window is closing much faster than I would like to admit.

But the playoffs are a whole new animal, as we have seen in...well...every single series so far. The Knicks kept punching the Celtics in the face with big three after big three late in the game, and the Celtics just kept taking punch after punch, kept spitting out teeth and grinning crookedly at the assailant, and kept on coming, until with 12 seconds left, they were right where they wanted to be: Ray Allen spotting up outside the 3 point line.

Going forward, Celtics fans can take comfort knowing this: while their team isn't the most talented, they are far and away the most experienced playoff team in the Eastern Conference. And that sincerely matters. Boston is not going to get flustered. They have veterans and shooters who can keep them in every single game, regardless of how far behind they get. Their top two challengers in the East? Miami, whose two superstars have less playoff experience than you'd think. LeBron has been to the Finals once, as a precocious third year player, before getting swept by San Antonio. Wade has a championship ring...and hasn't won a playoff series since. And Chicago, whose young superstar Derrick Rose has never won a playoff series.

I have no idea if this matters. The Celtics could lose the next 4 games. They could win this series, and get swept by the more talented Heat. They could beat the Heat and find the Derrick Rose show to be too much. They could win the title. Honestly after these first two days of absolutely insane playoff action, it would take a lot to surprise me. But here at the beginning of the playoffs, hope springs anew: after Game 1, it's 1-0 Boston.

15 more wins to go.