Celtic chatterbox

What's been the most impressive feat of the N-B-A season? The traditionalists might reveal the unusual scoring pace of some of the top teams; some modern philosophies might weave a spider-like web of transition offense from excellent defense.

But what no one seems to discuss is the ability for the Seattle Supersonics to expose a major weakness (that if other teams followed) could squeak out a victory over a now 24-3 club.

Of course Boston consumes it's opponents on defense in allowing a little more than 86 points per game; but the reality is the opposition should ALWAYS use the fast break because anyone who watched last's encounter saw Kevin Garnett gasping for air in the third quarter after "the Big Ticket" was mauling any combination of defenders in the first half. This included former New York Knicks good-guy Kurt Thomas.

Last night, after a prosperous beginning, Garnett was winded and the Celtics seemed fatigued as well. If it wasn't for the emergence of Paul Pierce in the third quarter along with contributions from Eddie House and James Posey in the second half, the Celtics would have suffered their fourth loss of the season.

Once again, the element of conjecture separating the clubs is the quality of depth in the personnel. Against House and Posey, one might not be able to play fastbreak basketball all day, but certaintly when the big three are in, an up-tempo game would be astute.

The conclusion I come to is that the Phoenix Suns have a better chance of knocking off the team with the best record in the eastern conference than the Spurs because of the strenuous and rampant pace of Steve Nash and company.

The C's have more than their fair share of challenges as Boston goes to La-La town to visit the 80's Lakers without "Showtime" Magic Johnson, or Kareem-Abdul Jabbar...how about James Worthy...is he a candidate for an Oscar sitting in the body of Lakers forward Lamar Odom? Not quite, but the Lakers have made a push for Western supremacy and situate themselves a game-and-a-half behind front-running Phoenix in the Pacific. The Lake show trails the Spurs by two-and-a-half in the West

After a mystical journey to where the Intercontinetal railroad was completed (and the west coast was connected with the East) the C's head to Laker-town...to take on one of the hottest clubs in the NBA

Either way, I'm sure the Celtics will go 4-0 on this road trip before heading to TD North Fork Bank Garden.

The point is to exploit the stamina issues faced by some veterans of the Boston Celtics. If the opposition gets in a half-court set there will be problems handling the number one defense in the NBA. Simply...follow Seattle's gameplan with the exception of the fourth quarter. The Sonics should have taught coaches around the league something about persistence on both ends of the floor.