By Rick Morris
June 24, 2008 2:52pm CDT

The path to the NBA title in recent years has often been paved with defense – San Antonio and Detroit accounted for four titles since 2003 with their shutdown approach. Even last year's Eastern Conference Champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers, embodied that approach (largely because their head coach Mike Brown is a disciple of San Antonio's Coach Pop). This year, although the efforts of the Big Three got the lion's share of attention, the most important reason that the NBA title returned to Beantown after more than two decades was the strong defensive approach directed by ace assistant coach Tom Thibodeau. The proof was in the proverbial pudding, as the Celts allowed a mere 90.3 PPG in the regular season and 88.8 PPG through the playoffs. Further proof as to the effectiveness of sound defense: what was the only team throughout the postseason to take Boston to a closely-contested Game 7? The aforementioned Cavs.

While Kevin Garnett may well be regarded in the eyes of history as the best player of the Big Three (and will be ranked even higher in the roto history books!), it's the Boston veteran of the trio who has received the accolades as the heart and soul of this team. And rightfully so. Paul Pierce's emergence in the Finals with 21.8 PPG and 6.3 APG (up from 19.6 PPG and 4.5 APG in the regular season) was key to the Celtics' surprisingly easy win over LA. KG was an absolute beast on the boards with an even 13 RPG against the Lakers. And how's this for awesome? His defensive RPG in the series (9.3) exceeded, however slightly, his total RPG in the regular season (9.2). Garnett also participated in a trend that saw Boston frontcourt members increase their SPG from the regular season in this series; the big man went from 1.4 SPG to 1.7 SPG, James Posey went from 1.0 SPG to 1.3 SPG, Kendrick Perkins went from .4 SPG to .6 SPG and P.J. Brown went from .3 SPG to .5 SPG. And, as had been noted in previous columns, Glen Davis had not made an appearance in the Boston lineup…until the final game when he pulled down four rebounds in 15 minutes.

Like Pierce, Ray Allen brought increased scoring from the wing to Boston in the NBA Finals (21.8 PPG, up from 19.6 PPG in the regular season). This was paced in part by an otherworldly .524 three-point percentage. Rajon Rondo may have been a work in progress quarterbacking this incredible offense for much of the year, but the young man was really effective in the Finals, boosting his regular season APG total of 5.1 to 6.7 against the Lakers. Sam Cassell continued to look completely washed up and contributed a mere 3.8 PPG. Are the Celtics really obligated to spend money on his ring?