Monday, June 13, 2011

8892: NBA News Addendum.


Sports fans might have read the previous NBA Finals post and thought, “Wait a minute. Didn’t the Boston Celtics essentially pull a similar acquisition strategy in 2007-2008 that led to an instant championship?”

Well, yes. But there were elements to the scenario in Boston that contrasted sharply to the Miami Heat. And like Madison Avenue enterprises, it all boils down to leadership.

Specifically, the Boston Celtics decision makers built around a strong foundation featuring Paul Pierce. All-Stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen were brought in to complement Pierce, and the team was further fortified with players like Eddie House, Scot Pollard and James Posey. Hell, Reggie Miller was almost persuaded to come out of retirement to join the squad. In short, the leadership had a vision for roles and responsibilities, and the players responded by assuming the roles with commitment and dedication—no one questioned what they were expected to do. Superstars literally set aside their personal scoring stats in order to ensure the team succeeded. Additionally, Head Coach Doc Rivers proved quite capable of managing and mentoring the players into a cohesive, unified force. The Boston Celtics experienced the best single-season turnaround in NBA history, ultimately beating the Los Angeles Lakers for the trophy and rings.

There was no fuzzy blueprint with ill-defined roles. There were no inexperienced coaches. The event was devoid of selfish players and preseason victory parades. In short, the Boston Celtics did not conduct matters like Madison Avenue idiots proclaiming to have invented “The Agency of the Future” while creating contrived crap of the past.

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