Celtic Pride.

By Migs



After seven death-defying contests, the defending champion Boston Celtics have prevailed over he pesky Chicago Bulls.



This victory couldn't have come a moment too soon for either team.



The Bulls' youth showed in Game 7. The Bulls failed to adjust during pick and roll situations which made bigs like Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins seem like Shaq and Duncan in their prime. Paul Pierce still managed to get to wherever he wanted, and instead of doing single coverage on him, the Bulls doubled him constantly, leaving then sizziling shooters like Ray Allen and Eddie House (who didn't miss a free throw or field goal) to shoot daggers into the hearts of the visitors from Chi-town. Derrick Rose and Brad Miller dribbled way too much, and Joakim Noah's energy worked against him, as evidenced by the number of ill-advised fouls he committed. All in all, Boston ran an offensive clinic aganist a Bulls team that, in truth, "got lucky".



Ben Gordon scored 33 points for the Bulls, but only shot 7-23 from the floor, with 4-12 coming from behind the arc. While Rookie of the Year Derrick Rose scored 18 on 9-18 shooting, his lack of consistency made it hard for Chicago establish a good offensive flow. The Celtics amped up their defense in this game, too, forcing the young Bulls to take way too many jumpshots.



To me, the real X-Factors in this 7th game for the defending champions were Perkins and Davis, who combined for 29 points and 15 boards on 50% shooting. I realize that such sounds like a Dwight Howard statline, but with Kevin Garnett out, and with most eyes being on Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, and Rajon Rondo, the contributions of the Celtics' "big trees" proved to be invaluable in securing a ticket to the Eastern Conference semis.



The Bulls enter an offseason, still, defined by promise. Tyrus Thomas has developed himself into a more than serviceable energy player off the bench, and his newly-found 17 foot jumper has made him that much more dangerous. Joakim Noah- assuming he finds a way to mellow down when he has to- will become an even better player than the one we see today. Ben Gordon will be a free agent, and whether or not the Bulls re-sign him or not, Chicago's savvy top brass, led by GM John Paxson, should be able to bring someone back who can match- or surpass- Gordon's scoring prowess. John Salmons has proven himself to be one of the top pickups of the season, and with a little more playoff seasoning, he could potentially blossom into a Josh Howard-ish type of cager. Derrick Rose is star, and with more experience, he should help continue to redefine the point guard position for this generation- and the next.



7 games, a lot of extra TV time, and a whole lot of close calls later, we'd expect that we'd have time to catch our breath. Not so.

Things should only get more thrilling from hereon in.