Paul Pierce | McClelland Miscellanea

Shaquille O’Neal converts a defended layup during the Celtics fast start versus Denver.

(Boston) I saw the Boston Celtics defeat the Denver Nuggets, 105-89, at the TD North Garden on Wednesday night.

The Celtics started fast (16-4) and Denver (missing Carmelo Anthony – inflamed knee) could never get all the way back. They did rally to within one (51-50) with 3:24 left in the first half but fell back to ten behind (77-67) late in the third quarter. The Denver defense struggled to contain the numerous Celtic weapons.

Rajon Rondo played despite hamstring issues. On this night, there were no sudden darts to the basket. He did have thirteen assists, however.

Ray Allen (28 points) had plenty of good looks and not surprisingly cashed in regularly.

Kevin Garnett (17 points/9 rebounds) also found open shots working two-man plays. Has he ever played better?

Paul Pierce (17 points) can score but his defensive consistency separates him from other scorers in the NBA.

Big Baby Davis (16 points) was supposedly sick. He is the go-to guy in the second unit. His greatest pleasure these days seems to be taking charges. He had at least one in this game.

Shaquille O’Neal – Danny Ainge should apologize to the other general managers in the NBA for signing this guy. No team in the league has a player capable physically of covering Shaq alone down low. Put him on the Celtics, and their shooters, and teams have to do that. At times it was hard to even see the Denver defender assigned to Shaq! Another thing that Shaq does is give, what I would call, a hard foul on drivers. With limited minutes Shaq’s fouls aren’t crucial because there are replacements for him. His fouls probably discourage some potential drivers.

That’s eight straight wins for the C’s, as Bob Cousy calls them, and there’s plenty to like so far.

I could not resist tossing in my two cents about the Celtics championship.

I think you really had to go through the last few Celtic seasons to appreciate this one as much as I do. Those teams were going nowhere and only the greatest of optimists would suggest otherwise.

The common denominator in all those bad years was Paul Pierce. I will admit that I had no use for that Paul Pierce. I thought that he was excessively selfish and watching him force his offense was not pleasant. Then there were issues for him off the court and I never could quite warm up to the chest-pounding routine. I would not have had any concerns over his being traded elsewhere.

But he was not traded and Danny Ainge miraculously was able to get Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen into Boston green. The moves gave the Celtics instant credibility but assured them of no league championships or higher honors. Other teams have put superstars together and gotten mixed results.

It surely helped the Celtics chances to be in the woe-be-gone East. Beyond that who knew how they would do? Then they took that trip west to face the highly regarded Western Conference and competed in a fashion that got everyone’s attention.

One thing became very clear about the 2007-08 C’s – they took playing defense seriously. How important assistant coach Tom Thibideau was in all this is hard to assess. Less difficult to figure was the impact that Kevin Garnett had defensively. His intensity on defense was easy to see. Watching him in action, you could tell that he expected his teammates to match his intensity. With some collection of players, Garnett’s intensity might not have flown well. With the newly assembled C’s it became a trademark. The key here was that the established Celtic – Paul Pierce – bought into what Garnett was selling.

The presence of three established scorers made the offense a pleasure to watch since the determination on the defensive end was matched with a similar determination to share the ball on offense. The Celtics exploited matchups when Kendrick Perkins got single coverage inside with no support defense nearby. The Celtics (finally?) figured out that a double-team meant that one of their teammates was wide open. Early on the players talked about “trusting each other” on offense. We saw smart basketball on display for most of the season, unlike the few years before this one.

The playoffs made me nervous. Maybe if they had blown out Atlanta, instead of needing a seventh game, it would have been easier to take in. Too many of the games throughout the playoffs were tight and too many of them were decided after 11:30PM. I usually had the clicker in hand and would exit the Celtics game to watch a movie or keep track of the Red Sox. Cowardly, I know.

It seemed fitting that the last game of the Finals would be played back in Boston. Celebrating on another team’s court just is not as much fun as getting it done at home amidst family and friends. And that last game was so easy to watch as the lead grew and grew and grew. Early on in the 3rd quarter even the biggest worrywart, like yours truly, was able to relax and enjoy the fun.

Can the Celtics repeat? Maybe. I do know that as long as Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce are together (at least two years contractually) they will be highly competitive and have a chance to be special again. The Red Sox and the Patriots have reached the level of being consistently competitive. Maybe the C’s can too.