What to Take From Celtics-Knicks Series

After the Celtics swept the Knicks, I heard two different, competing mantras being repeated: "They were playing a team with one healthy superstar and it means absolutely nothing" or "The Celtics have as usual turned it on come playoff time again and are favorites to come out the East." I am somewhere in the middle. Here are the main 7 things I got from this series:

• Ray Allen has officially gotten himself out of his slump. While I think this has much to do with the Knicks just not playing good D and not chasing him well enough around picks, he is a streaky shooter who once he gets hot is hard to stop. I see this continuing as Wade cheats too much on defense trying to help out. Last time they played Wade closed well and Allen was still in his slump. If he gets that much room this time around, I don't seem him missing whether Wade closes out fast or not.
• Rondo is attacking the rim. Again, this has as much to do with Tony Douglas backing up until he is at the rim and giving Rondo a lay up as it does with Rondo playing great. This does give Rondo the confidence and boost he seemed to have needed though. As we have seen over time, when his confidence increases so does his ability to shoot and make a 12 foot jump shot and his aggression attacking the rim. Let's hope they are both here to stay as PG is still the position to attack against Miami.
• As a Celtic fan this is feeling eerily similar to the end of the '09 season. Does Ainge really think the fans are this dumb? Shaq updates are looking the exact same as when KG was day-to-day from the end of March all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals without stepping a foot on the court. I think Ainge knows admitting Shaq is more 'out indefinitely' than 'day-to-day' would be admitting the Perkins trade was a failure and that relying on the oldest and one of the biggest players in the league was just downright stupid. We can only hope that Shaq really is close to playing again, but I wouldn't count on it.
• The other O'Neal has been a very welcome surprise so far. He contributed about 20-25 very good minutes every game this series and was a much better defensive stopper then anyone expected. He also was huge in the extremely close Game One on the offensive side, getting 12 points on 6-6 shooting. It also had to help that the Knicks do no have one real center on their roster. I can not help but remember the final game vs. the Heat where Joel Anthony threw JO around the court like a rag doll and held him to 0 rebounds, 0 points, 4 personal fouls, and 1 turnover in 14 minutes. Again, we can only hope that he can continue to get some boards, blocks, and hit a open shot if asked too in the upcoming games vs. the Heat.
• "If Jeff Green can only get comfortable.".. Is anyone else getting sick of hearing this? How long are we supposed to be expecting this to take? Yes, he does show flashes of being a good offensive threat, but that is overshadowed by his passiveness and settling for jumpers. He has to realize he is much better when he drives and posts up down low than when he takes long jumpers and 3s. The man who was supposed to be the answer to the bench's offensive problems and give Pierce some rest gave absolutely nothing this series, against what will be the worst defense we will face all postseason. He also, as usual, did not provide anything on the defensive side either.
• The gaping whole at center is still there, and will always be there, throughout the playoffs. The 20 offensive rebounds the Celtics gave up in Game 2 vs. a team that was 21st in the league in that category in the regular season is just pathetic. They will not be able to have a close game, let alone win a game, if they allow teams to do this to them. This is more a personnel problem then it is a players not playing well problem. On the positive side, all the teams with huge advantages down low are not doing great right now. Orlando is down 3-1 to Atlanta, Lakers are tied 2-2 with the Hornets and have been playing horribly, and Chicago has not been playing great and Rose now has a sprained ankle.
• While this has no effect on the rest of the playoffs, I have to take note of it somewhere. Paul Pierce in Game 3 had one of the most efficient offensive performance I have ever seen from a non-big man. He ended that game going 14/19 from the field, 6/8 from 3, and 4/4 from the line for 38 points. What makes this even more amazing is that he only had 2 shots in the paint and played just 33 minutes. He ended that game with a TS% of .91.

In the end I left this series seeing the exact same team I saw come in too, but now just with more confidence. The Celtics are still a contending team with no bench and no real big man.