Going into the 2010-2011 season the Boston Celtics, with the offseason addition of the O'Neals, will be considered one of the oldest teams in league. Just like last season, when the team may struggle, people are going to resort to "the poor man's excuse" by blaming all the team's failures on their age.
I have three words for those people: Get-A-Grip. So what if the team has an average age of 28.4 years. That same core of guys came within a few minutes of proving EVERYONE wrong and raising banner eighteen. Remember last year when they were too old to get by the Heat in the first round? I do.
There's not a doubt in my mind that those same people will once again fall into the gutter this season and blame the Celtics poor play on their age. But, those same people will also be the people never to admit that the veteran presence on the squad last year was what got them a lot further than many expected.
And to those people that like to use "the poor man's excuse", I ask you this: Why are the Miami Heat the favorites to win this year's championship? The Heat are currently the third oldest team in the league with an average age of 28.1. To those same people I ask: Why are the Lakers the defending champions if their the oldest team in the league with an average age of 30.0?
The simple answer is this: Veteran experience helps win ball games. Having guys like Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce to rally the troups when their teams are down is crucial to success. As much as I hate to say it, the same can be said for Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, and Pau Gasol.
Throw a team of young superstars like Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose, and John Wall together. See how those guys react in a playoff like atmosphere with no veteran leadership. As much as I like KD I can gurantee you they would collapse. Why? Because they would have nobody that has been there before.
The Celtics, Heat, and Lakers will be three of the most successful teams this year for one reason. That reason being that they have players that know what it takes to win basketball games and they have players that have been to the big stage before. A lot of teams can't say that and a lot of teams will end the season disappointed.
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