Knicks-Celtics Summary

As the 2013 playoff series unfold, the old box score stats may not tell the whole story. These summaries will look at each series from the perspective of plus/minus. With an adjustment for minutes played, Oden's Knee will identify the players that stood out in each series, for good and bad reasons alike.

Best Plus Minus: Raymond Felton (+51 in 247 minutes). In the 2010 playoffs, Felton was the starting point guard of the Bobcats, and got swept out of the playoffs. He shouldered a lot of blame for Jameer Nelson exploiting pick and roll defense for big stats in that series. Since then, he signed with the Knicks, got traded to the Nuggets, got traded to the Blazers, possibly led a player mutiny, and then got traded back to the Knicks. None of that matters now, because he made Bill Simmons quit on Avery Bradley. Thank you, Raymond.

Worst Plus Minus: Jeff Green (-47 in 259 minutes). It's awesome to see Jeff Green playing and playing well. About 18 months ago, he was having heart surgery. He just finished a series for Boston that, from a production standpoint, exceeded his pre-surgery OKC days. Can he guard the burly small forwards of the East, like Carmelo and Lebron? Probably not. Can anyone? Probably not. But he's definitely an above-average starting small forward, with potential as a floor-spacing crunch time 4. Which means he's a decent piece for the Celtics going forward.

Most Valuable Player: Kevin Garnett (Net +30 in 212 minutes). I'm not the biggest Kevin Garnett fan in the world. I can't separate his play on the court with all the other stuff (if you don't believe me, type "Kevin Garnett Cheap Shot" into Youtube sometime). But, he played well in this series, so he gets his due. Nice work against the Knicks. Due completed, moving on.

Least Valuable Player: Jason Kidd (Net -63 in 158 minutes). Jason Kidd can bring shooting, smart ball movement, and generally good play-making regardless of time and score to an offense. On defense, though, his lateral quickness has understandably declined with age, and aside from smart positioning and good strength, he can be overmatched against younger, athletic guards. I'm not sure that the next round will bring him much relief in that department.

Jerome James Award: Team Reputation. When the Knicks went up 3-0 on the Celtics, this series was over, based on the history of the league. When the Celtics won two in a row, the series was still over based on that history. But based on the media's reaction to Game 5, the Knicks were exhibiting tell-tale signs of a lack of championship mettle. If only they could be like the time-tested Celtics, the pinnacle of playoff toughness, who don't give teams a chance to get back up once they're down.

If only they could be like the Celtics, who went up 3-2 on Miami in 2012 and lost. Or the Celtics who went up 3-2 on the Lakers in 2010 and lost. Or the Celtics who went up 3-0 on the Magic in 2010, and lost two in a row before winning game 6 to close it out (sound familiar?). Or the 2009 Celtics who went up 3-2 on the Magic and lost (including Game 7 at home). 

The truth is, we won't know what the 2013 Knicks are until the playoffs end. Sometimes, even when a team is going to eventually win it all, each round can be so excruciating, supposedly devoted fans can write something like this about their own team. So let's just wait until the Knicks are eliminated before we say they can't do anything like win it all. Because we said the same things about the 2009 Lakers, and the 2012 Heat, and we were completely wrong.