In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Boston Bruins had a player named Randy Burridge who became emblematic of the franchise. Burridge always gave the proverbial 110 percent, and was a good little player. Problem was, he did much better in the regular season than he did in the playoffs. Over the course of his career, he scored a goal once every 3.5 games in the regular season, but only once every six games in the playoffs. The drop-off in performance wasn’t really Burridge’s fault. While other players loafed through hockey’s endless regular season, Burridge hustled every night. But in the playoffs, more talented players neutralized Burridge’s effort because everyone tries hard in the postseason. Over time, I came to believe that the Bruins’ desire for collecting self-motivated muckers like Burridge who always gave their all ruined the franchise. The team’s front office minimized the value of talent, and that made them vulnerable in the playoffs. Year after year, management refused to learn that talent was the ultimate difference maker, since everyone tries when the games matter most. To memorialize the Bruins’ obsession with effort and lack of concern with talent, I even gave this peculiar disease a diagnosis–Randy Burridge Syndrome. I hate to say it, and I pray that I’m wrong, but I think I may be seeing a touch of Randy Burridge Syndrome in this year’s Boston Celtics. When the Celtics signed Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen in the off-season, I wasn’t sold. But I underestimated what a special player Garnett is. Garnett’s a magnificent talent–everyone who follows basketball knows that. But what I don’t think you can understand until you watch him play on a day in/day out basis is what a fanatical competitor he is. Garnett approaches every game as if it means everything. Basketball aficionados rightly lauded Larry Bird’s hungry-hearted efforts, but take it from a guy who saw most of the games in Bird’s career–his intensity level was nothing like Garnett’s. Throughout this past season, the Celtics fed off Garnett’s intensity and brought a unique level of commitment to each game. The Celtics showed up every night, and that’s an enormous rarity in professional sports where the regular seasons are endless. As evidence of their daily effort, the Celtics went the entire season without getting blown out. I think they lost by double digits only once. Again, trust me–it wasn’t like this with the Bird teams. There were games (like say the third game on the road in four days) that Bird and his teammates would play indifferently and get slaughtered. My concern with this year’s Celtics, admittedly based on a small sample of only five playoff games, is that they won’t react well when their intensity is finally matched. In their series with the Atlanta Hawks, the Celtics have played two of their worst games of the season. The fact that the younger, more athletic Hawks equaled the Celtics’ effort in those games seemed to bewilder the Celtics. The Celtics will probably get by the Hawks, but more talented teams that are ready to finally start trying lay in wait. The good news for the Celtics as they try to bring home their 17th championship banner is that they still may be the most talented team in the league. The Randy Burridge Syndrome Bruins never had such luck. The bad news for the Celtics is that the regular season, when the Celtics looked like the best team in the league by some margin, was something of a mirage. The Celtics may be a bit better than everyone else, but if they are the best team in the league, it isn’t by much. How the Celtics respond to that reality will determine how successful they are in the playoffs.
