EA SPORTSDESK -- NBA Playoff Series of the Week

By Shawn Drotar, Executive Editor, 5WGaming.com

April 22, 2009

The defending NBA champion Boston Celtics were on cruise control for most of the regular season, and while they were surpassed in the standings by the top-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers, the Celtics weren't intimidated -- after all, they had been resting their best player, forward Kevin Garnett, and his sore knee, expecting him to return for the playoffs and another championship run.

That was then.

Garnett's knee has not improved, and after watching him hobble though a few practices, coach Doc Rivers claimed that Garnett's season was over. The Celtics, however, were confident enough to carry on without him, believing that they had enough depth to withstand his loss against the seventh-seeded Chicago Bulls.

That theory was tested when rookie point guard Derrick Rose arrived on the playoff scene with a splash, scoring 36 points and handing out 11 assists to lead the Bulls to a shocking 105-103 upset in Boston.

In Game 2, Ray Allen's clutch shooting and Rajon Rondo's triple-double allowed the Celtics to escape the Bulls, 118-115 and avoid dropping the first two games in the series at home.

But even that positive news was tempered after the Celtics received word that forward Leon Powe, a high-energy player who was being counted on to offset Garnett's loss, suffered a torn ACL in Game 2, ending his season.

Now, the series moves to the Windy City, where the Bulls lie in wait for the wounded champs.

The Celtics are still a dangerous team, led by the all-around talent of Paul Pierce, Allen's dead-eye shot and the explosiveness of Rajon Rondo's play at the point. But without Garnett and Powe, the Celtics' frontcourt of Kendrick Perkins and Glen Davis has more size than athleticism, and that plays into the Bulls' strength.

Certainly, the youthful Rose runs the Bulls' offense, but down low, the duo of Tyrus Thomas and Joakim Noah are quicker and more skilled than their Boston counterparts. With former All-Star Brad Miller, one of the best passing centers in NBA history, playing big minutes off the bench, the advantage in the paint has clearly tipped in the Bulls' favor.

While Pierce and Allen are superior players to their Bulls' counterparts, John Salmons and Ben Gordon, the latter two aren't slouches. Salmons is an underrated player in all aspects of the game, and Gordon can score with anyone, as witnessed by his 42 points in Game 2.

The much-ballyhooed arrival of Stephon Marbury was expected to make the Celtics more dangerous, but Marbury's defensive skills -- or desire -- have eroded to the point where he's more of a liability than an asset; Bulls' backup point guard Kirk Hinrich is a much more effective player.

At this point in the series, after watching the Bulls claim home-court advantage in Game 1 and only narrowly losing Game 2 on the Celtics' home court, it's safe to assume that the defending champs are in big trouble.

But they're still the defending champions, and the Celtics won't surrender their crown without a fight. This week's games will likely determine whether they'll be strong enough to retain it for one more round.