When Doc Rivers was asked what he said to his new team back in October, he responded with one word, “Defense.”

If you think about it, that’s one thing that just about every team in the last two decades had in common. They all played very good defense.

Think about it!

Pistons — of course.

Bulls — Michael Jordan could shut people down, not to mention their other defensive assets.

Spurs — their defense is what makes them great.

Shaq & Kobe’s Lakers — a combination of good defense and methodical offense.

Miami Heat — this was Pat Riley, after all.

And now the Boston Celtics — they shut Kobe down in the Finals.

High offense teams have been able to get to the finals at times, but in the end defense has always won out. We never actually thought that D’Antoni’s Suns stood a chance of winning it all. Dallas never made it to the finals until Avery Johnson got his guys to play some semblance of defense. Nellie’s Golden State Warriors — please!?!

If you think about it in retrospect, the conclusion of the series was not really in doubt. History weighted the win highly in the Celtics favor, and the Celtics didn’t disappoint.

History-wise, San Antonio, Houston, or Utah (in the right mind set) would have probably stood a better chance at the title, but they couldn’t even get to the NBA Finals — two of them even being taken out by the aforementioned Lakers.

Yes — in the end — Defense won again.