For teams like the Boston Celtics, successfully managing the noise is as vital as managing the game
In the most parity-fueled NBA season in years, a particular skill has emerged for teams looking to stake their claim as real contenders: Chaos management. There are always a slew of things that shape a season. Health. Luck. The coming together -- or not -- of off-season player and coaching changes. The development of young stars. The sudden age-forced expiration date of soon-to-be former stars. But more than those factors, this season has been about the carousel of craziness that has helped steer events across the league -- moments easy to forget for most of us as the days tick by, but that nonetheless remain critical realities for the teams enduring them. Take the Boston Celtics who brushed off a so-so stretch of recent games Thursday night by utterly dominating the Dallas Mavericks in a 124-95 beatdown, keeping their grip on the NBA's best record. That Boston at this ...