I can't even tell you how many comments I've read in the past 48 hours, whether in papers or my inbox, with the supposition that, "if Cleveland could win the East with LeBron James and a bunch of nobodies," then Garnett's arrival in Boston -- pairing him with All-Stars Paul Pierce and Ray Allen -- virtually guarantees the Celtics the conference title.

Apparently these people feel there are only two kinds of basketball players -- those with shoe commercials and those without -- and further, that the players in the latter category all form one giant huddled mass under the banner of "role players" whose impact on wins and losses is utterly negligible.

Cleveland's nobodies are actually decent players. None of them are anywhere near LeBron's stratosphere, which is what helps gives the impression that the Cavs are a one-man band. And in comparison to better-balanced teams like the Pistons and Bulls, they tend to look that way. But compare them to the Celtics, and suddenly their nobodies start looking pretty good.