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Originally Posted by kingmalaki
Magic last won at 29 because his team got worse. He balled until he retired (early at that) and carried LA to the Finals at 31.
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Of course his team got worse as they aged. The Celtics will do the same.
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Stockton & Malone were 34 and 33 when they got to their first Finals (losing to MJ). They barely beat my Rockets in 6 on a buzzer beater, and our big 3 at the time were 34, 34 and 33. Hakeem and Drexler were both 32 when they won it together. Older stars can get it done if they are in good health, and KG and Pierce really haven't had many injury issues.
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Don't forget the ages we are talking about here. The limit was 4-6 years. In that time, KG will be between 35-37, Pierce will be 34-36, and Ray Allen will be 36-38. The highest age you've cited is 34.
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The logical thing to do here is try and coast through the regular season just enough to get into the playoffs and then unleash hell with the big three. They shouldn't try to be #1 for a full 82 game schedule, especially when their only 3 weapons are that old.
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It's really hard to win without home court advantage, even when you've got great stars. Look at the Heat this year. I know Hakeem did it, but it isn't common. If they rest their guys during the regular season, they are going to be relying on big contributions from minimum-salaried players, and that simply won't get it done.