Despite Insane 20-To-Nothing Rally, Celtics Fall Short As Season Concludes

It's not that I didn't know this was a possibility, even a probability. But, I'm just not ready to write about this at all.

There are stories about Paul Pierce having played his last game for Boston, Kevin Garnett maybe retiring...I'm just not ready to put it all into words right now, it sucks too much. How could we have lost like THAT to THIS team? I can't stand it.

"I told them after the game that I couldn't be more proud of a group of guys who went through a ton of adversity all year with all the injuries."

 - Celtics coach Doc Rivers

Me, too. These guys have been through a LOT. No excuses. But, they SHOULD be proud of themselves.

Ah, well...I suppose I can take solace in the fact that they're about to get stomped...if not this round by the Indiana Pacers then DEFINITELY in the next one. Miami owes them some payback.

Look at that...am I really pulling for Miami now? Is that what it's come to?!?!

I really, REALLY don't want to write about this. I think I'm gonna need some time off before I clean out my blogging locker for the season.

Box Score

Tale Of The Tape (Yes, it IS worth it just to see the rally...but if it's too soon...)

Celtics Put League On Notice With Wins Against Indiana, Philadelphia

 

Man, are these Celtics fun to watch or WHAT?

Team Green completed their recent back-to-back road challenge with wins against the Philadelphia 76'ers and the Indiana Pacers, but may have come away with more than just the W's.

 

At this point in the season, it's becoming trendy among NBA talking heads and blogsites galore to refer to the Boston Celtics as "The Team Nobody Wants To Face In The Playoffs."

 

Beginning on that fateful day back in late January against the Miami Heat when the Celtics learned that All-Star point guard and team engine Rajon Rondo would be down for the season, and extending through the season-ending injuries to rookie phenom Jared Sullinger and bench sparkplug Leandro Barbosa, the Celtics put down the potential excuses and picked up their play. Contrary to almost every basketball brain and hoops herald, the Celtics refused to roll over and wallow in the unfairness of it all, instead adapting, excelling and announcing to the league that they would be anything but an easy out come playoff time.
 

These Celtics have not only survived the kinds of losses that would have crushed even the strongest resolve of most teams (hey, Lakers...at least your underachieving center can actually play...you think Philly doesn't want that trading day back?), they've thrived, playing 17 games and losing only 4 of them. I think 17 games is a decent short-term indicator that these Boston Celtics are not laying down; not for the Miami's, Golden States and Indiana's of the world and they're giving no freebies to the rest of the league, either. Even more amazingly, they haven't so much as missed a beat while adding and incorporating quality replacements (maybe even improvements) for some of their fallen.

Speaking of those replacements... as well as the C's have been playing, as much as I absolutely love the free-wheeling, passing game, speed basketball that the team is now playing...what gives me the biggest batch of butterflies in the belly is the exuberant spirit of this team. These guys are really pulling for each other...I mean REALLY pulling for each other. If you watch the Celtics vs. Pacers Tale Of The Tape to about the 2:09 mark, you'll see what I mean about the bench and how they've been rooting for the team for this entire run.

 

Even the guys who aren't seeing a lot of playing time seem to be as ecstatic for their teammates as they would be for themselves had they been the ones making the winning plays. In fact, Terrence Williams -- whose signing I happen to believe was an absolute hijacking by the Celtics over the rest of the League -- who has seen less playing time than Jordan Crawford (another steal, I promise you), has been among the most vocal and supportive from the bench, often out of his seat cheering with the joy of a fan in front of his television. Watching how he and the other recent bench additions have been marveling at the exploits of the Hall-bound Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce up close makes me believe that whatever problems some of them were alleged to have had on past teams will be kept to the shadows, at least in the short-term.

 

In the meantime, inspired and greatly improved play from Avery Bradley and Jeff Green along with Jason Terry, Courtney Lee and Chris Wilcox has allowed Coach Doc Rivers to rest Pierce and Garnett for larger stretches of time, thus increasing the odds that they can dominate down the stretch during crunch time, if needed.

 

If the Shamrockers can keep-on keeping-on the way that they have been, the C's can move past just making the playoffs and start thinking about home court advantage (hey, don't laugh...the Celtics are just a GAME AND A HALF out of 4th place in the Eastern Conference!), and Doc can pull out the the 'ol whiteboard once again.

Don't get me wrong...I'm neither giddy enough to be oblivious to the possible pitfalls awaiting the C's as they race to the end of the regular season and I'm not so much of a homer that I don't believe that there may be great trials that lie ahead in the Playoffs for a team without a true playmaker (and the League's best one at that!).

 

But, just as there are people who believe that the most important things these Celtics are missing are Rondo, Sully, the Brazillian Blur and a true center, I believe that the most important things they lack are fear and the desire to quit, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

Once again...

Pacers Pasted By Resurgent Celtics: 94-76

 

Well, folks...THIS is what it feels like. Remember? I mean, c'mon...it was only last year since the C's won, after all.

For real, though...this was a nice, old-fashioned whuppin' delivered by a team that resembled 2011-2012 much more than 2012, and hopefully will continue through 2013!

To tell you the truth...this one feels so refreshing that I almost (ALMOST...) don't even fault the refs for completely blowing the call on Kevin Garnett vs. Tyler Hansbrough (19 points) in which they called a Flagrant 2 when KG was CLEARLY sweeping down while anticipating the ball coming up. It's not the Big Ticket's fault that Hansbrough moves like a spastic cat trying to dislodge a hairball.

No matter...the Celtics were in fine form, playing a brand of defense not seen around these parts since, well...sometime between "A Long Time Ago" and "Son, back in my day...".

Now, I don't want to start driving the Over-The-Top Express down the Hyperbole Highway, but Avery Bradley had a tremendous impact on the game on the defensive end, setting the tone for the rest of the Celtics with his frenetic, in-your-face hound-dog "D" every second that he was on the floor. Bradley didn't make much of a dent on the box score, but his presence everywhere else was intensely felt.

From the outset, the C's came out like tigers and never let their guard down as they built the lead to 20, veering well into Gino-Time (much to the ejected and dejected KG's chagrin) to close it out.

Rajon Rondo carried the golden mop to this waxing of the Pacers, scoring 18 points on 9-14 shooting along with 7 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals and a block. Rondo was joined by KG who also scored 18 points on 8-16 shooting, grabbed 7 rebounds, delivered 2 assists and snagged 1 steal while Captain Paul Pierce threw in 13 points on 5-10 shooting with 6 rebounds  5 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and one four-pointer, swishing a three as he was fouled (later sinking the freebie).

The Celtics also got solid contributions from their bench players. Coach Doc Rivers elected to start the same lineup that carried the team through most of the playoffs last year, reinserting Brandon Bass and moving Garnett back to center, which left Courtney Lee (13 points, 5 rebounds) to lead the reserves. Jared Sullenger was a board-brute, grabbing 10, scoring 7, swatting a shot and throwing many of the Pacers bigs to all corners of the paint.

As nice as this win was, and as much as I have been preaching patience to those who would sooner throw roses onto an emerald casket, it is exactly what the record shows: one win in the last five games. The Celtics are most certainly getting better, but they still have work to do before Commissioner David Stern gives up the trophy.

And, since we're taking that chill pill, can we also stop talking about Playoff seeding until we're at least a day or two on the other side of the All-Star Game? Thanks!

Still...this is a rare one to savor, Celtics fans. Did you savor it? Gooood.

Now quit yer celebratin' and get some shuteye! Atlanta is waiting.

Box Score

Tale Of The Tape

THE BUZZ:

Boston Celtics vs. Atlanta Hawks
Saturday, January 5th, 2013
7:30 p.m.
@ Phillips Arena, Atlanta, GA