Celtics Lose But Future Is Bright
I’ve had a nights sleep to digest this.
As the Celtics fan of this duo, this was a very tough one to swallow. As an NBA fan, this was a great series. Watching an all-time do what he did is something remarkable and something that people across the country should appreciate because its not going to be around much longer. As difficult as it is for me to sit here and say good things about LeBron, you have to appreciate what he has done and what he has accomplished in his career. To do what he’s done this season is something few to none have done. Appreciate it while it’s here, fans. Because when it’s gone, who are you going to root against? Exactly. LeBron did what he does. You have to tip the ol’ cap.
But…
This loss royally sucked. The Celtics couldn’t have played defense any better than what they did, honestly. Holding an opponent to under 90 points should be an automatic win or as close it as there possibly is. The Celtics just could not his any shots. A ton of them uncontested, which I think stings worse more than anything. Shots Jaylen Brown has hit all year are not falling. Terry Rozier picking the worst time to have his worst game of the playoffs. I could go on and on. But I will say this about last nights game regarding the Celtics before I jump into what lies ahead for the Green Team:
If the Celtics shoot SLIGHTLY below AVERAGE, They win by 10. Easily. No questions asked. The Celtics left it up to Cavs role players to beat them and they did. Adam will and already has given me a fair amount of garbage for what I said about how the Cavs won. I told him that Jeff Green won the ball game last night. He just gets upset when I don’t give LeBron credit. I give LeBron credit all the time. An all-time great. But other people have to score too. Head coach Brad Stevens basically said, if you’re going to beat us, we’re going to let LeBron do him, but Jeff Green, George Hill and company are going to have to win you the game. Jeff Green showed up when I’m sure most of New England thought he would help Boston get to the Finals. And it bit them. Speaking of which, what a story for Jeff Green, eh? I’m not going to get into the heart surgery thing, because any REAL Celtics or NBA fan would’ve known the story years ago (A great story nonetheless. An underdog one). But when the Celtics traded for Green years ago, he was brought in with the potential to become part of another big three in town. To be the ‘’Heir Apparent” to Paul Pierce. The only thing consistent about Green in his time in Boston was inconsistency. Come full circle, he helped his team beat Boston and now he’s in the NBA Finals for the first time in his career.
Back to Boston and the season they had:
It is extremely difficult and sit here hours after a demoralizing defeat, to call this season a success, having literally been a game away from reaching the promise land. They had so many golden opportunities to close this puppy out. a 3-2 series lead. A great first quarter in game six with multiple opportunities. Game seven with 4th quarter leads. I could go on.
This season was a complete success and nothing less. Five minutes into opening night, you lose prized free agent signing and star F Gordon Hayward. Lose the first two games and rail off sixteen straight. Having to force Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum into more prominent roles. Role players having to play more than expected and become part of a rotation. Kyrie playing at a superstar level all year, only to have the screws in his knees get infected and lose him for the remainder of the season after just 60 games. Al Horford losing time to injury. Brown to injury. Shane Larkin to injury. Daniel Theis to injury. I could go on. Yet, the Celtics were minutes away from punching a ticket to the NBA Finals. The one consistent thing from this years team:
Brad Stevens.
This team would have been lost. This team could have folded. They could have given up. Brad Stevens put a bunch of mentally tough role players into a blender and look where it got them. I can’t say enough about what his ability to coach and and teach has meant for this franchise and they are so lucky to have him and his stability on that sideline, in that locker room.
This team is going to be good for years to come. As I have overstated: The team was minutes away from an NBA Finals appearance WITHOUT its two superstars players. While the pain of losing hurts, I do have some satisfaction in knowing that they got to where they were without two major pieces to this team. With them, theres no doubt in my mind. They would be in the Finals. Don’t @ me.
This offseason will be an interesting one to say the least, however. Marcus Smart is a restricted free agent. Most of where his value is doesn’t show up on the score sheet and a lot of people don’t understand that. A lot of people will also say he’s the heart and soul of this team. I can’t disagree with that. It’ll be interesting what kind of contract offers he gets this offseason. Boston has an opportunity here to keep him. Boston still has plenty of picks to keep, to trade, etc. There will be suitors if the Celtics want to sell high on someone like a Terry Rozier. He could be a start on half the teams in the league.The core of this team is still very young and will compete for years to come. Oh and also.. Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving will be back and healthy next season. That’s kind of a big deal…
So don’t hang your heads, Boston fans. I’m down in the dumps like you are. They played with house money. We caught feelings for this close knit group. In the end, they lost. But as Brad Stevens said: “Pain is part of the path.” Unfortunately, that is extremely true. This team made huge strides, defied odds and made some serious noise. This team will be back and potentially right where they were last night with a better ending.
We will discuss this and more on the next Deuces Wild Live Show and podcast as well. Links will be put out when that time comes. In the meantime, heres the link to our podcast:
As always, Long Live and Prosper, Biatch!
Alex
aka A-Wash
