Celtics Post-Mortem

We may have seen the Big Three in Celtics green for the last time

They were supposed to be too old, too tired, too slow.  They should have been worn out after needing six games to dispose of the Hawks, and then seven to dispatch the Sixers.  There was no way they could possibly beat LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, two superstars in the prime of their careers that joined forces with the aspirations of winning eight championships. Despite all that, these veteran Boston Celtics, so often compared to Bill Russell's final team in 1969, found themselves needing just one more win to advance to the Finals.  Although they built a double digit lead and won the first 40 minutes of Game 7 they, as they did against the Lakers in the Finals two years before, simply ran out of gas.  After playing their hearts out for three plus quarters, with their third Finals in five seasons within reach, they got cold at the worst possible time. 

It was like somebody flipped a switch and turned off the lights....

Boston's shots stopped falling as Miami's vaunted defense clamped down.  A red-hot Chris Bosh, fully recovered from his abdominal strain, started sinking corner threes.  King James, who's been something of a Celtic assassin these past two postseasons, did his Kobe Bryant impression by drilling a backbreaking three from what seemed like another area code as the shot clock expired.  The crowd exploded into a wild frenzy. The Heat, furiously gathering momentum like a tropical storm in the Gulf just before it develops into a full-fledged hurricane, were clicking on all cyclinders. Boston fans could feel the game, and the season, slipping away.  It felt like the Celtics were standing still, and that the Heat were sprinting past them to the finish line.  We all hoped that this valiant team, one that had persevered through so much adversity and defied the odds, had one more last-ditch comeback in them.  But it was evident that they had nothing left to give, not after 66 regular season games crammed into four months followed by 20 exhausting playoff games.  They'd expended all their energy, used up all their bullets, were running on fumes with four flat tires.  And so the infinitely younger, more talented and more athletic Miami Heat surged past them and secured a date with the Oklahoma City Thunder, ending Boston's season for the second year in a row in the process.  Still, you have to be proud of the way they scratched and clawed to get to that point, on the doorstep of the finals.  This team was as resilient as any, and nobody, not even the Heat, can take that away from them.  They gave it their all, and in the end it just wasn't enough.

The Celtics lost, but they still have
plenty to be happy about

This crushing 101-88 defeat ended a magical run, a rollercoaster ride that ultimately served as a fitting conclusion to a half decade of success not enjoyed by the franchise since the days of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.  But unlike that original Big Three which won three championships during the 1980s, the 21st Century edition was not homegrown.  Instead they were born out of the hopelessness and despair from the 2007 NBA Draft, when the 24-58 Celtics fell to fifth in the lottery, missing out on Kevin Durant and Greg Oden.  GM Danny Ainge responded that summer with some historic wheeling and dealing that brought Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, a pair of established, accomplished and equally frustrated thirty-something superstars, to join the incumbent Paul Pierce. They came together to win a ring, something that had eluded all three as they built Hall-of-Fame worthy resumes.  They knew full well that they would have to sacrifice touches and personal stats in order to coexist,  and thus embraced the African philosophy Ubuntu, which means "I am what I am because of what we all are."  To his credit, Ainge surrounded them with a deep, versatile bench that featured James Posey, Eddie House, P.J. Brown, Glen Davis, and Sam Cassell. The rewards were both grand and immediate; after winning 66 regular season games the Boston Three Party defeated the favored Los Angeles Lakers on the parquet floor the following June for the team's 17th championship banner, cementing their reputations as Celtic legends. 

Four calendar years later, when the Heat pulled away and an emotional Doc Rivers finally removed his exhausted starters from the game, it punctuated the end of an era.  They saved basketball in Boston, a city that had been much more concerned with the Red Sox and Patriots throughout the new milennium, but now the team faces an uncertain future.  Garnett and Allen's contracts are up, and even if they return this team is clearly too old--Pierce will be 35, KG 36 and Jesus Shuttlesworth 37--to have a serious shot at another title, even with a healthy Jeff Green and Avery Bradley.  I feel like they caught lightning in a bottle this year, and that they won't be able to replicate this success next year.  Don't get me wrong; I'm not writing off KG and Allen just yet.  I think they would like to return, and I'd love to see them both come back in more limited roles--the man who broke Reggie Miller's three point mark would be a potent weapon off the bench.  Realistically, they will have a plethora of suitors this offseason, particularly younger teams looking to add experienced, but productive NBA veterans.  This summer Ainge has a lot on his plate.  He will have to rebuild, regroup, and reload as he looks to build around his star point guard Rajon Rondo,

Of course such talk is premature.  Nobody knows the future, and both could be back a few months from now, ready to make another run at banner number 18.  Even if they don't, and this is indeed the end, we can take away the following five signs of encouragement.

Doc is a great coach

When Doc speaks, his players listen

We knew this already, but he put any doubts to bed this season.  2011-2012 had to be his most challenging campaing with the lockout, injuries, a thin bench and Father Time all working against his team.  In the face of early season struggles and swirling trade rumors, Rivers remained calm and rallied his players, helping them to achieve more than anyone could have possibly expected.  He has a special relationship, bond, connection--whatever you want to call it--with his players, and knows them like a father knows his children.  He loved this team, and they loved him back.  I'm convinced that had he retired last summer, this team gives up and doesn't make it out of the first round.  His influence on their success can't be emphasized enough, and as a former All-Star point guard he's the perfect coach for Rondo.  The Celtics are fortunate to have him at the helm for the next four seasons, even if his services are costing them seven million bucks per year.


Kevin Garnett's resurgence
The Big Ticket proved that, even at 36 and with 17 NBA seasons (50,000+ minutes including playoffs) under his belt, he still has something left in the tank. KG thrived when Rivers moved him to the five after Jermaine O'Neal went down with knee and wrist injuries, finishing the regular season strong and playing like a beast in the playoffs.  He was vintage KG, averaging a cool 19.2 points and 10.3 boards while shooting just under 50 percent from the floor (all right in line with his career averages) and hauling in more rebounds than anybody else throughout the first three rounds, easily his most productive postseason since Boston's 2008 title run.  Granted, he will never be the same player he was before the knee strain he suffered during his second season with the Celtics, but like Tim Duncan he is aging gracefully and can still be a monster from time to time. Many have speculated that he will retire, and given the amount of money he's made on top of his lengthy list of achievements (championship, MVP, 14 All-Star nods, Olympic Gold Medal, etc.) that seems entirely likely.  He's looked painfully old at times during the last couple years, and he'll need plenty of rest during the regular season to keep his legs fresh for the playoffs.

Rajon Rondo's improvement

Rondo will be back, and could be better than ever

Rondo's a headcase that makes a lot of people pull their hair out after watching his nonchalant passes, missed layups and spotty shooting.  When the playoffs roll around, he stops messing around and takes  his game to another level (look no further than Game 2, or his triple double in Game 7).  Already one of the fastest, most dynamic catalysts in the league, he looks like an MVP candidate when the pressure ramps up.  He proved when Pierce fouled out during Game 2 that he can be a go-to scorer when needed.  Facilitating is still his bread and butter, but if Allen and Garnett do leave, Rondo will be asked to shoulder more of the scoring burden.  I believe he can step up in this regard. Admittedly a major component is whether or not he can sharpen his free throw shooting, as he's never topped 65 percent from the charity stripe and has been below 60 the past two seasons.  If he could just get to 70 percent, he'd be much more confident attacking the basket and challenging defenders knowing that he can make them pay if they foul him. While his jump shot is still a work in progress, he's come a long way since his rookie season and should only get better as he continues to improve.  I don't think he'll be able to lead the league in assists while scoring in the upper teens, as Steve Nash did during his MVP years, but he could certainly average 15 or 16 with double digit assist totals.  For what it's worth he averaged 17.3 during these playoffs, and in his past four postseasons he's averaged 16.2.  There's no denying he's the most talented Boston Celtic.  With all due respect to Pierce, this is Rajon's team now.  In Rondo we trust. 

Avery Bradley's emergence
Ainge, stuck with poor draft positioning because of the team's success since creating the Big Three, has not been able to draft/develop young talent capable of succeeding his trio of stars.  Gabe Pruitt, J.R. Giddens, Luke Harangody, Bill Walker and Patrick O'Bryant didn't exactly set the world on fire, you know?  That's why the front office was always looking to acquire reinforcements during the midseason and offseason, thus bringing in past their prime Rasheed Wallace, Shaquille O'Neal, Jermaine O'Neal, Stephon Marbury, etc. all of whom came and left through the revolving door.  Bradley, whom Ainge drafted from the University of Texas at Austin with the 19th overall pick in a deep 2010 class (John Wall, Evan Turner, Greg Monroe, DeMarcus Cousins, Paul George), has been his lone success story, a formidable wing defender in the same mold as Tony Allen but packaged with a superior offensive game. The 21 year-old made great strides this season, especially in April when he stole the starting shooting guard spot from Ray Allen and averaged more than 15 points a game. Unfortunately, just as AB was gaining confidence he missed the entire Heat series with a dislocated shoulder that needed season ending surgery.  I sincerely believe that the Celtics would have won had he been healthy (reminiscent of Perkins two years ago), primarily during the pivotal Game 2 when Dwyane Wade caught fire late in the game and helped stun the C's in overtime.  Bradley would have slowed him down and prevented that hot streak.


Brandon Bass fitting in

As I predicted back in December, he was a great fit in Boston and represented a substantial upgrade over Glen Davis.  Some were worried that he'd struggle like Jeff Green did after OKC swapped him with Kendrick Perkins last year, but Bass played well right out of the gate and earned Rivers' trust. At 6'8" he's an undersized power forward any way you slice it, but he held his own against opposing bigs and played pretty solid D on LeBron James in Game 7.  He's pretty athletic and agile around the room, but at times he relies on his jumper a little more than he has to. Continued to build upon his last season with the Magic, when he finally cracked the starting five. Has his ups and downs, but at the end of the day he's just a rock solid player who doesn't really excel at any particular aspect of the game, but can do everything except shoot threes.  He still needs to improve his passing and help defense to become a more polished player.