You know me well enough by now to know that if I can take a snipe at players that aren't playing up to snuff or that don't give 100% effort all the time I'm going to do it and I could care less about whose feelings I hurt along the way.
Was Rondo by and large horrible in Game 7? You know it.
Were the Celtics up 3-2 in a series heading back to Boston to close out a ridiculous, heavily-favored Heat team? Yup.
Is it possible that the Celtics thought that they clinched the series (and effectively broke the Heat) in Game 5 with a particularly hard-fought win in South Beach? Absolutely.
So given those three questions in the affirmative, why am I not screaming for Rondo and the Gang's heads after an epic fail in the 4th quarter of Saturday's Game? Because I don't think they choked. I think they lost in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals despite moving on to Miami.
Avery Bradley's injury was the be-all, end-all for any sort of title run for the Celtics this year. He was the only player on the floor that could keep Rondo engaged, because he was the ONLY one that could out-run him and the only one that could truly run with him. He also was the only player that you could put on EITHER Dwayne Wade or LeBron James, and shut them down which would allow the other 4 players on the court to play help defense and concentrate more on rebounding.
It has been said that "the Celtics go how Rondo goes", and you'll note that the C's turned their season around when Allen went out with an injury, Bradley took the reigns on the 2 guard slot and ran his way into the hearts of Celtics fans which re-ignited Rondo's thoughts of grandeur.
At times Rondo was frustrated with the lack of speed that the aging Celtics stars' showed and Bradley was that youthful piece that had Rondo playing that schoolyard run and gun that he loves to show. Admit it, you started watching Celtics games again (with optimism) when you saw that tenacious defense, insane foot speed and that ridiculous block on Dwayne Wade on that Nationally Televised game in April.
As for the rest of the team/season, the last time I felt so invested in a T-E-A-M, was the 2004 Red Sox. Kevin Garnett finally built his DeLorean, and seeing the old KG was a treat that I didn't think I'd get to see again. It took Jesus a while but to see Ray Allen's stroke come back in Game 7 was only fitting that he end his career in Boston (and make no mistake he's not coming back) the same way it started, with that smooth quick release draining triple after triple. Paul Pierce was by and large a liability in this series, I hate to say that but his offense killed us, however seeing him drain a three in LeBron's face is a lasting image that puts a devious smirk on my face. Brandon Bass has turned out to be one of the top three trades that Danny Ainge has made as Boston's GM.
As for 2013, What will happen?
For Starters, Kevin Garnett is not retiring and the Celtics will sign him to a 2-year, I'm thinking around 20-million dollar deal. That would line his contract up with Paul Pierce and then the two of them can ride off into the sunset together like Tonto and the Lone Ranger.
Ray Allen will leave and most likely become a member of the Miami Heat. He carried himself with the utmost professionalism despite not being a fan of coming off the bench, and he wants to start and would start for many teams in the NBA. I personally would like to thank Mr. Shuttlesworth for the privilege of allowing me to watch him play for the Celtics. You are a true professional and if more players were like you I'd have far less to bitch about.
Brandon Bass has a player option, but I hope the Celtics rip it up and sign him to a two year deal.
As far as free agency goes, I think the Celtics need to think Big. The players I want them to target are: Carl Landry, Roy Hibbert and Chris Kaman. A little factoid that may not be known by all was that Landry had the highest success rate down on the block than anyone else in the NBA. Hibbert would be a defensive force that could really sure up the lane from the slashers of Miami. and Kaman would be, in a word, white. I also would LOVE to see them take a flyer on Greg Oden. Call me a person that likes to believe in the feel-good story but I'd love to see Greg Oden revive his career in the Bean (he's still only 25!). I don't anticipate him playing much in 2013 but he'd be affordable and getting him ingrained in the KG culture, could pay dividends for the 2014 season.
A Starting Lineup of Rondo, Bradley, Pierce Garnett and Hibbert/Landry sounds pretty formidable.
The Celtics will most likely be getting Jeff Green back, despite his impending free agency. Chris Wilcox is also on the mend and would be a tremendous addition to the bench. Players like E-Twaun Moore and JuJuan Johnson will probably have an increased role in the team which probably means that Dooling is out in place of Moore and Hollins is out in place of Johnson. The Steamer isn't going anywhere and if he can somehow control his rampant fouling will be a shot-blocking assassin coming off the bench.
A bench of Brandon Bass, Jeff Green, Chris Wilcox, E-Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson isn't the worst that I've seen either.
If the Celtics signed everyone back from this year they are already better than Orlando, Atlanta, Indiana and a Derek Rose-less Chicago so if they were to let Allen walk, (to be replaced by a younger better defender in Bradley) and become a little younger and more efficient off the bench. Miami is the ONLY threat in the East next year as of right now and one thing that Miami doesn't have is a low-post presence. With the defense of Bradley stymieing one of Wade or James, Garnett moving back to the 4 to guard Bosh, A post player is the one thing that Miami would have no answer for.
I completely agree with Doc Rivers when he says, "I'm going to look at them as a group collective. They all gave up plus‑seven shots each. They gave up minutes. I asked them to play defense and move the ball, and they all did it, and they're willing to do it for the better of the team. That's what I'll remember most about them."
It was my pleasure watching this group collective and I can think of no team I'd rather admire.
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