im a big celtics fan and i wanna do a quick recap of their season...
first off the big three is healthy and the wallace signing looks like its gonna be huge. This team could end up being one of the best ever.
they start off great... 23-5 at christmas, then all hell breaks loose.
KG and pierce get hurt and ray is playing like shit because he probably thinks hes going to be traded. This turns out to be a blessing in disguise because with everyone else either out or playing like shit, rondo was able to start leading this team himself and he ended up becoming a well deserved all star. Oh and by the way, the sheed signing is one of the worst ever. hes fat, doesnt run the court, and throws up about 5 or 6 threes a game (occasionally making one or two of them).
anyways... so this is when they played .500 ball for the rest of the season and become notorious for blowing big leads in the second half (as phil jackson pointed out in game 5 of the finals) case and point, on easter they played the cavs and had a 23 point lead with a few minutes left in the 3rd. they ended up losing that lead with about 3 minutes left and had to fight back to win in a tight finish.
going into the playoffs, everyone thought they were washed up and if they found a way to get passed miami in the first round, there wasnt a chance theyd get through lebron in the second. well they got by miami despite not having KG for a game, thanks to a buzzer beater by pierce in game three that killed the heats spirits.
now here comes cleveland. after game one i was sure the celtics were done the way the refs were calling the game. i was crying conspiracy and the stern wanted lebron in the finals. we win game 2 giving us some hope. and then the blowout in game three took all that hope away. (that was on a friday and it proved to be one of the worst days in the history of boston sports. The celtics were blown out, the red sox, who were under .500 and fourth in the division at the time, were torched by the yankees, and the bruins lost game 4 against the fliers and we all know how that turned out.) Then came game 4. In game 4 Rajon Rondo became the best point guard in the league, putting up one of the best triplw doubles in playoff history. 29 points, 13 assists and 18 rebounds. 18 rebounds!!! are you kidding me? how does a guy whos 6'1 pull in that many boards against a team with lebron james, the best athlete in the whole fuckin world, and shaq. Rondo is the best... thats how. he wanted it more so i got it. Needless to say this game killed the cavs spirits and the celtics won the next 3 in a row to close the series in 6. Anyone who watched that serious cant think that lebron will be back in cleveland next year. On the stat sheet it filled it out enough so people who didnt watch the game wouldnt tihnk he was dogging it. but to everyone who watch. sorry lebron but we arent fooled...
We finally get to the magic series with some respect. And now Doc decides to reveal his master plan. Hoe he basically gave up on the second half of the season to be healthy for the playoffs. Limits guys minutes and leaving pierce and KG on the bench at the end of some close games. The players werent happy about it but hey, it worked so its time to look at rivers as a coaching genius.
The first 3 games of this series were some of the best the team played all season. Everyone was on the same page on both sides of the court and orlando had no solutions. the magic won a close game 4 and blew out boston in game 5 making some people cry "BRUINS", and asking whats in the water in boston? they were silenced however after the celtics handled them in game 6.
now onto the finals. The celtics looked old and the rest clearly didnt help them. They were man handled on the boards and were getting pushed around like little kids. Pau Gasol was looking like the best big man in the league. Though we won game 2, i cant say im pleased with how they played. If it werent for another triple double from rondo and a record settign shooting night for ray, they wouldnt have stood a chance. Nobody else did jack in that game besides the two of them. Game 3 looked a lot like game 1 except this time it was derek fisher putting the final nails in the coffin. He put up these freak shots that he hit maybe once or twice during the regular season and they were just falling. i guess when your hot your hot and there isnt much that can stop you, especially a vet like fisher whos proven he comes up big when he needs to
Game 4 was huge. And by now every one knows the story of shrek and donkey. they carried the team in the second half and gave the team a well needed energy boost. Game 5 was one of the best games i saw all year. everyone was expecting big things from the bench after game 4 but i was hoping that wasnt the case. I wan ted the starters to play so well that we owuldnt need the bench to step up. And they did. KG found his testicles after he lost them somewhere in orlando.
oh id like to dedicate a moment here to epic ray allen meltdown. After his record setting performence in game 2, he did not hit a single shot in game 3 and not a single 3 pointer while in boston. Ive never seen anything like it. someone whos come up big in the past just tank it after a huge game like that. Sure you can credit the defense to some extent. but he was still missing open threes! and theres one image i cant get out of my head and thats of him getting fouled before a shot and just going for a layup after the whistle and STILL missing it uncontested.
back to LA for game 6. after one of their best game of the season, i can safelt say that game 6 of the finals was the worst basketball i sasw this team play all year. Nobody could hit a shot. Then once they were down, everyone wanted to be a hero and they fell behind even more. It was ugly and it made me physically ill to watch. then came game 7. we started out great and i felt really good. Sure they were owning the offensive boards but the fact that they shot under 30 percent in the first half made me pretty happy. i mean what are the chances they dominate the offensive glass that much in the second half right?/ Well they didnt, which is in part contributed to the fact that they hit more shots and didnt need as many rebounds. Then things got a little fishy. The lakers found a way to the line on almost every possession. The celtics were already in the penalty with 8 minutes left in the game. I was the lead start to dwindle and i thought to myself "oh no... not again" i saw this countless times during the regular season and i was afraid it would happen again. Then derek fisher hits a 3 to tie the game at 63 and i knew it was happening. The celtics immediately went into panic mode. LA was up by 6 and then allen hit a 3 that made me think it was still possible. But then artests 3 was the dagger... The season was over...
but hey, with a week left in the season someone told me the celtics were going to make it to the finals and lose in a close game 7, i would have punched them right in the mouth for being an absolute lunatic. So even though im disappointed with the ending, im glad they managed to get that far at all. But now what happens for next year? How will this years group of free agents impact the team. Will the big three still be together next year with both pierce and allens contract up? i guess well have to wait and see.
