I have to start this blog by saying the names of the two friends that I have in this story are completely and utterly 100% fictitious. The events described in the following are simply based on a true story, and that story is the Knicks’ 90-76 walloping of the Celtics. You see, the Celtics are represented by two separate yet equally important groups; the offense, which has struggled to score points, and the defense, which cannot contain Carmelo Anthony…these are their stories.
Our story begins with my friends. As aforementioned, they are represented by fabricated names. One of them is a huge Celtics fan. Let’s say his name is Greg. Greg, as I have informed you, loves the Celtics. He and his friend, who we will give the designation as “Matt”, have this Bert and Ernie thing going on, but it’s cool because they are good friends of mine, and really cool guys. So at the game, I venture to their seats to see them, where apparently they have laid claim to an entire section of TD Garden. In this section sits Matt and his entire constituent of Knicks fans, followed by Greg and his green-wearing girlfriend. As I start talking to them, I notice Matt in great spirits, and he should be. Despite the fact that the Knicks won by 14 points, it felt like they won by 6000. Greg meanwhile is sitting there in his seat looking like a George Jones song (rest in peace, Possum! We love you). Why? Because the Celtics are getting killed. Greg, remember that’s not actually his name, more or less represents all of TD Garden on Friday night.
Do you need to know why I had to note this? Because it’s shocking to me that the Celtics are so upset that they are getting beat by a team that is hands down much, much better than them. The Celtics, for all intents and purposes, are not a good basketball team right now. Is it their fault? Not necessarily. For starters, they lost their All-Star point guard, Rajon Rondo, mid-year with a torn ACL. Secondly, first-round pick Jared Sullinger, who has an awesome first name and is very promising, has missed about just as much time as Rondo, with a back injury. Third, one-third of the “Big Three”, Ray Allen, defected for the Miami Heat in the offseason. That is a lot to overcome. It also doesn’t help that their other first round pick, Fab Melo, hasn’t played any serious minuets in the state of New York (or anywhere else for that matter) since he was at Syracuse and that Allen’s replacement, Jason Terry, has played about as poorly and talked even more than Shaquille O’Neal did when he was with the Celtics. Oh, and FYI, Terry is guaranteed for two more years. Boston, which has a bench pieced together by Danny Ainge, who, outside of Fab Melo, has done a great job with this roster this year, can’t hang with the Knicks, who have waited over a decade to be good again. On their best day, nobody in green is half the scorer that Carmelo Anthony is. Jeff Green has surprised many with his level of play this year, but he isn’t Anthony. Also, he nor Paul Pierce nor anyone else on the Celtics can guard Anthony.
Pierce and Kevin Garnett are still great players in this league. Sure they are older than when they were winning and playing for titles and the loss of Allen certainly doesn’t help, but neither is at a level anymore where they can be “the guy” who catapults his team from mediocre to top 2 seed in the conference. Anthony is. For all of his shortcomings on the defensive and passing ends of the floor, Carmelo is the best scorer I have ever seen. LeBron James is the best player I’ve ever seen and I have never witnessed Kobe’s greatness in person, but Anthony is simply one of the top three scorers in this league (Bryant, when healthy and Kevin Durant are other two). The Celtics went 1-3 against the Knicks in the regular season and looked overmatched in their two meetings late in the season. You can have all the Avery Bradley’s and Brandon Bass’s in the world and you wont a beat an NBA team that is playing well and headlined by a top scorer. The Celtics have had problems with this all year. Why do you think the Cavaliers gave them a problem? Because Kyrie Irving is a fantastic scorer. Add in another elite player (Tyson Chandler), another scoring threat off the bench (J.R. Smith), a sharp-shooter (Steve Novak), a really underrated guard nobody had ever heard of (Pablo Prigioni) and a veteran who has “been there and done that” (Jason Kidd) and you have the makings of a team capable of a very deep playoff run.
I am not writing this blog to blast the Celtics. I think the Celtics have a very astute management team, a great head coach in Doc Rivers and players who are giving it their best shot. What I am trying to say is that you have to understand when a better team beats you. If the Celtics are playing blackjack, they have seventeen versus a face-card showing. It’s not the worst thing in the world, but you know deep down that you’re probably not going to win. When my alma mater, Louisville, lost to Kentucky in the National Semifinals in 2012, was I upset? Sure. But unlike a lot of Celtics fans, who are clamoring for Doc to be fired or for the team to blown up and start from scratch, I understood why it happened. Celtics fans can be upset like Greg. It’s okay. But just understand why it’s happening.
