If you’re a fan of the Boston Celtics, this is a classic glass half full/half empty moment.
While the euphoria of winning Game 4 97-90, and staving off elimination is still pulsating through your system, the reality is coming straight at your grill like a David Price fastball. This run is really, really over now.
Logically, the season ended way back in January when Rajon Rondo blew out his ACL, but hope springs eternal for a fan bas with high expectations. The fact of the matter is, in recent years, the Knicks have functioned as an appetizer of sorts for Boston. Never good enough to win the division, and certainly not good enough to challenge them in the postseason. Even though the Knicks won the Atlantic this season, it didn’t guarantee squat in this first round match-up. The first three games of the series have all gone against Boston and while they put up a strong effort in winning Game 4, this train is on its last stop. The fact that it took a Celtics team playing at home, up 20 points in the third quarter, with Carmelo Anthony shooting 10 for 34 and JR Smith out, an extra period is a terrible sign. They should have taken all the drama out of the 4th quarter. This is a scoring mismatch, and there doesn't seem to be anything the Cs can do about it.
Paul Pierce licked of a 29, 8 and 6 game, while Jeff Green scored 26, and it barely mattered against New York. That it took Jason Terry’s nine OT points (JT has 18 overall) to secure the victory doesn’t bode well for Game 5 at all. All that’s left now, really, is to watch Kevin Garnett play one more game. He hasn’t announced anything officially, and may well come back next year, but he certainly looks the part of a man who’d had enough. Yeah, he’s out there competing, but not at the same physical or emotional level. This is his 17th season and as we all know, Father Time is undefeated. This isn’t about selfish fans not wanting beloved players to soil their legacies by going out pathetically. It’s only about reality.
This Celtics squad has had a nice run as a league contender and really, they’ve held about a season longer than anyone could have predicted, but enough is enough. Like any true champ, just take a bow, and walk off stage left.
