Captain's Thoughts: A Sad End to a Happy Era for Celtics

In what could be the last game of the Big Three Era in Boston, the Celtics fell to the Heat 101-88. It was likely the last time that Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, and Ray Allen were all on the same floor on the same team in a meaningful game.

It was a brutally painful end to an enjoyable 5 seasons. So even though the ending wasn't a triumphant one, and there was no ride into the sunset with an 18th NBA Championship trophy in tow, I'd argue that as a whole the story of The Big Three was happy one.

In the Big Three Era, the Celtics won 5 divisional titles, 2 Eastern Conference titles, and an NBA Championship. They won 11 playoff series (they'd won 10 between the 1986 NBA Finals and the start of the Big Three Era). They had a .693 winning percentage and won 273 regular season games. They rekindled the rivalry with LA. They won rings for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen. And they made sure that the number 34 would one day hang in the rafters of the Garden with the other Celtic greats.

More important than all that, the Big Three Era made the Celtics relevant again. Before, the C's were struggling on the court and were struggling for attention in a town that had Super Bowl and World Series winning teams. The Big Three Era returned the Celtics to prominence in this town. And nationally, Boston was once again a focal point of the Basketball world.

It's been a very special 5 years.

Now, let's talk about Game 7.

The Celtics and Heat were tied 73-73 going into the 4th. The Celtics led 82-81 with 8:00 left in the 4th. Then the Heat went on a rampage and the C's cooled off. They outscored the Celtics 20-6 from that point on. The Heat executed, the Celtics didn't.

The common explanation for this is that the Celtics "had nothing left in the tank." They simply ran out of gas. That may be. And it might be part of the reason Miami was able to pull away so quickly. I'm not quite sure that's the reason, though.

This Celtics team has been very streaky all season, especially with their shooting. Hot for 10 minutes, cold for 10 minutes. They've blown several leads (and built several leads) in the postseason because of this streakiness. They were cold at the end of the 4th last night, but it didn't look much different from previous cold stretches.

And give credit to the Heat for their execution. I hate that I have to do that, but they made the big shots in the 4th last night. They made the momentum swinging plays (example: late in the 2nd Celtics had a chance to go up by 9, Pietrus turned it over, then LeBron dunked to make it a 5 point game). They played better than the Celtics, especially in the clutch.

I'm not calling the Celtics a team of chokers. You can't be both a Choker and a Champion, and you can't be a Choker if you're also the underdog. But the Celtics could have won this series if they played just a little bit better. The effort was there, but not the execution.

Earlier in the series, the Celtics got cold at a key time and let another game get away from them. Game 2, remembered mostly for bad officiating, saw the Celtics up 5 points with 3:00 left in the 4th. And they couldn't hit a shot. Miami took a lead, then the Celtics had to miraculously tie it, hope for LeBron to choke (which he did), and go to OT. Which they eventually lost, thanks in part to the refs. But the C's had that game in their hands, and didn't execute.

And that's fine. The Bruins didn't execute against the Caps. The Patriots didn't execute against the Giants. It happens. I'm not trying to lead an anti-Celtic crusade here. I'm not trying to criticize them or call them losers. It just seems like every time the Celtics lose, there's always an explanation and it never includes the phrase "didn't play well enough to win." It's either the refs, or their age, or health, or injuries, or running out of gas.

It's okay to admit that these guys are human, and that it's tough to execute perfectly for 16 games and win an NBA Championship. If anything, I think it emphasizes how impressive their 2008 title was. The NBA Playoffs are a grind. Only a freak could play their absolute best in every single game.

Anyway, in 10 years we won't remember this game much. We'll remember the players, but not for their shooting percentages in the 4th quarter of this game. We'll remember them for what they did the 5 years they were here. They brought pride back to the Green and White, to the most storied franchise in the NBA, and to Boston.

-The Captain

Celtics Are More Talented Than We Thought

The narrative of the Heat/Celtics series has been that Miami are talented chokers and the Celtics are gritty finishers. I'm not going to argue against that. Miami does have talent. And there's no denying that the Celtics know how to win tough playoff games.

But let's not sell the Celtics short. They have talent. They have some serious talent. How many Hall of Famers are on the Heat? How many are on the Celtics? How many Celtics players have nation-wide name recognition? We thought maybe the Celtics were too old, but they're proving that talent knows no age. At least not before 40.

Let's start with a guy who isn't old: Rajon Rondo. Fast, slick, great vision, decisive with the ball, able to drive to the hoop, and occasionally able to shoot well from the field. Rondo led the NBA with 11.7 assists per game. 1.0 more than Steve Nash, 2.8 more than Chris Paul. You can argue that he had so many assists because he was surrounded by talent. And that only furthers my contention that the Celtics are a very talented team.

The biggest criticism of Rondo is that he's not spectacular every single night. His inconsistency is sometimes baffling. But talented players are sometimes inconsistent. There's no arguing or doubting Rondo's abilities. He's a talented player.

Kevin Garnett might be healthier now than he's been the past three years. And when healthy, he is a game-changer. He looked sluggish at the start of the regular season, but he's quickened every month. His defense is better now, his shooting is better, he's making a difference in the middle of the court. He's averaging 19.9 points and 10.8 rebounds per game in this postseason. He's shooting 50% from the field. In this series, the Heat have shot 60% when Garnett is on the bench, 40.8% when he's on the floor. KG changes the shape of the game when he's playing. Tell me he's not talented.

Paul Pierce is clutch. And talented. Clutchness might be an intangible, but without talent it's meaningless. Clutchness is an ability to maximize the impact of talent in the most important moments of a game. Pierce also averaged 19.4 points per game in the regular season, not much off his 22.0 career average. And keep in mind that for a good chunk of his career, he was the Celtics ONLY scorer.

With KG, Rondo, and Allen around him, Pierce hasn't had to dominate games for the Celtics to win. But when Pierce was by himself, he was very impressive. That talent hasn't dissipated much. It simply doesn't need to be harnessed every single possession. He's got talent.

This is a talented team. LeBron is a perennial MVP candidate, and Wade is a superstar, but the Celtics have three sure Hall of Famers, and one of the most talented point guards in the league. Pierce and Rondo were both All-Stars in 2012. KG was one in 2011. Pierce, Rondo, and Garnett have combined for 27 All-Star appearances.

This is a talented team that we all dismissed. Remember the trade deadline? There was debate over breaking this team up, selling off the pieces to rebuild for the future. They believed in themselves and their talent. And now they're making believers out of all of us here as well as across the country.

-The Captain

Are the 76ers and Celtics Like the Tortoise and the Hare?

Watching the Celtics and 76ers series reminded me of a story from when we were kids. The tortoise and the hare. The two race each other, and the fast hare jumps out to an early lead, but arrogantly stops to take a nap. The tortoise keeps moving forward. "Slow and steady wins the race," he repeats. Eventually, the tortoise wins the race. Teaching a lesson that just because you're naturally more gifted doesn't mean you can fuck around and still win.

In my version of the tortoise and the hare, I'd have the hare purposely losing the race because he bet on the tortoise in Vegas. Then he gets killed by mob guys who lost money betting on him.

Anyway, the Celtics remind me of the hare. Their record in games that they can eliminate an opponent speaks for itself. They struggle to beat teams that they've already beaten 3 times. That's weird.

They take a kind of break. Instead of 110%, they only give 95%. No big deal, right? So long as there's enough gas in the tank to win when it matters, then fine.

What worries me a bit is that in this series, I don't know if they can just step it up for Game 7 and be the odds on favorite to win. I have a feeling like maybe they've let the 76ers stick around for too long. And now Bradley is out. His replacement Ray Allen isn't capable of playing a full game of productive basketball (on either side of the ball).

The Celtics are more talented than the 76ers. But that advantage is hedged by the Celtics' age and health.

The 76ers have also shown more character in this series than the Celtics have. They've won a game in Boston, they've outplayed the Celtics in close 4th quarters, they've recovered after getting blown out, they came back from a 17 point 3rd quarter deficit to win. They have taken full advantage of every opportunity the Celtics have given them.

The C's have not taken advantage of the opportunities given to them by the 76ers.

The Celtics are still the hare. It's their game to lose. In the fable, if the hare simply stopped fooling around and picked up the pace, he would have beaten the tortoise. That's what the Celtics have yet to do but still can do.

-The Captain

82 Sixers, 75 Celtics

So I went to bed after my drunken stupor thinking I would wake up and let time heal and be less pissed, but no. Last night really pissed me the fuck off, real bad. I feel personally insulted with that dog shit effort they played last night and the deserve all the criticism in the world.

1st off, Rajon, what the fuck bro. I spend all day pumping your tires here as the best pg in the league, an yesterday deadspin came out with an article your one of the best shooters in the league at mid range jumpers, and you sleep walk through game 6. What the fuck man, that was a perfect game for you to have taken over and acted as if you had a 105 flu. 9 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists is not an acceptable stat line. I understand people can have bad games but fuck dude, you looked shitty on offense, your defense on Jrue Holliday was awful and played the worse game I have ever seen you play..... now that I got that out of the way, I can move on and let the healing begin.

RAY ALLEN! Speaking of awful, he has been such a liability on both sides of the ball, I would honestly play Keyon Dooling and Marquis Daniels over him. I don't care about his ankles being hurt, he is letting Lou Williams, Holliday, Iguodala score at will on him. On offense he's not a threat anymore, and don't give me the "spacing" excuse. He's played awful Doc needs to give him the 2nd hardest slap (1st goes to Rondo).

Kevin Garnett, c'mon dude, you have pretty numbers in 20-10 but all those points came when we were down 10. You call Philly fair weathered and then you didn't back it up. I expect more from you. You could see the team struggling, I wanted you to go all Jackie Moon on hte Sixers and pull a "everybody hit someone" moment. The leadership wasn't there at all. Needs to get slapped 3rd.

The clusterfuck of Mickael Pietrus and Brandon Bass where were you guys last night. Bass puts up 27 and then 8? Doug Collins is a great coach, but his trap defense really shouldn't muffle you that much. Pietrus couldn't the broad side of a barn with his shot, he has been a complete disappointment this whole playoffs. I expected more from you than just a defensive guy. Instead of sitting on the 3 point line the whole game, why don't you do what Avery Bradley does and run the baseline and get some easy fucking points. fuck. Slapped 4th and 5th, then gets the backhand back for 6th and 7th. Also, with Avery Bradley out for the playoffs both you 2 assholes need to step up big time.

The only 2 people who deserve credit in this game is Paul Pierce and Ryan Hollins, both of them showed they gave a damn when they were out there. Pierce was getting everything he wanted, got to the line, hit his free throws and Ryan Hollins hustled.

The Celtics looked flat and shitty times infinity.

However, Game 7 is in Boston and hopefully Doc Rivers slaps them enough to realize the ramifications of losing a game in which the Sixers tried handing us with 11 fucking missed free throws means.

Gay.

Ray Allen Is Probably Not Going To Return

Part of me wished that the OJ Mayo and 1st round pick for Ray Allen deal went through, just so this backlash didn't have to come. Ray Allen recently said, "It’s hard to say," Allen said of whether he remains a Celtic. "The landscape always changes over the summer. Just from what I see around the NBA, there’s a lot of teams that look forward to having me. I just want to be somewhere where I’m valued, cherished and I can go out and play."

Aka, I feel slighted by the Celtics and will sign with a team that didn't try and trade my ass.

Before this season I would think if KG or Ray were to return, I would say Ray 100%, now I believe there is no way he returns to the Celtics. A lot can happen between now and the late summer, and who knows maybe if the Celtics make a run, they can get KG and Ray to re-sign, but it's starting to look dim.

Celtics Trades That Almost Happened

It's rumored that the Celtics almost broke up the big 3 here are 2 interesting trades:
As the NBA trade deadline lurched into its final hour a month ago, league sources say the call Ray Allen long feared had come: Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers was on the line, telling him he had been traded. Allen had been sent to the Memphis Grizzlies for a package including O.J. Mayo and a draft pick, and the Celtics' Big Three had come to a most brusque ending.

and

Before the Big Three could make it past the trade deadline, Allen-to-the-Grizzlies had to fall apart and discussions on a deal that would have sent Paul Pierce to the New Jersey Nets for an expiring Mehmet Okur contract and a lottery pick never reached completion, league sources said.

First of all, not all people believed the Celtics could have this type of resurgence, second of all Danny did the right thing by leaving it alone.

But I am intrigued by the OJ Mayo one, if we had Rajon, Bass, Mayo and Avery going into next year, and even a healthy Mayo this year, we may have been better.

I definitely wouldn't have done the Pierce to Nets deals. But it's funny how the Nets Panic'd and did that exact same deal for Gerald Wallace.... womp womp.

Ray Allen: Class Act

"We like it,’’ coach Doc Rivers said before the game about using Allen as a sixth man. "I was trying to tell you, we’ve only talked about this for two years as a staff but we’ve never had anyone to step forward. We’ve always wanted a stronger bench. At least in the last year and a half, we’ve talked about it. And now with Avery [Bradley] and, hopefully, if we can get Mickael [Pietrus] back, it’s phenomenal. You have either guy you can play and use the other guy off the bench. That would be the best-case scenario for us.’’ Allen volunteered for the role but said, "I don’t think it will happen for me to ever get comfortable with these 11-or-so games we’ve got left. None of us are settling into our roles. You adapt the best way you can. "There hasn’t been enough time to understand the consistencies about what our rotations are going to be. You just try to do what you need to do for the team (Celticsblog.com)."

I wrote about this last week how maybe it was a good idea to move Allen back to the bench to give it more of a scoring punch, and have Bradley run with the first team for his defense. Looks like Doc likes that idea. I don't think Ray Allen really likes it, but he volunteered, because he is willing to do whatever it takes to win. That's what it truly takes to be a champion, it's a bunch of guys all working toward the same thing no matter what the cause. KG doesn't want to be a center, but he know he needs to be.

There are so many cases around the league that would've been a problem, but not with Ray Allen, and not with this team.

We didn't get a chance to do a recap of the 76ers vs Celtics game last night, but man the Celtics looked good and the 76ers have been looking like they have given up on their season.

Ray Allen The New Celtics 6th Man?

Ray Allen has been out with a sprained ankle, and during that time out Avery Bradley has made a name for himself. Now there are whispers of Ray moving to the bench, and being the 6th man. It is an interesting thought, which I have been thinking about for awhile, because the 2nd unit lacks scoring and Bradley is such a defensive upgrade over Allen.

Still, this is a small window, and it's not like the Celtics were playing bad WITH Allen. Ray Allen is one of my favorite players of all-time, but I think most of us would agree at this point he is a liability on defense. I wonder if the best move for him might be a move to the bench, where he would be the focal point of scoring for the 2nd unit. He was a little troubled with earlier in the year that he wasn't getting enough shots, so maybe this would be a way to maximize his offense. Allen as already come out and said he is fine with whatever Doc decides, which I thought was really classy of him.

Still, my guess is that they move Allen right back into the starting lineup, as Doc has always shown to be a very loyal guy, but this has to be something he is rolling around in his head.