But let's be honest about this game. We didn't deserve it, and we played like it. I mean, we did deserve to win the series, but we didn't take advantage of the huge disparity in talent and experience, and proceeded to screw it up, big time. Walker was garbage, his contract is too huge, and I somehow doubt we'll see him again next year, oh well, it was a fun run. Pierce was notably upset about ten minutes into the game, thereby ruining our chance for a real opportunity at an offense. The rookies were solid if testy. Alley Cat was tremendous, and fun to watch, officially convincing me he has quite a future in this league. Ricky had some fun plays to watch, but didn't kickstart that offense the way he's supposed to, oh well. GP was an non-entity, although that one dish was pretty great. And the single most encouraging moment of the series? The look of sheer cluelessness on Blount's face on the bench while he sat and watched the time tick off the clock. That man is headed to basketball Siberia, and may he freeze his balls off on the ride. Doc had the testicular fortitude to tell him he was done with this team, with this game. There's no coming back from that nonsense. He's done, and I love it. Other than that, plenty of positives (you know, other than losing the series), rookies are good, we may even have a servicable draft (thank you Jiri Welsch, the first thing he contributed to this team all year), and much good play is left to play for this core. At least no one really lost it, and thanks to some REAL officials for lettin' the boys play. Aside from one silly T on Ricky, which I didn't understand (you knew you weren't getting out of this without some complaints) the officials were as top notch as NBA refs can be. Thanks for ripping my heart out, sure, but thanks for letting me pretend you'll put it back next year.
Well at least you lsot a Game 7 in a blowout and you couldn' have been so intesne or hearbroken. Imagine losin a crucial game 7 of a very very close series on a single jumper at the buzzer when you're team is only down 1. I didn't sleep for two days after that.
I tried to stay optimistic this year, but I always remained realistic at the same time. I wasn't able to fully convince myself that we would do any damage in the playoffs. That doesn't mean I'm happy we got to a game 7, but it means I can still consider the season a success. You can't kill 2 birds with 1 stone in this league. You're not going to develop such a large quantity of players and be a championship contender. To the franchise, the development side was much more important. I'm glad that it was handled the way it was. I have a lot of admiration for Doc because he didn't look away from who got him there. Playoff time came and he stuck with Al Jefferson, Marcus Banks, Delonte West, and Tony Allen. Most coaches would have cut down their rotations but I, for one, am glad that Doc didn't. The thing that bothers me most is the last game. I don't care what anybody says but I'd rather have seen them compete in that game. It was extremely frustrating to see it go down the way it did. As for the inevitable question of whether to bring Antoine back or not: I say no. I want Al Jefferson starting day one next year, and I don't want him starting at center. I like Toine, but everything great he does is canceled out by something bad. Hopefully we can get something out of him in a sign-and-trade but I'd imagine the market for him isn't very good, especially considering the amount of money he'll be looking for.
Aside from the bench being handled poorly in the last game, I would have to agree with everything you said but one small detail. I don't think we should be signing and trading for Antoine. Mind you, I don't know the details yet, but I personally think Ainge should just let him slide and look for a replacement on the FA market. The market is thick every season in this day and age, and $14 million off your payroll just like that is awfully appealing.
I was just wondering, why didn't Doc try Tony Allen on Jackson in Game 7. From the games I've seen throughout the year for Boston, Allen is a very very good defender and IMO he is the best Boston defender from what I saw, so why burry him on the bench when Jackson was killing you?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Purple Fever:</div><div class="quote_post">I was just wondering, why didn't Doc try Tony Allen on Jackson in Game 7. From the games I've seen throughout the year for Boston, Allen is a very very good defender and IMO he is the best Boston defender from what I saw, so why burry him on the bench when Jackson was killing you?</div> Ya got me, why don't you ask our man the Doctor?
I don't allow my heart to be ripped out anymore. Then again, I've not seen a Celtics team in quite some time that would prompt me to put that much belief in them being realistic Championship contenders, that my heart would be at risk. I try to stay realistic, patient and generally optimistic about the C's. I was disappointed that we didn't move on, but honestly never really figured the C's would get past the 2nd round and pretty much sold that they'd lose if they met Detriot or Miami in the ECF(or sooner). We met and exceeded expectations for this season, IMO. I'm fine with that for now.
