Celtics Blame Game - Where Do You Place Most of the Blame?
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
While the series may be far from over, things are looking rather bleak at the moment for the Boston Celtics. Following last night’s 102-91 loss in game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Boston’s “Big 3” now finds itself trailing a series 2-0 for the first time since they joined forces back in 2007.
It goes without saying that games 3 and 4 in Boston on Saturday and Monday respectively are now must-wins for the Celtics. Anything less than victories in those two games should pretty much mean the end of the 2010-2011 season for the Green.
Instead of dwelling on last night’s loss, let’s examine why the Celtics find themselves in the position they are currently in.
It would appear that there are three main reasons for the Celtics’ demise. Some might say that they are equal parts while others prefer to place more emphasis on one as opposed to the other. Regardless of what percentages we want to place on each, here are the main reasons that Boston will most likely not be hanging banner #18 to the Garden rafters next fall.
Danny Ainge – There’s no way around it - the GM’s decision to shake up this team prior to the trading deadline turned out to be a disaster! Ainge’s biggest mistake was trading Kendrick Perkins to Oklahoma City. He obviously thought that the team could win without him because it had earlier in the season. What he didn’t realize was that they were able to win without him because the aging veterans Pierce, Garnett and Allen had fresh legs back then and Shaq was giving them some minutes at center. Ainge also completely underestimated the toughness Perkins brought to the floor which is clearly lacking on both ends of the floor. Kevin Garnett may be a tough guy, but he was a lot tougher with Kendrick Perkins backing him up. The Celtics defense no longer intimidates opponents because he is gone. Furthermore, Nate Robinson was a serviceable back-up for Rondo at the point whereas Delonte West remains a tweener. Their absence continues to hurt this team.
Bad Luck – Not to give Ainge a pass, but I’m pretty sure he thought that he might have Shaquille O’Neal back by now. His inability to get back on the floor has been devastating to the team in the absence of Perkins. The fact that Jermaine O’Neal didn’t get on the floor until the end of the regular season himself has also been a problem for this team. There have also been two other key injuries which have effected the depth of this team. Delonte West was in and out of the line-up during the regular season due to suspension and then various injuries and Marquis Daniels bruised spinal cord took another key contributor away from the Celtics bench. In fact, Daniels injury and subsequent trade to Sacramento may have prompted Ainge to go after Jeff Green aggressively knowing that he needed a back-up for Paul Pierce.
Age – Let’s face it, the “Big 3” isn’t getting any younger. The fact that this group won one NBA title back in 2008 should be considered a great accomplishment. Maybe their ability to flip the switch come playoff time a year ago where they lost in game 7 of the NBA Finals fooled us into thinking that there was plenty more gas left in their tanks. Maybe there isn’t. And maybe this aging trio should have conserved more of their energy in the first half of the season when they played so well so they would have fresh legs for the postseason. They appear to be a team that is wearing down.
The GM, bad luck, old age, take your pick! But there’s no denying the Celtics’ late season and playoff malaise which has them dangerously close to hitting the golf course.
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