Crushing End To A Great Season
Friday, June 18, 2010
I knew at the end of the first quarter that they were in trouble. Why else would I have a pit in my stomach with the Celtics leading by 9?
The Boston Celtics gave us one hell of a ride this postseason. Truth be told, they went farther than any of us thought that they would before the playoffs started.
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But if you’re looking for a reason as to why the Celtics season came to such a crushing end Thursday night, it was because they couldn’t keep Los Angeles off the boards.
Some will blame their fourth quarter collapse but that doesn’t begin to tell the entire story. However, it is ironic that the Lakers realized that the only way to beat Boston was to defend like them and they did just that in the fourth.
Boston outplayed L.A. in virtually every aspect of the game, but they couldn’t keep them off the glass. In the first half alone the Lakers grabbed 15 offensive rebounds to just 2 for Boston. That’s why, despite shooting 26.5% from the field, Los Angeles trailed Boston by only 6 at the half. For the Celtics, it should have been a 16-point lead.
But the dagger was Pau Gasol’s offensive rebound of Kobe Bryant’s missed three with 30 seconds to go. Instead of Boston having the ball down by three, Bryant nailed two free throws to make it a two possession game with 25.7 seconds left.
Rajon Rondo’s desperation three from the corner pulled Boston to within two but Boston was forced to foul and Sasha Vujacic nailed two free throws with 11.7 seconds remaining to clinch L.A.’s 16thNBA title.
So much time has been spent talking about Boston’s “Big Three” which many now call the “Big Four” thanks to the emergence of Rajon Rondo. Maybe it should be the “Big Five.” While Kendrick Perkins may not be considered as important to the Celtics success, with Perkins on the bench in street clothes thanks to an injured right knee, L.A. simply abused Boston on the boards. It was a carryover from the game 6 demolition.
We’re disappointed today because this was clearly a game and a series which Boston could have won. But it’s hard not to be proud of what this group accomplished.
When Danny Ainge put this team together a few years ago we knew the window of opportunity was a small one. One championship would have been great. More than one would have been off-the-charts outstanding! They did great.
But Ray Allen will be 35 next month. Kevin Garnett is 34. Paul Pierce will turn 33 before the start of next season. These are guys that have played a ton of minutes starting with their rookie years so there’s a lot of wear on the legs of those players.
Ainge sacrificed a lot of good young talent to put this group together and nobody can argue with the results. What will be interesting to watch now is what the Celtics GM decides to do with this team moving forward.
Ray Allen is an unrestricted free agent. His spot is the most immediate concern. Paul Pierce has a player option of 21.5 million for the 2010-2011season which he is expected to exercise. Nate Robinson’s contract is up.
One thing seems certain and that is that this is now Rajon Rondo’s team. He is both the present and the future for the Celtics so the team must be built around him.
From a coaching standpoint, defensive guru Tom Thibodeau is off to Chicago and we're uncertain about the future of head coach Doc Rivers. So there seems to be a lot of uncertainty for a team that was minutes away from winning the NBA championship.
None the less, it was a heck of a ride this season even if it didn’t end the way that we wanted it to. And once the sting of last night’s loss goes away, we will be able to appreciate what this team accomplished.
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