Boston Celtics (39-27, 1st Atlantic Division, 4th Seed Eastern Conference)
Well as the season closed on the Boston Celtics last night, so did the possibility of another year of the Big Three, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Paul Pierce. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen aren’t signed for next year, and who knows if the Celtics will bring them back? But there’s still a bright future with the emergence of Rajon Rondo, who has made his name in that group, and some say there’s a Big Four there in Boston. And while the season might have ended on a bad note, there’s no denying that Boston accomplished a good season.
They had quite the up and down start to the season sitting at 10-10 through the first months. With some winning streaks happening and some losing streaks happening. But then March come around, and Boston started getting their season on track and headed for the Atlantic Division title.
They grabbed 12 wins in that month of March to get their record up to 29-22. Add another 10 wins in April, and the Celtics made their playoff push just at the right time. Other teams in the division like Philly and New York were slowly going the other way, so everything worked out in Boston’s favor.
Going into the playoffs, Boston got the fourth seed and a date in the first round with the Atlanta Hawks. Boston seemed to be in control of most of this series even with Atlanta taking a couple of games. But Boston won 4-2 after six games, and moved on to the second round.
Kevin Garnett was in playoff mode for most of this post season as he looked to carry this team as much as he could. I’ve said it a few times before, but Rajon Rondo impressed me each time I sat and watched him play. He can practically do it all out there on the court when he gets his head straight and plays the right way.
Second round against Philadelphia, each game seemed to take a life of it’s own. The Celtics blow a lead in one game, and then blow out the Sixers in the next one. This went back and forth for all seven games until Boston took care of business in game seven. Garnett was the high man in that game as he got 18 points and 13 rebounds.
Then came this most recent series against the Miami Heat. I think this turned a person like me who was against the Heat into a Boston fan to a point. The Heat held their own at home even blowing out the Celtics in game one, which was a bit expected since Boston had just finished a grueling seven game series.
Boston looked dead in the water after those first two games, but they came out and played the next three games to build up a lead of 3-2 and having the chance to secure a spot in the NBA Finals on their home floor. Against the Heat team that had lost 15 out of the past 16 there in Boston since Allen, Pierce, and Garnett came together. They paved a little bit of the way for this type of “big” players to get together and win something.
Lebron James made sure Boston didn’t win that game six as he took on the player all fans want him to be. He dominated that game and carried the Heat to that win. It was a dominating win by the Heat, and set up the game seven last night.
Boston started off well and built up a lead, but things would turn around after halftime, and their older legs looked to be giving out. Miami held the Celtics to 15 points in that fourth quarter, and that’s the way the season ends for this team. Still worth noting that Boston was able to hold their own for so much of this series and the season, when people were ready to write off the old vets of the Celtics.