Some Celtics' fans may have been shocked on Monday when head coach Doc Rivers decided to sit Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett (speaking of KG, doesn't the whole Villanueva story look a little less sympathetic after Monday night's enraged manhunt on Ryan Hollins at the Palace. Witnesses claimed to hear Villaneuva screaming “I'm going to kill that dude!” before police interceded on the impending rampage. Hmm).
I was supremely pleased.
Why?
The Celtics have never had a problem with winning road series. It wasn't a problem last year (I don't count LA, nor should you), and it won't be a problem this year.
Although Pierce made his desire to snatch the top seed known heading into this season, the goal of a veteran team (with a veteran coach) is to enter the playoffs in the best position possible. For veteran teams like the Celtics and Spurs, the best position is a healthy one (I wouldn't have minded a significant cut in minutes a week ago).
The “big four” needed the game off against Washington (and Wednesday's game against the Knicks, coincidentally) for several reasons.
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A break from the madness. A time to separate the disastrous few weeks that make up the end of the regular season from the journey that lies ahead.
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To ensure that the team wasn't plagued by yet another injury (which Delonte West's ankle deemed unacceptable), as if there wasn't enough problems already.
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To wakeeeee uppppppppp. To get over what is over and get some much-needed rest (physically and mentally).
Where the Celtics ended up in terms of playoff seeding was always a non-issue to me. It is how they got there that provoked a decent headache.
Alright. Let's see if we can unravel this whole mess.
For now, let's forget about West's broken wrist and Jermaine O'Neal's knee surgery that helped kick the season of fear (injury, age) off with a bang.
In this author's not-so-humble opinion, it was a Feb. 6 win over the Magic that marked the beginning of change in Boston.
If you don't recall, this was the game in which the Celtics lost Marquis Daniels for the remainder of the season to an absolutely brutal spinal cord injury.
The Orlando game marked Kendrick Perkins' seventh game back from surgery. He played his most minutes since his return and was blessing me with the kind of confidence I had heading into Game 6 of last year's Finals.
Without a serviceable backup to Paul Pierce, it is difficult to say that the loss of Daniels isn't the sole reason for why the Celtics are where they are personnel-wise.
Of course, the Perkins contract situation had a distinct effect on him landing in Oklahoma City, but whether the Celtics would have sacrificed their center without the perceived necessity for a forward?
The move also seemed to put some weight on Danny Ainge and crew to compensate for the loss of Perkins with a slew of deadline acquisitions.
I'll admit, I managed to justify it all, but that still doesn't mean I'm wrong.
With the loss of Daniels, the Celtics were suffering from major depth problems.
On paper, it looks like there are rampant improvements at nearly every position (besides center, obviously), but paper doesn't always equate into game play.
Nate Robinson ended up needing knee surgery (whether the Celtics knew or not is anybody's guess), and the Celtics caught their first break of the year.
As analysts have swung from “the Celtics are the best team in the league” to “the Celtics are a year older,” it is difficult to not be reminded of last season.
I make the case that the Celtics' recent woes are just as much about missing Perkins as they are about missing Perkins.
Posey came and went; House came and went; Robinson came and went. This list goes on and on.
Rondo, Garnett, Pierce, Allen and Perkins. This was the five.
These five fought through all of it together (we'll include Big Baby in the parenthesis). They battled through Garnett's knee injury, through Perkins' surgery and everything else that came their way with a driven thirst for the ultimate goal. They won and lost together.
When Garnett said, “It's not even about a teammate, it feels like we lost a family member,” I tried to push it aside as an unfortunate truth, but in many ways, Celtics fans felt the same way.
Perkins was a Celtic. He was physical, passionate and hard. He fueled the energy as much as anybody else, and it's hard to believe that his teammates have gotten over it.
Is it the loss of Perkins that has Rondo playing more passive than ever? Sure, it could be the pinkie, but he certainly hasn't been logging any less minutes.
Rondo's play has been as inconsistent as ever, and he hasn't risen to the challenge in big games as is custom.
Note: Rondo must be back to the level he was at earlier in the season and in last year's playoffs for the Celtics to have any chance. His poor play in the past few weeks has proven that he is the force driving the machine. I'm not too worried, but it is a horrible thought to have (as if I need another).
Still, the Celtics' woes can't all be attributed to the loss of a friend for the starters.
The Celtics have played in the same lethargic fashion down the stretch that they did last year. Sure, the Celtics lost to the Pacers, but do you really think Indiana would stand a chance against Boston in a series?
In terms of losses to bad teams, there is a more than mild case of overreaction that occurs whenever a heavyweight loses to a middle/lightweight.
I have maintained throughout the skid that Celtics were simply going through the motions, but the losses to Chicago and Miami went well beyond that.
The Celtics are playing their best basketball in the first and third quarters. They have blown huge leads in several contests (I would have had a conniption if they lost the Minnesota game) thanks to the ineptitude of the new bench players.
I was ready to declare an incidental work of genius to sit the starters during the Washington game, that is, until the monstrosity that occurred at the end of the game.
The Celtics' role players have been looking more like the Heat role players (I claim an elaborate plan to usher Boston into picking up Arroyo, thus infecting the entire bench!).
Even with Rondo playing inconsistently, each of the Celtics' stars will bring it come first-round matchup against the Knicks.
If the Celtics should reach the unfortunate end that turns me into a walking zombie for at least two weeks, it won't be because of the starters.
We've already discussed the first reason (the bench). The second reason should be obvious.
The Celtics must (must, must, must) have Shaq.
I've already discussed this previously to which I received multiple replies from the foolish-yet-respected fan that believes JO and Krstic will step up to fill the gap left and that the Celtics can still beat anyone blah, blah, blah.
There were also the few “get over it, Shaq sucks” people that didn't validate a response and are only being mentioned in this article to be made fun of.
While the former is commendable, the Celtics don't have a chance without Shaq.
In trading Perkins, the Celtics did three things. Eyed the future, backed up Pierce with a reliable player and put allllll of their money on Shaq (while gaining a little depth a center).
Shaq proved that he still had the capabilities to be a force in post both defensively and offensively (since he doesn't need to jump to dunk or block). Remember that? When the Celtics were ripping through teams early in the season without Perkins?
Now, you have the better-on-paper bench (that better find it's stride soon) and Shaq (according to Danny Ainge) about to be ready for the first-round opener. You have a healthy JO and a reliable center behind him to fill-in minutes (fill this space with massive props for JO after Doc said he might not be in the playoff rotation).
I have spent the last few weeks filling my mind with ifs, and there are a lot of them. However, a healthy Shaq means that there are all the pieces there to put together another championship run.
My glass-half-full self (which can flip rapidly) thinks that playing the Knicks in the first round is better than playing a team like the Pacers or 76ers because it forces them to be ready. It forces them to get jacked up and instantly feel that the time to step it up has arrived (again, optimism).
It's hard to believe that, after a long and eventful year, we are only a few days away from do-or-die basketball.
Ashley Tappin Carmen Electra Amanda Marcum Leila Arcieri Kate Mara
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