I’ll be the first to admit I was the train conductor when it came to the locomotive that was tankapalooza for the Boston Celtics in the 2013-14 season.
The idea of having one of our beloved Boston sports teams “tank” for a better draft position was exciting to me. But rooting for losses? What kind of sports fan roots for that?
The Patriots won their first Super Bowl when I was in the first grade and I grew up in the decade of Boston sports dominance. Four Super Bowls for the Patriots, three World Series trophies, a NBA final win and a Stanley Cup all during that span is stuff that only the people of Philadelphia and Cleveland can envision in their wildest dreams.
This area is pretty spoiled.
Not to mention all of those runs were phenomenal events and probably took more years off my life than I’d like to admit, but that’s a story for a different day.
Back to the Celtics.
No matter how much fun I’m having watching the 5-foot-9 Isaiah Thomas run around like a madman averaging 21.8 points per game over his first five in green, the Celtics are in the worst possible place they could possibly be in – the wasteland between “legit contenders” and “not bad enough to get a good pick.”
Remember that wasteland where the billboard was in the “Great Gatsby?” That’s where the Celtics are.
I never thought my 11th grade English curriculum would ever come back to help me in life, but I guess I stand corrected.
By the way, Thomas’ 109 points through five games, is second most all time behind the 113 both Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett scored over their first games with the Celtics. Hat-tip to radio play-by-play announcer Sean Grande for that stat. He truly is one of the best stat-tweeters there is.
Boston’s only two games back from the eighth playoff spot and only 2.5 games behind the Miami Heat who currently hold the seventh seed in the Eastern conference. However, along with the Celtics and Heat, the Nets, Pistons, Pacers and Hornets all have legitimate shots to make a push toward the playoffs.
The West playoffs are going to be unreal this year – I truly believe the top eight seeds can beat any other team on any given night. If the West playoffs are considered the NCAA tournament, call the race for the East seven and eight seeds the NIT.
What makes this fascinating is that the Celtics are doing this without a household name on the roster. Jae Crowder, Evan Turner and Brandon Bass playing significant roles? Not to knock them, but those are the kind of players you want coming off your bench if you’re a legit contender.
Also in a column coming soon – why Avery Bradley would be the best sixth man in the NBA.
The Celtics are almost getting too much out of Brad Stevens. He’s surviving – and in some cases, thriving – with the reject toys in a world dominated by electronics and video games. He get’s the most out of these B or C-level players possible. And it’s proven to be effective.
That being said, the joy of tanking is all over. They’re too good to fall to the lottery again. They have no choice but to make it exciting for fans and make a run to the playoffs. Might as well try to milk every last drop of this possible.
The NBA is by far the worst league for developing late round picks. Yes, the NBA only has two rounds, however it’s fairly uncommon you see success stories of second round picks becoming stars. The NBA is a league where if you don’t score big in the top-five picks in the draft, you’re straight out of luck.
The NBA is a star-driven league and outside of the few obvious gems at the tops of big boards, the chances of getting a franchise-player exponentially decrease.
So Celtics, make it fun for us while you still can. I’m done with this losing crap – one year was more than enough for me.
Isn’t it fun to be spoiled?
Andrew Cyr can be reached at [email protected], and followed on Twitter @Andrew_Cyr.
