The Celtics are in trouble and we’re all looking for someone to blame. Do you run Danny Ainge out of town? is it time for Brad Stevens to go? What about Jayson Tatum? Isn’t he supposed to carry this team?
Green Teamers, of which I was one when my salary depended on it, look in the mirror. You only have yourselves to blame! You have overrated this team when Isiah Thomas was here and kept the same act up when Tatum came to town.
It started with the Celtics making the conference finals in three of the last four seasons. Their effort against the Heat in the bubble was a joke and they were never going to get past Cleveland in the other two final appearances – yes even when they took Lebron to seven games in 2018. The Cavs were not losing a game seven. Just because your team appears to be knocking on the door of playing for a championship doesn’t mean they will actually get through it. And if even they did, they were not winning a championship. It was all fool’s gold.
The second mistake was believing that Kyrie Irving could carry a team. Now, this is the ultimate hindsight. I, like everyone else, was psyched for Irving’s arrival in Boston, but shame on us of not knowing better. This guy – as shown again in Brooklyn – cannot handle being THE GUY. In Cleveland he needed Lebron and in Boston he didn’t have a security blanket and he couldn’t handle the responsibility. His effort against the Bucks in the semi-finals was one of the biggest choke jobs I have ever seen. Now, the guys needs not one binkie in Brooklyn but two.
What can be said about Gordon Hayward? Terrible injury and who knows what might have been. I do not believe Danny passed up on Myles Turner for Hayward. That just doesn’t pass the smell test to me. I think Hayward was only going to sign a long-term deal in Charlotte and that was that. I don’t think he wanted the pressure of playing in his home state nor do I think the Pacers wanted to give him 120 million bucks like Charlotte did. I just believe that Danny is not dumb enough to take a trade exception over a young player like Turner.
Of course, Danny deserves blame for the lack of bench, but you Green Teamers need to stop overrating all of these guys. Peyton Pritchard is better than I thought but come on. He should be your eighth or ninth best player and Grant Williams? On a real contender he does not see the floor. Don’t get me started on Time Lord or any of the other G-Leaguers Danny has drafted.
Then there is the Big 3? We get crazy in Boston. If the C’s have three good players, hey let’s name them after Larry, Chief and McHale. NOT! Kemba Walker will never be healthy again. That knee is trouble, and the truth is he is a ball dominant point guard that was really good on a not-so- good team. He does not make other players around him better. That brings us to Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum. I have underrated Jaylen, and everyone has overrated Jayson. Brown continues to amaze me with his improvement, heart and desire. I know Tatum had a great run last winter but he so inconsistent and I don’t think he is going to be a great player like we assume. He can put up points, but can he carry a team like Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Joel Embiid, or James Harden. No, he can’t, and I don’t think he ever will. Unfortunately, that’s what you need to win a title.
So, if you are ticked off, heartbroken or angry about the Celtics status in the NBA you only have yourself to blame. You saw something that wasn’t there in the first place.