Regular Season: “F” is for Fail

Posted by Ryan DeGama on Apr 12, 2011 1918969 commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F2011%2F04%2F12%2Fregular-season-f-is-for-fail%2FRegular+Season%3A+%22F%22+is+for+Fail2011-04-12+21%3A23%3A44Ryan+DeGamahttp%3A%2F%2Fcelticshub.com%2F%3Fp%3D19189

Back in October, the Celtics entered the 2010-11 regular season with three major goals, the last of them identifiable only in retrospect. They were:

1. Secure first overall seed in Eastern Conference (if not entire league).

2. Enter playoffs healthy.

3. Maintain (or enhance) team identity.

Let’s look at each in turn.

1. SEEDING

The Celtics enter the post-season as the third seed in the Eastern Conference, with a road to the finals that likely includes both Miami and Chicago. As a function of their post-all-star fade, the Celtics face the prospect of two game-7s on the road against those younger teams. And that’s before they match up with (says me) Los Angeles or San Antonio in the finals. Where they’ll face a 2-3-2 schedule and another game 7 on the road (unless L.A. loses both of its remaining two games).

If you replayed this season ten times, in how many of them would the Celtics finish with a worse seeding position than they have now? Two? Three?

Despite the red-hot start, and their status as title favorite up to the all-star game, the Celtics achieved pretty close to the minimum in this area. And like the inspiring leader below, I trust Doc Rivers encourages his players to do more than the minimum.

Flair Minimum by movieclips

2. HEALTH

Last year, at a cost of a 27-27 finish, the Celtics hit the playoffs mostly healthy. Kevin Garnett was still in recovery mode, but to the extent he could be healthy, he was. Come Sunday, Shaquille O’Neal will stand in for the tip against New York, but his health is hardly a sure thing for a full round of playoffs, much less four. Same with Jermaine O’Neal. And we still await word on the snakebitten Delonte West, who is so crucial to this team’s title hopes and who is — yet again — out with an injury.

West’s health issues seem as much bad luck as bad planning but on the big man front, Ainge took a huge gamble on the O’Neals when he dealt away Kendrick Perkins. It looks like a terrible bet at this point. The Lakers, the Bulls and the Heat are all thrilled Perk is gone, and while Shaq is a more than capable substitute, to have your title hopes resting on his 4000 year old body is a decidedly unpleasant sensation.

3. IDENTITY

This last one is the most wearying of all.

Back in the fall, nobody worried about Boston’s identity. Back in the fall, we knew that even if the Celtics had a rough path to the finals, and dodgy health, they were going to intimidate teams, rough them up, play hard. Now, less than a week before the playoffs, not even Rivers knows what this team will be on any given night.

I still think Boston’s recent problems are more a result of the big four’s diminished play than any post-Perk hangover (and they would have happened regardless of what Ainge did), but the fundamental altering of this team’s chemistry or identity or whatever term you want to apply to it — that’s a direct result of the trade.

The toughness exchange of Perk (hard) for Nenad Krstic (soft) and the addition of passive-aggressive Jeff Green has been a net fail. Neither guy has the warrior mentality so common to recent Celtics teams, and beyond that, a fragility has been exposed beneath KG’s bluster, Paul Pierce’s cockiness, Rajon Rondo’s arrogance, and Ray Allen’s usually unflappable demeanor. In retrospect, removing Perk was like removing the rear right tire from your car — it’s only a single part but you’re gonna have trouble getting anywhere without it.

As a result, the thrilling recent win over San Antonio and the brutal recent loss to Chicago both strike me as accurate representations of this Celtics team as it prepares for its final charge for an NBA title. Either could show up on any given night.

FINAL GRADE

You can grade on a curve if you want, point to the strong start to the season, the ability to extend elite play through 50 games, the team’s probable improved focus come the weekend, the health of the big four, and you’d be right about all those things. And after last year, nobody would be surprised if the Celtics of November and December suddenly reappear over the next few weeks.

But when I think about grading the regular season, in terms of its stated goals… well… my grade is right up there in the headline.