1) Biggest concern coming into the playoffs was that this squad had never been there together. Playoff hoops are much different than regular season ball. Players need to carve out their roles. Coaches need to make game to game adjustments. I figured the Celtics would get derailed by the Pistons or Spurs, or some team with more collective playoff experience. And certainly, it looked that way during and after the Atlanta series. They persevered though, and got much better and stronger as a team as the playoffs went on. They played great basketball when it mattered most, and stepped up to every challenge posed.
2) With all the hype about the NBA this season (and the Western conference in particular), the playoffs were overall kind of lackluster. Some great games, solid series, but every team had major flaws that were exposed (including Boston). The Lakers should be better next year. It'll be interesting to see how other teams develop/add pieces in the off season.
3) After the Patriots first Super Bowl win, and the Sox '04 magic ride, their respective following seasons seemed to have massive let downs - championship hangovers, if you will. With KG at the helm, I don't know if I see that happening with this squad. There will undoubtedly be some changes, but Boston is a "destination" now, and bringing in some title-hungry vets for low cost should be enough to refocus this team and get them on their way to #18.
4) Though I'm pretty happy that none of the boys are playing in the Olympics this summer.
5) Give James Posey whatever he wants. He probably won't be able to command much more than the MLE anyways.
6) Tom Thibodeu as well. My guess is that he sticks around for one more year before grabbing a head coaching slot.
7) House/Cassell/PJ/TA - Actually, I'm not quite ready to delve into off season planning.
8) It's nice to not be worried AT ALL about the draft next week. Ainge'll grab someone productive with the #30, I'm sure.
9) Pierce was a 3rd team All-NBA selection. Anyone want to rethink their vote on that one?
10) Realistically, all PP ever needed was a good running mate. Someone to take pressure off of him somewhere - offense, defense, media. Toine gets a lot of credit in my book for helping get Pierce to a pretty high level early on by falling on a lot of criticism that would have otherwise landed on Paul. After Antoine and before KG/RayRay, who would be the best player Pierce has lined up with? Wally? Ricky Davis? Big Al? Clearly KG has needed this as well throughout his career. Ray Allen might actually have the best personality profile for being a franchise player, though he's not quite good enough to do it himself. Together, they're tough to tangle with.
11) Which makes my appreciation for Jordan all the greater. He brought it every night. At home, on the road, wherever. The mental toughness needed to be a franchise guy is underrated. Kobe doesn't have it. LeBron might. We'll just have to wait and see.
12) Nice work, Doc. I'd like to think I've been more fair in my assessment of him than some - there are still a lot of things that frustrate me about him. But he won't be going anywhere for a while, so as long as he keeps improving, I guess we roll with it.
13) Does #44 get to be hung up now? The Herald reported that Wyc promised that to Danny if a championship was delivered on his watch.
14) Other great Celtic #44s - Pete Maravich, Dave Bing, Rick Fox, Jiri Welsch, Paul Westphal, and of course, Brian Scalabrine.
15) No conformation as to if my cousin Danny gets a ring for his work with the Celtics this year. Of course, no one really knows what he does for them (it does not include picking up a paycheck) but whatever it is, it was important enough for him to go to LA for 3-4-5. Congrats, kid.
16) Garnett's post-game celebratory screaming is one for the ages. Beautiful.
17) This one's for you, Red
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