The Knicks and the Celtics actually had a real playoff preview (not just those fake ones that ESPN always tries to play up late in the season), and then decided to rest all the guys who would actually start in the playoffs. So much for the preview! However, if you know me, you know I'm more of a B-Squad fan anyway, so I was enjoying myself.
At least we know that our bench is better than their bench, that makes me feel confident...kind of. The C's bench mob shot 57% from the field en route to a nice little 112-102 win over the junior varsity Knicks in good ol' Massachusetts. Hey, 57% from the field makes them look more like a group of starters than our actual starters.
Thanks to the increased playing time, the backups were setting all kinds of career highs. Green Nation was stoked to see Merced native Avery Bradley leading the team with 20 points as well as to watch as journeyman-Yugo Sasha Pavloviç put 19 in for himself, and they were coming off the bench (so they're actually like the C-Squad). As for the game's starters, Big Baby tallied 17 and 8, while Green and Wafer driled 14 a piece. Pavloviç was knocking them down like a champ, though, impressing me the most, as he netted 4 out of 5 from deep.
So, the C's finish the season 56-26, winning the Atlantic Division yet again, and securing the #3 spot in the Conference. When the dust all settled, we finished 6 games back of the amazing Bulls and 4 games back of Crosby, Heat, and Nash. It wasn't what we were hoping for when the season kicked off last fall, but as things kind of went along, I think it was an expected outcome.
The end of the season means the start of the playoffs, and this year's 3-6 matchup in the East is between my Celtics and Spike Lee's Knicks. If you look back to the last time the C's beat the Knicks, you'll find me talking about how I wasn't scared off by any first round matchup. That was before we kind of started tanking. Now, when I look at Carmello Anthony, Amare Stoudemire, and the elder and super experienced Mr. Billups, I am starting to have visions of a frustrating upset.
Everyone knows how poorly the C's played down the stretch. Was it something that we should actually be worried about, or was it just a veteran team losing interest as the season worked toward a close? Either way, it might not be good for the C's. You don't want to enter the playoffs only to find that you've waited too long to flip the switch to the on position. By that time, the newish-look Knicks may have stolen one (or two) on the road. Much has been made about the Knicks since the big trade with Denver, and much of it has been bad. But, Carmello has a chance to erase all those negative assessments by performing well in this opening series and leading his team to a big upset.
For the Knicks, moving on into the second round would be more than enough to keep the fan base happy, and I think that makes them a dangerous team. For the Celtics, and this is what scares me, it's kind of Championship or bust. Do we have what it takes to reach that expectation?
If the starters play to their full potential (and the bench adds just enoug), nothing can stop us. The problem is getting them to do that over a seven game series against a team loving the underdog role. I'm just not sure if it's going to happen.
See you Sunday, Spike.
-- Sent from my Palm Prē
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