The Celtics are BACK, Baby!
By Chad Varnas

Photo courtesy of the DCU Center, www.dcucenter.com, where the Celtics play the Nets on Oct. 19.

Given the Celtics’ performance during recent seasons (yes, the city of Boston is home to more than the Pats and Red Sox), few could be called ‘unloyal’ to a basketball team that has had fewer wins than Lindsey Lohan has had DUIs. Yet, with the off season moves to acquire Ray Allen, the Cs looked poised to move in the right direction. Then, as if Red Auerbach himself called down from basketball heaven, The Cs received a gift in the form of 31 yr old Kevin Garnett. Blessed with all the tools needed in a basketball player, Garnett is a one man wrecking crew who has the city excited about basketball for the first time since the Celtics drafted the likes of Eric Montross and A.C. Earl…Okay, maybe a little more excited than that. With Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and now Garnett, the Celtics can rekindle the old days of the Original Big Three of Bird, Parrish and McHale.

Sure, the NBA’s Eastern Conference is so bad that not even the NBA refs would place bets on them, but now there seems to be some new found excitement. Labron James and the Cavaliers went to the NBA finals with only ONE good player; the Cs have 3 and possibly 4, pending on how quickly Rajon Rondo picks up the offense. However, much like Emanuel Lewis could have run for all the rushing yards Emmett Smith had in Dallas, I think Doc Rivers could find a point guard at Burger King that would suffice.

But with these 3 to 4 players also come expectations. Danny Ainge traded away nearly every player possible and was also rumored to have thrown in JD Drew in order to obtain Garnett, so the pressure to win is more than now, it was yesterday. And as for Doc Rivers, well, he has more weight on his shoulders as well. People in Boston expect their teams to perform well when they don’t have talent. When a team does have an array of good players, there’s more pressure on those teams than if you were part of OJ Simpson’s legal team.

So what does Garnett bring to the team? For starters, he wants to win. Ask any basketball fan and they can tell you that Garnett gave 110 % to every game as if it was his last and people in New England love that. Just look at the Red Sox. Gabe Kapler was a fan favorite despite the fact that his talent may have been better suited for the Pawsox. What made him a favorite was that he wanted to win. Now look at a player like J.D (Don’t call me Nancy) Drew. All the talent in the world, yet his demeanor is one of “Oh well, another strikeout…guess I’ll go back to the dugout, put the ski mask on that I used to rob the Red Sox of all that money and wait ‘til the next at bat..ho hum ho hum.” Fans around here cannot stand that type of attitude and that’s part of the reason that some players like Eric Gagne, Edgar Renteria and others struggle in Boston. Trot Nixon was and always will be a fan favorite ~ not because of his talent, but because he gave up his body to help the team win at any cost.

Grant it, Garnett is already a Top 10 player in the league and his skills are not ready to erode faster than a member of Menudo, so that shouldn’t be an issue. Not only does he bring a willingness to win at all cost, he’s also a fierce competitor. Much like Josh Beckett, he wears his emotions on his sleeves. After a dunk or bad call this season, Garnett will surely give his patented ‘yell’ to the sky and let the crows now exactly how he feels and he’ll feed off the crowds’ emotion. Now, injuries are part of the game and wins don’t magically appear on paper. The team still needs to go out and perform. Pierce, used to being The Man at all the critical times, will need to adjust to sharing that role with Allen and Garnett. Doc Rivers still needs to prove that he can coach a team to the playoffs and win…something he’s never been able to do either here or in Orlando. But perhaps the biggest adjustment that the team will have to endure is that fans will actually care about the team this year. Like Rick Pitiono once said to the Boston Media, “Larry Bird isn’t walking through that door. Robert Parrish isn’t walking through that door. Kevin Mchale isn’t walking through that door.” Thankfully for Celtic fans, neither is A.C. Earl or Eric Montross.