Alright, I am just going to get it off my chest… I have seen far too many Celtics fans (since the loss) that are just giving me some serious spoiled brat vibes. The toxicity that has overwhelmed Celtics Twitter as of late is absurd. I get it, the Celtics should have won the Eastern Conference Finals. They were by far and away the better team. Straight up, they dropped the ball and didn’t come to play. They got outworked, outcoached, and out-pretty much everything else’d. That said, it doesn’t mean this team is terrible. It doesn’t mean this was a totally failed season. It doesn’t mean none of the guys on the squad are worth keeping. All it means is that this group of guys came up short of the goal… Just like 29 teams do every single year. Did they have a better chance than most teams? Yes. But at the end of the day, it is only one year in the grand scheme of things.
Let’s start with one of the things I talked about on my most recent episode of UNLEASHED. Only In Boston, the popular social account, came out with an absolutely absurd take. It pretty much says that because this team is so close to making the NBA Finals, we should blow it all up and start from scratch… Listen, you don’t hit the “RESTART BUTTON” if your team is right on “the edge to the Finals.” It is one or the other. You are either blowing it all up and restarting because you are nowhere near close, or you are making some smaller (still impactful) moves because you are right on the edge.
This tweet is just an example. There are so many more Celtics “fans” out there that are just so wrong in how they currently feel about this team. The overreaction is incredible. Again, they are whining because their 22-year-old best player didn’t take them to the promise land. I get it, we are used to getting our way and winning rings in Boston. That is what matters. I am not arguing that the Eastern Conference Finals appearance is good enough. I want more too. I am just able to be realistic in the sense that when this team loses, I don’t just go and forget the previous 11 months and throw all of the growth they’ve shown out the window. Which is seems like so many people have.
Now, anytime I’ve tweeted or talked about this topic I get the “Why can’t we be pissed! We’re still fans” take. That is fine. If you consider yourself to be on that boat, then this isn’t for you. If you are expressing your frustration, I am not going to stop you. BUT… and it’s a big but… there are lines that you may cross in which would lump you into the group this is directed at. Pretty much saying “F this team, man” is that line. If you have the nerve to say that this team is terrible and isn’t built for this, etc. then you are just wrong. This team blew away expectations overall this year. Maybe not for the “ring or nothing” crowd, but definitely for the general NBA world. Vegas had this team winning 49.5 games. 49.5 games!!! They were on pace to smash that total, then COVID hit. Even with the shorted season they still even almost reached that total. Most “analysts” thought losing Cryrie, Average Al, and company was going to make this team far worse. They got even further than they did with those guys. Meaning they achieved more, even if their end goal was not achieved.
All I ask is that you recognize the positives that came out of this year. The Celtics lost and that always stinks. No one is denying that at all. I just want people to be able to put aside the (no pun intended) heat of the moment and remain confident in where this team is headed.
So before you decided to tear down everything that the Celtics built this year, just try to get your feet back on earth. Think about the year as a whole. You will quickly realize you’ve been acting like an idiot and that this Celtics team is going to get better and better as we move forward, with no need of a restart button…
PS: This take has nothing to do with the coaching of Brad Stevens or the moves Danny Ainge has or has not made… this is strictly about the fan reactions I have seen. I dug into the topics of Brad and Danny in my latest episode of the pod. Check it out if you want my specifc take on those topics.
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