By DRJ
I will tell you a tale that may or may not be a prediction of what is
about to happen to the Celtics. You decide……
The Celtics are one of the oldest teams playing in the NBA. One of their
bigs is considered by many to be out of shape, overweight, and well
past his prime. Many believe he's tanking games, and accuse him of never
trying, not defending, not doing his job, etc. Their cherished star
forward is also aging, ailing and playing far below his own standard.
As the regular season winds down, the Cs are looking dangerously
unready. They lose to bad teams. They look disinterested and dispirited.
And they keep losing. They will no doubt end the season with an unhappy
record of less than 50 games won, good for just 4th seed in the East.
Most people, including their own fans, believe they'll be one and done
in the playoffs, or at best, eliminated in the second round.
But the Celtics will wake up the day the playoffs begin. They will start
playing with urgency and focus. They will start looking like the
Celtics of old. They will FLIP THEIR SWITCH!
The Cs will go through the Eastern Conference like a hot knife through
butter. Each team they face will be favored to beat them, yet they will
win each series in convincing fashion, and earn their Finals spot.
In the Finals, the Celtics will meet their most hated rivals, the team
whose top star is widely regarded as one of the best to ever play the
game. The Cs’ opponents will have HCA of course, and will be HEAVILY
favored to win the championship. Few will give Boston any chance of
winning.
After losing the first two games, the Celtics will find a way to stop
(or rather, slow down) their opponents' top scorer. It will work. The Cs
will win games 3 and 4 to even the series. The Western team will charge
back to win game 5. But the Celtics will regroup, their aging,
battle-tested stars rising to each new challenge, finding ways to
overcome every adversity. They will play with passion and teamwork and
ubuntu… especially on defense, which they consider their forte and the
core of their identity.
The Celtics will win the Finals series and the championship in the 7th
game, on the road. The sports world will be stunned. All will then
believe that this team and what they've done will go down as
one of the greatest stories in sports history.
====
Your decision? Will this, or will this not happen?
Are you done?
Good. Here is the answer:
It happened. To the 1968-69 Celtics, who, after finishing the regular
season with a dismal record of 48-34, beat Jerry West and the
heavily-favored Lakers in the 7th game of the 1969 Finals.
Note: The 2010 Celtics' record will be better than 48-34.
:::::Anything is possible:::::
[P.S. Bill Russell (35) and Sam Jones (36) both retired after the
1969 season. The 2010 Celtics' oldest starter is Ray Allen (34),
followed by KG (33) and Paul Pierce (32).]
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