Mondays suck... even around here. So we're taking time out on Monday's to make ourselves feel better and rant about something that pisses us off.
The Boston Celtics have gone through a tough stretch. Kevin Garnett's knee is bugging him... Pierce had that mysterious infection and now he keeps getting hit in the same spot like 10 times a day... Sheed is just coming back after a foot injury. Even Rajon Rondo missed some time with a tweaked hamstring.
It happens. Little nagging things will cause guys to miss time. Yet amazingly... even after a little bit of a tough stretch in which the Celtics when 4-6 over the their last 10 games... they've still managed to scrape together the 3rd best record in the NBA.
Which is why I find it amazing to see people writing them off... in January... before they're even halfway through with their schedule. The latest of those people is FanHouse's Tim Povtak... who writes the Celtics Title hopes are fading fast.
Losing six of their last 10 games isn't a fluke. It's a sign of things to come when you are patching up holes and springing more leaks this early in the season.
Garnett has missed nine of the first 38 games, still struggling with the surgically repaired right knee that submarined last season. Pierce has missed five games already, also with right knee issues. Allen, the oldest of the three, is likely next this season to start feeling the aging process and start missing games.
Nothing like making something up completely out of nowhere to support your argument. Ray Allen hasn't missed a second of time... but let's just say he will so I can make my point. Who knows if Ray will get hurt or not. But you can't just assume he will.
And as for the last 10 games being a sign of things to come? Let's just work our way down the standings, shall we?
East:
- Cleveland: 7-3
- Atlanta: 5-5
- Orlando: 4-6
West:
- Dallas: 5-5
- Denver: 6-4
- San Antonio: 6-4
- Portland 6-4:
- Phoenix: 5-5
There's a lot of mediocrity right now for a lot of these contenders. And you know what that means? Zero. Nothing. Because it's January... and history tells us that virtually nothing we know in January means anything down the road... because healthy teams get hurt and hobbled teams get healthy. It happens all the time.
The Celtics are just as likely to get fully healthy as they are to get hurt. No one has suffered any sort of chronic injury like tendinitis.... or a catastrophic injury.
Povtin isn't alone in writing the Celtics off. But no one should be crowned or written off at this point... except for the Nets and Timberwolves. They've taken care of that themselves. The NBA season is a long one. It ebbs and flows with each passing week. The Lakers and Cleveland... both 7-3 in their last 10... will also see their struggles. And unless those struggles come in May... they won't mean much either.
And while Povtin isn't alone in writing off the Celtics... I absolutely have to point this out:
Point guard Rajon Rondo was a complimentary player in 2008, but he now is being asked to carry a load. And he is probably not talented enough to make it happen.
What a peculiar statement to make... especially since it's been a growing consensus that Rajon Rondo is the most important player on this team.