For want of an Egg, the omelet was lost

[Snoopy the Celtics Beagle]

The fans are a macrocosm of the Celtics Management, really.  We are 
all fans of the team.  We all want to see them succeed.  The main 
difference is in how it's being done.  There are people, both here 
and elsewhere, who firmly believe that the Celtics should be building 
for the long-term, not rolling the dice in hopes that the C's can 
bring home a Championship or two before Oden and Durant 
improve.  Others are just as firmly convinced that proven veterans 
was the way to go and point to the current record as proof.

We all invest a lot of ourselves into supporting the team and 
sometimes when others disagree with us, there's a near-inescapable 
moment of "Whaddya MEAN, "I'm wrong,"?  I'm RIGHT!".  In come cases, 
the moment lingers.

The reality is, we are all pretty smart people, despite Trader Dan's 
assertion that we're somehow ignorant because we don't earn a living 
working in the NBA.  We know whereof we speak, with varying degrees 
of knowledge based on our personal views and experiences.

So it's unlikely we'll ever change our minds about what the C's 
should do.  We're mostly pretty stubborn fans, else we'd never have 
survived the last decade or so rooting for the Celtics.  By the same 
token, we all need to realize that no matter how emphatically we may 
believe in a viewpoint, no matter how eloquently we may describe why 
we are obviously right, not everyone will agree.  That's cool.  It's 
like a listwide version of Siskel and Ebert, where it's not 
sufficient to make a declaration, you have to be able to put some 
thought into it and back it up.

Sometimes we get a little out of hand, and what is intended as no 
more than literary wit, or a dose of sarcasm is taken as a personal 
insult, and escalation becomes the word of the day.

But even when I disagree, I like reading the "opposition views", 
because sometimes I learn something...even if only what is and is not 
anatomically possible.  :)

But we're all rooting for the Celtics, and at the very least, right 
now, they're winning.  So, I will now descend from my cookie box, and 
put my views out there so at least, I can take them out for a virtual drive.

As it happens, I don't believe Danny Ainge is a total 
incompetent.  At least, not while Thomas still coaches the 
Knicks.  Danny is also not the genius he is currently praised as.  I 
believe that the C's normally should build slowly for the long term, 
however, in acquiring the current roster, the Celtics made the right move.

This is because of the "perfect storm" player situation that hit over 
the summer.  The Celtics had just had their worst season in living 
memory, then the rigged draft (and by rigged, I mean any situation 
that allows the two worst teams to draft out of the top three) 
deprives the C's of their shot at Oden or Durant.  Prior to this, it 
was obvious that Danny Ainge was building teams around Paul 
Pierce.  But there just weren't enough good players out of the draft 
to help NOW.  Pierce, not unreasonably, wanted a shot at the NBA 
Championship, and each day, was looking more and more like Ray Borque.

Given the composition of the team over the Summer, there was zero 
chance the C's could even MAKE the playoffs without killing Pierce in 
the process.  There was no realistic playoff chance for years to 
come--by which time Pierce would be past his prime.  The fact is, the 
time to build around Pierce had come and gone.  To his credit, Pierce 
realized this and presented the C's with a choice.  Either get him 
some help, or trade him to a contender.

Like I said, Danny isn't an idiot.  Had he traded Pierce, they'd be 
running in place, and in any event, nobody wanted to play for Boston 
without Pierce.  The W/L record for this season would have made last 
season look like a Playoff run.

The only way to get him realistic help was to trade away some of the 
best young players.  With only Pierce, there was no shot at Garnett, 
so they got Ray Allen, then Kevin McHale gave the C's a gift.  Yes, 
it cost us Al Jefferson, but look at what happened to the rest of the 
guys we traded.  Gerald Green is invisible.  Delonte West has been 
injury prone and uneven.  Wally Szczerbiak, Mark Blount, and so 
on....all under-performing, when they get playing time at all.

This gave the C's the current lineup.  Yes, the long-term future is 
hazy at best...but realistically, in a few years the WC will be even 
stronger as Oden and Durant, among others continue to grow.  The 
single best chance for Boston to win is now, THIS year.  As to the 
future, you hope that their spectacular season and (anticipated, by 
me at least) NBA Championship in June will serve as a magnet to free 
agents and veterans much like a plate of chocolate chip cookies 
attracts me.  Who knows, in a few years, a more mature Big Al, may 
even be back playing for us, if Kevin is still running the Timberwolves :)

I think that the decision to put it all on the court now, while 
contrary to my preferred method of running a team, was the best 
option in this instance.

As others have said, that doesn't make this group perfect by any 
means.  I believe we need a veteran PG backup, someone who can teach 
Rondo by example.  I think the running game needs to be fully 
instituted, but that probably can't happen until next season....I'd 
want Ray Allen to have a good year on his ankles and Tony Allen a 
chance to prove both legs work.  A veteran Center would be nice, 
too.  Perk has been playing better than I thought he could last 
season, but some nights, it's just not happening.  And while Big 
Beagle Davis is pretty fast, he has to show me he can play above the 
rim, or he might as well be glued to the floor.

But for all that, this team, somehow, is making it work.  Not 
perfectly and not consistently, but enough to approach the mid season 
with a League leading record for wins and losses, among other weird 
statistics which Kim Malo knows I can't do the math for.

So let's enjoy it, even if it doesn't last.  This is why fans have 
fun--because their teams are winning!!!




Snoopy the Celtics Beagle
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