It's Over

The Big 3 (Fantastic Four) of the Celtics is coming to a close. It's making me cringe as I type that out. I want to believe that they have one more year together. Just like last year when all the critics said the C's were done. Make one more surprise run at the playoffs. Garnett played his heart out. Allen, despite his ankle surgery, was hitting his shots. The only one I'm really worried about is Pierce. He is the soul of the Celtics. He's been slow. Front-rimming his jumpers. Fouling early. He has one more year and a partial guarantee for the year after. But Ainge can't trade him, not like this. He's been with the franchise through the bad and the miraculous good that's come with the team coming together. You don't just abandon a soldier, he's not a mercenary. (No offense to free agent players). Rondo was fantastic again, but came up short and made some turnovers that turned into transition baskets for the Heat. Just work on your jumpers and you'll literally be unstoppable.

Probably the worst matchup of the night.

The Heat were phenomenal and despite my dislike for Bosh, he was money on his shots. Battier was clutch too helping the score stay even or giving them a slight cushion offensively. LeBron started slow but his inside game helps his outside. Wade was clutch in getting fouled and his usual slashing. It was a different Heat team tonight. They had this confidence that they could win. You could sense it from watching the game. Down 8 halftime? Not a problem.
I don't believe what Doc Rivers said in the post-game conference when he said his team gave everything they had. Yes, they were great. But being naive and/or hopeful, I believe that they could have pushed a run to make it a close game. Which is why I didn't stop watching the game until the buzzer. I thought of the utmost crazy game time situations to make the Celtics get back in it. But it's all in my head. I love Doc Rivers. He's a different coach from others in the league. He seems like a really likable guy the way he talks about his team. From a coaching style perspective, he brought a bunch of superstars to buy into his system. Anyone else doing that right now?
For the Celtics fans, let's not give up on the team. The future is bright. Rondo, Bass, Bradley, Green, Pierce, Pietrus. (Maybe sign KG?) We have the #20 pick in this year's draft. The Big 3 was a fantastic era but now we can only speculate and hope for the best. For the Heats fans, well congratulations.
Now, who's ready for an exciting final? I'm picking OKC. LeBron is not getting a ring for another year.