The Celtics Continue To Ruin My Life

More Snow, Please

It's such a fun year in the Asso- ciation, people. LeBron James and Kevin Durant have both taken their games up another notch, which seemed more or less impossible last year; it's not too much of a stretch to say that they might be authoring the two best individual seasons in league history right now. The Knicks, of all teams, turned into a sharing and caring team of canny veterans, rather than a poison pit of isolation and Carmelo v. Amare snarling. The Clips became the runaway best team in Los Angeles, while the Lakers lost their Rent A Star gamble in a huge way and became the most shadenfraudey train wreck ever. Golden State got off to their best start in decades, rewarding their great home crowd and providing all kinds of late-night entertainment. Sure, there's been some bummer moments (Funny Head Bynum's season of whiff, Dallas being the poor man's Lakers, Brandon Roy's sad final days), but all in all, it's been pretty great, and we're just looking at the first half. Things usually heat up from here.

There's only one thing that's bumming me out. Freaking Boston, the undead zombie menace that arises, year after year, to make the league relevant only if it runs right through it.

On Friday, January 25, the Celtics were 20-23, had just lost starting/only point guard Rajon Rondo, and were actively entertaining offers for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. With Ray Allen in Miami, Jason Terry looking spent, Jeff Green an inconsistent mess and rookie forward Jared Sullinger also going down, it looked for all the world like they were going to finally press the reset/dump button and have a lottery-riffic year... at the same time as the Lakers. What's there not to love?

Well, the resulting seven game winning streak. The entire team moving the ball better. And sure, the schedule has helped loads (6 of 7 games were at home, they caught the Clippers without Chris Paul, Blake Griffin or Chauncey Billups, and beating the Raptors, Magic and Kings isn't exactly the stuff of legend), but there's no doubting that they are in the conversation again, and with Rondo off the floor, they seem to close better, since the team doesn't have stagnation and free throw issues.

Will they keep it up? Of course they will; it's the Association, and I should have known that bad things never really happen to the Celtics. (Len Bias and Reggie Lewis notwithstanding.) They'll give some wins back on the road soon, but they'll still gut their way to a .500 record through the next 15 or so games, and it's not like the bottom dwellers in the East are going to go on a big time hot streak. I fully expect them to wind up with a six or seven seed, and honestly, the only important playoff position in the East is the one that avoids Miami.

Oh, and then the Celtics will trade Rondo for way more than his real value, and Garnett and Pierce will play at peak value for another five years, and Green will become a better player than he was before the heart trouble, and Avery Bradley will find a jump shot, and Fab Melo will bcome the defensive hammer and so on and so on and so on...

Because Boston is eternal, just like death, taxes, and the fact that sports will always give you more heartbreak than joy.

At least, so long as you don't root for the teams I hate...