A Four Game Sweep In 2.25 Games

Well, so much for that. Boston finished the sweep of the mostly lifeless Knicks, who played about 12 minutes of inspired basketball in a mostly dispiriting loss today. Without the bench heroics of Anthony Carter, there would have been no drama at all in this one, and for vast portions of the game, the telecast crew could barely bring them to discuss the actual game they were watching. Yes, I know that happens all the time with ESPN telecasts, but still. And what looked like it would be a good and long series as late as the closing moments of Game Two turned into another case of how, no matter how old and feeble the Celtics can look in the late regular season, they are just the biggest possums in the history of the Association. You'd think I'd stop falling for this trick by now, but no. It ended with a 12-point Celtics win and hugs all around between the two teams, because the Knicks are just that comfy, really.

The really surprising part of the sweep, beyond the fact that Boston got exactly what they needed out of the five years beyond dead Jermaine O'Neal, was just how easy the road games were. You'd think that the New York crowd, with a decade of consequence-free basketball behind them, would have willed the home team to at least one win, or that the Association's referees would have insisted on more than the minimum number of games here. But the roar didn't really happen outside of the too-little comeback, and perhaps maybe it was never going to happen once Amar'e Stoudemire's back flared up, and Chauncy Billups had his own injury issues.

Next up or the Celtics: the survivor (hah!) of the Sixers-Heat series, after the always-helpful week off for the NBA's ridiculous playoff schedule. Which means even more time for Shaquille O'Neal to get health and/or less corpulent, time off for the ancient grinding stars, and a little more prep time to get Jeff Green ready for his role as the designated LeBron Stopper.

But remember, Celtics Fan, there's still time to become completely and utterly convinced that your team can't win a thing without Kendrick Perkins. You so deserve your team's success, really you do...