A Very Brady Lesson

by Jeff Clark on Sep 8, 2008 7:01 AM EDT in Boston Celtics Articles

You see what I did there? I blended a Brady Bunch reference with a Patriots tie-in to make a point about the Celtics upcoming season. I'm so clever sometimes. And humble, always humble.

You probably knew this was coming. What can we "learn" from the Tom Brady situation? Well, nothing we didn't know already. But what can we be reminded by here? Well, the obvious answer is "anything can happen, and when it happens to your best player, it could all go up in smoke real, real fast."

This team played admirably last year when KG went down with an abdominal issue. But subtract KG for any length of time, and you have the makings of a very average team. Probably good enough to make the playoffs and lose in the first or second round.

Same could be said for Paul Pierce. His defense was underrated for much of last year and he's the one guy on the team that you can count on night in and night out to create offense.

Losing Ray Allen would hurt as well, though admittedly less than the other two. Subtracting Ray takes the team from being a title contender to being a good playoff team.

But injuries can happen to anyone at any time. There's nothing you can do about it besides try to keep people in good physical condition and make sure you have some depth at every position.

We'll go into a detailed analysis of the depth charts in the coming weeks and months, but suffice it to say that no amount of depth would replace the productivity of our best players.

So the last take-away from today's "lesson" is this: Don't forget just how special last year was. Everything fell perfectly into place and even the things that didn't go well, were overcome by talent, timing, and a little bit of luck. Enjoy the memory.

Bonus Link: Manchvegas Bob looks at the Chicken Littles out there

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Losing Brady hurts the Patriots more than any one player on the Celtics. When KG went down last year, Leon Powe stepped up. If it happened again this year, Leon would be even more prepared. Not saying he’s as good as KG, but he would fill in well. Matt Cassel has never been in that situation.

by Surferdad on Sep 8, 2008 7:05 AM EDT reply actions

I thought Michael Smith made some excellent points on Mike & Mike this morning. In 2001 everyone thought the season was over- and Matt ‘inherits’ a better team than Brady did. He just has to do what Tom did- keep them in a position to win, trusting the excellent players around him to make plays.

KG’s injury last year doesn’t quite compare. Powe did fill in great, but it wasn’t for an entire season. With more rookies and rehab projects, I’m not sure the Celtics could weather a season-ending injury to any of the 3 Amigos. I think they could survive the loss of Ray much better than either Paul or KG.
They could make it to the playoffs, but I would not expect them to advance.
Interesting thought- which Paul do we get- the guy who was very focused last season, or has success ‘spoiled’ him so that the guy of the previous season returns? I have no answers or guesses. just a thought.

by cavman on Sep 8, 2008 8:01 AM EDT reply actions

I agree with Surferdad. Injuries are when great players modify their games and gutsy players step up. We have both on our team. Granted, I really don’t want to see any injuries, but we have guys who have shown they will try to step up: Powe, pre-injury Tony Allen, etc. This team is not that fragile—which is one of the many things I like(d) about them. We’ll have to see how the new guys take to this though.

by Thruthelookingglass on Sep 8, 2008 8:05 AM EDT reply actions

Paul Pierce injures knee and leaves Game 1 of NBA Finals.

Tom Brady injures knee and leaves Game 1 of NFL season.

I think the powers that be gave me a choice which athlete would recover in duly time and I think I made the right one. ;D

by Employee8 on Sep 8, 2008 8:36 AM EDT reply actions

That was good hook for your lead article Jeff – tying in the biggest news of the day to our Celtics like that. I’ll put a note on my Celtics17 article linking the Brady Moment! :’(

by ManchvegasBob on Sep 8, 2008 8:51 AM EDT reply actions

In my opinion, losing Rondo for an extended period of time would hurt this team just as much.

by DrD on Sep 8, 2008 9:31 AM EDT reply actions

….and yet, what did Matt Cassell do in preseason to gain our trust? How did our team perform in preseason to gain our confidence? Oh Ya, it’s only preseason but the way we underperformed was tough to accept for a 16-0 team. True, some of our starters sat but what was so inspiring about our bench and why are we still unsettled on the offensive line?

Was our defensive effort yesterday so special? I think not with some exceptions and our defensive backs looked over matched at times. Was this a lack of quarterback pressure?

I do see a situational resemblance of our Celtics to the Patriots. Both teams claimed that the season was overlong and both teams took long vacations away from the game. In Brady’s case, he was late coming in for preseason practice and perhaps was held out because we had a poor offensive line. Had he played in preseason he may have been nearly killed by our porous line.

Paul Pierce was also away from the game for an extended time. Will he be ready this year? BB admitted that while preseason is preseason there is still a carry-over effect for the regular season. Will the Celtics too have a carry-over hangover?

For much of last season Brady was hardly touched and yet against a supposedly over matched opponent he was dealt a season-ending injury. Was this a carry-over effect of a sloppy preseason?

Jeff was right to remind us that our Celtic team was relatively free of serious injury last year. With advancing age comes an increased susceptibility for injury and long absences from active play. With good preseason preparation the chances for injury are decreased. Have the Celtics basked too long in the “glow” of #17 and left themselves vulnerable…just like the Tom Brady Patriots?

by moskqq on Sep 8, 2008 9:31 AM EDT reply actions

This is why you build teams around DURABLE players.

Our bench got worse since last year so I do not think we could sustain that same type of long term injury.

by rickyfan3.0... on Sep 8, 2008 10:12 AM EDT reply actions

injuries are always a factor- ask doc about his days in orlando. i am so relieved we won last year because the monkey is off our back. what happens, happens. i endured that 18 game losing streak 2 years ago and we know there were glimmers of hope even then. pp probably will be back in good shape- our old guys needed the rest after a long season and they know what they need to do to win.

by nazzbo on Sep 8, 2008 10:54 AM EDT reply actions

You can’t compare Football to Basketball, period…sorry.

Devestating injury to the Patriots player that handles the ball on every snap, makes every decision with that ball, executes each play.

Losing KG didn’t really hurt last season…remember, he couldn’t even bring himself to sit by, behind, or near the bench, let alone in the stadium viewing area?

by mcpu40 on Sep 8, 2008 11:59 AM EDT reply actions

basketball is played with a ball, football is also played with a ball

theory debunked!

;) (I kid, I kid)

by Jeff Clark on Sep 8, 2008 12:18 PM EDT reply actions

Freakin’ shoot me…..

by The Real Large James on Sep 8, 2008 2:19 PM EDT reply actions

Win while you can. Sports injuries are so fickel. Brady’s injury just shows how devistating losing the Super Bowl last year was for the Patriots. They may do better than people expect this year, but they are not winning the Super Bowl without Brady. Then next year, how good is Brady now on the back side of 30 coming back from a knee injury? Maybe they get another shot, maybe they don’t. You don’t know when the window closes. Thank God the Celtics won theirs last year. What happened to Brady could just as easily happen to Garnett.

by JohnK70 on Sep 9, 2008 8:14 AM EDT reply actions