Why Isn’t Everyone A Bandwagon Fan?
by DRJ1 on May 18, 2009 12:33 PM EDT
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PrintI am a bandwagon fan… of sorts. And I don’t understand all the rest of you who aren’t. To me, your blind allegiance to a group of people (players) simply because of their geographical location… seems nutty. Many Boston fans scoff at fans of the Lakers, aka “Fakers”. Some members of these two groups actually hate each other. And yet, if you were living not in Boston but in LA, you’d be a Lakers fan! We’re getting real close to the definition of insanity here.
I CHOSE to become a Celtics fan, back when I realized how special this group was. They had the fattest bench in the NBA (Baby, Scal), they weren’t particularly athletic, their PG was some 2nd year kid… but they played with a theretofore unseen dedication to defense and something they called ubuntu. KG was a nutjob you couldn’t help but love. Put it all together and yes, I jumped on the “bandwagon”… early in the 07-08 season. What I don’t understand is why every sports fan doesn’t do this. If you’re going to give your passion, money and energy to a team, it should be for some better reason than the accidental fact that they happen to occupy space in your city.
So what happened this year? In retrospect, this team was always about KG. It was not, as I once thought, Tom Thib who was responsible for their awesome defense. It was KG IMPLEMENTING Thib’s schemes. Tom’s ideas were the easy part. This team needed KG out there taking control, guiding, yelling, giving his energy and passion, in order to succeed. When KG left the floor, something vital left with him.
But that’s not the whole story. There was still enough talent on this team to win, maybe even win it all if it could get past Cleveland.
But two key players threw in the towel once KG left: Paul and Rondo. Rondo followed Paul, so it all starts and ends with Paul Pierce. The slide began at the apex, last year, with his ridiculous declaration after the Finals win that he was the best player on the planet. It ended this year with an ignominious defeat at the hands of a mediocre team. Paul Pierce is far from the best player on the planet. He’s not even in the running. But he was the remaining leader of this team, and when he gave up the rest of the team mostly followed.
When you sleepwalk through whole halves, sometimes through whole games… you’ve given up. When everyone says you’re “gassed”, at every game… you’ve thrown in the towel. How stupid is it to say that these players are “tired”, “gassed”? They’re trained athletes, and they play one ballgame for 40 MINUTES every two days, sometimes three. Are you kidding me? And how can we say the Celtics were more tired than every other team still in the playoffs? Because they played maybe one extra game? A few extra minutes? Are you kidding me? Quit making excuses for the inexcusable.
As a group, this team failed to TRY to win. They lost the heart they once had. Maybe their heart is in KG’s chest, I don’t know. But of the fact that they lost it, I am certain. This is not the team I was drawn to in the winter of 2007. This is a group – led by a self-satisfied, egotistical, aging player – who thought to the end that they were ENTITLED to another title, because after all, they’re “The Boston Celtics”. The “storied” Boston Celtics. How silly. What do all those stories of past accomplishments have to do with THIS TEAM? Nothing, that’s what. The concept is stupid.
Which reminds me: Doc Rivers is a pretty poor coach when it comes to thinking through a game plan and taking opponents by surprise. He’s terrific at getting players motivated and working together. He sucks at everything else. SVG thoroughly outcoached him. Doc’s biggest problem: no imagination. He can’t see beyond the obvious, and is thus predictable and impotent. Nice guy, not too bright. Kind of like the Scarecrow to Paul’s Tin Man… one needs a brain, the other a heart.
Rondo, I think, will go far. But he needs to get away from Paul Pierce. He’s a smart kid, so I wouldn’t be surprised if he realizes this soon and finds his way out of Boston.
Perk is a terrific player and a great guy. If his shoulder holds up, that kid will go far. Reminds of Willis Reed. A lot. Love Perk. Same goes for Eddie, and Steph. Eddie never gives less than 100% effort, and Steph may have started slow, but by the end, he was giving 100% at every opportunity. If only he could have stepped into a more complete team… who knows what he might have accomplished.
Ray Allen is the ultimate pro. Had some bad games, but that happens. He never stopped trying. You have to love Ray Allen, the timeless scoring machine and articulate core brain of this team..
Glen Davis is… well, a Big Baby. While he certainly improved this year, he still struggles to understand his role and know his limitations. And he’s still 30 pounds overweight.
Scal is hard not to like. Knows his role and plays it. But is he really NBA material? He too needs to lose 30 pounds. Maybe then he’d be ready. But at 31, time’s running out for our friend Brian.
I'll miss some of the good guys on this team. But now, just as I chose to become a Celtics fan because of what this team was, I choose to let them go because of what they became. They hit some adversity, and they quit. They got fat and lazy, and worst of all, they lost heart. This is not the team I chose, so now I choose to leave. I think all fans should act this way. But of course, they don’t. Lucky for the team.
I don’t think there will be another ball club like the 07-08 Celtics for a long, long time. Not even the Celtics.
Be respectful and keep it clean. Thanks.
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I’d like to make a note on the importance of Thibodeau defensive schemes (Honestly, I don’t care about the rest of your post, although the fanhood issue can be interesting from a philosophical perspective – for the record, my allegiance to Boston has nothing to do with their geographical location, when I became a fan of the Celtics I wasn’t even sure where Boston was, besides that it was somewhere in America; plus, you completely overstate the importance of vague intangibles like “heart” and the likes – and I believe your eyes played some tricks on you).
Anyway, about Thibodeau. As I’ve argued many times here, people tend to over-rate the importance of “team defence”. I’ve said it over and over: without good individual defenders, especially a defensive anchor, team defence is quite useless. It’s one of the biggest misconceptions of basketball, especially due to the way Coaches like to speech about “defensive systems” and the success of teams like the Spurs, the Pistons and the Celtics. Team defence can’t make miracles (especially at this level): if you have mediocre defenders, your defence will be mediocre no matter how sophisticated, intelligent and well-coached are your defensive schemes.
by cordobes on May 18, 2009 1:02 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
lol…people arent bandwagon fans, because they usually grow up rooting for there home tome team man…pretty simple….and dare I say it was painfully obvious you jumped on the bandwagon last season?
Yes, people grow up rooting for the home team
… which is a lot like adopting Catholicism, or Islam, or Judaism, or Buddhism… because your parents did. I find it weird… and especially so when it comes to sports teams. Seems to me you should pick a team that most interests you, if any.
Think of it this way: there are millions of knee-jerk homer fans. There are only a relative handful of fans that pick one team, out of their area, only because they see something special about it. I could easily have been a Lakers fan, because I live in that part of the country. But I never was and probably never will be, because they haven’t the character. And so it goes… (But hey, I don’t really expect you to get this.)
Wow terrible post
Go root for the Cavs if you want another bandwagon to jump on.
Just because the Celts failed to win a championship while being completely overmatched in size talent and every other facet of the game to take both series 7 games. This squad showed an enormous amount of heart and simply were too beat up and didnt have enough parts. They were relying and Scal and big baby…who didnt even play last year. We will find out that Pierce has been hurt the whole time, Rondo nearly averaged a triple double. This is a joke…
Obviously people are going to root for teams who represent their geographical location, and happen to be on tv where they are etc. it only makes sense. You fall in love with your teams. you dont just root for teams you think are going to win…thats fairly pathetic.
Since the Celts didnt win this year i guess they don’t deserve your “passion”…LeBron still has room on his bandwagon. Hop on that one. i dont think we have any room left for 1 year “fans” who obviously can point to “tradition” as being a stupid concept.
This epitomizes the lowest form of boston sport fan, which is why everyone hates us, and makes me start to hate us. Calling out Pierce after giving up his heart and soul to this team. Sacrificing his body and time and everything to stick with this franchise because he believed in the tradition.
You’re a joke
Hardly worth the pixels
…to respond to this non sequitor of a post. Here’s a small effort:
- I’m quitting the Cs because they quit trying, not because they lost. The latter was a result of the former. I was very clear about that.
- The Cs’ “tradition” is history. None of these players were alive when some of it happened, and it’s just irrelevant to what happened this year.
- Some people do hate Boston, you’re right, and it’s because of the air of entitlement of some of its fans, and as it turns out, some of its players. It’s all that “tradition” stuff you are so proud of. Nobody cares.
- If I jumped on the bandwagon of every winner, I’d be rooting for a different team each year. Fact is, I haven’t followed any sports team… ever… till the Cs last year.
- If you think I’m a joke, then at least you got a laugh out of this season. You got precious little else.
TERRIBLE POST, and it’s not because you are a bandwagon fan. Your post actually started out good, but then when you got into the whole “Paul Pierce gave up” thing, and Rondo needs to leave Pierce, you started to take a deep DEcline with your post.
Only a bandwagon fan who has followed this team for one year would ever say Pierce “gave up” on this team, and you obviously do not know who Pierce is. This is why no one should bandwagon. You make ridiculous comments that hardcore fans find ridiculously dumb.
The Celtics didn’t lost to a mediocre team by the way. What has this world come to when a 60 win caliber team is referred to as mediocre?
So you tell me how a guy who got stabbed 10 or more times 8 years ago comes back a few weeks later ready for training camp GAVE up on THIS team. You tell me how he gave up on this team when he lead the greatest comeback in playoff history in 2002. You tell me how he gave up on this team last year in the 2nd half of a Finals game where we were down 20. You tell me how he gave up on this team after KG got hurt and carried the team to a 18-7 record (72% winning record by the way).
It’s not crazy to say Pierce AND Allen were both gassed. It is not an excuse. Pierce and Allen both had an extended load to carry at the ages 31 and 33 for the final 25 games. When you are the wrong side of 30 and you play 37-40 MPG for 25 games or more, and you have to carry the team’s offense, you may just fall short in the playoffs. Why do you think Spurs won every OTHER year?
So like I said…only a bandwagon fan who hasn’t seen this team and Pierce go through their ups and downs the last 10 years would say Pierce gave up.
Paul was not always a self-satisfied quitter
And I did not say that. All that he did in the past stands, including 07-08. But at some point after winning the championship, it all went to his head. You saw it start with the “greatest player” comment.
And if you think Paul and Ray are too old to play hard minutes, then you are saying they should both quit. I do not agree, at all. Ray looks to me like he could go on forever. He certainly hasn’t slowed down (much) yet. Paul has, and maybe he is ready to hang it up… but I think it was more of a mental surrender than a physical one in the 2nd half of the season… though I have to agree that he is slower now than last year. So yes, Paul has entered his decline. The Cs now need to find a way to utilize his skills without killing him.
“But he was the remaining leader of this team, and when he gave up the rest of the team mostly followed.
When you sleepwalk through whole halves, sometimes through whole games… you’ve given up."
Giving up = quitting
Same thing. That’s what you said, and you said Rondo needs to get away from Pierce so the same thing doesn’t happen to him. That’s ridiculous. Rondo could learn so much from Pierce about not giving up, and you realize Tim Duncan is too old to play hard minutes the whole season. Does that mean he should retire? NO. Why don’t you understand this? Players get old and they can’t handle playing hard minutes for the whole season, but they can for part of the season. When Pierce had to play 40+ MPG for those 25 games and carry the load, he was using the remainder of his energy. Why do you think the Celtics tried so hard to preserve KG’s minutes when he did play? It’s because he is old and needs to use his energy in the playoffs more then the regular season.
By the way if you actually followed the Celtics for a long time, you’d know that Pierce said the same stuff as a ROOKIE. It’s his confidence. That’s why he said that after the championship, and he said the same thing as a rookie.
Reading this wasted 2 minutes of my life.
Terrible post on so many levels. To say “How can you be tired when you play 40 minutes every 2 days?” I guess I can see what you’re saying to a degree, but you’re forgetting about practices, workouts, traveling (especially to the west coast). All that stuff takes a toll on a player. And its not just running around for 40 minutes…players like Pierce get their bodies abused by slashing to the lane, drawing hard fouls night in and night out. He wakes up the next morning, probably feels sore, and only has probably a day to fully recover, then go back and take a beating the next night. Pierce didn’t give up, his body just gave out.
As for being a bandwagon fan, everyone becomes a fan at different times…some become fans while teams are riding high, others while they are having some low periods. The main thing is that the fan remains committed to the team from thereon out. And it seems as you concluded your post, just because they seemed to “give up”, you won’t be rooting for them anymore. Had the Celtics won this series, you’d probably be writing “Pierce through all the fatigue & adversity put this team on his back & managed to get them through game 7.” Give me a break. I’ve been following the Celtics since I was 14 years old, back in 9th grade during Pierce’s rookie season, and there are others on this board who have been following since the Bird era and probably even before that, and I’m sure most of them felt like giving up on following the team during the low points in team history, but as I said, a real fan sticks by their team no matter what… It doesn’t matter when you become a fan, it matters that you always stay true as a fan.
To be the man, you've gotta beat the man! WOOOOOOOO!
That's cool
Teams need fans like you, obviously.
For the record, as I wrote, it’s not that they lost that bothered me. It’s the way they lost… the giving up, the sleepwalking, the gaping holes they left unfilled through lack of effort, etc.
Still… there’s much to be said for loyalty to a team. I understand that… just can’t agree with it. In my view, a team, any team, should EARN the loyalty of its fans, not inherit it by the accident of location.
Different strokes for different folks. That was really the purpose of this post. To explain a different point of view.
Paul and rondo never quit, where you pull that out of, noone knows….hahahahaha…
If they quit, we wouldve been swept in the bulls series.
You do realize, KG and leon were hurt, got nothing from Mikki, Tony allen, either of the rookies (if we get what orlando gets from courtney lee, that couldve been the difference) Gabe Pruitt..got inconsitency from steph and eddie, who were invisible more often then not, brian scalabrine was our 3rd big!!!! behind perkins and glen big baby davis.
we relied on 2 older permiter players, and 3 young players, thats it, thats all…its impossible to do much with that…..noone ever quit
I guess watching Cs basketball is a lot like childbirth
…as soon as it’s over, you forget how horrible it was. (Of course, then you have the next horror to deal with, bringing up the kid… but let’s not digress.)
You should go back over the posts following the 6 prior losses… and more than one of the wins. Remind yourself of how they sleepwalked through first halves, sometimes three quarters plus. Of course it was hard… that was the adversity they had… in the face of which they too often folded.
"They hit some adversity, and they quit."
Sounds a lot like what you’re doing. To each their own, I guess; at least you’re honest that you’re a bandwagon hopper.
All the negativity in this town sucks. It sucks, and it stinks, and it sucks. - Rick Pitino
by Roy_Hobbs on May 18, 2009 10:50 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Some thoughts
Honestly, man. I’m not unhappy that you are giving up on the Cs and I hope you find another blog to frequent. I’m pretty tired of reading your negative, reactionary and assumptive comments after every loss. You simply don’t have any idea of what it takes to be a professional athlete (very few of us do) and your assumptions about Paul’s attitude and will are asinine.
What Paul has done night in and night out since last fall is absolutely remarkable. How many regular season games would we have lost without his clutch 4th quarter dominance and unbelievable 1-on-1 play? He is a beast. He has no fear. And his offensive skills and mental dominance of his opponents in iso plays are among the best in the league. He may not be the “best in the world” but I could give a damn what trash he talks. He’s our captain and has devoted his life and his career to this team. A 60+ win team in the NBA, especially one plagued by as many injuries as the Cs have been this year, is nothing to scoff at and without him sacrificing his body and scraping and scrapping all year we would not be a 60+ win team this season. You may be too bitter to accept it, but the fact is Paul was just worn out this playoffs. He was giving it all he could but his body was just failing him. The fault lies in the team management and the coaching staff for not finding/developing adequate bench support at his position to spell him throughout the season. This MUST be corrected next season or else we will again fall short of a championship. Yes, KGs return is important but Paul is just as important to this team’s success.
And finally, why support your home team? Why support your BOSTON team? You clearly aren’t from Boston, so you don’t get it. But for those of us who live here, who were born and raised here, our teams are a matter of great personal pride. Boston is not a perfect city. It can be mean, and unfriendly, cold and harsh. But we have HEART. We don’t give up. We face adversity and we give 100% to overcome it. That’s Boston. Anyone from here knows what I’m talking about. We are some tough s.o.b.’s. And we give so much to our sports teams and they give so much back. They embody the spirit of this place.
There is a reason the Celtics are the greatest franchise in NBA history, and to pretend that the history of the franchise is somehow inapplicable to the present is foolish. When we BEAT LA last year, KG knelt on the ground and kissed the floor for a reason.
by NoobSaibot1994 on May 19, 2009 11:05 AM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Celtics didnt give up
The Magic played well and the Celtics were tired… I believe the Celtics tried their best to win the series but fatigue was one of the reasons why they lost (it’s not an excuse, it’s a fact)… It was a tough series for them knowing KG couldnt play. Big Baby did his best to help his team too. It’s the end of the season for the Celtics but I’m hoping that it’s not the end for the big three yet… Ray and Paul would have been more aggressive and productive if only KG was around… For me, keeping Marbury is one of the best moves as well, it was tough for him not to be a starter but even with just limited minutes on the floor, he tried his best to play Celtics’ basketball. Next year, banner #18 will be a reality.
Sorry, man, but you´re dead wrong.
I live in Germany, and became a Celtic fan in the early 90ies.
Larry Bird was the reason why I fell in love with basketball.
I hate the Lakers and the Knicks (and I mean, I really can´t stand them).
There weren´t a lot of nba games on TV at the time ( didn´t change a lot since then), so I read every book available about the history of the game.
The stories about Red, Russell and the Celtics were the most moving stories to me.
I realized that if there´s one team I can root for, it´s the Celtics.
In the last 20 years, I´ve seen 17 crappy seaons. Not once did I feel like I should abandon the team and change my fanhood.
This has nothing to do with their geographical location.
In my opinion, you were never a fan nor a bandwagoner, you were a follower. You appreciated what this team stood for. That´s ok for me, but don´t call others out because they consider themselves real fans of a certain team.
The rest of your post, however, shows why exactly you´re not a real fan. You obviously expect to be entertained and satisfied by watching “your team”. “Real fans” stand by their team through the hard times. They understand that in basketball, it´s the same as in life. You can´t always win.
They understand their team as a part of their every dfay life, maybe even as a part of their family. They consider themselves a part of this family.
You don´t abandon your family just because the going gets tough.
by Casperian on May 19, 2009 7:44 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
Pathetic
Now the excuse factory begins. Starting with Doc, the man who used to say “No excuses”… the torrent of excuses has begun to flow. Now Paul has “bone spurs”? Oh sure… which is why he was never seen limping? What bone spurs? Where? Why no hint of pain? It’s a lie, of course, because Doc knows the team THREW IN THE TOWEL… sleepwalked through WHOLE GAMES… QUIT on itself and its fans… and now he must repair the damage lest more fans see the light and abandon the team.
I understand what it means to be a dedicated fan through thick and thin, regardless of what the team does. I understand it… and think it’s pretty nutty… uh, make that very nutty. A team that quits in the face of adversity (well, not the whole team, mostly Paul and Rondo) does not deserve to have fans. But… hey, whatever makes your wheels spin, go for it.
You want a great team again? Trade Paul Pierce for a really good 4. And make sure the new guy is a non-quitter. That would be a start, anyway.
You do realize
that you´re pretty much alone with your opinion? Why do you think is that the case?
This team didn´t quit, it just wasn´t good enough. Do you think the team that made several succesful comebacks just quit in game 7? You know, that´s exactly why “real fans” don´t like “bandwagoners”.
I think you´re trying to twist the truth so that it´s easier for you to leave the team. If you´re disappointed and call a whole team quitters just because you were “robbed” of the chance to root for a winner, that´s pretty pathetic on top of your poor dedication for the team.
Do what you have to do, but don´t expect us to agree.
by Casperian on May 20, 2009 9:12 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Thats what happens when you watch a team for 2 years and pretend to be a fan…no one quit and if you had watched paul pierce for more than 2 years you would know that.
Lowest form of fan. Go watch Lebron, hes probably going to win this year. I’m sure youll be happy with that, until next year when they happen to lose to the celts you’ll complain that lebron quit. Teams dont win every single year. But if they cant win your “passion” that way, might as well just pick the front runner every year. Then you’ll always find a team that didnt “quit” and gave it all the way.
by shiggins on May 20, 2009 9:56 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
also, the pierce’s bone spurs and perk’s injuries being fake? I’m sure they will both have fake off-season surgery just to mess with all of us
by shiggins on May 20, 2009 9:57 AM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Keep talking
The more you talk the more you sound like a pompous idiot.
As I said before, good riddance to you. Have fun rooting next year for whatever team wins it all this year.
It must be a very shallow existence someone leads when they can only be a fan of teams that win it all.
I do find it very curious you leave Ray off your list of quitters (which I in no way agree with btw) considering in this last series both Paul and Rondo shot better, had more points, more rebounds, more assists, more steals, more free throws and in Paul’s case less turnovers than Ray.
Very curious how Ray was just in a slump and RR followed PP in quitting.
I suppose you believer that Ray was hurt and PP wasn’t too, even though one probably requires surgery and the other definitely does not.
Sounds like a whole lot of strange justification going on in you mind.
Watch it with the name-calling, please.
All the negativity in this town sucks. It sucks, and it stinks, and it sucks. - Rick Pitino
by Roy_Hobbs on May 20, 2009 3:36 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Ahhhh
See, I was very careful to say “you sound like --” rather than “you are a—-”.
Maybe that’s just symantics in your eyes and if so I’ll refrain from that in the future. But then DRJ1
didn’t use any such symantics when calling players who have busted their butts for this franchise, one for over 11 years, quitters. Despite all the evidence to the contrary.
by Jaycelt on May 20, 2009 4:13 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
I realize it's pointless...
…to try to explain anything to a fan who is determined to think only one way, but what the hay… I got a few minutes to kill, so I’ll give it a shot.
1) I became a fan before the Celtics won anything. Back when the big trade happened. Because I liked what I heard. Success had nothing to do with it. It was the character of the players and their philosophy that drew me. And of course, the expectation that they would eventually win (though not as soon as they did).
2) I call PP a quitter because that’s what I saw, with the 2 eyes in my head. I saw him sleepwalk through MULTIPLE games, then try to turn it on in the 4th. Over and over again, the same thing happened. If you don’t remember it, look back at the posts after each playoff game. They sleepwalked through Magic game 5 too, btw, their last win… and got lucky at the end.
3) Again with the 2 eyes in my head, I watched Ray TRY to get it going, in every game. He never stopped running around like a jackrabbit, trying to get free. Shooters get cold, we know that. Can’t blame Ray… he was out there giving his all, every time. Ray is as classy and great a ballplayer as exists anywhere.
4) Rondo followed Paul in the sleepwalking department. For reasons NO ONE can explain, he would lose all his energy in one game, then have it back (for at least parts of) the next. Typically, his down times were when Paul would be bringing the ball up, trying to run the offense. Big mistake, of course. PP’s ball handling skills are highly suspect, and besides, this contributed to Rondo being out of games.
5) The only “evidence” that Paul “needs surgery” is an offhand comment by Doc on a show. Suddenly, PP is so injured that he needs surgery? For “bone spurs”? First of all, most bone spurs don’t require surgery. Second, if you suffer from bone spurs, you are going to show it… you limp, you’re in pain. Something. Not nothing, which is exactly the number of symptoms Paul showed. I don’t believe this story for a second, certainly not as the explanation… er, excuse… for his disgusting performance.
6) If you watched the playoffs, you must know that these guys took whole halves, sometimes nearly-whole-games completely off. It was ridiculous, really. I don’t care how depleted you are, or how much you’ve played… you don’t just give up. (Or at least you shouldn’t make it so obvious.)
If the team wanted to throw in the towel, fine… I understand that. After all, why bother? They have their championship, they knew they would have very little chance vs. Cleveland, so hey, let’s not kill ourselves, let’s just get through it and come back next year. I UNDERSTAND THAT. You, apparently, do not.
It’s just that I expected more from these guys. The reason I became a fan was their character, not their success. By throwing in the towel, they disabused me of my illusions, and therefore, lost me as a fan.
Of course, that means I have no “loyalty”. Loyalty to a team seems very foolish to me. I was loyal to a concept… that this bunch represented something special… and now that the concept has disappeared, so will I. All things end, so I’m not surprised. Hey, it’s a business in the end. (Their business, not ours, btw. They feed off your unending loyalty, which is fine so long as you’re ok with that.)
But I have good memories. Game 4 of the 08 Finals is still the single best sporting event I’ve ever seen. And watching KG finally get the monkey off his back was just priceless.
So that’s the story. Feel free to spew all the hate you wanna spew. It certainly doesn’t matter to me anymore.
Did your own two eyes
happen see that the Magic double teamed Pierce every time he touched the ball?
Did you hear Stan Van Gundy in his own words say that they decided that they were going to get the ball out of PP’s hands and make someone else beat them?
This isn’t me coming to a conclusion on my own, with whatever prejudices I may bring, like you have. This is what happened and what was said.
Why would any coach have to double team a player that had quit?
Why would any player on the court who had thought for one second another player had quit take the time and effort to double team that other player?
I guess everyone else is just stupid and blind including the opponents, because they couldn’t see what was so obvious to you?
Or maybe, just maybe, you’re wrong.
Anyone who has been a Celtic fan for more than two years would tell you no matter what they thought of Pierce as a player, he has never, ever quit on this team. Never. He has played through injuries, through sickness, through personal troubles.
He has put this team on his back on so many occassions, be it a regular season meaningless game in January or a game 7 in the playoffs, it’s impossible to count. Teams with much less talent and with absolutely no prospects of winning it all.
Yet he did everything in his power to will those teams to victory.
True Celtic fans know this because they’ve seen it time and time again.
That is why you stand alone in your accusations and they are seen as unimaginable to the rest of us. History has taught us well.
Here’ s some quotes for you:
“Some guys play hurt. Some guys play tired. Paul Pierce is a variation on both those themes. Paul just plays,” said coach Doc Rivers, giving proper emphasis to the word plays.
“You don’t know if he’s tired, if he’s hurt,” Rivers said. "You don’t know if he’s feeling great. He has the same expression every night.
“He is such a warrior, and people just don’t get that with him. He is a tough, tough, tough guy. He really is. I think his love for the game is what drives him. He just loves playing basketball. I mean, if we had a two-hour practice (today) – which we will not – he would practice and he would do it because he likes playing.”
There is no team in recent NBA history with more heart and more guts than the Paul Pierce [stats]-led Celtics,
This from Jerry Callahan, a guy who never has a nice word to say about anyone. But of course if you followed Celtics basketball you would already know that.
Good points, all
And I hope you’re right, and it all comes back next year.
Meanwhile, the Cavs just choked in the 2nd half, just like the Cs did in game 6. And the Magic… who really SEEM like a mediocre team… keep rolling on. The NBA… where amazing really does happen.
Orlando
looks a lot like the Clutch City champs during The Dream’s era – dominant big man [who was defended very well by a less than 100% Perkins], plus a strange array of shooters who can either shoot, pass, or slash very well [but not ALL three]. in the past this was clyde, kenny smith, robert horry, and i’m forgetting someone. now it’s a lot bigger with turkoglu, rashard, plus pietrus, and some nights rafer.
no offence to Big Z, but he cannot guard big bodies. he never could, and when he’s 34,35 years of age, he’s not gonna start now.
boston is familiar with legendary teamwork. orlando can do it. cleveland did it during the regular season but stopped at the post season. ridicule SVG all you want, but he forged a brilliant path for a young superstar name d-wade. mike brown does not know how to create an effective offense that included teamwork this postseason.
oh and btw, anyone who plays around a decade and roughly close to 1000 games and plays a series full of double and even triple OTs will feel it in their bodies. simple fact.
i’m a rockets/spurs fan and i’m almost glad we didn’t win since 07. bandwagoners who act like they really know what’s gone are pretty much non-existent with my teams. but if a basketball fan does not know of the rich heritage that the boston franchise is full of does not know the game very well. a waste of time this has been.
I'll snap yo neck like a twig if you sass me again. . .
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