Let me start this off by saying I'm not really sure where this post is going. All I know is that I was compelled enough by this Celtics team, to make an account and post my feelings about the Boston Celtics.

I've been a Celtics fan my whole life. Now that isn't saying much considering I'm only a junior in high school, but whatever. My oldest brother was the first person who got me interested in the Celtics. He had me sit with him through the semi-highs of the early 00s to the dog days of of 04-06. He would teach me about the Boston tradition, and being a young kid I tried to soak it all in. He went on to college the year Garnett and Allen came to town, and I was on my own for Celtics games. At the time I was only twelve years old. In a way, I really grew up with this era of the Celtics. They were the one thing that remained constant in my life. Keep in mind, I'm not trying to say I've had a tumultuous upbringing, it's just that every year the beginning of the NBA season is what I look forward to most. I went through an incredible high, like many of you, witnessing the Celtics raising a banner during that 07-08 season. However, during the three years after that, I feel like the Boston Celtics became less fun to watch. I was assessing every game as if it would decide the Celtics fate in the playoffs, and it became kind of a stressful passion. However, my lust for the Celtics came back this year, and it only took a lockout to do it. Now I've been an avid reader of the site, and consider myself to be a very intelligent Celtics fan. I recognized the fact that Garnett and Allens' deals were up this summer, and that both seemed to be slowing down a bit. So knowing that this could be the last year of the three year window, I decided to just run with the season and not worry about how the team is looking. Almost everyone wrote the Celtics off this year, but I knew that these guys can still do it.

Four and a half years of this core busting their ass for the betterment of the team had earned themselves some leeway. The only problem with this one last run, is that around the all star break, there wasn't a lot of hope for the upcoming seasons. Pierce looked off, Garnett and Allen could be done, and younger players like AB and Steimsma had yet to assert themselves. However, something clicked after the all-star break, it was like Garnett and Pierce came alive, while Bradley became the spark plug that this team so desperately needed. Now there is hope. It wasn't just these three players that stepped up though. Basically everyone on the team stepped their game up a notch or three, and the Celts were winning. Now with Rose out, the Celts have a legitimate chance at making the finals this year. With Rose gone, the C's now have without a doubt the best pg in the east, and potentially remaining in the playoffs. Their defense is elite, and no one of the Celtics is afraid of going seven against Miami. Both teams know that series was closer than the scoreboard shows, and a revamped Boston squad could definitely knock them off. What made me truly fall in love with the Celtics this year, is that all of them genuinely give a damn. Rondo may come off as a brash kid, but I think it just shows how much he cares. Garnett instilled something special in this team that I hope won't go away for a long time. Everyone on this team gives absolutely everything they have to this team. Rondo played with a dislocated elbow last year. Typing the words "dislocated elbow" makes me cringe, I can't imagine playing with one. Steimsma has basically two dead feet, and he's still going hard. Garnett and Pierce don't have any specific injuries, but you know both of them are hurting. The difference between Boston and most other teams in the NBA is that being a Celtics actually means something. That ideal was lost for a bit, but Russell instilled that in KG and KG has run with it. In Boston you leave your ego at the door. KG was willing to play a position he never played in 17 years in the NBA. Ray Allen took a backseat to a second year player midway through the year. Keyon accepted his severely reduced rule, and instead of complaining about some PT he decided to mentor Rondo and Bradley.

This year's Celtics team is different from those in the past. There is not one player on the team that does not seem fully committed to the Celtics. In the past, we've had a big baby, or Nate or Posey or Shaq or (gulp) Marbury. But this year is different. This year the Celtics decided that when they were facing adversity square in the face, and they had been knocked down, that they weren't going to roll over. This team decided to play even harder for EACH OTHER. That is why this year's Celtics team has won my heart, and no matter what happens at the end of the year, this team should be praised because of their heart.