For about a week now reader Fly Gerald Fly has been joking that Doc Rivers will eventually reenact the scene from Hoosiers where Hickory plays with four players and Gene Hackman says, "My team is on the floor." However, in this case there literally will only be four guys who can play. Last night the C's came close. Gerald Green fouled out, Sebastain Telfair fouled out, Ryan Gomes got hurt, and Kendrick Perkins was fighting an illness. With just under three minutes to play there were five healthy (a relative term with Perk), eligible players. And Rajon Rondo (14 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 7 steals) was exhausted from his energetic play.
This is odd but it actually does not bother me to see the Pacers win and fight for a playoff spot. Partly because of the Larry Bird/Rick Carlisle connection. Partly because I always regretted how the Ron Artest thing ruined a team that had a chance to make some noise. As an NBA fan I always appreciate good teams. And partly because I hate the Knicks and Reggie and company gave them hell over the years. So good luck to them.
That said it was funny when Tommy Heinsohn praised the C's effort on a nightly basis and openly criticized "the other team's effort." I am not sure if I could take it if FSN traded Heinsohn and Gorman for Orsillo and Remy. But that is a whole other story.
The game itself was what I have come to expect from the C's. They played hard, made it interesting at times, and lost. Now I want to see what happens to Gomes as the season winds down. He is the savviest Celtic left standing right now.