The Boston Celtics as explained by Taylor Swift lyrics

Lately I've been finding it a little hard to pinpoint how I feel about this team right now.  So I figured, "what better way to express my jilted, jaded, yet determinedly optimistic feelings than through Taylor Swift lyrics?"  (Honestly I don't get my brain either.  Just go with it.)

So it's gonna be forever
Or it's gonna go down in flames
You can tell me when it's over
If the high was worth the pain

This is every Celtics fan right now. This rebuild is either going to lead us (eventually) to another Championship, or it is going to be an abject failure.  In part because there is no middle ground for Boston fans, and in part because it just kinda feels like this is an all-or-nothing strategy.  Either Ainge will hit another grand slam like he did in 2007-08 or he's going take a big swing and wind up looking ridiculous.

But I keep cruising
Can't stop, won't stop moving
It's like I got this music
In my mind
Saying, "It's gonna be alright."

Meanwhile Danny Ainge is sitting in his office humming along to "shake it off, shake it off..."  He's got a grand plan in his head (or at least the outline of one). You can't tell him what he should or shouldn't do, he's gonna keep on grabbing draft picks and expiring contracts.  Other GMs can't shake him off though, he's just gonna keep calling, and calling, and calling.

'Cause we're young and we're reckless
We'll take this way too far
It'll leave you breathless
Or with a nasty scar

This relates directly to the rookies and young players on this team.  For every amazing defensive play Marcus Smart makes, there's a bricked 3 pointer that leaves you shaking your head.  Each time you think Zeller, Sullinger or Olynyk is going to get on a real roll, they fall into a slump.  Such is the life of a young NBA team.  Speaking of which...

Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone.
Don't you think I was too young
To be messed with?

This kinda fits with Rondo.  I talked myself into believing that he could work in the rebuild process, but looking back I can see it really wasn't the best fit.  He needed that spotlight of the big stage.  He needed the high stakes to get his blood pumping.  It just wasn't going to work out in rebuild land.

It turns out freedom ain't nothing but missing you.
Wishing I'd realized what I had when you were mine.
I'd go back to December, turn around and make it all right.
I go back to December all the time.

This is how I feel about the end of the Big 3 era.  Ultimately I understand why it had to end, but I remember in the last days of the run where people were eager to get the rebuild started as soon as possible.  To which I can only say "careful what you wish for."  I miss 2008.  I miss that run in 2010.  I miss Doc's predictable quotes.  I miss KG's convoluted cooking analogies. I miss Paul Pierce, period.  (sigh)

'Cause I knew you were trouble when you walked in
So shame on me now

I'm kinda surprised by the fact that this lyric really does NOT apply to any of the players in recent memory.  Jordan Crawford wasn't always sane, but he was largely harmless and we got some picks for him in the end.  Evan Turner isn't a diamond the rough, but he's not as rough around the edges as we were led to believe either.  The worst you can say is that some of these guys are just too old (Gerald Wallace, Jameer Nelson) but at least they try to be good leaders.  In short, things could be worse.

Dreaming about the day when you wake up and find
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time.

We're all looking for the next star.  Maybe he'll come via free agency.  Maybe it will be a trade.  Maybe we'll have to wait for the draft.  Or maybe, just maybe, that guy is already in Boston right now.  He just hasn't developed into The Man just yet.

But I've got a blank space, baby
And I'll write your name

Meanwhile, we've still got a roster to retool.  Some guys are going to get shipped out and some new faces are going to find their way into a Celtics jersey, ...at least for a short time.

We were built to fall apart
Then fall back together

That's the rebuild in a nutshell isn't it?  As hard as it is to go through, this was the plan all along.  We had to get worse to get better eventually.  We've got the picks, the cap room, the trade exceptions, and the support structure in place to put together a winning team.  That's the future.  That's the plan.  But until then....

Are we out of the woods yet?
Are we out of the woods yet?
Are we out of the woods yet?
Are we out of the woods?