Ah well, we'll get 'em next time ...

So, now that the Celts have gotten their first "L" of the season at home, does that mean that the twenty wins that preceded it were nothing more than fools' gold? Have we, the fans, been lulled into a false sense of accomplishment due to a weak record and catching opponents when their key players are injured/out of action?

In a word ... no.

Remember, not even the most cock-eyed optimist expected this team to be 20-3 at this point in the season ... It was supposed to take more time for three superstars to gel and learn how to play with each other. We were supposed to be more patient with the bench players, to let them find their individual roles within this brand-new squad.

And yet, these guys in the Green and White just exploded out of the gate ... suddenly, talk of challenging the '95-96 Chicago Bulls for best regular season record didn't seem so far-fetched (to some). Better yet, a spot in the NBA Finals was considered automatic (with a few people even making plans for where they would be when banner number seventeen was hoisted into the rafters next October).

Of course, this was a case of our title-hungry fanbase getting a wee bit ahead of ourselves ... What last night proved was that the 2007-08 Boston Celtics could hang with one of the best Eastern Conference teams in a December game. I repeat, a DECEMBER game; note the inclusion of "08" in that last sentence, there's still plenty of games to be played.

Most "experts" speculate that the tandem of Pierce-Allen-Garnett have a three-to-four year window of opportunity, before the collective downturn of their respective careers makes it all the more difficult to compete for a championship ... So let's just dust ourselves off, congratulate the Pistons on playing some hard-fought basketball in the second half last night, and move on.

No need to throw in the towel just yet, C's fans ... A win last night would've been nice, but it's not going to define this club. We will have a few more cracks at Detroit (during the regular season and - perhaps - beyond that).

And remember, it could always be worse. We could be these guys (nypost.com).

Heh.