A moment of clarity for Bill Simmons

The bigger the stage, the harder the fall (sports.espn.go.com)

Which brings us to the difference between suffering and insufferable. When Celtics fans like me were pulling the woe-is-us routine after last May's NBA lottery, outsiders found it distasteful that any fan base that had been fortunate enough to have enjoyed the Russell, Havlicek and Bird eras could complain about anything. In our defense, it was almost worse to have lived the high life (16 titles) before falling on hard times (14 mostly terrible years) than never to have lived the high life at all. We knew what we were missing: big playoff games, the sound of a sold-out crowd, rooting for a franchise that meant something. And because there were more of us, our suffering made us loud -- and, yes, insufferable.

Sad but true ... it was even evident during the pregame of yesterday's contest against Philadelphia. Sideline reporter Greg Dickerson was discussing the chances of a Celtics letdown, and he (basically) puffed out his chest and said that there was no doubt in his mind the Sixers would be blown out.

Sure enough, the Sixers took an impressive lead going into halftime, and - for a short time - it was looking like Dickerson was going to wind up with egg on his face ... Of course, the Celts were able to pull through and secure the victory, but (if I could reword one of Simmons' points) there's a difference between confidence and cockiness.

And no one likes a cocky bastard, Greg ...