Not with a bang, but with a whisper ...

"Defending NBA champions" had a nice ring to it while it lasted :(

Now, it would be easy to blame injuries for the team's second round exit last night (nba.com); I mean, we've all been prepared as Celtics fans to use that excuse in the event that our team would eventually come up short in their bid to repeat as champs (come on, admit it!). However, that line of reasoning can only take one so far ... Truth be told (and I refuse to sugar-coat things), this team has played like crap on the defensive end pretty much since the beginning of the playoffs (come on, admit that too!).

I mean, I know Garnett is the alpha and omega in terms of our defensive intensity (and losing complementary defensive oriented players like Powe - and even Posey from last season - certainly doesn't help matters either), but we should NOT have seen the precipitous dropoff that we did against the likes of Chicago and Orlando. At times, these teams were getting to the basket at will, and that should just not have been allowed to happen.

The local broadcasters and columnists want to talk about "grinding" out wins and the team's gritty "never-say-die" attitude, and that's all well and good ... but you can't really hide behind those buzzwords to shield yourself from this unpleasant reality: losing just one of the "Big Three" (even if you consider him the biggest of the three) caused this team to free-fall from "world champions" to "mediocre playoff contenders." I'm sorry, but that's just the way things look from this fan's perspective.

Okay, I know I've been persona non grata here in the Celtics blogosphere this year (meaning I haven't really earned my place to bitch and moan), and maybe this is all just residual bitterness on my part after watching a season-ending 19-point blowout (in glorious HD no less!), but I just feel that the window of opportunity for this group of Celtics players to earn the label of "multi-time champions" is dangerously close to being slammed shut ... It's been said before, but Lebron and his Cavaliers are shaping up to be the Celtics of the 2009 playoffs; it just looks like their time to shine, and - if Bron Bron decides to stick around Cleveland for the time being - they just might be the team to beat for years to come.

Speaking of which, nothing to do now but hope and pray that the Cavs emerge victorious against the Lakers ... yes, that's the bitterness talking again ;)

BEAT LA! BEAT LA! BEAT LA!