Random Thoughts Through My Green Colored Lenses

 It's been a while since I last posted a random thoughts article.  With the All Star break here and the trade deadline coming up and with Master Po, Lee,  and JB posting some excellent articles here recently,  I figured it was time for me to check in.  My thoughts today are long and meandering and if you can't make it through them, that's ok.  Just a view through my green tinted lenses. 



I am so excited to have all three of these guys posting here.  All are long time Celtics fans who have honed their Celtics fandom over decades of watching this team's ebbs and flows.  All three have different opinions on the state of the team and the front office, and that is awesome because it gets us all to think and exercise our brain cells and to think on all sides of the issues.  Po has become a bit jaded over the years while JB is more like me and a glass half full kind of fan.  Lee is somewhere in the middle and all have excellent writing skills that make me anxiously waiting for their next articles.  But for now, you get to struggle through some of my rambling random thoughts. 

The 1968-69 Celtics are the team that won me over to being a lifelong Celtics fan. I was in high school and loved basketball but didn't really follow a pro team at the time. I didn't get to watch them much because they didn't have league pass and the access to watching basketball like they do today and I didn't live in an NBA market. But I loved to read and started reading about the Celtics and the Celtics Pride that drove that team and they won me over. Then I started reading all about the past Celtics teams and became a fan and have loved this team ever since.

That 1968-69 team was very special. They struggled through the regular season, ending the season with a 48-34 record, which landed them in 4th place in the East. Bill Russell was at the end of his spectacular career and struggled with leg injuries throughout the season that even forced him to be hospitalized for a brief time. Sam Jones was also struggling with injuries that season. There were cries from media and fans that this team was too old. The Lakers were the star studded team on the way to their inevitable championship. But, a funny thing happened on the way to the Lakers coronation. The Celtics reached down deep and pulled out a most improbable win. This Celtics team didn't have home court advantage in ANY series that year. They won against all odds and they won with heart and pride - Celtics Pride. And I was hooked for life.

I see the world through green colored glasses. I've always seen the positives and try to ignore the negatives. Even in 2007 when the team lost 18 in a row and were floundering, I loved that team. I get attached to players and hate it when Danny trades them but deep down, I know that trades have to be made. It's a whole different league from the days that Red used to be able to keep players for their whole career. It does happen but that is by far the exception rather than the rules. I may never forgive Danny for trading Perk, but I know deep down that he is just trying to make the team better. Sometimes it works out. Sometimes it doesn't. But given the state of quite a few of the teams in the league, I have to say that Danny has done better than many of the others at trying to build and rebuild the team.

That brings me to the current team. I LOVE this team. They are fun to watch and they play as a team and play with pride and heart. Does a team need 2, 3 or even 4 stars in order to win a championship? Or, can a team made of role players with perhaps second tier stars who play as a team and pull together for a common goal do as well as a team with one or more super stars? With the success of the Celtics Big 3 in 2008 and the success that the Heat had with pairing 3 stars, it's become fashionable to say that a team needs multiple stars to win a championship.

But even having 3 or 4 stars isn't a guarantee that a team will win a championship. Thinking back to the 1996 Rockets with Hakeem Olajuwon, Charles Barkley and Clyde Drexler or their next iteration with Scottie Pippen pairing with Barkley and Olajuwon.Neither of these teams meshed well enough to win a championship. And then there was the Lakers team that had 4 future Hall of Famers on it in Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton and Karl Malone. They even had a future Hall of Fame coach and should have been able to win the championship that year. On paper, they were a lock to win it all, just as that 1969 Lakers team was, but they didn't mesh quite right and that team split up without a championship as well. And look what happened when the Nets brought in KG, Pierce, Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, AK47 and the rest of that very expensive and star filled team that just never jelled.

Then, we can look at the other side of the argument that has to begin with the 2003-04 Detroit Pistons. On that team were Chucky Atkins, Chauncey Billups, Elden Campbell, Hubert Davis, Tremaine Fowlkes, Darvin Ham, Rip Hamilton, Lindsey Hunter, Mike James, Darko Milicic, Mehmet Okur, Tayshaun Prince, Zeljko Rebraka, Bob Sura, Ben Wallace, Rasheed Wallace, and Corliss Williamson. We might make a case for Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton or Tayshaun Prince for being good players but they were hardly superstars. This was a team that won on teamwork. Every player knew their role and they performed their roles very well and because of that, they won the championship, because of teamwork and not because of superstars.

Another example that we can look at is my favorite team of all time. The 1969 Boston Celtics didn't really have a superstar. Bill Russell was in his last season as player/coach and, although he was a super star in his prime, at this stage of his career, he was no longer at a superstar level. Along with Bill Russell, the team included Jim Barnes, Em Bryant, Don Chaney, Mal Graham, John Havlicek, Bailey Howell, Rich Johnson, Sam Jones, Don Nelson, Bud Olsen, Tom Sanders, and Larry Siegfried. While John Havlicek was one of the great scorers and 6th men for the Celtics, he wasn't what we would consider a superstar this season. There were stars on this team, but no superstars as we have come to know them in this current superstar driven league. They won that championship over the heavily favored star laden Lakers. They won with heart, grit, and teamwork. Again, every player had a role and filled that role to perfection.

That brings me to this team. Danny has assembled a team filled with great role players. The key to this team is teamwork and every player filling his role completely and no player going outside of that role and trying to do too much for his own ego. Brad Stevens is the perfect coach for this team. He is great at allowing players to play to their strengths and has built a team mentality that brings out the best in each and every player. They are so much fun to watch. It's one for all and all for one.

Last season when the Celtics made the playoffs, I posted my thoughts on this team as the Island of Misfit Toys. Danny has built this team mostly with castoffs from other teams. He drafted Avery Bradley, Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk and Marcus Smart, all of whom were considered damaged goods for one reason or another. He brought in Tyler Zeller who was considered expendable for little or nothing so the Cavs could sign LeBron. Jonas Jerebko was wasting away at the end of Detroit's bench and were considered expendable. Evan Turner was much maligned in both Philly and Indiana as a bust. Isaiah Thomas was the odd man out in a 3 point guard rotation in Phoenix and considered too short, too selfish, and just not good enough. Jae Crowder was a bit player and was cap filler for Dallas to get their star point guard in Rajon Rondo.

In his post game interview after last night's game, Isaiah Thomas mentioned that they were all castoffs from other teams and that was motivation for each of them to prove doubters wrong. That got me thinking again about my "Island of Misfit Toys" analogy and how much it still fits. I hear all the rumors about Danny trading for a star and I really, really hope he doesn't bring in an all about me star like Blake Griffin or Carmelo Anthony. Al Horford wouldn't be bad because he seems like a team player, but I really don't want to disrupt the incredible chemistry that this team has built.

As for a star on this team, we are seeing each of these players getting better from game to game. Isaiah Thomas is an All Star and has been playing like one. Heart over height has never been truer than in his case. Marcus Smart, Jared Sullinger, Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Evan Turner, Kelly Olynyk ... all have improved from last season to this and even from game to game and they continue to improve. I haven't even gotten to Rozier, Hunter or Mickey, all of whom have shown promise. Having watched him play with the Red Claws, I can't wait for Jordan Mickey to get a chance with the Celtics. We may have players on this team who will be stars in this league. I'd like to give them the chance to be stars on the Celtics.

I came across this statement in John Havlicek's biography and it has always stuck in my mind.

He also had the inner drive that characterized "Celtics pride." After his first year Havlicek went home and worked hard to improve both his outside shooting and his dribbling. The next season he led the team in scoring.

"The inner drive that characterized Celtics pride." The context of this statement seems to indicate that Celtics pride is something inside the players to make them want to be better. Something inside that makes them work harder because they are Celtics and that means something. Celtics Pride is what drove Havlicek to work to improve his dribbling and his shooting after his first year. It is what drove all of the Celtics' legendary players to be the best they could and to work together to become a team capable of winning a championship year after year. It is what kept Bird in the gym hours after practice working on his game even though he was already a superstar. Each of these current Celtics seem to have that drive that will enable them to continue to improve and possibly become stars in this league.

And besides all of that, this team is so much fun to watch. I'd much rather watch a team like these Celtics who all play team ball and work as a unit to beat star studded teams like the Cavaliers or Clippers. They win with grit and they win with heart. I don't want to watch a team with a superstar scorer who wants to be the center of attention all of the time. I want to watch a team where they may struggle at times, but they still find a way to win. A team where when a player goes down like last night, it's the next man up to fill in the gap. A team where the opposing team has no idea who is going to take the final shot because they don't have a "superstar" who expects to take it every night.

This team has built some very good chemistry. They get along very well together both on and off the court and that chemistry is part of the reason that they are over achieving on the court and winning games like the ones against the Cavaliers and the Clippers. They play hard for the team and for each other. Personally I hope that Danny stays away from players who demand a trade because they don't like their role or their playing time (Morris) and players who get into trouble off the court (Griffin).

If Danny makes a trade I want it to be for players who are willing to give up their me attitude and play for the team and for their teammates. I see that in the current Celtics and hope that players come in with that same attitude. That's just my opinion but I think it's a valid one. Teams that have in-fighting and chemistry problems don't win championships. Teams with great chemistry and players who happily fill their roles are the ones who succeed.

I may be one of the only people in this world who really loves the movie Celtic Pride. I think it's hilarious and have it in video and DVD format and pull it out to watch it every so often. I can picture a remake of this iconic film with a couple of fans kidnapping Danny just before the trade deadline as they try to keep him from making a trade that may or may not make the team better. I used to trust him to make the right moves for the team until he traded Perk. Now, I get a bit nervous when the trade deadline comes around. Who knows what he will do next?

Danny has made some great trades and some not so great ones. I consider trading Perk one of the bad ones. I think that trade cost us a championship and I may never forgive him for that one.   But then, the trade of Pierce and KG was a good one. Even though my heart said "Don't trade them. Be loyal!" my head said it was for the best of the team. I'd love to have had Pierce and KG retire as Celtics just like the old days, but in this day and age, it's just not always possible. Trading Rondo for Jae was a great trade. Trading a box of Wheaties and the Cavs 2nd round pick for Isaiah Thomas was a great trade.

Some trades will work out and some won't, but Danny hasn't done all that bad when you look at his record in totality. He brought a championship to Boston. He has rebuilt the team to the point of making the playoffs after being in the lottery just one season and now being a legitimate 3rd seed in the East. Compare that with the tenures of most of the GM's in the league and he's done quite well. I just really hope he doesn't break up this core group of players. I want to give them a chance at growing and succeeding together. I think they have earned that right.

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