Letdown

It was after midnight, and the text messages came pouring into the Fox Phone:

"Finals MVP: NBA Officials. Congrats Lakers, Joey Crawford was your best player tonight."

"37 free throws to 17. Officials decided the championship. It's sad."

"...in the 4th, 21 free throws to 6."

Oh Brick, what a homer.

Yes, the officiating was terrible. But it was terrible throughout the playoffs. The complaints are growing louder every year, reaching a crescendo this postseason that threatened to become THE story of the playoffs. The NBA needs to throw out the rulebook in the offseason and write a new one (complete with rules that strictly discourage flopping and post-foul belly-aching - while we're at it, let's get rid of the tech/suspension rule as well - the referees should call MORE technicals on these whiners - let the extra free throws pile up for the other team and see how they like it. They're arbitrary calls to begin with - there's no need to suspend guys who rack up too many technical fouls. Let the game take care of itself.) For the first three quarters last night, the refs let the teams play, and while the game was a defensive standoff, the intensity was incredible. Then, in the 4th, the refs had to interject themselves into the game, the players couldn't play anymore, and the result was a flop-fest led by Eurotrash Gasol, who has the sweetest set of post moves I've seen in awhile but looks like a fool soccer player half the time he's on the court. It's despicable. And the refs let him get away with it. Anyways...

It wasn't the refs who let the Banner 18 slip through the Celtics hands. Brick has another point: it wasn't Kobe Bryant either - our series MVP despite a brutal 40% shooting percentage over the seven games (including a 6-24 performance in last night's deciding contest). Yep, he's a ball hog, and a huge tool, but he did have 15 rebounds last night and I guess he was the best player in the series, if you had to pick one. A gutsy Andrew Bynum, Crazy Ron Artest, Old Man Fisher, Lamar Kardashian, the Eurotrash twins, even Eeyore (Jordan Farmar) had their moments, and the Lakers played great team defense. Give the Lakers credit for winning, but that's just half the equation.

In a lot of ways, the Celtics beat themselves. Ray Allen is my favorite player on the team because he's smooth, highly skilled, and does his job with quiet confidence, much like Robert Parish used to. But he didn't show up in Game 7, much like he didn't show up most of the series. I'll give him credit though, at least he tried to get to the rim, unlike Paul Pierce, who bricked step-back jumper after step-back jumper en route to a 5-15 clunker and another uninspiring performance. Rondo and Garnett were good, but not good enough. And the Celts got mauled on the boards. I said before the game, "we need three guys to have solid performances," and despite a lineup littered with future Hall-of-Famers and current and former All-Stars, the Celtics didn't get that. Thus, no Game 7 win, no championship.

A lot of things will change for this team in the next three months. Doc Rivers has coached this squad for six years (four playoff berths, two Finals appearances, one title) and might need a break. Rasheed Wallace might retire. Glen Davis and Kendrick Perkins will be back to provide a post presence. Nate Robinson, Ray Allen, Tony Allen, Marquis Daniels, Michael Finley, Brian Scalabrine and Shelden Williams are all free agents. Of that group, I'd only expect Tony Allen and Scalabrine back, the latter at the veteran's minimum. I think Ray is a good investment as a third or fourth banana, much like Reggie Miller was on the late-90's Pacers, providing shooting and veteran leadership, and I'd like to see him back. We know Garnett and Rondo will be back. Garnett showed during the playoffs that he's still capable of playing at a high level, even though his game has changed from destructive force to finesse player. Rondo is an emerging star and needs to be the leader of this team in the future. That's why I'm asking Paul Pierce to step aside. Granted, he shot an acceptable 44% for the series and hit a few big shots, but he only had one standout performance in the Finals. He had a few clutch shots in the playoffs but when you get the ball at the end of every quarter, you're expected to make one or two. He's no longer among the NBA's elite. He has an opt-out, and I wish he would take it, rather than saddle the Celtics with a $21 million check next season. Between Garnett, Pierce, Rondo, Perkins, Davis, and maybe Wallace - six guys - the Celtics already owe $63 million next year. Maybe Wallace will retire, maybe the Allens and Scalabrine re-sign, and by then you're awfully close to the salary cap with no chance of adding an impact player. Paying $21 million for a step-back jump shooter is not in the Celtics' best interest. If he decided to hit the market, the Celts could re-build this team around Rondo and a couple key vets. But eventually, it's Pierce's decision, not the management's, and not mine. We'll probably see him back on a contract extension that allows PP to finish his career as a Celtic. Fitting, but also heartburn-inducing.

There was one other thing Brick texted last night: "still proud of our guys." And I am. I'll lay off Paul Pierce for a minute. Before a Celts-Kings matchup at the Garden in March, standing at the bar at Hurricane O'Reilly's, my roommate Padraic asked me, hypothetically, how I thought the Celtics would do in the playoffs. I responded, "I think they have a chance." A chance at what? "To make it to the Finals." A couple of guys at the bar turned around, grinning, and gave me a look like I didn't know what I was talking about. Padraic and I watched the games, we knew exactly what was possible if they played good team basketball, and in the end, I was proven right - they made it to the Finals. It hurts to come up short, but the Celtics didn't disappoint with their playoff effort. If anything, we should remember the last two months as one of the greatest playoff runs in team history, regardless of the result.

Still doesn't make the pit in my stomach go away.