People wanted their "warm & fuzzy", now they're probably going to get it.
The question is how well will that translate to the W/L columns?
The way the league is set up anyone who's type of fan who needs to see their team win a title is going to walk away disappointed. Each season only a handful of teams has any realistic chance - and as we saw this past season even if you get into a contending position, you still need plenty of luck in terms of injuries and players remaining committed to placing winning above their own personal goals.
I personally enjoy the process - draft to free agency to summer league/training camp etc and the process of trying to get really good. But I've given up expecting the Celtics to win it all. Ownership will certainly try and the GM & coach are good enough - but I hope we all enjoyed 2008 because that may the last title for quite a while.
I'm not necessarily title or bust. Its more of finally resigning myself that I think the team will take a step backwards this season as it goes through the growing pains and the contending window certainly seems pushed out farther. The scrappy, underdog, feel good stuff is great sometimes; '01-02, '11-'12, '16'17 all come to mind. There's a time & place where I love it. Just right now is not the time for me. We're over a decade now removed from a title. Nearly a decade since the last Finals appearance. The climb back from the nadir or '13-'14 was awesome but now seems unfulfilled. We're heading back towards a youth movement and, unless Danny has some tricks up his sleeve, I think its going to take some time.
Last season was rough. What happened on the court was disappointing but I also think we saw some of the worst from both Celtics fans & the local media because the team as "not likeable". I thought some of the stuff was over the top. My feeling is that fans will love this team much more but they better temper their expectations for the near future.
I don't know if I'd define myself as title or bust, but if given the choice between watching a team full "unlikables" who have a chance at a title versus watching the "little engine that could" type of teams, I'm going with the former.
The process is fun when we're making progress towards the bigger goal, not so much when it just feels like we're treading water.
I agree. There certainly is a time & a place when its awesome.
Fun, underdog teams, as you very intelligently pointed out have their time and place. '16-17 had perfect chronological timing....a couple years removed from a full tank job, the first year of our first ever landing of a top star free agent, the first year with the current crown jewel of the Brooklyn trade looking good in the playoffs, an unexpected superstar emergence and tremendously heart wrenching story of his playing the playoffs in pain, needing surgery all while grieving for his just departed sister, and seeing the future crown jewel of the Brooklyn trade getting the team the #1 pick. What a perfectly placed feel good season. Who cares that they were dominated in the ECFs. Lovely, lovely season.
But after the disaster that started last season through to now, completely wrecks this being any kind of feel good season. Proper chronology should have seen this team adding Davis to Kyrie after another super deep playoff run, Horford taking a team friendly 3-4 year deal and this season being the first on a long run of titles. But instead, we have a team blown up, not by management, but by the players, with all the free agents becoming free agents and all doing a great impersonation of rats on a sinking ship.
This will always be a pick up the pieces and make lemonade from lemons type season. And lemons will perfectly describe my mood for the upcoming season, sour and bitter. My expectations were so high for this team. I don't want a sugary, feel good season. I wanted a title.
Being who I am, I will still root my team on and always hope for the best, but there is still going to be a part of me that watches what is happening next year and know it should have been very different, and so, I won't really enjoy the season.