For those bothered by this thread, I didn't intend to ruffle any feathers. Just wanted to vent some frustration.
I was a regular complainer last season, so before this season started, I decided I was going to make a concerted effort to be patient as long as I could. I barely batted a lash at their problems through the first dozen games.
Then I attended my first Celtics game, Nov. 28 against the visiting Nets, and was treated to "the brawl" and some of the worst Celtics basketball of the New Big Three era. Still I remained patient, and largely silent.
After the Milwaukee game, though, Boston is within one game of being a third of the way through its season and there are few signs of progress. I'm no bandwagon fan; I've continued to cheer on the Cs through all their crappy play this season. Do I feel entitled? Well, I'll admit to being spoiled by all their success of the last 5 seasons. I also, however, know the level of talent on this year's team, and that they're underperforming by a country mile. I don't expect anyone to hand the Celtics (and their fans) the title, but I do expect these guys to show signs of significant progress at this point in the season. I've been trying really hard to enjoy this season—I do want to enjoy it, after all; I'm not hoping for things to complain about—but it's hard to enjoy the product they've been putting out on the floor. Yeah, there have been good (even great) individual performances, and I'm excited to see the development of young guys such as Sully, but this isn't supposed to be a "development" year, it's supposed to be a title-chasing year.
I realize that the year isn't over, and that we have a lot of new players still finding their way. Two thirds of the regular season remain, and these guys could still get their act together, or Danny could make a great trade that addresses the team's biggest needs while eliminating some of the redundancy on the roster (all those 2s, for example). I don't know, however, that we can count on a repeat of last season, when everyone suddenly got their act together post-All-Star break and, despite numerous injuries, performed like a powerhouse. We certainly shouldn't depend on that happening, and neither should the players.
So that's all this thread was about: venting frustrating and hoping for positive change to happen soon. Some of you don't like that, but just keep in mind that some others of us don't like the continued "covering" for this team's shortcomings (real or perceived), and we're weary of hearing the same things over and over: "our legs were tired tonight," "it's a make/miss league," etc. Especially given the timing of some of these reasons: How can you come out flat after three days of rest? How can so many guys have shooting slumps at the same time (Bass, Terry, Lee)? These are legitimate questions that cross our minds, and there's nothing wrong with questioning where the players' heads are, and asking why we're not seeing much progress.