Remember who really believed when the stories change

[Drucci]

My confidence has clearly been shaken since my last post in this thread but I still am a believer.

[Roy Hobbs]

My confidence has clearly been shaken since my last post in this thread but I still am a believer.

Ditto.  I wouldn't say I'm confident any more, but I will say I remain more optimistic than the team's record says I should be.

[PLamb]

I'll cheer them on until the end

But unless they go Bullwinkle on us and pull a rabbit out of that hat and win it all, basically all those authors of stories saying that the C's couldn't do it because they wee too old, that the OP was sure would change their stories as the C's ran roughshod through the league to Banner 18, will actually have called it right

I believe I love this team

But my expectations of them going all the way do not exist any longer

If they exceed my expectations and do win it all great, I'll love it

If they don't, I won't be nearly as disappointed as some

[Greenbean]

It was becoming too painful for me to watch games expecting championship level basketball and getting let down so often. Now I just look for improvements in their play and Im happy with the little things.

My expectations have changed just so I can keep my sanity. In the back of my mind though I have the idea stored away that they will be champs this year. 

[indeedproceed]

My sanity has been restored because I have lowered my level of intensity I guess.

I've become resigned to two fundamental points.

1) The Celtics will be in the playoffs.

2) These regular season games don't mean jack. If we win them all, it doesn't mean anything. if we lose them all, it means something I guess. But we won't lose them all. We'll still lose some though, and we'll win some, but we can't look for the team to suddenly 'turn a corner'. All we get is a fair shake in the post season, and I've come to terms with that.

[Greenbean]

My sanity has been restored because I have lowered my level of intensity I guess.

I've become resigned to two fundamental points.

1) The Celtics will be in the playoffs.

2) These regular season games don't mean jack. If we win them all, it doesn't mean anything. if we lose them all, it means something I guess. But we won't lose them all. We'll still lose some though, and we'll win some, but we can't look for the team to suddenly 'turn a corner'. All we get is a fair shake in the post season, and I've come to terms with that.

Exactly. TP.

Lower intensity means now more throwing objects in the living room and DEFINITELY no more going out drinking after losses. (Im only half kidding)

[drza44]

I still believe.  Because of the climate around here I haven't updated this thread in awhile, but I have written several posts about the subject.  Not just THAT I believe, but also WHY I believe.

Two months ago I wrote about who this team is when everyone is healthy: http://www.celticsblog.com/2010/1/19/1260804/remember-who-we-are

Last month I pointed out how the team's level of play appears very correlated with KG's level of health: http://www.celticsblog.com/2010/2/26/1327792/3-phases-of-kgs-recovery-and

Last week I pointed out the obvious, that our team is really good when KG and Pierce play and not so much when they're injured/out.  http://www.celticsblog.com/2010/3/8/1362216/sanity-check-the-elephant-s-in-the

I have the seeds for another article, really looking at how the team has lost over the course of the year.  I spent some time looking at every loss, and the pattern is the same as the one that I pointed to before in the KG's health article: when KG is healthy (defining health as his last few weeks or his good month early in the season), our starters don't get outscored even when we lose.  When he was limping, our losses were because the opposing team's starters were better than ours.  I could pull implications of that moving into the playoffs, where KG won't be playing 29 minutes and (hopefully) our rotations will finally be set.  But I haven't written it yet, and don't know if I will.

The point is, though, I still believe.  I still think I've got logical reasons (besides purely homer glasses) to believe.  And if I'm wrong, and the team comes up short, I'll be right here to talk about why and maybe even give credit to those that saw it before I did.  But I don't think I'm wrong.

Addendum: I should amplify what PLamb said a few posts up - the point of this thread wasn't just a question of if you believe or not.  The point was that if we did win, as I expected, then those that have criticized can't later say "I knew it all along".  If you're consistent with your story, more power to you.  If you want to say "I doubted, but they proved me wrong and I'm so happy about it!", great.  But I don't like reading about how 2007-08 was an inevitable title when I remember vividly the many doubters at the time. 

[guava_wrench]

Whatever happens, happens

[housecall]

 Something i heard humorous today meant as a joke:"Boston Celtics,make up your minds,im tired of jumping on/off the bandwagon".

[drza44]

KG's looking healthier...

Pierce is looking healthier...

The team is starting to look more and more like the team I expected...

(runs off frantically to find some wood to knock on...)

[Eja117]

I think to be honest and fair to the OP I should put myself on the list of people that didn't believe this year.

I think belief is all well and good for religion and matters that can't be proved and feelings like love and maybe holding onto beautiful lies like Santa or something

I think in sports the onus is on a team or player to make believers out of people, and they haven't done that with me this year. Not by a long shot.

[liam]

Total media blackout for the Celtics. No one is talking about them. I think they are no sure if the postseason Celtics are for real yet and don't want to go out on a limb.

[PosImpos]

Total media blackout for the Celtics. No one is talking about them. I think they are no sure if the postseason Celtics are for real yet and don't want to go out on a limb.

In general I think the attitude is "easy to do that against Miami...let's see how they do against the Cavs"

[liam]

Total media blackout for the Celtics. No one is talking about them. I think they are no sure if the postseason Celtics are for real yet and don't want to go out on a limb.

In general I think the attitude is "easy to do that against Miami...let's see how they do against the Cavs"

All the stories I see about Heat vs Celtics are about Wade. If he'll stay or go. If he can get any help. Nothing about us shutting them down. We have played great this series. The Heat have been playing out of there minds at the end of the season and now they've hit a brick wall.

[drza44]

I'm glad someone bumped this.  The environment was so caustic around here entering the postseason that I didn't want to keep bumping my own thread, so I saved some stories instead of posting them.  But since someone else already bumped it, I can put some things out there for posterity's sake:

Bill Simmons, ESPN: I Know the Celtics will lose in round 1, "I thought Dwyane Wade could beat by himself what I described in a recent e-mail as a 'decrepit, non-rebounding, poorly coached, dispirited, excuse-making, washed-up sham of a contender'" ( http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/part2/100416&sportCat=nba )

J.A. Adande, ESPN: Celtics should be euthanized and eulogized ( http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2010/columns/story?columnist=adande_ja&page=playoffoutlook-100415 )

Randy Hill, Fox Sports: Cavs and Magic sure thing to face off in ECF because no one else can challenge them ( http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/Hill-East-finals-should-be-Magic-Cavs-040910 )

Galinski, Fox Sports: Celtics one of worst disappointments of year, and 2008 is the only title they'll be sniffing in a long time ( http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/lists/Top-10-disappointments-of-the-NBA-season#sport=NBA&photo=11097992 )

Ben Zani, Rotowire.com: A funeral march for the Celtics ( http://rotosynthesis.rotowire.com/The-Celtics-Funeral-March-BBD1883.htm )

There were a few brighter opinions out there, though.

Jackie MacMullan, Globe correspondent: No predictions, but great piece on the reality of Garnett's injury and how he is coping and building his way back ( http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball/celtics/articles/2010/04/17/questioning_adds_to_garnetts_pain/ )

Scoop Jackson, ESPN: Garnett struggling, but will be better and at some point "a problem" for competition in playoffs ( http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/commentary/news/story?page=jackson/100415 )

The Professor, Rotowire.com: The Celtics are still a superteam whose only competition for the title are the Cavs, the Lakers and the Spurs ( http://rotosynthesis.rotowire.com/Playoff-Thoughts-The-Celtics-BBD1911.htm )

We're only a week into the postseason at this point, still a long way before anyone is crowned.  So it's nice to put a few articles out there so we can get a cross section of where the media has the team right now.  We'll see if that changes before all is said and done