Describe your emotions right now...

[Roy H.]

Everybody give one word, and then feel free to elaborate.

I'm going with "saddened".  I have really internalized the decline of this year's team, more than in most seasons.  I guess I had kind of resigned myself to the fact that this could be the "last hurrah" for the "big three", and I was looking forward to them going out on top.  To see them mostly dominate the league, only to have them fall into a sharp tailspin in late February, feels like a sucker punch.  I feel sad for the big three, sad for Doc Rivers, and sad for the fan base.  None of them deserved this, even if Doc and the starters can be said to have contributed.

There's still room for hope, and I'm trying...  but man, I'd be lying if I said I was a true believer.  I'll be rooting the team on like crazy, but I really do feel like the team lost a part of itself this year.

(By the way, this *isn't* the thread to debate the merits of the trade, or to call other fans out, etc.  It's just some group therapy where people can express how they're feeling, hopefully in a rationale way.)

[j804]

I feel empty and can't help but feel like I'm seeing the end of the Big Three era.

[beantownboy171]

I think Sad is exactly how I feel.

I'd be sad to see shaq's career end hobbled, I'd be sad to Rondo's time in Boston turn ugly and that he's not playing to his potential, I'm sad that Doc no longer to seems to have that strong of a grip on this team, that Perkins is no longer here, and that the decision to ship him out isn't working out.

I'd be upset if this is how the Big 3 will be remembered.

I never stop being optimistic though.

[indeedproceed]

Resigned. Maybe its because I write so much on the FP about the team, but I'm just resigned to accepting whatever they're putting out there.

Until they lose 4 games out of 7 to the same playoff opponent, I'm..not optimistic, but not really pessimistic either.

If someone in a bar said, "Hey, do you think the Celtics will beat the Knicks in the 1st round?", I'd respond, "I don't know, I wouldn't be surprised if they did, but I could see how they might not."

Now, where I said "do you think the Celtics will beat the Knicks in the first round", substitute all the potential playoff opponents, and my answer will not change.

I don't know if they'll win, but I won't believe they'll lose, until they do. I'm resigned, in the same way that a guy at six flags is resigned that he's gonna sit in that seat with the bar over his lap until the rollercoaster ride is finished.

[PosImpos]

For me, it's a combination of "resigned" and "anxious."

I'm resigned to the fact that this team appears to be on its way out.  They had a good run - a better one, in fact, than perhaps we could have realistically hoped for back when the Big 3 got together.  We got a championship out of it, so we can't really complain.  The window was only supposed to be 3 years and we got an extra year of contention, even if it's rather weak contention.  Two finals appearances is nothing to whine about.

I'm anxious because I want to see what comes next, and I kind of want to just skip ahead to the next chapter.  I don't want to deal with the stress and heartbreak of seeing this team fall short and the chaos of the initial building process.  I want to jump right to the point when this team will be the next Portland, OKC, Denver, or even Houston.  I hope that's what we're headed for, anyway.  I hope that this team doesn't become another Indiana, or Milwaukee, or Detroit.  I could even get excited for a Celtics team that resembles the current Wizards - burgeoning with talented prospects but terrible and disorganized at the moment.  I just want to be there so I can envision a shining future. 

At the moment all I can clearly look forward to is a disheartening playoff burnout and a period of a few years (maybe more) where the team flounders in quasi-mediocrity.  I'm praying that Danny is bold enough to make the moves that will make this team awful, and then exciting, and hopefully, someday, great.

[Celtics Fan]

Mad at Danny, Wyc and Doc. They shouldn't of let perk go until after the playoffs bad move.

[kg is king]

Ambivalent.
These last few games have seriously challenged my faith in the Celtic's championship hopes. They just look so old and incapable of hanging with the top dogs. Many posters say they are just not interested or bored. I don't know if that is true. An old team that can't run as fast and jump as high can give off the impression that they're bored because they are getting out played.
On the other hand, we still have the Big 3 + Rondo. The Big 3 has been good all year and KG has looked better these few games, showing a little bit of extra bounce on his dunks. Rondo (not old and has the physical gifts) clearly looks disinterest. You can see on offensive sets he just brings the ball up, and passes it away. Even if he touches the ball again it's the same result, pass. I want to think that he is just saving his energy and body for the playoffs, when he knows the stage is big and he will penetrate the lane and create offense like the Rondo we know.

[ejk3489]

Maybe it's the homer in me, but I'm still feeling hopeful.

When the playoffs start, JO should be playing more than he is now, Shaq could be back, and we've seen this team (the starters + Baby at least) turn it up to a level of intensity that we rarely see in the regular season.

I've resigned myself to the fact that we aren't an overwhelming favorite anymore going into the postseason, but I'm definitely not giving up on them yet. Not until it's someone beats us in a 7 game series.

[Chief]

Frustrated. I just want to see the full plan (Shaq, Green, Kristic, JO) in action. Hopefully I'll get to see it and then I'll make my opinions on how well Ainge did his job this year.

[birdwatcher]

 Vacillating.

Logic & reality are fogging up my green goggles and turning my green blood red.

At the same time, I don't see many teams beating us in a 7 game series, and feel when this team has its back to the wall it will strike hard and bend, but not break.

I'm an optimist to a fault, but I've never accomplished anything believing I would fail.

 

[the_Bird]

p---ed. 

I know this isn't supposed to be a thread about the trade, but...   make a simple trade or two for the backup 3 (a guy like Anthony Parker) and keep Perkins, and we're right there as one of the title contenders, I truly believe.

As it is now, we've probably got a 60% chance of getting into the second round and 25% chance of making the ECF, which means that there's a [dang] good chance we're seeing the end of this team as a true contender.

How 'bout "hopeful," as in "I'm hopeful that Danny's still good at drafting players"?

[homericepisode]

Vacillating.

Logic & reality are fogging up my green goggles and turning my green blood red.

At the same time, I don't see many teams beating us in a 7 game series, and feel when this team has its back to the wall it will strike hard and bend, but not break.

I'm an optimist to a fault, but I've never accomplished anything believing I would fail.

 

That's a great quote!

[Rashi]

Confused.


This team has shown us that they can very well beat the elite teams, and this season have done a far better job in beating the .500 teams compared to last season, yet at times they just seem so lost and not up to the challenge.

[GreenFaith1819]

Disappointed - right now.

Overall with the team? Optimistic. Vast majority of my disappointment has to do with a certain PG....

But my optimism comes from the fact that no Boston Celtics team (in my memory) has ever mailed it in during the post-season. It is with that thought that I am looking forward to the possibilities still.

[Redz]

I feel great!

Oh, you meant about the Celtics?

In that case, in a blind state of indifferent denial.