Celtics Fans: We Don’t Know What We Have

You’d think that one benefit to having a veteran team is that they’re easy to pin down. Veterans tend to be more consistent than young players, so a team full of veterans should at least play consistently.

Of course, that’s not the case with the Boston Celtics. Yesterday, against the Magic, they led by 11 at halftime. They looked like they were on their way to a key win against a top Eastern Conference team. But then, the Magic dominated the third quarter, outscoring the Celtics 36-11 to take a 14-point lead. So much for consistent play.

That lack of consistency is exactly what’s bugging Jeff Clark of SB Nation’s Celtics Blog.
The optimist in me wants to believe in this team. I want to believe that they will get healthy and get back into that same rhythm that had them rolling in the first couple months of the season. I mean, there is still plenty of time between now and the end of the season for things to turn around. But I’m not sure. And that uncertainty is unnerving.

Ratcheting up the anxiety, of course, is the trade deadline. In theory you should know if your team “has it” or doesn’t after 3 months of games. But injuries have clouded and distorted the image too much to make a clear analysis. However, that uncertainty might itself be an indication of the answer.

It’s that last line that’s right on point. Even though Boston’s had some injuries, you should know what you’re getting from them. They were completely healthy yesterday and still played incredibly inconsistently. If they aren’t consistent now, what makes you think they’ll become more consistent down the road?