Okay....Okay....Breathe...

So there I was sitting in my European History class (1648-1714) just minding my own beeswax. I was proud of my Celtics. We were fresh off back-to-back wins over the Sixers and Wizards, the former fighting to get the highest playoff seed possible, the latter trying to avoid tying the worst record in their franchise's history. We beat them both and both times our bench made a tremendous impact. I've come to get used to our bench players take on starting role and more minutes in the absence of KG, who's been out essentially since February.

All of a sudden I get a text from none other than T-Pas. The Queenidite. Trevbeco himself: "Garnett out for playoffs. We're fucked." It read like a cold newspaper headline...except for the "we're fucked" part, of course. Still, that would be the subliminal headline in tomorrow's Boston Globe, wouldn't you think? I immediately began thinking what the date was. I knew it was April...was this April Fools' Day? No...that was 15 days ago. Trev, wtf? Is this some cruel joke? I quickly used my iPhone (thank God I have one) to peruse my bookmarked sites. NBA.com? Nothing. Celtics.com? "Eddie House blahblahblah" Nothing. ESPN.com?!? "Playoff matchups set!...Something about Hockey!" Nothing. I was completely skeptical and texted him back where he found this out. Boston.com. Of course.

Many, many things piss me off about this news. For one thing, I have a message for whoever is in charge of telling the public about this stuff. Doc? Danny? Wyc? Some random p.r. guy? Yeah, fuck you. Where do you get off leading all the Celtics fans that KG will be back for the final 3 games of the season. Oh wait, make that the final 2 games. Oh wait, make that one of the final 2 games. Oh wait, make that the last game. Oh wait, we're just gonna sit him out until the playoffs start. Oh, actually, his knee ISN'T getting better like we've been telling you for the past 2+ months and he'll miss the start of the playoffs. WHAT THE FUCK! Next you'll be telling us that he's retiring (knocking on wood.). Seriously, how can you do that to people? At least have the BALLS to come out and be straight with us, especially when we've suffered through seasons of complete SHIT. Just say, "Yeah, KG's knee is something that probably won't heal fully even once the season ends. It'll be likely that he'll miss at least the first round and possibly the entire playoffs." See, if you said that in say, March, it would've prepared us better. But no, you spring this bullshit on us Thursday morning before Game 1 on Saturday. Thanks, asshole.

I usually try to see the good things that can come of this, but I can't trust what Doc says to the media really anymore. I would not be surprised at all if Garnett missed everything. So, with that in mind, there are some relatively positive things that you as a diehard Celtics fan must know before you kill yourself. (Cue "Everybody Hurts" by REM which seriously just came on my iTunes. Heh.)

For one, we as a team are used to playing without KG. Our big guys off the bench have logged major minutes, which is mighty important, especially considering it wasn't garbage time at the end of a blowout. They played in meaningful games and certainly helped us win them. That confidence is incredibly important.

Secondly, we're getting all our other injured players back around now. Tony Allen has been phenomenal. And if you know me, you know that I'm not a fan of his. But, I must give credit where credit is due. Powe has taken off where he left off after a knee bruise a while back. Dominant in the paint, automatic three-point plays, and multiple charges taken per game. Scal, if I remember correctly, will be available for the playoffs and dressed last night. It'll be good to have him back.

Thirdly, Big Baby has taken over KG's role. He's an intensely fierce player who is able to carve out (a lot of) space in the paint, he's got a nice baby hook shot, AND, probably most importantly, he can knock down that 17-footer very, very consistently (kinda like KG, eh?). His ability to spread the floor is much needed without KG around.

Fourthly, as Wokkus told me, anything is possible. Doc's saying that KG's knee is 70%. I know they don't wanna risk him making a season-ending injury into a career-ending one, but if we get through the first round, the possibility increases that he'll be at least more available than he is now.

Fifthly, we're playing the Bulls in Round 1. I'm not underestimating them (Remember Atlanta!), but this is the first round and is theoretically the easiest for us. So, getting through is more likely than not, even with KG out. Of note, we have beaten some formidable teams without him, most notable Cleveland. Yeah.

Sixthly (?), we're pretty damn good without KG. Trust me, I'd rather have him, but we're way better than mediocre. We'd probably end up being a 5 or 6 seed if you extrapolated our record without KG. We ended up being 18-7 sans the Big Ticket, although our defense obviously hurt the most (98.2 ppg allowed vs. 90.7; 44.2 opp FG% vs. 42.2). 

All in all, I'm confident that we can hold our own at least through the first round. Beyond that, let's just hope he'll be good enough to come back. Who knows? This may be a blessing in disguise. Scenario: Say we get to the Eastern Conference Finals vs. the Cavs. KG's close to 100% and fully, fully rested. BAM! He's back. The Cavs, on the other hand, have had to battle through the first few rounds, taking their strength for granted like the C's did last year. They come in tired, banged up, etc. and KG's as fresh as...newly bought lettuce? Whatever, it's early. Anyway, take the Willis Reed thing and multiply that shit by something. He'll be hungry and he will dominate Mr. Clownhead Varaejo (I'm not even gonna give him the credit of actually looking up how to spell his name). 

For now, let's just keep our fingers crossed, but not keep our hopes up. Remember, we still have 2 bitchin' All Stars and future HOF'ers. Most teams would kill to get at least that (Hey, Memphis!).