By losing to the Knicks twice in the past week by a combined 34 points, the Celtics have given New York confidence. But that does not mean they've lost their own.
The Boston Celtics occasionally remind me of Daniel LaRusso from The Karate Kid.
That doesn't mean I expect them to practice by washing cars (wax on, wax off) or standing on pillars near the ocean, nor do I expect any of the Celtics to dress as a shower for Halloween. But LaRusso took beating after beating at the beginning of the movie, yet somehow mustered the confidence to run through competition at a top karate tournament later in the flick. (Note: Yes, I imagine a few sessions with Mr. Miyagi could make the Charlotte Bobcats NBA champions.)
The Celtics are currently taking plenty of beatings, dropping six of their past eight games, including Monday night's 108-89 thrashing from the New York Knicks. It was the second time this week New York smacked Boston, by a combined 34 points. The two teams would meet in the playoffs if the regular season ended today. If they do, said Paul Pierce, the Knicks "are going to have tremendous confidence versus us, so who knows, when we see them in the playoffs they might feel like they have our number.”
Maybe the Celtics have given New York confidence. But that does not mean they've lost their own.
“We like how we match up with the Knicks, we like how we match up with Miami, we like how we match up with pretty much anybody in the East,” Pierce said, according to the Boston Globe. “So whether it be (the Knicks), whether it be Indiana, Miami, right now we just want to try to get into the playoffs playing well.”
Pierce isn't alone with his sunny optimism.
"We’ll play anybody, any time when we’re right," coach Doc Rivers said. "I heard this same rhetoric (about the Celtics being done) last year before the playoffs started and we were one game away from the Finals. So we’ll see, but we’ve got to get healthy first. We’ve got to get Kevin back. We’ve got to get Courtney (Lee) healthy. Then we’ll roll it out and see how everybody lines up. We like us against any of these teams.”
“I feel like when we’re healthy we can compete with anybody,” added forward Jeff Green. “We can’t get down on ourselves thinking just because they beat us the last couple of times that if we play them again we have no chance. We have a chance whoever we match up against.”
As Rivers mentioned, one real key is health. The Celtics won't make any noise in the playoffs if Garnett remains shelved with a bone spur in his foot. Their frontcourt is too thin, their defense and rebounding too reliant on Garnett's contributions. But if the All-Star center can come back healthy -- as the organization continues to indicate he will -- Boston believes it can match up with anyone.
Obviously, Miami has been brilliant this season and will enter the postseason as big Eastern Conference favorites. The Indiana Pacers have quietly pieced together a great season, and the Knicks are very improved since last year. But outside of the Heat, Boston feels like it has enough talent and guile to get past anybody else. And even if they do play Miami, the Celtics are proud enough to convince themselves they should win.
Boston obviously hasn't intimidated anyone with its regular season. But the playoffs will be here soon. If history provides any indication, beware of Garnett's crane kick.