It’s hard not to be a little depressed about the Celtics right now. I know that the news about KG being done for the year isn’t what put Danny Ainge into cardiac arrest, but the timing on the general manager’s heart attack sure was strange, wasn’t it.

It’s hard to be optimistic about the C’s chances now. Sure they can beat Chicago in round 1, and I think they will. They might even be able to sneak through the second round, but after that it’s going to be close to impossible.

I was listening to Bill Simmons’ podcast today and he’s got a great point when it comes to a Boston-Cleveland series and that is that it’s just too much to ask of Paul Pierce to have to guard LeBron James for seven games and carry the team offensively. If he’s going to have to be the shutdown – or since it’s LeBron, let’s call it the containment – defender, then you just can’t expect him to put up 30 ppg as well. It’s got to be one or the other, but the problem is that no one else can match up well with LeBron. Ray Allen can take him for spurts, and Rondo can too, but neither of those guys are going to be able to cover him for four quarters. Allen’s not quick enough to stop LeBron off the dribble and Rondo’s too small and they’ll post him up all day.

And the loss of Garnett is huge for another reason, he’s the soul of that team. He’s the one everyone feels accountable to. He’s the one that says ‘jump on my back boys, we aren’t going to lose.’ Sure Pierce might score the dagger points, but Garnett’s contributions go a lot further than just numbers. He brought an edge to the Celtics that was immeasurable.

Down the stretch the C’s went 18-9, which is pretty darned good. They played a lot of close games, and won them. If Leon Powe and Stephon Marbury can step things up, they’ve still got a chance. It isn’t over, but the future doesn’t look as good right now as it did at the same time a year ago.