Sunday afternoon may have brought a hell of a scare, but in the end, things turned out okay. They're still unscathed. There's still hope for an undefeated season in New England.
Yep ... that's right. It's a good time to be a Celtics fan.
With the men in green sitting pretty at 2-0 for the first time in four years thanks to an overtime win over the Raptors, I'm starting to have that feeling again. It's the same feeling I had back in April watching the '07 Red Sox: Something special's going on here.
It may still be early, but the Cs' first two games have been promising, and the outlook will only get better if they can pass their big test tonight.
Tonight the Nuggets come to town, and if you ask me, matchups don't come more intriguing than this. While the Celtics have raised questions for months about whether three stars are enough to win a title, this Denver team is trying to win with two.
Denver was 26-24 last year with Allen Iverson and 19-13 without him. Another year may help the former Sixer learn the new system, but at age 32, time is ticking. Carmelo Anthony is a legitimate MVP candidate, and Iverson still has gas in the tank. But long story short, the Nuggets need a supporting cast to step up if they're going to keep winning in an unforgiving West. Marcus Camby can't keep averaging 19 boards a game.
Naturally, as Boston faces its first true test tonight at the Garden, the question must be asked: are the Celtics any better off?
And through two games, my answer is a fairly confident yes.
If you'd asked me a few months ago, you might've gotten a different answer. I'm not generally an optimistic sports fan, and Danny Ainge is reason number one. For years, the man has been trying to win with a combination of the way-too-old and the way-too-young, and I've watched with dismay as his hodgepodges of has-beens and aren't-yets have flopped.
However this year's team might actually have - gasp with me - a reliable supporting cast. This year, the too-old (led by James Posey) are only slightly too old, and the too-young (Rajon Rondo et al) are only slightly too young. Both have shown promise. I really shouldn't be jinxing things right now, but Danny may have found a way to build a complete team. This is refreshing.
Rondo dropped 15 points on the Wizards Friday night, providing a reliable fourth scoring option behind you-know-who, and also adding four steals. Posey, who sat out the season opener on a one-game suspension, returned Sunday against Toronto with authority, draining three of his four attempts from beyond the arc.
It's a good start. Obviously, there are still questions to be answered - among them, whether Kendrick Perkins is ready to be a starting center, whether Boston will get any production at all from rookies Glen Davis and Gabe Pruitt, and whether Brian Scalabrine is even qualified to warm a bench.
But through two games, you just can't help but feel optimistic. The Celtics have a legitimate chance to turn out just as strong a season as the '07 Red Sox and Patriots - it appears that finally, they've put all the pieces together.
And just like with the Sox and Pats, Boston has rallied behind the Celts. Tim Wakefield, Jacoby Ellsbury, Laurence Maroney, Junior Seau and Adalius Thomas were all in attendance Friday night as Boston cruised to their 20-point win over Washington.
Apparently, everyone in town has gotten the memo. From Fenway to Foxboro and everywhere in between, the message is clear: this is our year.
Evans Clinchy is a junior majoring in English. He can be reached at evans.clinchy@tufts.edu
