The Kids Are Alright

I'm going green.

 

No, it's not just the big win over the Cavs.

It's about the way they reacted after the big win over the Cavs. 

After Avery Bradley hit the game-ending, game-winning 3-pointer, there wasn't any chest-thumping or fist-pumping. Not there was really any time for that as Bradley was engulfed by his teammates in a joyous group hug that told me everything I needed to know about these guys.

There's something about this roster and this coach that demands my attention as a sports fan.

NBA basketball is a sport dominated by superstars. LeBron. Steph. KD. The great coaches understand how to manage the stars and their super-sized egos, with Phil Jackson the obvious blueprint and Gregg Popovich the current gold standard.

The Celtics have a coach, Brad Stevens, who specialized in taking college kids to the big dance who weren't recruited to places like Duke or Kansas or UNC.

His Celtics roster looks and plays a lot like those Butler teams. They play hard. They play defense. They play for each other.

These Boston Celtics are fun to watch. You feel good rooting for them. As rumors surface of possible trades to bolster their chances of getting past the first round of the playoffs, I find myself thinking crazy things like "I don't want to give up Jared Sullinger, Kelly Olynyk and whoever else for DeMarcus Cousins." Yeah. That's flat out insane from a pure talent point of view but like I said, I feel good rooting for this team. I don't want to do anything to the chemistry this team obviously has. It may be that I'm being unfair to Cousins and the problems in Sacramento aren't really his fault. Maybe he deserves a second chance. Maybe he'd respond positively to Coach Stevens.

But I don't want to see Danny Ainge roll those dice.

Al Horford. Yeah, I like him but who do the Celtics have to give up to get him? If it's David Lee's expiring contract and a draft pick or two that isn't that Nets' pick, I'm good. Otherwise, however irrational it is, I want to see these guys stay together. I'll ride with them all the way to the end, wherever that is. 

They probably don't get out of the East. I'm not stupid.

But how much fun would it be if they did? Isn't this why we watch sports? Why we root for the underdog?

This is a young team (only future ex-Celtic David Lee is over 30) that is only lately discovering just how good they can be.

I can hardly wait to see how good that is.