So these are the stakes for the Celtics on Saturday night when they take to the TD Garden floor for Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semifinal series against the pesky Philadelphia 76ers: one last stand; one final, spirited run; one more chance to dethrone LeBron James, the self-proclaimed king who has faced the Celtics in the playoffs on three occasions in the last four years, the most recent a seeming dismantling of the Big Three during last year's second round.
Many of us thought that was the end for these Celtics. Many of us believed the window officially closed. Many of us wondered if some of the Celtics would return from an extended work stoppage at all, let alone reclaim even a hint of the form that made them championship threats from the fall of 2007 to the spring of 2010.Will they? Have they? Can they?
Six weeks ago, of course, we thought we had our answers. Nine days after taking apart the Heat in a 91-72 victory on April 1 at the Garden, the Celtics went to Miami and shot better than 60 percent from the floor in a 115-107 victory, the indisputable signature win of this Celtics season. After the game in Boston, Miami spoke of the dimension that Celtics guard Avery Bradley added to the Boston lineup. After the game in Miami, James called the Celtics the best jump-shooting team in the league. The Celtics were back in the Heat's heads, particularly that of James, once again a legitimate obstacle in LeBron's never-ending quest for a title.
And as recently as nine days ago, following the Celtics' methodical dismantling of Philadelphia in Game 3 of these Eastern Conference semifinals, the Celtics were still right there.
“I think they’re looking at that other series a little bit, seeing (Miami’s) Chris Bosh being out," Sixers coach Doug Collins told reporters after Game 3. "I think they see a tremendous opportunity for themselves, and you could just see with their game tonight that this was a much different team than we saw in Boston.â€
And then, just like that, the Eastern half of the basketball world flipped. James went for 40 points and 18 rebounds against the Indiana Pacers in Game 4, the first of three consecutive Miami wins to clinch the series. The Celtics blew an 18-point lead in Game 4 against Philadelphia and now find themselves in an improbable Game 7. Bosh might soon be on the way back. Bradley might be out for good.
Lest anyone forget, as esteemed Globe columnist Bob Ryan so concisely noted, these Celtics are now in Year Five of what was a three-year plan. In the fall of 2007 or in the fall of 2011, a championship this year was never, ever on the radar. Celtics vice president of basketball operations Danny Ainge himself has acknowledged this, albeit through trade talks for any one of a number of Celtics players, including Rajon Rondo.
Nonetheless, that is hardly the point. After hitting rock bottom in a 119-107 loss at Oklahoma City on February 22, the Celtics had dropped 7 of 8 and plummeted to 15-17 overall. Many of us (if not all) were calling for Ainge to blow it up. The Celtics suddenly and unexpectedly went 24-10 over their final 34 games, thrusting themselves into the middle of the eastern Conference playoff pack.
Then Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard went down for the season. Then Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose did, too. Then the Celtics drew Atlanta in the first round and Philadelphia in the second, all while Bosh suffered an abdominal strain that dealt Miami a blow, too.
And then we all saw it: the Celtics could get to the Finals.
That James awaits the Celtics now is obviously fitting. In 2008, during the inaugural season of this Celtics renaissance, the Celtics dispatched the king in Game 7 of a second-round series at the Garden. Two years later, in his final game as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, James essentially quit in far more unceremonious exit. James' inability to get past the Celtics is what ultimately drove him to Miami, James (with Dwyane Wade) finally blowing past the Celtics in five games last spring.
James and the Heat ultimately lost in the Finals to the Dallas Mavericks, of course, but make no mistake: no team has thwarted his quest for a championship more in recent years than the Celtics. Now Boston has the chance to thwart him again. The moment Rose went down, the Celtics became the last real hurdle for James to clear on the way to the finals, a fact that should have given these Celtics any incentive they needed entering what is likely their last postseason together.
A championship? That remains unlikely.
But once again, the Celtics can still prevent LeBron James from getting one.
They just have to beat the Philadelphia 76ers first.
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