Being realistic doesn't make you a bad fan

"These guys are bad fans"

I want to start off by saying that upon second review, my Potomac River video could have been a lot better and maybe I did deserve to capsize (great comment).  My mom gave me crap for it last  night and I completely agree with her. I promise to do better. If anyone is in the DC area and wants to come out on the river and discuss the Celtics and hot actresses let me know.

Anyway, on to the topic of today's discussion. The reality of this upcoming season is that we are probably going to go out in the 2nd round again at best. In my opinion our one chance at the title was if Jeff Green played up to his potential and became an All Star. With him being out for the year that obviously isn't going to happen.  We haven't gotten any better (at least on paper) and the rest of the contenders, namely Miami with the signing of Battier, have improved. It doesn't look good for Banner 18.

So many of you probably wonder how a Celtics fan can say this? Being realistic and having common sense doesn't make you a bad fan. I love the Celtics as much as anyone (besides TB), and win or lose I am going to enjoy the season and root like hell for them. At the same time, you have to realize the reality of the situation. We had a 3 year window. It is now year 4 and we are on borrowed time. Can we still win the title? Yes, but here is what has to happen.

1. Our young guys need to be impact players: Gilbert Brown, JaJuan Johnson, E-Twaun Moore. These guys can't just be garbage time players. They need to be ready to play big minutes. The big 3 are old and are not going to be able to play back to backs often.

2. Health: This is true for every team but especially the Celtics: Garnett needs to be healthy for the playoffs. Rondo has to be able to play 40+ minutes. Pierce needs to rest as long as possible so that he is 100% before coming back in. Marquis and Jermaine need to defy the injury gods and somehow stay healthy. Ray Allen is a robot so I'm not worried about him.

3. Brandon Bass needs to be better than Big Baby was: People keep telling me Bass is a better player. I've seen him play a little bit and haven't seen anything that tells me he can make the impact Big Baby did. As I said in my river video, Big baby is an idiot but the guy made plays and was a legitimate scoring threat off the bench. Can Bass be the same? Show me.

4. Will to win: At the end of the day it comes down to how bad this TEAM wants it. We know the big 4 still craves another title, but what about the other guys? Will they come together and develop the chemistry that propelled the 2008 squad? Let's hope so.

At any rate I'm just glad basketball is back. Let's hope we still have some Celtics magic left and can bring home Banner #18.