FanNation - The Republic of Sport

   From the dawn of man, humans have sold their souls. Often, they don't get a good return. See Iscariot, Judas; or Bush, George W.

   Last summer, the Boston Celtics front office sold its soul (okay, mortgaged its future) to take a run at the NBA title. All that careful building Danny Ainge had done the past few years...gone. Whether it was impatient ownership or the nattering nabobs of talk radio, the future became now. Number five pick in the draft...heave-ho. Al Jefferson, linchpin of the rebuild...gone. Valuable pieces like Delonte West and Ryan Gomes...see ya.

   Well, the resulting Big Three certainly gave Paul Pierce one more chance at a playoff run. Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen would certainly sell some tickets. But how much did these guys have left? What kind of chemistry issues would be dealt with? Was Doc Rivers really a championship-caliber coach?

   Could you even dream of the return on this investment?

   Pure dominance of the regular season from start to finish. Command of the home court in the playoffs. Whenever this team was tested, it passed with straight-A's, be it seven-gamers with Atlanta and Cleveland. trailing 2-1 in Detroit, or pulling the biggest comeback in Finals history in LA.

   I won't quibble with the lack of drama in tonight's series finale. But damn, who scores 131 points in an NBA game anymore?

   But this wasn't just a Faustian bargain. It wasn't just a case of rolling out the Big Three and letting them run wild. Ainge didn't rest after making the big splashy deals. Look at what he and the Doc did:

   * Placed their trust in the two complementary guys taking the court with them: Kendrick Perkins, minister of thankless banging and rebounding inside, who had the all-too-rare gift of not caring who got the shots; and Rajon Rondo, a work in progress, but an unselfish team player almost to a fault (see what happened tonight when you actually took a few shots, Raj?) whose defense kept him on the court during the learning process.

   * Brought in the right journeymen and free agent bargains and put them in the right slots (kind of like what happens in Foxboro, right?). Eddie House and James Posey, providers of energy at both ends and three-point shooting. P.J. Brown, who had enough to help inside after sitting around half the year.

   * Developed some inside game in Leon Powe, a low draft choice who took advantage of the opportunity afforded him by Garnett's midseason injury. And I wouldn't be surprised to see Glen "Big Baby" Davis make a similar leap forward next year, too.

   * Finally, there was the commitment to defense up and down the roster. On nights the shots didn't drop, the defense was there. Ask Kobe. Ask LeBron. Even among the 16 regular season losses, I'd be hard-pressed to find three phoners - these guys brought it every night. Plenty of contending teams phone in two or three games a night.

   Was this team as good as the storied '86 squad that was denied a final showdown with the Nicholsons by the Houston Rockets? Great question. The '86ers had that incredible six-pack of Ainge, Bird, McHale, Parish, Johnson and Walton, but the '08s had a better bench. Time to crank up one of those sim games.

   There is a price for what this team and organization has accomplished, though. The entire NBA will be paying it. The word "rebuilding" will be bleeped out in front offices just like all the courtside and bench chatter shorted out tonight by seven-second delay. Job security among coaches and front office people will be more tenuous then that of American newspaper employees.

   We Celtics fans can sit here tonight and say "Thanks, guys, for an amazing season."

   But even in the sectors of the NBA community who didn't have a dog in tonight's massacre, there will be much wailing and gnashing of teeth.