final weeks of the regular season and the playoffs. Their heart and soul is barely able to play and will miss at least the next
four games. The champs could easily be out in the first round of the playoffs.

If Kevin Garnett doesn’t make a miracle recovery in time for the postseason, the Celts will be out of contention early. Without him,
Boston is no better than the middle of the pack, and if they were to make it out of the first round (against Philadelphia if the playoffs
started today), they have Dwight Howard waiting to crush them next. Without Garnett 100 percent healthy, the Celtics have no shot to win. He is the Celtics.

Even with the Big Ticket on the court, it’s still no guarantee Boston can make it back to the finals.  Both Orlando and Cleveland pose huge threats, with Howard and LeBron James both able to take over a game at any moment like KG can do when he is healthy.  The Celtics without Garnett lack the extra something that pushes them to greatness, as seen in last year’s championship run and in the beginning of this year.

Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are definitely superstars in their own right but they lack the leadership and the ability to motivate their
teammates in the big games. I think they deserve all the respect they get, don’t get me wrong, but not everyone is the whole package the way Garnett has been for 13 seasons in Minnesota and Boston. And most importantly, they don’t guard the other team’s big man.  The Celtics’ best answer for Dwight Howard without Garnett is Kendrick Perkins or Glen Davis.  The drop off is too significant and will cost the Celtics in a seven-game series. Even the Big Ticket at 75 percent healthy may not be enough to stop the superstars of tomorrow entering the prime of their careers.

Boston already faces serious odds if it loses homecourt advantage. Playing in Boston was vital in last season’s hard-fought series with the Hawks. The NBA is second only to the NFL in terms of the advantages home teams have, and in a seven-game series between two equally great teams that little boost from the fans or the noise to distract the opponents could be the difference.

The pressure is beginning to mount on Garnett and the Celtics, and it looks like their luck is ready to run out. So enjoy your title from last year, Beantown, because your time at the top of the Eastern Conference has come to an injury-filled end.