Bad Boys

Even though it was at the hands of the Pistons that Boston was trounced for a 15th consecutive loss, it’s the Celtics who are the Bad Boys these days.

Not like the old “Bad Boys” in Detroit, though. They were tough. They were mean. They were bad as in good.

Doc Rivers’s Bad Boys are nothing like Chuck Daly’s. They are soft. They are bad as in bad.

Last night, the latest version of the Pistons dismantled the Celtics offensively. Boston looked like the Washington Generals when trying to defend Detroit in the half-court set. I was just waiting for Chauncey Billups to throw a bucket of confetti in Doc’s face. How many times do you get alley-oop dunked on before you play a little defense, or at least give a hard foul? It was embarrassing. It was bad.

It wasn’t even the usual suspects that really embarrassed the C’s. It was a pair of senior citizens lighting them up that really made it difficult to watch. Chris Webber and Antonio McDyess, two guys with as many knee surgeries as gray hairs, looked like Hall of Famers against Boston’s front line. The two were hitting fallaway jumpers and dropping no-look assists left and right. Webber had four steals. This guy can barely move up and down the court and he managed to steal the ball four times? It was bad.

Since the streak reached double-digits the team just hasn’t shown the fire it had in the beginning of the season. Sure, the C’s made a garbage-time comeback against the likes of Jason Maxiell, but when the starters returned they predictably failed to get stops and rebounds and anything resembling a good look at the basket. It wasn't good.

And since we’re on the topic, aren’t those late game “comebacks” getting a little old? Everyone talks about how the team doesn’t quit and stays in games until the end, but final score doesn’t tell the story of the game. Last night the game was over at halftime. The Celtics didn’t stay in until the end; they stayed out of it until the end. Pulling within 10 at the five-minute mark after trailing by close to 20 for most of the game doesn’t qualify as a spirited comeback. I’m sick of people giving credit to a bad team that closes a big lead against the other team’s third stringers. And that’s what the Celtics are right now, a bad team. Now they aren’t even taking the losses personally anymore, and if you’re hoping for the streak to end, that isn’t a good thing. If the team doesn’t care about winning anymore, things will go from bad to worse.

Three things that came to me while tearing up my Chauncey Billups rookie card ...