Celtics Fans: No Need to Worry

Posted by Craig Kolodny April 30, 2008 at 1:05 pm

There’s definitely a lot of angst in Boston tonight as the Celtics head into Game 5 against the upstart Hawks. There was never supposed to even be a Game 5. And then after Atlanta won Game 3, tonight’s game was viewed as a chance to win the series on home soil. Oh how things have changed.  After tonight, Celtics fans probably don’t want to see the Celts on the parquet until Game 1 of the next round. Win Game 5, take Game 6 on the road, and we’ll pretend this series never happened.

And I’m here to tell you that is exactly what’s going to happen. Yes, I’ve seen Games 3 and 4. There’s no way Joe Johnson could do that again. But I also saw Games 1 and 2 in Boston. The Hawks had no chance in the Garden. The green team only lost 6 times at home all season. Kevin Garnett and company have come too far to go and mess it all up in round 1. We’ve already had enough 1 vs 8 drama in the postseason around these parts (I’m talking about the Bruins in case you forgot).

I’ve heard from enough people that now is the time to panic, and all I can do is laugh. Yes, the series shouldn’t have gone this far, but unlike the Super Bowl, this is a 7 game series and most of the time, the better team will prevail. The Celtics were 29 games better than the Hawks this year, and it will show over the next few games. Boston makes a statement tonight in another double digit win at the Garden, and everyone around here will be singing a different tune, anticipating a (probable) showdown with LeBron and the Cavs.