Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, the 2007-2008 Boston Celtics would play a meaningful game and they would win it. Other than Ali-Frazier I, it is hard to remember a regular season game that the Celtics lost that meant much.

They lost the first three games after the All-Star break. But let's face it. The Celtics were still on break.

The Celtics lost to the Hornets in New Orleans , but that loss was preceded by three wins in Texas, and so they didn't need the win all that much. The loss was also followed up with a win over the Hornets the next week at home.

The game 4 loss to Atlanta changed all that, as did game 6 against Atlanta and the three road losses to Cleveland.

After winning three out of the last four games against Detroit, including two of the last three on the road, and now the first game of the Finals, it seems like a fair question to ask whether the C's have their mojo back?

Can they win a meaningful game when they want to win it, need to win it, and set their minds to winning it?

Game 2 is exactly that game.

Winning it puts the Celtics in the driver's seat.

Losing it does the opposite.

A win means that the road losses in Atlanta and Cleveland were necessary learning experiences for untested troops that hadn't taken artillery fire durning the heat of battle in a playoff setting. A loss means that questions remain.

Let's see what happens.