We're Not as Good as Last Year

We're not as good as last year.

We're not as good as last year.

We're not as good as last year.

It doesn't matter how many times I pen this sentence, in the end, the truth won't be black and white. While I'm highly confident we won't reach 66 wins this year, we might still be a better team than last year even if we lose more than 22 games.

The 60-win threshold means something, especially to us fans who grew accustomed to regularly surpassing that marker in the 1980s. But it doesn't mean everything.

I like the fact that we have three guys who can consistently score off the bench, and not just from the outside. Last year Nails and EH were our primary scoring threats off the bench, and they did it from outside. This year Powe and TA do most of their damage inside. With Eddie's jumper starting to heat up, this is a pretty good combination. Glen Davis is more than a serviceable ninth man on both ends of the floor.

Most importantly, the Green understands that as good as last year's defense was, defense is something that can improve, even if the win total declines. A year's worth of experience together for the rotational players plus a healthy Tony Allen and an older, wiser, and more respected Kendrick Perkins all signal the very real possibility that as stingy as the defense was last year, it could be even more so this year.

Finally, don't underestimate what a year of familiarity can do for us on the offensive end. Skippy Boy Bayless, of all people, said it best. "It's clear to me that the veterans on this team understand when their teammates are having an offnight and it's their turn to step up. I don't remember that from last year's team."

Again, that's what having a year under your belt does for you.

Even if we don't win 60 this year, one thing should still remind us all of the 1980s:

The Celtics have two games circled on their calendar, and those two games will serve as a barometer that measures not only how well the Celtics are playing, but how much work Doc and Danny have to do before the trade deadline.