Nobody Except for Everyone Believed in the Boston Celtics

Isaiah Thomas had 29 points and 12 assists in the Boston Celtics, 115-105, Game 7 win over the Washington Wizards on Monday. The top-seeded Celtics will now meet the second-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals. Yet somehow this is a top headline on ESPN’s front page this morning:

The headline of the actual article says:

"Isaiah Thomas: ‘They don’t ever give us a chance, and we just keep going’"

Here’s the full quote:

"“They didn’t give us a chance [against the Wizards]. They didn’t give us a chance when we were down 2-0 to Chicago. We got the No. 1 seed, they didn’t give us a chance,” Thomas said after scoring a team-high 29 points in Monday’s Game 7 triumph over Washington. “They don’t ever give us a chance, and we just keep going; we don’t care about what others say.” "

In the immortal words of standup comedy, who are these people!? Boston was #5 in ESPN’s preseason power rankings. Vegas had the Celtics over/under for win totals at 51.5. Boston went 53-29 and finished with the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the 4th best record in the league, ahead of the defending champion Cavaliers. The Celtics are only an underdog to the Cavaliers because LeBron James exists. Even then, it wouldn’t be entirely shocking if the Celtics won.

The same stuff goes for Isaiah Thomas who hasn’t been an underdog since he was drafted. He started 37 games his rookie season and made the All-Rookie team. He is a two-time All-Star. He was third in the NBA in scoring this season and a legitimate MVP candidate.

Thomas and the Celtics were supposed to beat the Bulls and the Wizards and they did. If people doubted them it was because they looked like complete crap at times. They were still supposed to win.

The ability of professional athletes to imagine disrespect coming from others out of their own insecurities and inability to talk in anything but cliches is both impressive and annoying. Put that on your bulletin board if it will fit.