Pre-garnett-era-syndrome

I got a fever; and the only prescription is a Celtics Championship.

A few of my friends and I suffer from what I like to call "Pregarnetterasyndrome" (Pre-Garnett Era Syndrome). Basically what this disease does to us is prevents us from truly feeling 100% confident that the season will continue to go as well as it has. We've always had the one game at a time attitude in hopes of not looking too far into the future, because quite frankly, the future did not look too bright. Sure, we had the 2001-02 team that went to the Eastern Conference Finals, but after completing the greatest comeback in NBA Playoff history against the Nets, they lost the next three games and we're eliminated. It was during that season when I really started to follow the Celtics. That series loss against the Nets cut deep into me, but when I looked down at the wound, it was bleeding green.

Since that fateful day on March 31, 2002, the Celtics have been on quite the roller coaster ride, with me and my friends sitting in the back with our hands in the air, sometimes over our faces. From Pierce vs. Harrington in the First Round of the 2003 playoffs, to the return of Antoine, to the Gary Payton playoff run, to the Al Jefferson draft, to 24 wins last year and the fourth pick in the draft, it has been quite a journey. The only constant has been the result- losses.

Can you blame me for having Pregarnetterasyndrome? Ever since I have been a Celtics fan, I have always gotten my hopes up and then ended up disappointed. Whether its playoffs, or the draft, it had always ended terribly. Losing 58 games last year almost put me over the edge, getting the fourth overall draft pick in the lottery had me wondering what team Pierce would be suiting up for next season. It was the worst moment in my Celtics fandom career.

Since the Garnett miracle trade happened, a new era of Celtics basketball has transformed. There are the fans who were blessed enough to experience the dominance of the 1956-1969 Celtics, the fans who were around to witness the Big Three and those glory days, and then there were the fans who fall into my category- the fans who either weren't born yet, or weren't old enough to experience true Celtics ecstasy. Now, there are the fans who were always somewhat interested in the Celtics but not enough to really care if they lost (sort of like the Bruins today) until this season. That's great, and welcome aboard, I'm almost jealous of this group because they don't really know what its like to suffer a heartbreaking Celtics loss, but then again, losing makes winning that much sweeter.

Me, on the other hand, I'm almost waiting for a loss, expecting it- but the thing I'm finally starting to realize, is it might not actually happen. When Ray Allen started missing time with ankle injuries, I thought that was the beginning of the end. When Kevin Garnett went down with the abdominal injury against Minnesota, I thought that was the nail in the coffin. Flash forward now to April 3, 2008- a healthy Celtics team went into Texas and proved that they were bigger and better, then avenged a loss to New Orleans at home a week later, beating every team in the league at least once in the process. At 60-15 they have tied the biggest one season turnaround in NBA history, and it's safe to say they'll eclipse that mark very soon.

I'm not going to compare teams of different eras, because honestly, it's a different game today than it was back in 1986, or 1973, or 1956. What I do know, is that this team has a chance to go down as one of the most dominant teams in this era of basketball.

The Boston Celtics are the team to beat from here on out. I don't hope to make the playoffs in order to catch a few high intensity games; I expect to win in the playoffs. I expect to play whoever comes out of the West and I expect to win. As someone who suffers from Pregarnetterasyndrome, this is a big step in the right direction.

I'm 16 postseason victories away from a full recovery in 2008.