Game 7. The ultimate sports event. The top of the mountain. The pinnacle.
Game 7 reminds us of Russell-Chamberlain, Bird-Magic, Bruins-Habs, Lonborg-Gibson, Grady Little's brain-lock, and Johnny Damon's grand slam in the 2004 ALCS.
Game 7 is when fans start cheering halfway through the national anthem and drown out everything after "the rockets' red glare."
It is the best game in sports. It is the thing that brings us to the games in the first place.
But not today. Today is a Game 7 embarrassment. It is a Game 7 that was never supposed to happen.
The Celtics and their fans just want to take their victory today, move on to the Cleveland Cavaliers, and pretend none of this ever happened.
The Hawks are a 12-32 road team. They have lost three playoff games in Boston by an average of 22.3 points. They were the 19th-best team in the NBA this year, finishing 29 games behind the league-leading Celtics. They are an 8 seed playing a 1 seed and yet they are within one victory of sending the Celtics home for the summer. The Celtics have magically transformed the Hawks into America's team.
Your 2007-08 Celtics started their season 29-3. Now here they are in the playoffs and they are 3-3 against a sub-.500 team. In a single series, the Hawks have done what it took the rest of the NBA 32 games to do - make Boston lose three times.
Perhaps this is why the volcanic Stephen A. Smith stated on ESPN that if the Celtics lose Game 7, it will be "the worst defeat in history, as far as I'm concerned. It is that colossal."
How'd you like to take the floor today with that hanging over your head? A chance to pull off "the worst defeat in history"?
The Celtics and their fans remain supremely confident about winning today, of course. When playing in Boston, the Hawks have been the 37-win Hawks of 2007-08. They have been easily dismissed. It should happen again.
But even if the Celtics win, the damage has been done. Cleveland, Detroit, Los Angeles, San Antonio, and the rest of the still-breathing NBA teams have been emboldened by what they've seen of the Celtics in Atlanta. Remember Andy Reid and his Eagles and the famed "blueprint" for beating the Patriots? The Giants ultimately used the Philly game plan to stun the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
And now the book is out on the Green. They get rattled on the road. They lose their defensive aggressiveness. They stop attacking the basket and settle for jump shots. They bench Rajon Rondo and use Sam Cassell. Kevin Garnett doesn't look to take the big shot. Paul Pierce unravels like a 19-year-old rookie. Doc Rivers gets away from what brought him this far.