8 Jan 11 The Celtics' Title Window Didn't Close, The Cavaliers Slammed It Shut

Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesYou could tell from Kevin Garnett's body language that his Boston Celtics had no answer for LeBron James and his ClevelandCavaliers, and Boston's loss on the road Sunday may have ushered in the end of an era.The Celtics will qualify for the postseason, but it appears they have little chance to legitimately challenge for the Eastern Conference throne based on their performances against the teams they currently trail in the standings.Boston trails the Cavaliers in head-to-head meetings, and have lost the Minnesota Vikings
season series against both the Atlanta Hawks and the Orlando Magic, meaning any hopes of title contention will begin on the road.Not that the confines of home have been much better considering recent puzzling losses to the New Jersey Nets and the Memphis Grizzlies, which have left everyone questioning the desire of the Celtics.Pride and passion have been a staple of this Boston team but both attributes have recently failed the Celtics, and in their loss to Cleveland it seemed that Boston visibly surrendered.That's not a good sign for the Celtics, but in all honesty, the championship window of this team more than likely closed after they reached the pinnacle of the league in 2008.Boston doesn't even closely resemble that team, and all of their primary players bare the mark of age and weariness, as injuries and the constant onslaught of time have taken their toll.Before the season began, a healthy Boston team was considered the front-runner to dethrone the Orlando Magic in the East, but are now being mentioned as candidates for a first-round upset once the postseason begins.Credit the Cleveland Cavaliers for driving home a point which most observers have taken for granted, and others failed to recognize due to past performances of this Celtics team.Boston did little to improve their team in the New England Patriots jersey
offseason or before the trading deadline, and it was agamble in which the Celtics placed their faith in and lost.Danny Ainge and Doc Rivers had a strong belief that this Boston team would be able to challenge for a NBA title as is, and they felt Garnett's successful return from injury would put them over the top.But this is not the Garnett from 2008, nor is it the same Paul Pierce or Ray Allen who won games based on their attitude and charisma, as much as they did with their considerable skills.This team by comparison lacks the swagger of the 2008 edition and the decline in each of the above-mentioned players' skills have been noticeable and evident in light of recent struggles.Who would have ever thought Garnett would be thoroughly out-played by the likes of Anderson Varejao? But there was Varejao, pushing Garnett around to the tune of 17 points and 10 rebounds.And Pierce, once so reliable in his offensive game, is a former shell of the player who radiated confidence and thrived off the opportunity to take the big shot.Even though James had a below average game for his standards, the difference in talent level between him and Pierce was striking, as Pierce left people wondering if he deserved to share the same court with James.Pierce was a step slow, his shot was off, and he was a perpetual victim to New Orleans Saints jersey
a superior defensive effort from James, which left Pierce virtually ineffective for much of the game.Watching the Celtics, it's hard to glean how they were able to capture the season opener from the Cavaliers, but that game seems to be more of an anomaly than an indicator of what was to come.Because after Boston's latest failure, we are all witness to the depths the franchise has fallen, and it took Cleveland's latest trouncing of the Celticsto speed the once proud team into irrelevancy.