The games post-all star break kind of show why there was so much pessimism. 1-2 losing to Toronto and Atlanta, two teams that Boston could play in the first or second round, with the Cavs up tomorrow. And the losses were a direct result of Thomas being shut down and no one else on the team doing anything offensively. This could be a playoff preview, which would be another early exit.
But we knew this was a flawed team to begin with no? At the beginning of the season, I would say that the main goal was to improve on last season, develop the young players, and try to make it past the 1st round of the playoffs and anything after that was gravy.
I definitely understand the frustration people have with not making any moves (or at least any minor moves) to improve the team. I think it is safe to say we "like" this team the players on it and would like to see them do well. But we all know this is basically a regular season team that will likely bounce out in the 2nd round of the playoffs.
But it was never really about this season. In the words of Felder & Mazz, this feels like a bridge year. C's are getting there but just not happening this year.