It ended Saturday night after losing to the Miami Heat 101-88 in Game 7. Now the Celtics head into the off-season with many questions on their mind.
Is this the end of an era for them? Will they blow up the team, or will they still keep them all?
The age has shown and with their large salary, who knows what will happen. Paul Pierce is still under contract and the only way they can get rid of him is via a trade. As for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, they are free to walk this off-season.
Garnett and Allen will be unrestricted free agents and it's a big question if they'll keep any or both of them.
"Hopefully management can do something to bring [Garnett] back, maybe add some pieces to this team that we need to get over the top," Pierce told ESPN Boston's Chris Forsberg. "If not, it's been a tremendous run."
Pierce is unsure if this is the end for the Celtics era and their Big Three.
"I don't know," he said, shrugging. "I haven't really put much thought into it. We'll have to see. That's a question you'll probably have to ask management, [president of basketball operations] Danny [Ainge], Wyc Grousbeck, the owners."
The Celtics will be heading into an interesting situation. Will they still stick with the core. Although it has been questioned for the past two years, they have still been able to get it done.
However, they need the youth and the cap space, unless if Allen and KG are willing to take a paycut, seeing if they can have a few more runs. But it's unlikely. After a loss like this, it just doesn't look like they'll be able to get back to the promise-land ever again with this core.
Rajon Rondo has already proven he is the best point guard in the game today. Now entering into his prime years and seeing the end of the road for the Big Three, he'll need other pieces.
With how this team was this year, Forsberg sees the end is near now:
Rivers admitted during the season that this probably wasn't the deepest or most talented group he's had in Boston. But these Celtics might have been the best pure team, maybe even more so than the 2008 championship squad. What this team lacked in overall talent, it made up for with intangibles, particularly the unity of the group. All of which made the postgame locker room that much more emotional. Somber players were left to ponder the abrupt end to the season. The Celtics wanted a chance at a world title, but they also wanted two more weeks together as a team. 'This team was very unique," Keyon Dooling said. 'We love each other, we care for each other, and, though we aren't champions this year, I think we've got hearts of champions, and that'll always keep us connected.' Maybe that's what hurts most. This team genuinely cared. These players cared about accomplishing their goals, and they cared about each other. Just like that, it's over. And it's unlikely it'll ever be the same.
With how it looks, it seems like Garnett and Allen will test the free agency market and see suitors, which will be a lot of them. Most likely, I wouldn't be surprised seeing a team like the Oklahoma City Thunder or the Heat themselves calling for any of those two.
If KG and Allen are looking for more championships, taking a paycut and joining a team like that could be very beneficial for them. Or, they could retire.
However, if Allen and Garnett do leave the Celtics, what does it mean for Pierce? Will they send him off?
There's a lot of questions to answer for Boston heading into the off-season now. We'll see how it goes.
But it looks like the end may in fact be very near.
Josh Dhani is the founder of FootBasket. He also contributes at Hoops Authority and Eight Points Nine Seconds. You can read more about him at his website. Follow him on Twitter @joshdhani.
