If Only the Celtics Hadn't Whined About Getting Injured

From Adrian Wojnarowski's recent Yahoo piece:

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"The Celtics always wondered what would’ve happened had Rondo stayed healthy, had they been able to exert pressure on the Heat."

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From Doc Rivers, in the Los Angeles Times, discussing how the Lakers never beat the "true" Boston team:

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"They still have not beaten our starting five...Our starting five against the Lakers starting five has a ring. Tell him [a Lakers fan] don't forget that. We will be back strong and Perk will be there next year if there's a Game 7."

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These tropes are not just used by Celtics players, they are oft-deployed by famously aggrieved, er, passionate Boston fans. 

First, let me broach the Rondo elbow angle. The Celtics conceivably could have pulled out the Heat series with a healthy Rajon. His injury came when Miami was up 2-1, a lead they would hold and later lose against the Dallas Mavericks. 

But possible is far from probable. This series was effectively, likely ended when Miami crushed Boston en route to a 2-0 lead, a position from which roughly 94 percent of teams emerge successful. From the 2-1 position, leading teams emerge victorious 82 percent of the time. 

All this is presuming the Celtics would have won the game in which Rondo got injured. They were winning 60-50, victory was not exactly assured. In this alternate hypothetical reality, it is quite possible for Rondo to have stayed healthy, only to watch his team fall to the 0-3 death trap. 

And that's what we're talking about here: alternate hypothetical realities. If the other lament is that Kendricks Perkins (injured in game 6 of the Finals) would have gotten the extra rebounds Boston needed to beat L.A. in that ugly Game 7, the scenario must be theoretically run back from the beginning.

It's simply not fair to just retroactively insert Perkins—a role player at best—into a game that the Celtics nearly won, and add his stats to the ledger. No, Perkins health would have meant fewer contributions from back up Rasheed Wallace, who notched 11 points in a game that was largely bereft of offense.

Perkins' health would have influenced a whole host of other events, both positive and negative for the C's (think  butterfly effect), and would have made its impact in a road Game 7, a situation where roughly four fifths of teams fail. 

So yes, maybe it would have turned out differently for the Celtics had Wade not knocked Rondo over in 2011, had Perkins not landed so awkwardly in 2010.

But Rivers' men probably would have lost anyway. Besides, all this recent excuse-making distracts us from the real Boston injury lament: That 2008-2009 team would have easily won a title had Kevin Garnett not gotten hurt.