Sixers vs Celtics: Philadelphia's Youth a Serious Threat to Boston's Last Hurrah

This is presumably it for the Boston Celtics, and the Philadelphia 76ers appear all too prepared to screw it up.

Three-fifths of Doc Rivers' current starting lineup—Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Brandon Bass—is scheduled to hit unrestricted free agency once the calendar turns to July 1, though Bass has a player option that he may or may not exercise. Mickael Pietrus, Marquis Daniels, Keyon Dooling and Ryan Hollins will all be gone, too, though they're eminently replaceable.

Rajon Rondo will still be in his prime, but Paul Pierce, who turns 35 in October, is already well into his twilight.

So, unless the C's decide to reunite their Big Three for another "one last run," these figure to be the waning moments before their window of championship contention slams shut on somebody's unsuspecting fingers.

Which may be all the more painful if the scrappy Sixers parlay a surprising win in Game 2 at the TD Garden in Boston into a shocking trip to the Eastern Conference Finals. Derrick Rose's torn ACL was supposed to give Beantown a clear path to the NBA's final four, where the Celtics would now be expected to romp over the Chris Bosh-less Miami Heat and on to their third NBA Finals appearance in the last five years.

Apparently, Philly didn't get the memo. Instead, the Sixers pushed the C's to the brink on Saturday and snuck away with the series tied at 1-1 on Monday. Rather than slink into anonymity after letting Rondo school him for a triple-double, Jrue Holiday came back strong with a game-high 18 points while Boston struggled to execute down the stretch.

This all isn't to say that the Celtics are at all screwed that they didn't defend their home court as well as they probably should have. They're still the veteran team here, the team that's been there and done that. They're more than capable of going into Philly and retaking control of their destiny.

Perhaps the defeat will function as something of a wake-up call for Boston, a reminder that seeding and regular-season results are even more irrelevant now than they were when the playoffs first began last month. Perhaps the setback will stir the C's to action, with their future as a unit firmly in doubt.

Or, perhaps it's a sign that the end is nearer than anyone had thought or expected. Perhaps, the final act of Boston's Big Three is bound to play out before the conference finals begin.

Only time will tell, though, if this is it; "it" has been a fun ride, regardless of where or when it ends.

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